Untitled First Draft
-This is a story done for the creative writing class I am currently enrolled in. This is the first draft, so be prepared to see a lot of changes!
-Comments, critisms not only appreciated, but WANTED
***Chapter I***
The strobe lights flashed, illuminating the floor in a multitude of colors. Shied away as he was from the speakers, Adam still found the heavy bass music to be at an unbearable level. Standing with his side against the bar counter, cup of water in hand, his chestnut eyes pried through the crowd until he set them to hover upon a single girl.
She stood out no more than the other woman in the club, but she was still undeniably attractive in her red-sequined tank top and well-fit jeans. Adam took a moment to study her. The long, ebony hair that framed her face…the deep chocolate eyes, the dark skin of her Spanish heritage…and a lupine gaze redolent of her Indian ancestors. Adam would not deny that he loved her more than he could express, but he knew she did not stand similarly on the issue. It was a wonder that after so many years of friendship Jo found no necessity to indulge romantically in the close bond they shared; however, Adam was well enough aware of his inability to see her point of view from the narrow fixation of his obsession, so he did not dwell overlong on a search for an explanation.
Spotting the pointed glances that came her way, Josefina suggestively danced her way over to him. Without a word she slid her hand around the glass of water in his hand and brought it to her lips.
“Having fun?”
She grinned at him. “Always.” There was a pause, then, “you going to join me?”
“Not my thing, Jo.”
“Not your fantasy, huh? Why did you come, anyway?”
“Because you asked me to.”
“So?”
“So, I’d worry about you being here by yourself.”
“Right, because you’re so intimidating. Do you think I’m not smart enough to avoid trouble?”
“Well, let me present to the court exhibits A, B, C…”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah…”
Jo finished off the water and returned the empty glass to his still-waiting hand. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go.”
Adam tossed the cup in the direction of the garbage can, and sighed in response to both the cup as it bounced aimlessly off the rim of the trash bin and to Jo’s yanking of his arm as she escorted him to the door.
Adam was more thankful than words could express as the door to the club swung shut behind them, canceling out the thunderous din of the music and leaving behind only a faint ringing in his ears. He handed to Jo the coat he had been keeping track of for her, and she quickly slid into it. Fall was beginning to pepper the evenings with winter’s breath. Still, it was not so cold as to be unable to enjoy the peak of the night. So cloudless was the night, even the city’s lights could not mask the stars.
“Shall we embark on a midnight stroll?” Jo asked, lips pursed in a half smile.
His head shook at her unnecessary flare, but he wasn’t about to protest the suggestion. “That sounds much better.”
***Chapter II***
Using his hands for a pillow and Jo using his chest for hers, the two of them were stretched comfortably in the midst of a large patch of grass and trees that constituted one of the local inner-city parks. Jo was hugging him lightly for the warmth, and reveling in the fact that they could lie here like this and pursue nothing but close friendship.
“How’s Annie?” she asked, interrupting the silence.
“My sister? She’s good, I guess.”
“And your mom?”
She felt his shoulders shift from under her as he shrugged.
“It must be hard. Widowed first by an asshole, second by cancer. And then two children to care for.”
“Why are we talking about my family?”
“We don’t have to.”
He remained quiet, with mahogany eyes focused on the thin sliver of moon above. The trees whispered as a breath of wind drew past.
“What are you thinking about?”
“The stars. And the planets. And how I would much rather be up there than down here.”
“There’s not much for oxygen up there,” she teased. She knew he was thinking of some fantasy adventure along the lines of Star Trek, where he was some always-victorious captain out discovering the universe’s wonders.
“Maybe that’s the point.”
She drew back from his response, lifting her head to look at him.
“Adam, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He paused and returned her glance. Looking back to the moon he started again, quietly.
“I just wish I had something more important here to do down on earth. You know, cure AIDS, take out terrorists…slay vampires…”
“What about keeping me company? Supporting your mother? Caring for your sister?”
“What about it? If I left, if I died…you’d get along. You’d keep living, keep growing, keep smiling. I don’t have to be there for you to do that. For any of you to do that.”
“Fine. So why don’t you leave?”
“I don’t know. Why do you stay here and listen to me, instead of going out and dancing and dating
boys?”
“Because I keep hoping you’ll see exactly what you have.”
“I can’t have what I want.”
“You could if you realized what you wanted.”
“Jo, do you remember when I was in that car accident with my mother? When we were both still in grade school? I was in the hospital for weeks.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, they had to shock me to get me back. But between the accident and waking up in a bright room, I remember being happy. In a place I can’t describe, though one day I hope to. That’s what I want, Jo. I want to be back there, where I was happy.”
“Are you saying you were in heaven?”
“I’d like to think so.”
“Adam, you can’t be serious. You were young, it was a traumatic experience, and you have no idea what sort of drugs were in your system.”
“I don’t care what it was. It was nice.”
***Chapter III***
With nothing to demand his time, Adam chose to sleep in after his conversation with Jo the night prior had run into the early morning of today. So when noon rolled around, it was the phone that woke him, and not an alarm.
His hand sought out the phone, and missed. Adam sat up, and found it on the second try.
“Uh, hello?” He rubbed at his eyes with his free hand.
“Adam?” It was his mother. She sounded strange. He blinked.
“Yeah mom?”
“I’m at the hospital.”
“What?”
She didn’t allow him time to process before continuing. “You need to come. Annie…she…she was out…on that scooter I got her. I wasn’t…watching.”
“Mom?”
“I don’t know why she crossed the road. She knows she shouldn’t.”
He could hardly understand her. And now he couldn’t hear her at all, just strange gasping sounds coming from a far away place.
“Adam, they don’t know if she’s going to wake up.” Suddenly her voice was very clear.
“I’m coming.”
“The doctor needs me now.”
Adam heard the line go dead, and he finally removed the phone from his ear. He stared down at the headset, and he couldn’t seem to tell which buttons had which numbers on them.
Finally, on instinct, he moved his thumb to hit the speed-dial that connected him to Jo.
She picked up on the first ring; evidently she had not indulged in sleep as he had.
“Hello?”
“Jo, I need you. And your car. Come quickly.”
She didn’t ask questions. “Okay.”
Adam hung up the phone and clicked it neatly into the receiver. He would have preferred the alarm clock.
***Chapter IV***
Jo drove as quickly as she dared. Given the situation, she doubted any cop would write her a ticket, but it would still waste time to be pulled over. Adam had quietly explained to her the situation when she had arrived and had then gone silent. It was now a half hour into their three-hour drive, and she had made little progress in the way of conversation.
“Adam,” she started.
“Jo, don’t.”
“Why not? It’s not good for you to sit and brood.”
“Did you not understand me this morning?” He didn’t mean to be so angry with her.
“Yes, I did. And if you sit here like this for the next two hours, how do you expect to be ready to talk to your mother?”
He cast her a look, but said nothing. She was right, of course. Why couldn’t he be like that? Right?
“Look, just talk to me. I don’t care what about. Your latest story. How you cried when Lord of the Rings ended, but don’t want to admit to me because you have this idea that I’ll think less of you. Maybe the last Star Trek episode you watched.”
“You watched it with me, Jo. And it was a movie.”
“Right.”
“Spock died.”
“Adam, Annie is not going to die.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Well, at least I’m being optimistic.” It was an unfair shot to make, no matter how true, and she winced.
“What if I don’t see her again? We talked on the phone last week, and I hardly paid attention.”
“You’ll see her again.”
He fell back into thought, and Jo was left with only the Jake Donze CD that was currently spinning in the player as her company.
“A busy mind, I think too much
About the things I can't control
So many times I've only touched
The things I've most wanted to hold”
***Chapter V***
Last week’s Saturday morning found Adam seated at his small dorm desk, the latest text from his history class spread flat over its surface. He had been there unmoving for some time, when suddenly the sharp ringing of his phone pulled his eyes from the blocks of text. He took up the receiver in his hand.
“Hello?”
“Hi, honey.”
“Hey, mom.”
“How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“I thought I’d just call to check up on you. I haven’t heard from you in a while.”
“Yeah, I’ve been busy with school.”
“Classes going well?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Write anything for me to read over?”
“Yeah, I’ve been working on something.”
“Fantasy?”
“You know it.”
He heard a muffled, high-pitched voice talking to his mother on the other end. His sister.
“Adam, hold on. Annie wants to talk to you.”
There was a pause as the phone back home changed hands.
“Hi, Adam.” He could hear the smile in her voice.
“Hey, sweetie.”
“Guess what?” There was a soft giggle.
“What?”
“Mommy got me a scooter.” He could picture her grinning. She’d been wanting one since they had become popular several years ago.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s blue and silver. Every day I ride it down the sidewalk.”
“Wow. That’s neat.”
“Mom said it was for my good grades. I got all A’s, just like you when you went to school.”
“I’m still in school. It’s just farther away.”
“Are you coming home soon?”
“Maybe.”
“You can ride my scooter, too. I’ll let you.”
He laughed softly. “That sounds fun.”
“You should come home next weekend.”
“I probably won’t be able to.”
“Why not?” He hated the way he made her disappointed.
“Because I have things to do here. And my friends are here. This is where I live now. Remember?”
“You should come home soon.”
He sighed. “Okay. We’ll see how it goes. I love you, Annie. Give the phone back to mom now.”
“Okay. I love you too.”
There was a rustling as the phone was returned to his mother.
“You really should come home, Adam.”
“I’ll think about it. Maybe Jo will be heading back in the near future and I can hitch a ride.”
“Yeah, why don’t you ask her? I’m going to let you get back to your work now. Have a good week, okay? Call me and let know how things are going for you.”
“I will. Love you, mom.”
“Love you.”
“Bye.”
***Chapter VI***
Between his own accident and his second father’s death, Adam had spent enough time at the hospital that he strolled by the information desk and turned immediately to the elevators that would take them to the ICU. After it had taken them up, the doors slid open with a soft ding to reveal his mother on the other side. She was sitting in one of the lobby chairs with a blank expression over her flushed features, hands sitting plainly in her lap. Unsure of what to do, Adam finally moved toward her after a gentle nudge from Jo.
“Mom…”
She turned to him as he spoke and hugged him.
He squeezed back.
She kissed him. Her cheeks were cold and wet on his.
“How is she doing?”
“I don’t know. They’ve been with her since I called.”
Adam was silent. She had called him over three hours ago. Jo stepped forward and embraced his mother.
“Thank you for coming, Jo. It was very nice of you to drive Adam.” She attempted a smile. The gratitude, at least, was genuine.
They stood facing each other, unspeaking, in the white and teal of the room. A nurse in head-to-toe blue scrubs hustled by and down the hallway. At the desk, the phone rung and the friendly receptionist at the counter answered it.
“I don’t know what I’ll do if she doesn’t make it, Adam.” There was a long pause as her hand drew upwards to cover her mouth. “But I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t come home this weekend.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I should have been here.”
She didn’t say anything for a while. Then, “would you excuse me? I’m going to go find the bathroom.”
As soon as she had left hearing range, Jo turned on him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.
“What?” He wasn’t sure how to respond.
“Your mother’s here, she’s been here for over three hours, just hoping to hear good news from the doctors after she let your sister go outside and play by herself, and all you can do is pity yourself and ask her for sympathy because you feel sorry that it took Annie getting hit by a car to get you to come see them?”
His head snapped up at her words and he took a step back.
“I can’t fix everything, Jo.”
“I didn’t say you had to.”
“Yes, you did. ‘Be more outgoing, Adam.’ ‘Don’t you ever think about the real world, instead of your stories, Adam?’ ‘Why can’t you just be happy, Adam?’ ‘Don’t treat your mother that way, Adam.’ Well, I’m sorry. Sorry I can’t be everything perfect for you.” He turned on a heel and made for the nearest escape. It ended up being a stairwell in the corner. He pushed his way harshly through the door. Jo slipped in behind him.
“Storming off doesn’t work very well if you follow me, you know.”
“I do. But I can hardly talk to you when you’re with me, let alone when you’re off in another room.”
“Maybe I don’t want to talk to you. Maybe I want you to just leave me alone, and maybe I just want to see my sister again, because maybe then I can have something go right for me.”
“This isn’t one of your stories, Adam. You can’t just write the way you want the world to be.”
“Do you really think that’s what I’m trying to do?”
“It’s what you’ve always tried to do. With yourself, with your family, with me…” her voice trailed as she watched him look away.
He still wouldn’t look at her. “I just wish…”
“I know. You just wish you could be this extravagantly perfect person, and then you could make everyone around you happy, and everyone would want to be around you, and then you’d be happy.”
“And then you and I could catch a white horse out to our ocean front mansion.” There, he had said it.
“Adam, you know I don’t…”
“…Love me?” He finally found the courage to turn to her, and his words were sharp and bitter, as if to cut apart the emotion he had for her.
“Just because it’s not the way you want me to, doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”
His head fell, and she reached up to gently cradle it in her hands, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. Smiling for him, Jo took his head and allowed it to bow to her shoulder.
How long they stood there in that quiet stairwell, neither knew. But at some point Adam’s mother
appeared, bringing with her that bit of news they’d all been hoping too much for.
“I just got done talking with the doctor. She’s waking up.”
And then they were apart, Adam and Jo, but still side-by-side as they hurriedly followed his mother
into the bright hospital room.
The nurses and doctors in their bluish scrubs and white lab coats took what readings they required and quietly went on about their business wherever else it was needed.
Adam expected his mother to draw immediately to his awakening sister, and hold her like she always had, like she should. But instead she was still.
“She’s seen me already…I didn’t come get you right away.”
So Adam took his step forward, taking a moment to look upon the small, bandaged frame of his sister that rested unmoving before him. Before this, how long had it been since he had seen her? Guilt fluttered in his heart. What if he had never seen her again? She did not make any motion towards him, but he saw her eyes grow bright as she spotted him, and the stiffness in his shoulders left.
“Hi, sweetie. I’m sorry I didn’t come earlier.””
He bent down and kissed her. As gracefully and gently as he could, Adam wrapped his arms about her, and he started as he felt her warming fingers curl about his arms.
“You were there.”
Wispy and at the edge of inaudible, he looked to her face, waiting again for her lips to move. They did.
“You kept me safe.”
He held her then as tightly as he dared, as if perhaps he had never really held her before, but understanding precisely what she meant
-Comments, critisms not only appreciated, but WANTED
***Chapter I***
The strobe lights flashed, illuminating the floor in a multitude of colors. Shied away as he was from the speakers, Adam still found the heavy bass music to be at an unbearable level. Standing with his side against the bar counter, cup of water in hand, his chestnut eyes pried through the crowd until he set them to hover upon a single girl.
She stood out no more than the other woman in the club, but she was still undeniably attractive in her red-sequined tank top and well-fit jeans. Adam took a moment to study her. The long, ebony hair that framed her face…the deep chocolate eyes, the dark skin of her Spanish heritage…and a lupine gaze redolent of her Indian ancestors. Adam would not deny that he loved her more than he could express, but he knew she did not stand similarly on the issue. It was a wonder that after so many years of friendship Jo found no necessity to indulge romantically in the close bond they shared; however, Adam was well enough aware of his inability to see her point of view from the narrow fixation of his obsession, so he did not dwell overlong on a search for an explanation.
Spotting the pointed glances that came her way, Josefina suggestively danced her way over to him. Without a word she slid her hand around the glass of water in his hand and brought it to her lips.
“Having fun?”
She grinned at him. “Always.” There was a pause, then, “you going to join me?”
“Not my thing, Jo.”
“Not your fantasy, huh? Why did you come, anyway?”
“Because you asked me to.”
“So?”
“So, I’d worry about you being here by yourself.”
“Right, because you’re so intimidating. Do you think I’m not smart enough to avoid trouble?”
“Well, let me present to the court exhibits A, B, C…”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah…”
Jo finished off the water and returned the empty glass to his still-waiting hand. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go.”
Adam tossed the cup in the direction of the garbage can, and sighed in response to both the cup as it bounced aimlessly off the rim of the trash bin and to Jo’s yanking of his arm as she escorted him to the door.
Adam was more thankful than words could express as the door to the club swung shut behind them, canceling out the thunderous din of the music and leaving behind only a faint ringing in his ears. He handed to Jo the coat he had been keeping track of for her, and she quickly slid into it. Fall was beginning to pepper the evenings with winter’s breath. Still, it was not so cold as to be unable to enjoy the peak of the night. So cloudless was the night, even the city’s lights could not mask the stars.
“Shall we embark on a midnight stroll?” Jo asked, lips pursed in a half smile.
His head shook at her unnecessary flare, but he wasn’t about to protest the suggestion. “That sounds much better.”
***Chapter II***
Using his hands for a pillow and Jo using his chest for hers, the two of them were stretched comfortably in the midst of a large patch of grass and trees that constituted one of the local inner-city parks. Jo was hugging him lightly for the warmth, and reveling in the fact that they could lie here like this and pursue nothing but close friendship.
“How’s Annie?” she asked, interrupting the silence.
“My sister? She’s good, I guess.”
“And your mom?”
She felt his shoulders shift from under her as he shrugged.
“It must be hard. Widowed first by an asshole, second by cancer. And then two children to care for.”
“Why are we talking about my family?”
“We don’t have to.”
He remained quiet, with mahogany eyes focused on the thin sliver of moon above. The trees whispered as a breath of wind drew past.
“What are you thinking about?”
“The stars. And the planets. And how I would much rather be up there than down here.”
“There’s not much for oxygen up there,” she teased. She knew he was thinking of some fantasy adventure along the lines of Star Trek, where he was some always-victorious captain out discovering the universe’s wonders.
“Maybe that’s the point.”
She drew back from his response, lifting her head to look at him.
“Adam, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He paused and returned her glance. Looking back to the moon he started again, quietly.
“I just wish I had something more important here to do down on earth. You know, cure AIDS, take out terrorists…slay vampires…”
“What about keeping me company? Supporting your mother? Caring for your sister?”
“What about it? If I left, if I died…you’d get along. You’d keep living, keep growing, keep smiling. I don’t have to be there for you to do that. For any of you to do that.”
“Fine. So why don’t you leave?”
“I don’t know. Why do you stay here and listen to me, instead of going out and dancing and dating
boys?”
“Because I keep hoping you’ll see exactly what you have.”
“I can’t have what I want.”
“You could if you realized what you wanted.”
“Jo, do you remember when I was in that car accident with my mother? When we were both still in grade school? I was in the hospital for weeks.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, they had to shock me to get me back. But between the accident and waking up in a bright room, I remember being happy. In a place I can’t describe, though one day I hope to. That’s what I want, Jo. I want to be back there, where I was happy.”
“Are you saying you were in heaven?”
“I’d like to think so.”
“Adam, you can’t be serious. You were young, it was a traumatic experience, and you have no idea what sort of drugs were in your system.”
“I don’t care what it was. It was nice.”
***Chapter III***
With nothing to demand his time, Adam chose to sleep in after his conversation with Jo the night prior had run into the early morning of today. So when noon rolled around, it was the phone that woke him, and not an alarm.
His hand sought out the phone, and missed. Adam sat up, and found it on the second try.
“Uh, hello?” He rubbed at his eyes with his free hand.
“Adam?” It was his mother. She sounded strange. He blinked.
“Yeah mom?”
“I’m at the hospital.”
“What?”
She didn’t allow him time to process before continuing. “You need to come. Annie…she…she was out…on that scooter I got her. I wasn’t…watching.”
“Mom?”
“I don’t know why she crossed the road. She knows she shouldn’t.”
He could hardly understand her. And now he couldn’t hear her at all, just strange gasping sounds coming from a far away place.
“Adam, they don’t know if she’s going to wake up.” Suddenly her voice was very clear.
“I’m coming.”
“The doctor needs me now.”
Adam heard the line go dead, and he finally removed the phone from his ear. He stared down at the headset, and he couldn’t seem to tell which buttons had which numbers on them.
Finally, on instinct, he moved his thumb to hit the speed-dial that connected him to Jo.
She picked up on the first ring; evidently she had not indulged in sleep as he had.
“Hello?”
“Jo, I need you. And your car. Come quickly.”
She didn’t ask questions. “Okay.”
Adam hung up the phone and clicked it neatly into the receiver. He would have preferred the alarm clock.
***Chapter IV***
Jo drove as quickly as she dared. Given the situation, she doubted any cop would write her a ticket, but it would still waste time to be pulled over. Adam had quietly explained to her the situation when she had arrived and had then gone silent. It was now a half hour into their three-hour drive, and she had made little progress in the way of conversation.
“Adam,” she started.
“Jo, don’t.”
“Why not? It’s not good for you to sit and brood.”
“Did you not understand me this morning?” He didn’t mean to be so angry with her.
“Yes, I did. And if you sit here like this for the next two hours, how do you expect to be ready to talk to your mother?”
He cast her a look, but said nothing. She was right, of course. Why couldn’t he be like that? Right?
“Look, just talk to me. I don’t care what about. Your latest story. How you cried when Lord of the Rings ended, but don’t want to admit to me because you have this idea that I’ll think less of you. Maybe the last Star Trek episode you watched.”
“You watched it with me, Jo. And it was a movie.”
“Right.”
“Spock died.”
“Adam, Annie is not going to die.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Well, at least I’m being optimistic.” It was an unfair shot to make, no matter how true, and she winced.
“What if I don’t see her again? We talked on the phone last week, and I hardly paid attention.”
“You’ll see her again.”
He fell back into thought, and Jo was left with only the Jake Donze CD that was currently spinning in the player as her company.
“A busy mind, I think too much
About the things I can't control
So many times I've only touched
The things I've most wanted to hold”
***Chapter V***
Last week’s Saturday morning found Adam seated at his small dorm desk, the latest text from his history class spread flat over its surface. He had been there unmoving for some time, when suddenly the sharp ringing of his phone pulled his eyes from the blocks of text. He took up the receiver in his hand.
“Hello?”
“Hi, honey.”
“Hey, mom.”
“How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“I thought I’d just call to check up on you. I haven’t heard from you in a while.”
“Yeah, I’ve been busy with school.”
“Classes going well?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Write anything for me to read over?”
“Yeah, I’ve been working on something.”
“Fantasy?”
“You know it.”
He heard a muffled, high-pitched voice talking to his mother on the other end. His sister.
“Adam, hold on. Annie wants to talk to you.”
There was a pause as the phone back home changed hands.
“Hi, Adam.” He could hear the smile in her voice.
“Hey, sweetie.”
“Guess what?” There was a soft giggle.
“What?”
“Mommy got me a scooter.” He could picture her grinning. She’d been wanting one since they had become popular several years ago.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s blue and silver. Every day I ride it down the sidewalk.”
“Wow. That’s neat.”
“Mom said it was for my good grades. I got all A’s, just like you when you went to school.”
“I’m still in school. It’s just farther away.”
“Are you coming home soon?”
“Maybe.”
“You can ride my scooter, too. I’ll let you.”
He laughed softly. “That sounds fun.”
“You should come home next weekend.”
“I probably won’t be able to.”
“Why not?” He hated the way he made her disappointed.
“Because I have things to do here. And my friends are here. This is where I live now. Remember?”
“You should come home soon.”
He sighed. “Okay. We’ll see how it goes. I love you, Annie. Give the phone back to mom now.”
“Okay. I love you too.”
There was a rustling as the phone was returned to his mother.
“You really should come home, Adam.”
“I’ll think about it. Maybe Jo will be heading back in the near future and I can hitch a ride.”
“Yeah, why don’t you ask her? I’m going to let you get back to your work now. Have a good week, okay? Call me and let know how things are going for you.”
“I will. Love you, mom.”
“Love you.”
“Bye.”
***Chapter VI***
Between his own accident and his second father’s death, Adam had spent enough time at the hospital that he strolled by the information desk and turned immediately to the elevators that would take them to the ICU. After it had taken them up, the doors slid open with a soft ding to reveal his mother on the other side. She was sitting in one of the lobby chairs with a blank expression over her flushed features, hands sitting plainly in her lap. Unsure of what to do, Adam finally moved toward her after a gentle nudge from Jo.
“Mom…”
She turned to him as he spoke and hugged him.
He squeezed back.
She kissed him. Her cheeks were cold and wet on his.
“How is she doing?”
“I don’t know. They’ve been with her since I called.”
Adam was silent. She had called him over three hours ago. Jo stepped forward and embraced his mother.
“Thank you for coming, Jo. It was very nice of you to drive Adam.” She attempted a smile. The gratitude, at least, was genuine.
They stood facing each other, unspeaking, in the white and teal of the room. A nurse in head-to-toe blue scrubs hustled by and down the hallway. At the desk, the phone rung and the friendly receptionist at the counter answered it.
“I don’t know what I’ll do if she doesn’t make it, Adam.” There was a long pause as her hand drew upwards to cover her mouth. “But I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t come home this weekend.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I should have been here.”
She didn’t say anything for a while. Then, “would you excuse me? I’m going to go find the bathroom.”
As soon as she had left hearing range, Jo turned on him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.
“What?” He wasn’t sure how to respond.
“Your mother’s here, she’s been here for over three hours, just hoping to hear good news from the doctors after she let your sister go outside and play by herself, and all you can do is pity yourself and ask her for sympathy because you feel sorry that it took Annie getting hit by a car to get you to come see them?”
His head snapped up at her words and he took a step back.
“I can’t fix everything, Jo.”
“I didn’t say you had to.”
“Yes, you did. ‘Be more outgoing, Adam.’ ‘Don’t you ever think about the real world, instead of your stories, Adam?’ ‘Why can’t you just be happy, Adam?’ ‘Don’t treat your mother that way, Adam.’ Well, I’m sorry. Sorry I can’t be everything perfect for you.” He turned on a heel and made for the nearest escape. It ended up being a stairwell in the corner. He pushed his way harshly through the door. Jo slipped in behind him.
“Storming off doesn’t work very well if you follow me, you know.”
“I do. But I can hardly talk to you when you’re with me, let alone when you’re off in another room.”
“Maybe I don’t want to talk to you. Maybe I want you to just leave me alone, and maybe I just want to see my sister again, because maybe then I can have something go right for me.”
“This isn’t one of your stories, Adam. You can’t just write the way you want the world to be.”
“Do you really think that’s what I’m trying to do?”
“It’s what you’ve always tried to do. With yourself, with your family, with me…” her voice trailed as she watched him look away.
He still wouldn’t look at her. “I just wish…”
“I know. You just wish you could be this extravagantly perfect person, and then you could make everyone around you happy, and everyone would want to be around you, and then you’d be happy.”
“And then you and I could catch a white horse out to our ocean front mansion.” There, he had said it.
“Adam, you know I don’t…”
“…Love me?” He finally found the courage to turn to her, and his words were sharp and bitter, as if to cut apart the emotion he had for her.
“Just because it’s not the way you want me to, doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”
His head fell, and she reached up to gently cradle it in her hands, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. Smiling for him, Jo took his head and allowed it to bow to her shoulder.
How long they stood there in that quiet stairwell, neither knew. But at some point Adam’s mother
appeared, bringing with her that bit of news they’d all been hoping too much for.
“I just got done talking with the doctor. She’s waking up.”
And then they were apart, Adam and Jo, but still side-by-side as they hurriedly followed his mother
into the bright hospital room.
The nurses and doctors in their bluish scrubs and white lab coats took what readings they required and quietly went on about their business wherever else it was needed.
Adam expected his mother to draw immediately to his awakening sister, and hold her like she always had, like she should. But instead she was still.
“She’s seen me already…I didn’t come get you right away.”
So Adam took his step forward, taking a moment to look upon the small, bandaged frame of his sister that rested unmoving before him. Before this, how long had it been since he had seen her? Guilt fluttered in his heart. What if he had never seen her again? She did not make any motion towards him, but he saw her eyes grow bright as she spotted him, and the stiffness in his shoulders left.
“Hi, sweetie. I’m sorry I didn’t come earlier.””
He bent down and kissed her. As gracefully and gently as he could, Adam wrapped his arms about her, and he started as he felt her warming fingers curl about his arms.
“You were there.”
Wispy and at the edge of inaudible, he looked to her face, waiting again for her lips to move. They did.
“You kept me safe.”
He held her then as tightly as he dared, as if perhaps he had never really held her before, but understanding precisely what she meant