Rebuilding
I
shuddered at the memory of that short encounter with Rick. Would he
really come after me? If he had gotten on a plane he could have already
arrived in
Back
in Vancouver Brian had gone into a coma. We had all stayed in BC for
three days after the kidnapping. After the police questioning had been
finished and Brian’s condition had been stabilized we all went back to our
homes in
The
elevator doors slid open and I entered the waiting room on the ICU floor.
I despised hospitals. I hated the smell and I hated the feeling of
claustrophobia. I always felt like I needed to get out, needed to
escape. The scrubbed white walls seemed to close in around you and
make you suffocate. They seemed to throw your own painful emotions right
back at you while hitting you with everyone else’s too. So much
suffering, so much death. The nurse at the front desk recognized me
before I had said a word.
“Oh,
Elyssa, I’m sorry but you are not going to be able to see Brian today.
They will be running tests on him all day.”
I
thanked her and headed back for the elevator. I was a bit disappointed
but in a lot of ways I wasn’t. It was so hard to see him so lifeless like
that. But sometimes I wondered if it would be the last time that I would
see him alive at all. At home every time the phone rang my heart skipped
a beat. I was always afraid it would be the hospital calling to tell me
that Brian had passed on. I re-entered the main lobby and waited patiently
for Kevin to arrive. After about 15 minutes I heard a voice I recognized
call out my name. My heart soared, I simply couldn’t believe it.
“Look
who I found driving up to your place,” Kevin said smiling.
“Michaela,”
I squealed and wrapped my arms around my older sister.
“Hey
squirt,” she said affectionately.
“I
can’t believe you’re here,” I said still in disbelief. “I thought you couldn’t
get off work until next week.”
“In
light of everything that is going on, my boss let me off early, so I thought
I’d surprise you.”
“I
haven’t seen you in so long,” I whispered still hugging her.
Ever
since she had moved to
“What
did you do to your hair?” she asked looking at the frosted black tips on my
short blonde hair.
“Well
one day A.J. wanted to--”
Then
I abruptly stopped. Tears stung my eyes. How could Alex be
gone? In a way it hit me right in that moment. The memory of the
day that he had finally convinced me to let him dye my hair washed over
me. It had been so much fun. I’d almost ended up with a tattoo that
day. Never again would A.J. be there pushing me to fight the normal.
Never again would he be there whispering cracks about the guys into my
ear. Never again would I hear his voice croon out a ballad or yell out a
rocking dance tune. A.J. had been so full of life, he’d enjoyed every
single moment of it. The world had truly lost a wonderful person.
“It’s
okay,” Michaela whispered gently.
How
I only wished she was right. I cried unable to stop the tears. My older
sister just held me. It was a comfort that had escaped for the past
week. She had always been there for me and could cheer me up unlike any
other.
“Don’t
worry, Lisa. He’s up in heaven smiling down on all of us. He
wouldn’t want you to be sad. A.J. would have wanted you to go on, have
fun, and keep it funky.”
I
gave a short laugh despite my tears. As always, she was right. A.J.
would want us to keep living life to the fullest and not let a single
opportunity pass.
“Thanks,
Mickey,” I said to her.
“No
problem,” she said smiling.
“Jeez,”
Kev commented as he watched us. “If only my brothers and I had gotten
along so well.”
***
