“He said he’d met his mate.”
“You know your brother, you know if he said that he meant it, it doesn’t matter that something happened to come between them for a moment, you know how he is...she’s family and you fucked up.”
“I know dad and I tried to talk to him, we both did...Nessa stop crying.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this disappointed in you lot before.”
They left the room and it went silent.
No come back, take me to Carrie, please.....
I felt the wetness of tears on my cheeks as I tried to hold a thought. I was dead inside, that’s it, I’d died but was still breathing.
Sometime later I heard voices in the hall outside my door.
“I don’t care that he’s sick, he almost killed her and for what, because she went to spend thanksgiving with her mother?”
“I don’t have all the facts Captain but I’m pretty sure there’s more to it than that, has to be. One thing I can tell you, if these two kids react this way to being apart I think it would be homicidal to keep them from each other.” Thanks dad.
“She keeps asking for him, but how can I trust him?”
“You don’t worry about that Captain, I’ll deal with him.”
“Damn kids, whatever happened to carefree teenage years?”
“Captain the world is a changed place, let’s go grab some awful hospital swill and calm down, I think we could both use it, those kids scared five years off my damn life.”
“Margaret’s with her so I guess that would be okay.”
They walked away.
I must’ve fallen asleep because when I woke up I was me again. I had no idea how much time had passed and didn’t care.
I made my way down the hall looking for her room.
She was like a magnet drawing me to her.
She was asleep when I reached her room; mom and Vanessa were there with her.
“Joshua....”
“Son.....”
They both ran crying to hug me.
“I’m fine.....” I kissed both their heads.
“How is she?”
“The doctor says she’s just slightly malnourished but we got her just in time, a few more days and her organs could’ve started to shut down. I don’t know what happened between you two, but my son would never let such a thing happen.”
“I didn’t know mom.....”
“Shame on you, listen Joshua I’ve always pretty much let you go your own way, your brain scares me, all that intelligence in one so young, but I didn’t realize I had neglected to teach you the social graces.....you never break the ones you love, you might bend them a little, but you never break them....that is a broken girl in that bed.”
I felt sick. What had I done, was it really worth it, did I prove my point.....I’d say so, but not just to her, I’d proven something to myself as well.
“Can you two leave us alone for a while?”
“Son....”
“It’s alright mom, it’s going to be alright.”
She’d come to me, I have to remember that, before all this happened, she’d come to me, to take back what’s hers she’d said. I held on to that.
That’s right, I was as much hers as she was mine. I’d forsaken mine, almost destroyed it.
They left and I approached the bed.
She was so pale and small; I felt my gut twist in agony as I looked at what I had inadvertently brought about.
I’d read her diaries, I knew what her life had been, had Paula ever betrayed her like I did, was I now the new monster in her world?
No I couldn’t think like that, she’d come to me, she hadn’t given up on us.
I’d missed a few steps though, my dominant nature had not only over shadowed her, it had almost crushed her.
I climbed onto the narrow hospital bed with her and carefully drew her onto my chest.
With my hand in her hair and the other holding one of hers, I felt whole for the first time since I’d climbed out her bedroom window the day she left.
“I’m sorry......”
Chapter 26
Josh
I held her all night while she slept; her father had come into the room and given me a hard look before leaving again.
The hospital staff had tried to get me to leave but I’d frozen them out, let them fucking try.
My father’s influence had put an end to their interference though and soon I was fast asleep with
her in my arms.
I awoke sometime later to a screeching voice. At first I couldn’t make out what the person was screaming about but I eventually caught a few words.
From what I could piece together I figured it was Paula out there.
The door opened and this bleach blonde harpy came into the room, all motherly concern.
I was off the bed before she could get the first word out.
I crowded her until she backed up out of the room, the Captain and my family watched me like I’d gone around the bend, maybe I had.