Surrendering (Surrender 1)

When the call finally connects, I hear his grumbled voice in my ear. I find that I’m only able to whisper. “Finn, I need you to come get me and take me to Mom and Dad’s. This is a bad one and I need help.”

“Jesus Christ, RJ, I’ll be there in ten minutes. Hold on for me, okay?”

I can’t even talk; I nod and hang up. The last thing I feel is Ella smoothing my face and yelling for Abbi.

I wake again when Finn picks me up. Finn’s voice is soft in my ear and he’s speaking quietly to the girls.

“She’ll be fine, I promise. This doesn’t happen often, but when it does, she’s out of commission for about two days. She wants to go to her parents so she doesn’t worry y’all. Can you help me find her purse, keys, and phone?”

“Is there anything we can do? She looks like she passed out.” Abbi sounds panicked.

“Not right now. She’ll call you later. I swear she’s fine. It’s better that she spends the next few days with her parents so they can monitor her medicine and get her to eat. I’ll call you later today when she wakes up.”

I feel us going out the door, but I’m too weak to lift my head for a reassuring smile. I tug on Finn’s arm and pass out again.

*****

Declan

I can’t concentrate worth shit so I quit the game early. I have a nagging feeling in my gut that won’t go away. When I get to my truck, I see I have a few missed calls from my sisters, but I don’t call them back because I’m going there anyway. Whatever they need, they can tell me when I get there. I go by the nearest store for soup, crackers, and Gatorade. If Raven is awake, maybe this will make her feel better.

When I walk in the door, I call out that I’m here. I hear hushed voices in the kitchen. When I pass Raven’s door it’s closed; she must still be asleep. Abbi and Ella look up at me immediately when I hit the doorframe. Something’s wrong.

“What’s up?” Ella’s face is pale and Abbi is gripping a coffee mug in both hands.

“Oh, Dec, it was awful. When we came home from Dad’s, I found Raven passed out on her bathroom floor. She was covered in sweat and her lips were swollen with bruises. She had been throwing up for God knows how long. And she was here all alone. It scared the shit out of us.”

My body instantly tenses up. She wasn’t okay when I left her this morning and I was stupid enough to leave her alone.

Ella continues, “After she hung up the phone, she passed out again on my lap. When Finn got here, he picked her up and told us he was taking her home for a few days.”

Right away I’m on alert. “Did you say

Finn picked her up?” I see red.

It was Abbi who spoke up next, “Don’t go crazy, Dec. Apparently Raven is prone to terrible migraines. They aren’t common, but when one hits, she’s sick for days. They have medicine for her, but her parents like her to be home so they can watch over her. If the pill doesn’t stay down, they can re-administer it within an hour. Finn took her home and will call us with an update later.”

I feel a little better now. Even though I don’t like the situation, it makes sense for her to be with her family. Still, I’m trying to figure out if she knew this was bad when I left this morning.

“Declan, did you hear me?” Ella breaks into my thoughts.

“No, what did you say?”

“I said that you looked murderous when Abbi mentioned Finn. What’s going on?”

I try to skirt the situation and remember there’s a bag of food in my arms. Both of them look at me with questioning expressions and I realize that I need to get out of here and get to my phone ASAP.

“What’s in the bag?”

“Nothing.” I lie again. But when I look down, I realize the cashier used a clear plastic bag for my groceries and all of it is on display.

“Doesn’t look like nothing to me. I see what’s in there and it reminds me of what Dad gives us when we’re sick. It seems a little coincidental that you have all that when our roommate was just carted off.” Abbi lifts her eyebrow in question and I know I have to say something.

“Fuck! For Christ’s sake, stop looking at me like that! I knew Raven didn’t feel good because I was here when she got up this morning. Of course she didn’t mention a migraine. She just told me she had a fever and wanted to sleep.”

Both girls look at me with disapproval in their eyes.

“It’s not what you think. I brought her dinner last night and we watched TV. I spent the night. When I woke her up this morning for yoga, she was sweaty and burning up. I would have never left her if I knew she had a migraine coming on.”