Life Interrupted

by Yessi Smith

  My head bobs forward, and Dr. Harris laughs.

  “Holly, your grandpa has suffered some pretty serious injuries that would leave men half his age helpless, but I’ve heard he’s already sat up in bed, and if given the green light, he’d probably be walking the halls of the hospital.” Dr. Harris amicably smiles at me.

  While I agree with him, his words don’t do much of anything to ease my worries.

  “So, he’s a stubborn son of a bitch.” I wink at Poppa, who hides a laugh behind his hands. “He has pneumonia.”

  “And he’s taking antibiotics and steroids for that. He’s on oxygen.” The doctor looks over at Poppa with warning in his eyes, knowing Poppa would be one of those patients to remove the oxygen. “But he’s doing well. He’s been through a lot, and he needs to rest. Our nurses will take good care of him. I promise.” He holds his right hand over his heart and looks directly into my eyes.

  “Okay. We need to rest, too.” Travis’s warm hand takes hold of my cold hand and pulls me to him.

  “We’ll rest,” I say, looking at Travis, his eyes red from exhaustion. “But only for a couple of hours.”

  “I wouldn’t expect anything more.” Travis reaches for me and my body leans into his when he places his lips on my forehead.

  “You take care of my granddaughter.” Poppa’s eyes take us in, and while his voice is stern, I see the joy behind them.

  “Every day for the rest of my life,” Travis promises him.

  Exhaustion hits me when we finally arrive at Poppa’s house, so after Travis pets Leeloo and settles her from prancing on us, he picks me up in his arms and carries me to my room, leaving Barbara at the foot of the stairs without letting her know where the guest bedroom is. She’ll figure it out.

  I’m half asleep when he lays me on my bed, but I’m startled awake when he starts to remove my jeans.

  “Shower and then sleep.”

  He kisses my stomach before tracing kisses down one leg and then the other as he slips the jeans off of me. I watch him, my eyes intent on his every movement. When he finishes, I sit up and lift my hand over my head, so he can remove my shirt.

  Cold air hits my chest, making me inhale a sharp breath. After he removes his shirt, Travis lays me back down and leans over me. He begins kissing me from my navel to my neck where he devotes the most amount of time. I run my fingers over his neck in lazy circles, never wanting him to stop.

  After unsnapping my bra, he lifts me in his arms and takes me to my shower where a hot spray awaits me. I help Travis out of his jeans and then take his hand, guiding us into the shower. Under the spray, I run my fingers over his chest and then wrap my arms around his neck, pulling his face to me. When our lips touch, everything around us disappears.

  It’s just us. And all I can do is feel.

  Our lips tangle long enough that our souls join while our bodies flush together, forcing away the air between our skin.

  A heart full of love and a life full of laughter—that’s what his kiss promises me.

  So, I open myself to him, completely, and I trust in us.

  We sleep longer than I wanted to. Even though I find it difficult to leave the warmth of Travis’s body or the comfort of the bed we share, I ease off the bed and stretch. I go to cover Travis’s naked body but stop to examine the bruises on his stomach and chest. Separated ribs and a stab wound didn’t stop him from fully showing me just how much he loves me—once in the shower and twice on the bed.

  I place a kiss on the ugliest bruise and laugh when Travis pulls me onto him.

  “Still tired,” he murmurs into my hair.

  “So sleep.” I kiss him, tracing my finger over his skin. “I need to go see Poppa.”

  “Fine.” He cups my ass in his hand while still keeping me locked in place with his other arm.

  “Travis?”

  “You’re so demanding.” He takes his arm off my back but keeps his hand on my ass.

  “Travis?” I giggle.

  “Yeah?” He gives me his crooked smile.

  “Hand. Ass,” I say.

  He squeezes said hand on my ass. “It is a nice ass.”

  “You can inspect it later.”

  “I’d like that.” He licks his lips, and then he leans toward me and bites mine. “I think I could get used to waking up like this.”

  “Me, too.” I trace my tongue over his lips and then pull away. “But, today, we have to get going. No fooling around.”

  “Fine.” He gently smacks my ass and then lets go.

  While I dress, Travis gets out of bed and starts putting on his clothes.

  “Are you coming, too?” I ask.

  Hurt flashes in his eyes for a second before he masks it with a his half smile.

  I go to him and wrap my arms around his waist. “I want you to come with me,” I clarify. “But I know you’re tired. I’ll be okay if you’d rather stay.”

  “We’re in this together, remember?”

  “Yeah.” I nod.

  When we go downstairs, we find Barbara talking to Heather in the kitchen with a banquet of food spread across the countertop. Heather stops talking when she sees me and embraces me in a tight hug that I have loved since childhood. Leeloo dances around us in greeting again and this time I go down to my knees to pet her properly.

  “I saw Poppa at the hospital a few hours ago,” she tells me. “He told me I needed to feed you before you went back.” She wipes away her tears.

  “So, you made us a five-course meal?” I ask.

  She laughs. “It’s good to have you back, Holl.”

  We hug again, and I hold her longer, taking her in along with the memories we’ve shared throughout the years.

  “Now, eat. Both of you. Or Poppa will get angry.”

  “Bossy old man,” I joke. But I dive into the food with enthusiasm.

  I sit in the kitchen nook beside Travis, and he’s eating with as much enthusiasm as me. It’s funny to think that a few months ago, I didn’t recognize this table, this house, the people who lived in it. I didn’t recognize my own face or the people who had carved me into who I was.

  But life kept going, moving forward, even though my life stood at a standstill.

  Now that I have my memory back, Poppa’s the one in the hospital, but life simply keeps on moving.

  Back in Harbour Island, Barbara told me that my life had been interrupted, and in a sense, it was true. My life had been interrupted, but despite that, life kept going, sometimes without me.

  That’s the thing about life. It just keeps moving forward, never waiting for you to keep up or catch your breath. It’s a whirlwind of color and mayhem. It’s a tornado spiraling out of control with little miracles left in its wake that make it all worth it.

  My breath catches in my throat when Travis and I walk into Poppa’s room. Without thinking about it, I throw myself at Derrick, and he catches me.

  Derrick. He’s alive.

  “I thought you were dead!” I shout at him.

  He runs his hands over my back in calming circles.

  “I heard a gun. I thought…” I choke on my tears, but I don’t remove myself from Derrick’s hold.

  “Would my death have really been that bad, Holly?” Derrick asks.

  I pull away from him, but keep my hand tucked in his. “Yes, damn you, it would have been.” I sniffle but hold on to my tears as anger boils to the surface. “A part of me hates you, Derrick. So, so much. He’s your dad—I get that—but you’re also my brother. As much as I hate you, I also love you.”

  He lets go of me, pushing my hand away, as if my words burned him, scalding his skin.

  I wrap my arms around myself. “Why didn’t you get Poppa when I called you? You knew Mando had him, but you did nothing,” I accuse. “Why?”

  Derrick sighs once before he looks back at me with sad eyes. “I knew he wouldn’t let Poppa die. My dad wanted you, so he was using Poppa as bait,” he explains, shoving his hands into his jean pocket.

  I narrow my eyes at
him, bracing myself as terror and sorrow slam their fist into my gut.

  “If I had gone to rescue Poppa before you got here, I’d have had to explain how I’d found him, which would have led to me confessing that I’d known my dad was your kidnapper. I was protecting myself. I’m sorry for that, Holl.”

  He takes a step forward, and I stand still, waiting to see if he’ll reach for me. He lifts his hand but drops it before it ever makes contact with my skin, so I go to him and circle my arms around his stomach instead.

  He takes in a deep breath before he hugs me back. “I’ve told the chief of police the truth. He knows everything now. I’m on suspension, and I might be going to jail for a while.”

  “No.” I shake my head. Like a disease, terror spreads and I shake in it. “They can’t do that. You saved us. You protected me. You taught me how to fight. You shoved me toward independence when I was too scared to go at it alone.” I shake my head again. “I’ll talk to whoever I have to, Derrick. You’re not going to jail.”

  Poppa chuckles from his bed, and Derrick and I look at him.

  “Told you she wouldn’t be mad at you, didn’t I?” Poppa says to Derrick.

  “Yeah.” He laughs and walks away from me, pacing the room with quiet footsteps. “My dad’s dead. That’s the gunshot you heard. He took my gun out of the harness but I got the extra gun I carry on my ankle.”

  “Derrick…” I reach for him.

  Defeated, he shakes his head at me, his shoulders slumping forward.

  “I’m sorry.” I wrap my arms around my shoulders again, shielding me from the idea of Mando.

  I’m glad he’s dead. I wish he had died a long time ago, long before the accident so that I’d still have my parents with me.

  Travis puts his arms around me, and the tension dies along with the ill will I harbor.

  “He was your dad, and I’m sorry,” I say honestly.

  Derrick nods once at me and walks toward the door.

  “You’re not leaving us, Derrick,” I call after him. “We’ve both lost family, but you’re a part of our family. I’m not losing you, too.”

  I watch him walk away after a shaky nod of his head, and the door closing behind his retreating back echoes inside me.

  “Do you hear that?” I ask Travis, who’s carrying me in his arms toward Poppa’s house, my home. I nestle against his chest and smile while Amber and Stephanie watch us through envious eyes. “That was the sound of vaginas worldwide sighing in unison.”

  “Because I’m carrying you?” Travis looks down at me with a curious smile and shakes his head when he sees the stupid grin plastered on my face.

  “Because of the way you love me,” I correct.

  “Would vaginas sigh even louder if I dropped you at the doorway to help Poppa out of the car?”

  “They’d explode if a hottie like you gently placed me on the floor to help an injured elderly man out of the truck.”

  “Don’t let him hear you call him elderly.” He laughs.

  Back on my feet, I run to Amber and Stephanie and hug them while they sob out my name.

  “I remember Paco.” I snicker and Amber pushes me away so that we separate from our embrace.

  “Paco?” Stephanie asks while Amber shouts, “Paco!”

  “Who’s Paco?” Stephanie demands to know.

  Amber and I double over in laughter.

  “Dandruff,” Amber says between giggles.

  Stephanie narrows her eyes.

  “Eye boogers,” I hint.

  Stephanie’s eyes widen.

  “Virginity—poof, gone!” I clap my hands together once.

  Stephanie grabs my arm and squeezes. “If you remember Paco…”

  “I remember us,” I finish for her. I hold my breath while my heart slams in my chest as I wait for them to react.

  “You remember everything?” Amber asks, her voice just above a whisper.

  “Everything.” I nod, wiping away a stray tear. “Even the time we taught Stephanie how to use a tampon.”

  Stephanie’s face reddens, but she throws her head back in laughter. Stephanie, Amber, and I hug again, forming a circle between us that is impenetrable. With Travis supporting Poppa, he laughs from behind us, so Amber takes his hand in hers and guides him to us where the four of us hug and laugh and cry.

  It’s a Hallmark moment, the perfect Full House ending. Only, this isn’t an ending, but the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. We can’t pick up where we left off because too much has happened to allow for such a perfect transition.

  Travis, one of the detours my life took while adapting to a new life, brushes his lips over my ear, sending a thrill of shivers down my spine. I move away from the group hug and step into Travis, but he stops me, motioning his head toward Poppa’s gravel driveway.

  My heart beats faster, stronger, when I see Derrick’s truck idling behind Poppa’s truck. Travis squeezes my shoulder once before he turns his attention to Poppa and my friends, guiding them toward our house.

  I steal one last glance at Travis’s back, and I know he won’t be going back to Harbour Island. He’s found his reason to leave the island. He’s found his home and discovered the family he had for years. We haven’t talked about it yet, but I’m not letting him out of my life—even if he decides to go back to Harbour Island. That just means that I’ll have to make do with living my life on an island.

  Squaring my shoulders, I walk to Derrick before he has the chance to leave. Every step brings me closer to a reality I want to bury, but I keep moving forward, knowing Derrick doesn’t have anyone else. Just as I get to his truck, he opens his door and slowly steps out.

  We stand there, silently staring at each other, until I finally break the silence with a small laugh. I extend my hand to him and hope he takes it. When he does, he pulls me to him and holds on to me with such ferocity that it actually hurts. But I let him, knowing he needs someone to let him fall apart the way Travis encouraged me to.

  I don’t tell him about the stars or gaseous nebulae because the stars belong to Travis and me. But I hold Derrick close to me as he mourns the very man who tried to destroy me.

  I’ll have to move past it eventually, but for now, I can be there for Derrick while still hating his dad for what he did to me, for the nightmares I’ve suffered through, for hurting Poppa and Travis.

  One day, I’ll see Mando for the sick bastard he was. It’s just not today. Until that day, I won’t hold anything against Derrick. I simply can’t because he means too much to me to let him go. He helped me heal.

  He helped me, period.

  “Let’s go inside.” I tug on his hand after he composes himself.

  But he warily looks over at the house and then at me.

  “Derrick,” I say gently, “it’s just dinner.”

  “Yeah, dinner.” He rubs his hand over his unshaven face. “You all should hate me.”

  Sad and tired eyes watch me, the windows of his soul begging me to open them, free them of his misery.

  “Right,” I agree with a small smile. “We do. That’s why we’ve called you every day since you left the hospital after visiting Poppa and why we begged you to come over for dinner tonight.”

  Derrick doesn’t smile back at me. He continues to look at me through haunted eyes. “I can’t fix things.”

  “Things will fix themselves,” I counter. “Meanwhile, Heather’s food is getting cold.”

  I tug on his hand again. With the tiniest hint of a smile, Derrick finally relents and follows me inside where a family awaits him. We might not be the family he was born to, but we are the family he chose when he decided to put me before himself.

  Burying my dad is as much bitter as it is sweet, making me fully understand the term bittersweet. The demons my dad harbored all his life have finally been put to rest, leaving the world a better place without them.

  He, himself, is better without them even if it means that he’s dead. He knew it. As he was dying, he knew the demons would finally be gon
e for good, and that’s why it was so easy for him to accept his death.

  Wherever he is, he can’t hurt anyone anymore, not even himself.

  He committed so many sins in his life. The woods surrounding his house are proof of that. Police dug into my dad’s dirt for days following his death and turned up graves of countless animals and one girl. She hadn’t been dead for very long and remorse hit me when I realized she was Holly’s substitute.

  I don’t know where my dad ended up after death – if he’s reunited with my mom. If he has, I’m not sure she’s happy to see him.

  All my life, my dad has only wanted to do right by my mom, but he always fell short. I don’t know if that’s entirely his fault or if my mom took her own lacking out on him. I don’t know because I never asked.

  In the end, it doesn’t matter. They were my parents. Now, they’re both dead, no longer living the hell they put each other through.

  And I’m better off because of it.

  Isn’t that some screwed up shit? Me, their only son, is better off with them dead.

  Still, I miss them.

  “You deserved better,” I whisper, knowing my dad can hear me and rest the flowers I strung together from my mom’s garden on his grave.

  Slumping down, I touch the ground resting above my dad and hope he’s happy. He deserves a little bit of happy even if it’s in the afterlife. Before I get up, I breathe in the scent of freshly cut grass and know this will be the memory I take back with me.

  My dad loved the outdoors and always smelled of the earth. Now, he’s part of the earth. Yeah, I know he’s happy. He’d be happy to know he’s part of something he loved so much.

  With a sad smile on my face, I get up and turn around to find Holly standing a few feet behind me, patiently waiting for me.

  I wanted to protect her from my dad, and she’s the one who wound up saving me from him.

  I lost my job, but I found freedom. I lost my family, but I started a new one.

  I go to her, my sister, and leave my dad resting.