Pieces of Me

by Tich Brewster

  I don’t understand why he is getting this upset. Yes, I have been home alone the last two days but Alesandra has been here to check on me, frequently after I told her about my fight with Eryc.

  Looking up at my brother, I flinch at the feral look in his eyes. There is only one other time my brother has had this look in his eye, that was when he found my journal and learned what that dipstick, Brandt, had done to me.

  Thaddeus’s eyes do not stray from mine, he keeps eye contact as he backs out of the kitchen and down the hallway.

  Curious what he is up to, I follow him down the hall to the living room, where Thaddeus moves the curtain to peer out. Following his gaze, I see Eryc walking to the curb to check the mail.

  When my brother’s gaze meets mine again, he looks like a madman. His nostrils flare and his shoulders move with his rapid breaths.

  “Thad?”

  A wicked smile curves his lips and he bolts out the front door. I run to the open door and watch my brother descend the steps, his hands balling into fists at his sides as he walks toward Eryc.

  “Thaddeus, what are you doing?”

  Thaddeus isn’t listening to me. I have to stop him from doing something boneheaded, like smashing Eryc’s face in. Jogging out of the house, I call out to my brother again. He doesn’t turn to look at me, he is completely fixated on Eryc. On the second step, my toe catches on a gap in the wood and I lose my balance. I reach out to brace for the impact.

  In that moment, everything slows, and I feel as though I am moving in slow motion. Eryc’s gaze moves from Thaddeus to where I am falling. His eyes grow wide and he drops his mail to run toward me. My brother has no idea that I am falling because his back is to me. Thaddeus stops Eryc with a hand to his chest.

  Eryc shoves my brother out of his way and runs toward me.

  Crack.

  Pain radiates through my arm when it hits the pavement. The impact causes my arm to give out. The weight of my body causes me to fall forward, hitting my forehead on the concrete sidewalk. How embarrassing. Now, not only do I have a possibly broken wrist, but I will have a giant knot on my forehead as well.

  Rolling onto my side, I try to focus on my brother and Eryc, but my vision is quickly growing blurry. As if that wasn’t annoying, now there is a loud buzz ringing in my ears which is blanketing the noises surrounding me. A shadow moves over me, and I blink several times to try to clear my vision, but it’s still just as blurry as looking through water.

  “Eryc?” I can’t be sure who is standing next to me but since Eryc was running this way I can only assume its him. One would think that this fall would be nothing more than a minor mishap, I mean kids fall all time and end up with goose eggs on their heads. Why do I get the special idiot treatment?

  “Shhh—” Strong arms slide under my body and lift me. “I’ve got you, baby.”

  Eryc’s voice is the last thing I hear before I allow the darkness to overtake me.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Eryc

  “You stupid,” I look up in time to see Thaddeus marching toward me with his fists half raised. He is upset, that’s easy to see. “Inconsiderate little—” His words no longer penetrate my ears when I see Makayla over his shoulder.

  In her pursuit of her brother, she trips on the steps and falls, hitting her head on the sidewalk.

  Dropping my mail, I start toward her but Thaddeus halts me with his hand on my chest. “No, you will not run away from me, you dumb moronic jerk wad.”

  Dumb moronic jerk wad?

  What?

  I shake my head at his nonsense. “You idiot, yell at me later. Kay just fell and hit her head.” I shove Makayla’s brother with enough force that he falls on his backside in the grass.

  Thaddeus’s eyes grow wide at this news.

  Ignoring him, I rush across the yard and to her side. Her breathing is labored and she is blinking like she can’t get her vision into focus. All color is swiftly draining from her face and the cut on her forehead is bleeding profusely.

  Screw calling an ambulance, they will take forever to get here. I will be able to rush her to the hospital before they even hop in their vehicle.

  “Eryc?” Her voice is weak and pained. Seems like bad luck is attacking this beautiful girl right and left. God, why did I have to be such a shellfish prick these last two days?

  “Shhh—” Gently sliding my arms under her, I lift her and cradle her against my chest. “I’ve got you, baby.”

  A sigh expels from her lips and her body goes limp. Great, looks as though she has passed out. Not good, not good at all.

  I move toward my car as quickly as my legs will carry me, while trying not to jar her around too much.

  Thaddeus is standing where I left him, his mouth agape. “Did she fall on the babies?”

  What is he talking about? I suppose Makayla hasn’t told her brother yet. “Babies?”

  Thaddeus follows me to the car. “Yes, you blathering idiot. If you had just listened to her the other day then you’d know that she did not kill, as you so kindly put it, the babies.”

  My steps falter at that confession. Makayla hadn’t gone through with the procedure? For reasons beyond my comprehension, my heart soars and I rejoice internally. Those babies are alive and I am the happiest guy in the world. Or I will be as soon as I know that Makayla will be fine.

  Thaddeus jogs around me to open the backdoor of my car. Getting Makayla into the backseat proves to be tricky. I put her in head first and Thaddeus grabs her under the arms, dragging her until her body is stretched out along the backseat.

  For fear of her rolling off the seat and onto the floor, I decide to sit back here with her. Digging in my front pocket, I toss the keys to Thaddeus. “Here, you drive. I’ll sit back here with her to make sure she doesn’t fall off the seat and injure herself further.”

  In reality, I should probably be the one driving, there is no telling whether there is alcohol in his system. But my heart is speaking over my rational thought at the moment. I want to be the one holding Makayla. I want to be the one keeping her safe. Truth be told, I’m responsible for her predicament. If I hadn’t run off the other day and ignored her calls and texts then Thaddeus would have never been coming to confront me, and she would have never tripped trying to come to my rescue.

  I’m such an idiot.

  The drive to Saint Francis feels like it is taking an eternity. Makayla isn’t opening her eyes, at all. This is concerning me. Pulling my cell phone out of my back pocket, I send my aunt a text.

  Eryc: On our way to the hospital with Kay. She fell and hit her head and is currently passed out.

  Aunt Rene’s reply comes almost immediately.

  Aunt Rene: OMG. I’m packing my lunch away and I’ll meet you guys upstairs. Keep an eye on her and call me if anything seems off. How much longer?

  No worries there. My eyes haven’t left Makayla’s face this entire time. I glance out the window to see where we are and how much longer it will be before we get to the hospital. The Yale exit is in sight and Thaddeus is turning on his blinker, preparing for the turn.

  I type my one-handed response.

  Eryc: Turning off on Yale, be there in about four minutes.

  “It’s okay, baby girl, we’re almost there.” I brush hair out of Makayla’s face as I speak to her. The car bounces when Thaddeus hits a pothole and Makayla lets out a faint grunt. My eyes search her face, hoping to see her eyelids crack open.

  No such luck.

  Glancing up at her brother, I say through gritted teeth, “Jerk, be careful.”

  Thaddeus ignores me, which is fine by me.

  Other than the ugly gash on Makayla’s forehead, she looks like she is sleeping. Guilt for her injury is eating me alive. I understand I am not the one that tripped her, but I feel the responsibility all the same. Bending down to whisper in her ear, because I don’t want Thaddeus to overhear, I confess, “I love you, Kay. Please be okay.”

  This confession is easy with her unconscious. Wit
h her in this state of unawareness, at least I hope she is unaware of what I say, I don’t have to fear her look of disgust and face rejection.

  Truth is, I love this girl more than life itself. These past two days without her were pure hell. I couldn’t function at school, I’m pretty sure I failed my Calculus test yesterday, and I haven’t been able to eat. I have been nothing more than a walking, talking zombie.

  The stillness of the car draws my attention toward the front window. We are parked in front of the ER doors and two nurses in pale pink scrubs rush toward the car. I recognize one of them from my aunt’s clinic. They are here to get Makayla and take her upstairs.

  Thaddeus rushes to open the back door and gently lifts Makayla’s head so I can slip out from under her.

  The two nurses maneuver their way around me and get Makayla on a gurney.

  As they rush toward the sliding glass doors, one of them calls over her shoulder. “Fourth floor. Follow the signs for maternity and wait in the waiting room. Your aunt will find you after she’s examined your friend.”

  The waiting room. That is the last place I want to be. I want to be by Makayla’s side, holding her hand, and making sure she and those precious babies are safe.

  A nudge on my shoulder pulls me from my rambling thoughts. Thaddeus is looking at me with haunted tear-filled eyes. I have never seen him like this.

  “Will they be okay?” He is blaming himself for his sister’s accident.

  Looks like we are both carrying that guilt.

  “It’s a bump to the head. Surely the three of them will be just fine.” Even though those words leave my lips, I am having a hard time finding any comfort in them.

  I’m like Thaddeus, I’m worrying and fighting thoughts of the worst possible outcome.

  He nods, crawls back into the driver’s seat, and I take my place in the back. We park in the closest spot available, which happens to be at the very back of the lot, then we jog toward the entrance.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Makayla

  My head feels like it has been run over by a Mac truck. The pressure building behind my eyeballs is excruciating. I hear movement next to me and open my eyes.

  Big mistake.

  If I thought the pressure behind my eyeballs was excruciating before, the light in the room triples that pain. A groan is the only sound I make as I turn my head to the side.

  “Hey, sweetie.” That familiar voice calms my anxiety and soothes away some of my worry.

  “Rene.” Dryness in my throat causes me to choke and I cough. I can’t believe how raspy my voice sounds.

  “Yes, sweet girl, I’m right here.”

  Blinking several times to adjust my eyes to the lightwhich I’m sure isn’t very bright at all, but it sure does hurt, and it feels like I am staring up into the sunI finally focus on Rene. She is sitting next to me with a laptop in her hand.

  “Where am I?” It’s a stupid question because as I glance around I know exactly where I am. I am in the hospital.

  Those brown orbs gaze softly at me. “Sweetheart, you’re in the hospital. Do you know why you’re here?”

  “I, uh, I remember that Eryc is mad at me.” The events prior to being in the hospital are a little fuzzy.

  “Eryc and Thaddeus rushed you here after you tripped and fell.”

  I fell?

  Rene spins her stool around to read the numbers on the machine. This machine is currently connected to my arm and cutting off the circulation.

  Once the pressure from the cuff on my upper arm releases, she types on the laptop and then continues our conversation. “Your blood pressure is slightly elevated. It could just be a result from your injuries so I’m not going to stress over it right now, but I will be keeping a close eye on it.”

  The fall. I remember now.

  Thaddeus was so angry at Eryc for not checking in on me and was on his way over to punch him in the face. I fell off the porch steps trying to chase him down and stop his foolishness.

  “Oh, God. The fall, did I hurt the babies?” My hands instantly clutch my stomach.

  Leaning forward, I try to sit up but my vision grows blurry and the room begins to waver. Bile rises up the back of my throat.

  I must show signs of being nauseous because Rene bends over to pick up the trashcan next to my bed and shoves it under my face. The nasty yellow demonic-like liquid burns my throat in its ascent. When the last of it exits my mouth, I fall back onto the pillows and breathe heavily through my nose.

  Fear’s tentacles wrap themselves around my heart and squeeze for dear life. Had someone told me last month that I would fear for the safety of my babies I would have thought they were crazy. But now I am terrified. Since that day I was held at gun point, I started to fall in love these tiny beings.

  I never expected to love them as much as I do, but it has been a gradual love in the making and growing stronger every day. If anything were to happen to either of them I think I would die a thousand deaths.

  Rene sets her laptop on the bedside table and grips my hand in both of hers. “Hey, everything’s okay. Stop fretting. At the moment, everything looks great. They both have very strong heartbeats.” She gazes up at my forehead. “But you, my dear, have one heck of a head wound. I’m going to keep you here over night just to make sure it’s nothing serious.”

  “Okay.” Looking around the room, I notice that it is void of any visitors. There is not even a trace that there have been any visitors. I don’t know what hurts worse. Not seeing my brother, or not seeing Eryc. “Where is Thaddeus?”

  Rene smiles. “He was here. He left a few minutes ago to check on your mom.”

  “Oh, okay.” Disappointment overwhelms me, not because my brother isn’t here, but because Eryc isn’t. I was really hoping that once he found out about the babies he would stick around. What a foolish girl I am. Why would he care about a broken girl trying to overcome depression? I am just a waste of his time.

  Blinking tears out of my eyes, I look up at Rene when she pats my hand. “Eryc went down to the cafeteria to grab something eat.”

  Knowing he hadn’t left me all alone, I breathe a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

  The tense muscles in my neck and shoulders release at the knowledge that Eryc is here and has been with me this entire time. Smiling back at Rene, I close my eyes, exhaustion overwhelming me, and drift off to sleep.

  Chapter Forty

  Eryc

  Thaddeus and I carry our lunch trays to an empty table and sit down. The cafeteria is fairly empty, which is expected since it is three in the afternoon. Makayla’s mishap happened shortly after noon and Thaddeus and I have spent this entire time up in her room, each of us on either side of her holding her hand.

  When my aunt told us that Makayla would be fine and all her tests looked good, I had to work hard to prevent tears from pooling in my eyes. Thaddeus blew out a relieved breath that mirrored my own. Now that we know her and the babies are fine, we are sitting here shoveling horrible hospital chicken and broccoli into our mouths.

  “You know,” Thaddeus licks his lips as he swallows the food in his mouth, “I still think you’re stupid.”

  I didn’t need Thaddeus to tell me how stupid I have been. That is a fact I have been mulling over since Makayla’s accident. I am a total fool and this whole incident is my fault.

  “I know, and I agree with you.” There is nothing else to say. Thaddeus is correct, I am the stupidest fool on the face of the planet.

  The fact is, I love Makayla more than I do myself, and the other day I treated her like the dirt beneath my shoes.

  I’m such a jerk. I am nothing but a loser. A loser that will work extra hard to earn Makayla’s trust once more.

  “Hey sugar.” Thaddeus and I both look up at the sound of the familiar voice. Standing in pale pink scrubs, the nurse sets her tray on a table across from us and walks over to our table. I recognize her right away, she was part of Brenda’s healthcare team. Leaning over, she wraps Thaddeus up in a hug.
“I heard about your sister, baby, I’m so sorry.”

  “Thank you.” Thaddeus is still holding onto this nurse like she is his lifeline.

  “How are you doin’?” She doesn’t seem to mind that Thaddeus is clinging to her like a frightened child. When he doesn’t answer her question, she slips out of his hold to cup his cheek. “You listen to me, sugar, you’re gonna be okay. You hear me? Ain’t nothing gonna happen to that beautiful sister of yours. And Lord has your momma in his hands. Now you keep your head up and remember that.” Standing up and stretching her back, she says, “I hear your momma is givin’ them nurses and doctors a run for their money.”

  This makes Thaddeus smile. I set my fork down and watch the exchange between the two of them. They have a familiar, easy going demeanor toward one another. Good. Thaddeus needs someone in his life to offer him some sound counsel.

  “Yes, she is. She would rather be home though.” Thaddeus smiles at the nurse. “She’s getting stronger every day.”

  “That’s good. You let me know if I can do anything for you, okay?”

  “I will. Thanks.” After the nurse sits down to eat her meal, Thaddeus turns his sad eyes to me. “What happened to Makayla never should have happened. I’m failing her time and time again.”

  The pressure this guy puts on himself is unreal and will be his downfall if he doesn’t relieve himself of it. For whatever reason, this guy blames himself for his mother’s accident, which is bogus because that was the fault of a drunk driver. Then there is his sister. He blames himself for what happened between her and Brandt. Not his fault, that blame belongs to none other than Brandt. Placing blame on himself for her being kidnapped is also bogus since he was nowhere near her when it happened. On top of that, now he blames himself for Makayla’s fall.

  “Hey.” I cross my feet at the ankles and lean forward to rest my weight on my elbows. “You are not failing anyone here.” Wetness coats Thaddeus’s eyes and he opens his mouth to speak but I hold up a hand to halt his words. “What happened to your mother was an accident that you nor Kay had control over.”