Contingent

by Livia Jamerlan

  “Baby girl?” Gus’s voice was faint.

  My body felt as though it had become one with the mattress. I peeled my eyes open, my stomach turning in the process.

  “Hey,” Gus whispered when I looked at him. “You’ve been sleeping for a while. Maybe you want to get up and eat something?”

  Lifting my body off the bed I sat up with the support of my pillows, I looked at the plate of food. The smell of the coffee and toast sitting next to me made my stomach turn. Gagging, I rushed my hand to my mouth. Gus reached for the garbage pail and brought it to me, but the lack of food in my system made me dry heave.

  Gus rubbed my back as he held my hair away from my face. “Geez, Brae, what’s wrong with you?”

  I wiped the tears away from my eyes and fell back on the bed. “I don’t know. I left work early because I felt really shitty. What time is it?”

  “It’s quarter to eight. I figured I would wake you up so you wouldn’t be late for work.” Gus handed me my cell, and I quickly shot Jerry an email stating that I still wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t be going to work today.

  “What happened yesterday? You called asking about Haas and never gave me an answer.”

  I turned on my side. “When I came home yesterday, the front door was open and I saw him in my bedroom taking pictures of my day planner. I confronted him about how he got in and he told me he took your key.”

  “The night you drank the tea?” Gus’s voice was laced with surprise.

  “Yeah, the night I thought I was having a wet dream. Turns out I was really screwing him. And the night of my birthday when he told me you let him in.” I swallowed back some water. “He has destroyed everything I ever loved about him.”

  “Did he say why?”

  Reaching for the garbage pail, I regurgitated the water. I shut my eyes, hugging the pail. “He said it was to protect me, but I think that’s his excuse to get some ass while Devon is away.”

  “I need to ask you a question, baby girl, but you can’t get mad.” He moved closer to me on the bed. Lifting my head, I looked at him as he took a sip of his coffee. “When you and Peyton were knocking boots all over this room, were you two using protection?”

  “Seriously?”

  “Well, you don’t look so well and the whole puking your guts out so early in the morning.” Gus raised his hands in defense.

  “I’m not pregnant, Gus.” I closed my eyes.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive” I lied, I had enough to deal with at the moment. My period was due soon, and then I would know for certain. As for now I had a stomach bug.

  Braelynn

  The throbbing migraine pounded further into my brain. It was like my brain had doubled in size and no longer fit inside my skull. The plastic baggie filled with ice sitting on top of my head, did nothing to remove the pain. I had stayed in bed for two days. My body had recuperated from the illness, but the migraine still lingered.

  I peeled my eyelids open when I felt a vibration on my bed. My cell phone was buried somewhere under the sheets. I waited for it to buzz again when my hands began maneuvering through the comforter and pillows fishing for my phone. It was past eleven o’clock, Gus was with Jon and no one called me this late anymore. The bright screen burned my eyes, making a lightning rod sharp pain throb through my scalp. I pinched the bridge of my nose, waiting for the sharp pain to subside before I looked at the screen. Jennifer’s name appeared on the screen. Something was wrong. I knew it. It was the pain that made your stomach turn. The gut feeling that bad news was on the other end of the phone.

  “Hello?” My voice was hoarse.

  “Braelynn, sweetie, it’s Jennifer.” Her voice wasn’t chipper; her southern twang barely noticeable. “I’m sorry to call so late but I’m afraid I don’t have good news.”

  “Jen, what is it?”

  Something had happened to Loren. I felt it. Something had happened to my sister.

  “It’s Loren,” Jennifer whimpered. “Her neighbor called. They’re taking her to Bell United Hospital. Someone broke into her house.”

  “What?” I kicked my comforter off my body, holding my phone with my head and shoulder.

  “Loren is at Bell United. Someone broke into her house and assaulted her. That’s all we know.”

  “Oh my God. Is she . . .” I couldn’t finish the sentence. My sanity couldn’t take it.

  “I . . . I don’t know. I’m on my way there now. Her neighbor called the police. She said she heard arguing and a couple of loud crashes coming from Loren’s. When Loren didn’t answer her phone, she walked over to check on her,” Jennifer cried. In the background, I could hear Scott consoling her. Though Jennifer was Loren’s boss, the two had grown close over the years. Jennifer never once treated us like the help. We were her family.

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  I didn’t wait for Jennifer to say goodbye. Slipping my phone into my back pocket, I tossed the bag of ice in the bathroom sink, grabbed my purse and headed out the door. For a moment I debated calling Haas, asking him if I could have Thomas drive me up, but after the fight we’d had, he was the last person I wanted to speak too.

  I was going to have to figure it out on my own.

  It was late at night but I’d found an open car rental place. I hadn’t needed Haas’s help.

  Jogging into the hospital, my hands trembled with fear. Loren was the only family I had left. God couldn’t take her away from me.

  I sprinted down the long hallway corridor until I reached the small waiting room. I found Jennifer pacing; her eyes puffy from crying. Scott sat in the far corner.

  “How is she? Is she . . . ?”

  Desperate for air, I leaned forward and tried to catch my breath. My once terrible migraine was now a memory. I was running solely on fear and adrenaline.

  “They’re operating on her now,” Jennifer spoke softly.

  “Operating? Why?”

  “They won’t tell us anything more because we’re not family. We’ve been waiting for you.” Jennifer turned towards Scott.

  Scott was the only male figure I’d had in my life when I was growing up. He was a serious man—all work. But Jennifer brought out a sweet side of him that most never got to see. He loved his wife very much; the pain that flashed in his eyes from her sadness confirmed it.

  I turned and headed straight for the nurse’s station. My thighs ached as I sprinted toward the elevated counter. “Hi, my sister, Loren Wolf, is being operated on. I need an update.”

  “She’s in the operating room. There isn’t much—”

  “Please! I’m begging you. I drove for almost five hours in the middle of the night to get here. She’s the only family I have. Please, call the OR and ask for an update.” I didn’t know if my request was possible, but I had seen it done on television so why not? I was frantic and willing to try anything.

  She hesitated for a moment. “Okay.” She reached for the receiver. “I have the next of kin for Loren Wolf. She’s asking for an update.” She stopped speaking and gave me a sympathetic look.

  Each second she was on that call was an extra ounce of fear on my end.

  “Okay . . . Yes . . . Okay, I’ll let her know.” She hung up. “Her right leg is broken and they’ve drained the epidural hematoma from her head. As soon as she’s in recovery, I’ll bring you to see her.”

  “Thank you.”

  Shielding my heart with one hand, I wiped the tears away with the other.

  Three hours had passed.

  Jennifer had fallen asleep on Scott’s arm, and I sat on the cold leather chair, my feet resting on the cushion as I hugged my knees. My eyes burned from the lack of sleep and a never-ending stream of tears. I didn’t know how to protect Loren; I didn’t know how to comfort her. She had always been my protector. My rock.

  “Please, God, not Loren. Please, don’t take her away from me. I can’t survive without her.” I wasn’t a religious person, but under these circumstances I needed to believe
there was someone watching over us. Someone who could hear my prayers. My head grew heavy as it rested on my knee caps.

  “Miss Wolf?”

  I stumbled to my feet and headed towards the doctor in the dark green scrubs that had walked into the waiting area. “Yes, that’s me.”

  The salt and pepper hair near the doctor’s ears told me he was in his early forties though his face looked young. His eyes were gentle when he spoke. “Loren has a broken femur which we were able to repair, but she will have to go through a few months of physical therapy. She suffered from an epidural hematoma caused by a massive blow to the head. We drained the hematoma, but we have her in a medically induced coma until the swelling in her brain decreases.”

  “Will she be okay?” Jennifer asked, her hand entwining with mine.

  “We are expecting her to make a full recovery, but we won’t know for sure until the swelling in her brain subsides.” He held his binder closer to his chest.

  “Can I see her?” I looked over at Jennifer. “Can we see her?”

  “We’re transferring her to her to the recovery room. Once she’s settled in, we’ll let you know.”

  I thanked the doctor and wrapped my arms around Jennifer. She hugged me tightly. “Thank goodness, thank goodness,” she whispered, over and over. I nodded each time. Loren was out of surgery and one step closer to being okay.

  Another hour had passed before we were able to see Loren. Jennifer had sent Scott home as she had no intention of leaving Loren’s side anytime soon. With our arms locked together, Jennifer and I followed the nurse to Loren’s room.

  The sight of Loren lying on the hospital bed connected to monitors and tubes brought dark memories. I had a week of my life missing. Drew had taken me in the dark of night. No one saw him. There was no one to call the cops.

  Still in disbelief, I shook my head slowly as I walked over to Loren. Jennifer and I sat on either side of the bed. Tubes were shoved down her throat, there was a cast around her right leg and machines beeped all around us. The realization that I could have lost my sister did not go unnoticed.

  I grasped her cold hand in mine. “Lo . . . Please, Lo, don’t leave me,” I cried.

  I rested my head on the hard mattress attempting to hold in my cries. But I was failing with each passing second. Loren was the strong one. She was the one who held me up. I had no strength to give.

  “We’re going to get whoever did this to you. You hear me?” Jennifer asked and held onto Loren’s other hand. “You rest up, sweetheart, and hold on tight. Your little sister needs you so don’t you dare quit on us now.”

  Loren had been moved to a regular hospital room. Jennifer rested on the recliner as I lay my head on Loren’s hospital bed. The room grew brighter with the morning sun.

  The room went silent.

  Only the sound of Loren’s heart rate machine could be heard.

  “Jen?” I whispered.

  “Yes, honey?” Her voice was weary but soft as an angel.

  “Do you think what happened to Loren is the same thing that happened to me?” I looked down at our entwined fingers, her hand cold, almost lifeless. The doctor expected her to make a full recovery, but no one was ever certain.

  “I don’t know, Brae.” Jennifer sighed. “The officer stated it was a robbery gone bad.” She fixed her body on the recliner.

  “How so?” I looked over at her.

  “The front door was broken into with a crowbar. They must have thought that Loren wasn’t home.”

  “Have they tracked down who did this?”

  “I’m not sure. I know Scott was going to reach out to the police department this morning. I guess we’ll know when Loren wakes up.”

  “What if she doesn’t remember?” I buried my hand in my hair. “You know, like me.”

  Jennifer rose from her chair and walked around. She sat on the edge of the bed, her arms brushing back my hair. “Braelynn, you can’t think the worst.”

  “Why not?” My anger was misdirected, but she was the only person in the room I could shout at. “My streak of shitty luck hasn’t stopped yet. It has been a cluster-fuck of a year.”

  Jennifer’s hand rested on my shoulder. “Honey, why don’t you sit in the recliner for a bit and get some sleep. We can take turns watching her.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Jennifer.”

  I walked over to the chair. Exhausted, I leaned my head back and let sleep take me from this hellish world.

  Loren had been in a coma for twenty–four hours.

  I’d texted Jerry and explained what had happened to Loren. He had given me the week off to be by her side. Gus had called multiple times asking for an update on Loren, and he’d offered to come up and stay with me, but I’d declined every time.

  A gentle hand brushed back my hair. “Hey, Lynnie,” she whispered.

  My vision became blurry as I looked at Kennedy. Tears flooded my eyes. When I spoke to her earlier, she hadn’t offered to come up because she knew I would say no. Instead she just showed up. A genuine smile greeted her face. “You didn’t have—”

  Raising her hand in the air, she stopped me from continuing. “Shush.” She sat on the edge of the bed and patted Loren’s leg. “I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. That’s the difference.”

  I couldn’t speak. Knowing that Kennedy was there meant the world to me; not only for her support but her medical expertise. She’d be able to read Loren’s chart and tell me whatever the doctors wouldn’t. Wrapping my arms around her tiny frame, I let out some of the pain I had bottled up.

  “Brae, why don’t you head over to Jennifer’s and take a quick shower?” Kennedy rubbed my back. “Rest up for a bit.”

  “I can’t leave her.” Jennifer had left a few hours ago to go home and I didn’t want to leave Loren alone.

  “They’re going to take her to do another scan of her brain. Why don’t you go then?” She smiled at me. “Those usually take a while.”

  “Okay,” I finally agreed. I needed to shower, or at the very least, brush my teeth.

  Though I’d planned to take a quick shower, it all changed when the scorching hot water massaged my scalp. I stood under the showerhead, letting the water wash away the fatigue. My muscles ached, my neck was stiff, and my body was asking for a real bed to sleep in, but Loren needed me. I tossed my damp hair in a messy bun and headed back to the hospital.

  When I walked into the hospital room, Loren was gone, the flowers Jennifer had bought were gone, and Kennedy was gone! The bed was made as though no one had ever been in that room. I pulled my cellphone from my back pocket and looked at my black screen. It was dead.

  Crap.

  Sprinting back to the nurse’s station, I shouted, “Where’s my sister?” Frantic, I tapped my hand on the counter. “Excuse me! My sister, Loren Wolf, she was in room four fifteen.”

  The nurse looked back at me with a caring smile. “She was moved to the private wing of the hospital. Your sister is fine. The doctor will answer any questions you have.”

  “Where’s her room?”

  “Go back to the main elevator and go up to the sixth floor. When you get there, give the security guard your sister’s name.”

  I wiped my tear stained cheeks and smiled. “Thank you.”

  The private wing of the hospital was updated compared to her previous room. It had flat screen televisions as monitors, the beds were bigger and floors were less crowded. I tapped on the door before pushing it open. The television played softly in the background as the heart monitor machine continued to beep. The room was larger, and the furniture looked warm and inviting. Strolling past the full bath, I saw Kennedy sitting on the couch near the window and Jennifer sitting on the chair next to her.

  I walked over to Jennifer; my words welled into my chest. I knew Loren’s health insurance and it wouldn’t cover this. Jennifer must have requested this for Loren out of her own pocket.

  “Thank you.” I hugged her. “Your generosity is . . . Thank you.”

  “Oh, sw
eetie, I want to get Loren the best possible care but this wasn’t me.” Her hands rested on my shoulders and her eyes locked on mine as she slowly shook her head.

  My eyes trailed over to Kennedy. “Did you?”

  Biting her lip, she shook her head. “No.” Her shoulders shrugged. “I think we all know who did.”

  Of course the dominating, must control everything asshole would have his fingers in this. “How could Haas know?”

  Kennedy shrugged before looking away from me.

  “Kenn?”

  “I’m assuming my husband must’ve said something.” I wouldn’t put it past Caleb. Though he kept to himself, he had a heart of gold.

  I hated that he still had his hands in my life. And I definitely didn’t want to owe him anything.

  “This is for Loren, Brae. Don’t you want her to have the best care possible?” Kennedy asked.

  “But not on his dime.”

  “Sort it out later, Lynnie. Right now, Loren is our only concern.”

  She was right. There was no point fighting him on this. I pulled a chair next to Loren’s bed and looked at her pale skin. Kennedy sat next to me and explained the results of her tests.

  The doctors had taken her out of the induced coma and Loren would be waking up soon. I closed my eyes praying for a speedy recovery and silently thanked Haas for his generosity.

  Braelynn

  By seven that night, I was stir crazy waiting for Loren to wake up. I had paced all day long. Any sudden movement had me rushing to her side.

  Kennedy and Jennifer insisted that I needed some fresh air, they both said it would clear my head. I found myself in the rental heading towards Loren’s home. I’d decided I would clean her home before she was released. Cleaning would be therapeutic and a great way to pass the time.

  The sun was setting on the horizon, casting an orange hue over the house as I pulled into her driveway. I pushed open the door to Loren’s home; the frame had been broken by the forced entry. The yellow police tape made an X on the door. A footprint was left on the door, I assumed to kick it open.