I was grateful when the nurse came running in to see what caused the deafening noise. She assessed the mess and the tension between AJ and Antonio. “One or both of you has to go. Now, or I’m calling the police!” She said sharply. The standoff between Antonio and AJ was intense and I honestly feared that if something jumped off, the small nurse would be defenseless.
After a few seconds, Antonio let down his guard and trudged angrily out of the room, nearly knocking the nurse over on his way. The unspoken truce that existed between him and AJ for my sake was now broken. I was almost glad that AJ set Antonio straight. Maybe now, he’d get the picture and back off. Being friends wasn’t enough for him and he was having a hard time not crossing the line.
AJ came to his senses and bent down to help the nurse pick up the large pieces of glass off the floor. She rolled her eyes at him and continued to clean up the mess. “I’ll call in housekeeping to get the rest,” she said flatly as she turned to leave the room.
Why couldn’t he have just listened to me and let me tell Antonio to stay home?
*****
Saturday was even harder than Friday. I was doped up most of the day because the doctors had to increase my morphine dosage to help me fight the pain. When I awoke, it was nearly four in the afternoon. My parents were sitting together watching TV and AJ sat next to me, watching as I slept.
He looked drained, emotionally and physically. These last few days had been crazy and it was showing on his face. “You should go home and get some rest. I’ll be ok.”
He stared at me for a few seconds more. “I’m fine. I went back to shower and change this morning before you got up.”
“I know, but you can’t be comfortable in that chair. I think you should go and sleep in your bed and recharge before graduation tomorrow. I’ll be fine, seriously.”
My father overheard us talking and chimed in. “We’ll be here with her, and I’ll call you if anything changes. She’s right. You’ve been here almost all day every day. Get some rest, Son,” Daddy said reassuringly. Son? Things between them had changed drastically since their first encounter in November. Daddy had developed a new found respect for AJ and they were more than cordial toward one another – they were almost friendly.
AJ smiled weakly and nodded. “Ok, but I’ll be back later tonight.”
“No, just come back tomorrow after the ceremony,” I insisted while forcing a weak smile.
AJ was hesitant and then finally caved in. He almost forgot that my parents were in the room as he leaned in to kiss me. We both burst out laughing just before our lips met and he patted me on the head jokingly as he turned to leave. I pushed his hand away playfully and longed to follow him as he disappeared through the doorway.
By 9:00 pm I missed him like he’d been gone for a week, but I was glad that he listened to me and went home to sleep. He had a big day ahead of him tomorrow. I lay there and watched the large clock on the wall. Ten…..Eleven…..sometime before midnight I drifted off to sleep thinking of him.
The next morning I was trying not to think about the fact that I was going to miss walking across the stage, but I didn’t have much success. The only bright spot in my day was that the doctor finally let me wash up. I only had one usable arm on account of the broken ribs, but I made it work. I brushed my teeth three times before I was satisfied. Mom laughed as she assisted me with my routine, and I noted that she was careful not to let me see my reflection in the mirror.
I shuffled back to the bed and lay back down. The ceremony was scheduled to start by 2 pm and it was a quarter to. The realization made my heart sink as I thought about it. I asked mom to pass me my phone and I called AJ.
“Hello?” He answered. There was loud talking and laughing in the background, so I knew that he was already at the stadium where the graduation was to be held. I choked back my tears before I spoke.
“I just wanted to congratulate you and tell you that I miss you.”
He was silent for a second. “I miss you too and if you asked me too I’d leave right now to be with you. Just say the word.”
I laughed. “AJ, I’m not about to make you miss one of the biggest moments of your life. Have fun and I’ll see you later.”
“I’ll try. See you in a little while.”
After we hung up, my phone rang almost instantly.
“Hey, Angel!” I answered.
“So, you all seriously waited three days after you almost lose your life in an accident to call and tell somebody? Are you alright? Your mom JUST called my mom like a few minutes ago to tell her what happened.”
“Yeah, she’s been really busy here with me. But I’m fine, nothing too serious.”
She sighed in irritation. “I’ve never heard of anyone being hospitalized for anything that wasn’t serious. Tell me the truth.”
“Concussion; couple broken bones. I can walk and everything, so like I said, nothing serious.”
“What the heck happened?” She asked.
“It was that crazy girl I told you about. Come to find out, she was the one who sent the picture to AJ, not Antonio. So, that day after we got off the phone I drove to Deanna’s to talk to her and Leila was following me. She hit me on purpose.”
“I’m comin’ to cut her,” Angel replied.
“No, Angel. She wasn’t as lucky as I was.”
“Explain, cause I’ll still cut her if she’s paralyzed or something like that. I don’t discriminate.”
“She died,” I said flatly.
There was silence on the other end. “Wow,” she finally replied. “Didn’t see that coming.”
“I know, neither did I when I first heard. I mean, even though she did what she did to me, I’d never wish anyone dead.”
“Wow,” she stated again.
I thought for a moment and decided to tell Angel about the rest of the story. There wasn’t anyone else that I could express my real feelings to. I had to even protect AJ from the thoughts that had been running through my head. “Angel, I need to talk to you about something serious.”
“More serious than car accidents and death? This can’t be good. I’m listening.”
“When the doctor came in to talk to me about my injuries…” I had to get myself together to even speak the words. “He said that I was pregnant…..and lost it during the accident.” She was absolutely silent. I waited a minute or two before I spoke. “You still there?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah, I’m here,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry. I don’t even know what to say.”
“It’s fine if you don’t say anything. I really just needed to admit it out loud. It’s eating away at me and I don’t know how to deal with it. I’m so angry at her! And I feel terrible for feeling that way because she’s gone.” I was trying to speak through my tears. “I can’t even begin to explain how I feel.”
“Sammy, there’s nothing that you can do to change what’s happened, and if you don’t let yourself grieve and move forward, you’ll never get through it. It’s ok to be angry with her. You’re allowed to feel that way.”
“Angel, I’m scared that if I let myself really admit all my feelings, I’ll fall apart and lose it.”
“You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. You have AJ for support and you know I have your back.” She paused. “Need me to come out there?”
“No, I know you’re classes are still going on. I’m fine.”
“Sammy, if you need me, I’ll be there. I’m serious. Just call me.”
“Thanks, Angel. I know
When we hung up the phone I had nothing to do but watch the clock and try to envision what was happening at the ceremony. By five I assumed that it was over and that I was officially a high school graduate. I wiped away the tear that rolled down my cheek and rested my head on my pillow. My parents left for a few minutes to grab something to eat in the cafeteria and I was glad to have some time to myself. When the nurse came in earlier I asked her to pass my purse to me. I made sure to keep it where I could get to it myse
lf when everyone left out. My parents and AJ discouraged me from looking at my face, and that only made me more curious to see what it looked like. I was reduced to sneaking, so I retrieved my compact and braced myself.
I held my breath and quickly lifted the mirror so that I could see. When I did, I gasped and almost dropped the tiny mirror to the bed. It was even worse than I imagined. I tried to count the tiny marks, but it was next to impossible to keep track of which ones I’d already pointed out. They didn’t seem to be very deep, but that didn’t do anything to make me feel any better for the time being. I quickly concealed the mirror before anyone came into the room. They were right to keep me from seeing myself, but I was hardheaded and did what I wanted. Stupid.
At 5:45pm, the door opened slowly and AJ crept inside with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He was dressed in an all black suit with an ocean blue shirt and matching tie. My face lit up when I laid eyes on him. Even after nearly eight months, he was still like a breath of fresh air to me.
“I’m glad you’re back,” I said softly.
“That makes two of us. How’re you feeling?”
“Better than I look,” I replied. He looked at me curiously, and then realized from my expression that I’d snuck a peek at my face.
“If you’d waited another week or so, it would’ve had more time to heal.”
“A week or so? Are we talking about the same face? I look like that little girl from the Exorcist! Hair and all!”
He tried not to laugh, but it slipped out. “Well, you still look good to me,” he replied mocking Antonio from the other day.
“Shut up.” I looked at the duffle bag questioningly. “What’s in there?”
“Just a change of clothes. I wanted to come straight here, so I brought my stuff with me.”
“Awww……isn’t that sweet?” I replied jokingly.
He smiled. “Whatever. Be back in a sec.” I watched him as he turned to head for the bathroom down the hall. My parents returned before he made it back.
“Have you heard from AJ yet?” Daddy asked.
I was a little shocked that he cared. “Yeah, he’s here already. He just went to the bathroom to change out of his suit.”
Daddy looked thoughtful for a moment. “I was wrong about him,” he said as he shook his head from side to side, scolding himself. “That boy’s been here for you just as much as we have.”
Mom looked at me and smiled. “He really loves you.”
“I know he does, and I feel the same way about him,” I replied. Daddy continued to think to himself.
AJ walked back into the room at that moment, dressed in jeans and a plain white t-shirt. All eyes were on him and he seemed to be surprised.
“We were just talking about you,” my mother said cheerfully.
He smiled in response. “Something good I hope.”
She moved toward him and touched his arm. “Of course. We were just telling Samantha how much we appreciate you being here for her the way you have. That means a lot…..to all of us. Thank you.”
He smiled at her appreciatively. “You don’t have to thank me.” The smile on his face faded a little as he stared at me. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.”
Chapter Nineteen
It must’ve been 90 degrees outside, the hottest day of August thus far. Inside, mom had the air conditioner on making it about twenty degrees cooler. AJ and I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as we walked through the door. We’d spent most of the day out in the heat shopping - getting a few things that we needed to survive campus life and for our trip to New York. I wanted to buy a new comforter and a couple sheet sets for my bed because I’d be going from a queen to a twin, and there were a few other random items on my list. AJ insisted on buying matching laptops to make communicating with one another easier while we were apart, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. We were both leaving for school in only two short days and we were secretly meeting back up in New York the day after that.
Mom invited AJ to stay for dinner since he was already coming by to help me finish packing up my things. We could smell the food as soon as we walked in.
“We’re back,” I called out to my mother in the kitchen.
She walked into the foyer to greet us. “Looks like you two had fun.” She looked at all the bags AJ was carrying.
“Yeah. I guess so,” I replied unenthusiastically.
“What’s wrong?” She asked, noticing that I wasn’t as excited she expected.
“Just dreading this move,” I replied softly.
“Oh, you’ll be fine. Besides, you two will have each other. It’ll be fun.” I saw tears welling up in her eyes and she quickly turned and pretended to be checking on dinner.
“That’s two times just today!” I whispered to AJ. In the past two weeks I’d seen my mother cry more than all of my eighteen years combined. He smiled and grabbed the one bag he’d allowed me to carry.
“Where do you want these?” He asked. I pointed him in the direction of my room. AJ, being paranoid about my health, insisted on treating me like a baby even though I was healed from the accident. It had been almost twelve weeks and even the marks on my face were almost completely gone. Most people didn’t notice them at all, but the doctor assured me that in a few more months the scars would lighten and they’d virtually disappear.
I joined mom in the kitchen and grabbed the plates and silverware to set the table. Ten minutes later she sent me to Daddy’s study to get him for dinner. After we ate, AJ and I retreated to my room – leaving the door open of course – armed with boxes and tape.
“Ok, where do you want me to start?” He asked.
“Mmmm…..Can you box up my CD’s and DVD’s?”
He smiled. “That’s not as exciting as doing your panty drawer, but hey, whatever I can do to help.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re so nasty! I honestly don’t know why I even talk to you,” I joked.
“That’s exactly why you talk to me.”
“Shut up! My parents are gonna hear you!” I said, fighting back a laugh.
“We can’t do it, and now I can’t talk about it either? That’s not even fair. Do you realize it’s been like five months? You’re killing me,” he complained.
“It hasn’t been easy for me either, but I think we’re doing good though,” I said while shoving all of my books into one of the boxes. “Don’t you agree?”
“Whatever,” he replied.
I threw one of my pillows at his head. “I said, don’t you agree that we’re doing good?”
He laughed. “I guess if that’s what you consider ‘doing good’?”
I sighed, pretending to be mad. He called me a brat under his breath, still smiling as he sealed up his box. After a few seconds of silence from me he walked over to where I sat, pulled me to my feet and hugged me.
“Move before my mom comes in here and thinks you’re taking advantage of me again.” I pushed him playfully.
He backed away from me willingly, not wanting a repeat of the attic episode. “I’m wearing you down,” he said confidently as he walked over to finish my CD’s.
We were finished in a short two hours. My room looked eerily empty - it felt strange and unfamiliar to me. “I’m scared,” I admitted.
“That’s just because it’s something new, but you’ll be fine. Plus, Karl and Deanna are gonna look out for you until I get there.”
“Five months just seems so long. I don’t even know how we’re going to see each other.”
“I’ll be there. Don’t worry about that.”
We were startled by Mom’s voice beckoning us from downstairs. “Are you two finished yet?” She asked.
“We are now,” I replied.
“Well, why don’t you guys join us down here?”
I glanced over at AJ before responding. “Sure. One sec.”
My father was seated in the living room waiting for us. He smiled warmly when AJ and I walked in and sat side by side on the couch. It was so un
believable that things had changed this much. It wasn’t long ago that my father was trying to separate me from AJ, and now he was starting to grow fond of him.
“So, AJ when do you make the transfer from Westwood to Charleston?” Daddy asked.
“January, at the beginning of the semester.”
“What field of study are you majoring in?” Daddy inquired. I glanced over at AJ to see if the questions were making him nervous, but he stayed calm and spoke confidently.
“I’m dual majoring in Business and Communication.”
Daddy cocked his head to the side. “That’s a pretty general area of study. You can do a lot with a degree in both of those fields. What career path are you planning to take?”
“Well, my family’s in the construction business. Have you ever heard of Arata Building Company or A.B.C.?” AJ asked.
“Of course. Who hasn’t,” Daddy replied.
“Well, My grandfather Jun came here to the States over fifty years ago and started the company with whatever was left of his life savings after traveling to America. My grandmother, Misaki, helped him build the company from the ground up and for the past two years it’s grossed over a billion dollars in profits. My father’s the Chief Executive Officer for now, but once I finish school and he trains me for a couple years, he’s passing the torch to me so he can retire.”
Daddy stared at AJ for a few seconds and then smiled. “C.E.O. of Arata Building Company,” he said to himself as his smile grew. “Sounds like you have a bright future ahead of you.”
AJ smiled back.
Mom entered carrying a tray with drinks for everyone. She passed them out and sat in one of the arm chairs.
“Oh, Samantha honey. I forgot to tell you that Dr. Harp called to say that he transferred your medical records to the doctor you chose near school. He wanted me to remind you to schedule the last CT scan as soon as possible. He just wants to make sure that everything’s alright.”
“Ok. I’ll call first chance I get.”
As she thought of the accident, Mom closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m glad that after this last appointment this whole thing will be over and done with. I hated seeing you go through that.” From the corner of my eye I saw AJ glance down. “Why didn’t anyone see that this Leila girl had issues and do something about it? Didn’t her parents notice?” She asked.
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