by Edward Flora
Ropes in the Attic
Edward J. Flora
Copyright © 2019 by Edward J. Flora
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and events are completely fictitious. Any similarities to real-life are merely coincidence.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, re-distributed, copied or stored in any way or any format, without the written consent of the author.
ISBN: 978-1-7327414-0-9
ISBN: 978-1-7327414-1-6
Edited by: Fiona McLaren
Cover Design by: Hampton Lamoureux
www.edwardjflora.com
For
Lucy, Kevin and Giacomo
Ropes in the Attic
ONE
As Peter Shelly climbed the ladder up to the diving board, his hands trembled. Gripping each of the plastic-coated rungs, he became less aware of his surroundings and more focused on his actions. He had always been afraid of heights, but that never stopped him from becoming the best diver on Hunter College’s diving team.
The sport didn’t come naturally to him. But even after all these years, Peter couldn’t explain the intangible pull diving had on him. The moment he reached for the first rung of the ladder, he was in the zone. Ascending towards the diving board was a journey; an escape. It was his moment.
When Peter pierced the surface of the water like a bullet, he entered his own world. Floating there, he would relish the temporary relief from so much of the noise polluting his mind on a constant basis. Moments like these were few and far between. Sometimes it felt as if his heart had stopped completely.
The further up Peter climbed, the spectators consisting of the families and friends of the other divers participating faded into the background. His fiancé, Dani, was no exception. She sat in attendance supporting Peter in all his competitions. Her presence was drowned out along with the rest of the crowd, but she was manifested in Peter’s brain. She resided there along with endless other thoughts making the sounds in the room stifled and distant, as if he was already beneath the surface of the water.
Peter’s heartrate sped as he made it to the top. The 25-foot climb always felt like a mile. By the time he launched off the diving board, the adrenaline pumped unlike it ever had in his life. Can a heart literally explode?
Once that little thought planted itself into Peter’s mind like a seed, he couldn’t shake it. He saw himself floating in the pool below, surrounded by blood from the open wound caused by his chest exploding.
“AND UP NEXT,” boomed a voice over the loudspeaker, “PETER SHELLY! Please give him a warm welcome as he prepares for his final dive of the season.”
His gut tightened.
The voice drowned out the muffled sounds of the crowd, even overtaking the storm brewing inside Peter’s mind. He took a deep breath and the smell of chlorine helped snap him back into the present. The aroma was oddly comforting. However, it was difficult to focus while his brain tried to convince him this would be his final dive ever.
With graduation approaching, the end of his career as a diver for Hunter College was imminent. His college career had been so impressive there were hints tossed around of Peter becoming a professional diver. Even one rumor of an Olympic tryout. There was no evidence backing up the idea this was his final dive.
Peter scanned the room from his vantage point: a first in his diving career. He never noticed all the faces looking up to him in his moment. Some strangers but mostly familiar. Quickly, he found Dani occupying the same seat she had for the last four years. It was impossible to miss her wild blonde mane. He had memorized her face so well that even from this distance, he could make out the sharp edges her smile curved into and the resulting dimples on her cheeks. The sight of such beauty was by far more comforting than the chlorine smell.
However, Peter, who was always in top physical condition, now appeared worn down. Dark circles surrounded his sky-blue eyes like storm clouds approaching a lake on a once sunny spring day. A blue swim cap covered his wavy brown hair. Dani would always say that cap made his eyes “pop” …but not today. His beard had signs of scruff rather than the normally razor precise edges. His already lean body was thinner than usual. As he stood perched on the diving board, an outline of his ribs had become visible replacing his chiseled midsection.
“LET’S GO PETER! WOO!” Dani’s supportive, yet slightly overexcited voice shot out from the crowd. Peter looked in her direction to reciprocate with a quick wave. He was lucky to have her.
Deserving?
No…He looked ahead adjusting his swim cap. Now was not the time to let those ideas in too.
Peter looked back to his task at hand: the diving board stretched out in front of him suspended over the water far below. As he stepped forward to set up his dive, the distractions didn’t stop. That night just a week earlier repeated over and over again in his mind. Peter came home late from work to find Dani standing in the living room, crying.
Tick…
The giant clock on the opposite wall of the auditorium bid for Peter’s attention. It was always the last fixture he saw before leaping into the pool.
He inched his toes closer to the edge of the diving board. Tick… He took a deep breath and then exhaled. A slight hint of the whiskey sitting in his belly from the night before lingered in the air for a moment. Tick… He closed his eyes and started to create momentum on the board for his dive.
One.
Peter counted with each bounce to find his rhythm. However, the sound of the clock became another distraction.
Two…tick..tick..tick…
Now airborne, this was his last chance.
Three…everything is falling apart…tick…tick…
Peter began his flip, aiming for the pool.
Whaaaaack.
Peter’s head bounced off the diving board. He plunged straight down towards the water which patiently awaited his arrival. The room fell dead silent as he hit the water with a sickening thud.
Tick…we lost her…tick…
Peter found himself floating at the bottom of the pool, unable to orient himself towards the surface. He heard the muffled shouts of the crowd panicking as he began to slip from consciousness. He floated there with the thought of his unborn child when everything went black.
TWO
The soft murmur of a familiar voice stirred Peter awake. He couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but it was undoubtably Dani.
As he tried to force open his eyes, the beaming florescent lights felt like an onslaught. The dull, throbbing pain was dizzying, and Peter opted to just listen with his eyes closed.
“You’re awake.” Peter could hear the smile of relief behind Dani’s voice which came out as a soft whisper.
The gentle touch of Dani’s hand met his. The comfort of her hand and the pressure of the wedding ring on her finger eased his muscles.
“You gave us a real scare, buddy.”
Peter barely opened one eye, still shielding his vision from the light to acknowledge his brother-in-law, Michael.
“Can we dim those lights?” he said, keeping his interactions short and sweet until the pain subsided.
He felt the harsh light drop from behind his closed eyelids as Michael hit the switch. Giving it one more try, he slowly peeled his eyes open to a squint and could make out Dani and Michael sitting at the foot of his bed.
“Thank you.” Peter glanced around his hospital room. “How long have we been here?”
“Only since the afternoon,” Dani keeping her voice as soft as possible. “The doctor said you clearly have a concussion. He’ll probably be back soon now that you’re up.”
Peter rested his head back on the pillow.
“I’m sorry.” He sighed.
“Peter Shelly,” the middle-aged man announced in a soft voice to rival that of Dani’s. His glasses were so thick that his eyes looked like they were under a microscope. His pudgy little fingers held onto a clipboard for dear life.
“My name is Dr. Richards, and this is nurse Allison,” He gestured to a young woman standing behind him with jet black hair and a neutral look on her face. Evidently all business. “Allison will be handling the night shift here while I’m off duty. My phone is always on though in case anything.”
Peter’s attention drifted from Dr. Richards’s hairline and back to the ceiling. Dani listened attentively while Michael left the room to answer a call, likely from his wife, Olivia.
“You suffered a moderate concussion this afternoon,” the doctor continued. “That along with the fact that you were unconscious and underwater for a brief moment means we want to run more tests for alertness. Luckily, your time submerged in the pool was brief, so water inhalation was minimal.”
Dani lightly squeezed Peter’s hand and nodded towards Dr. Richards.
“Generally, we would keep those suffering a concussion here for around three days, just to keep an eye on the patient. However, due to the added trauma, we want to aim for around seven days. Just as a precaution.”
Peter’s attention made its way back to Dr. Richards. He nodded, but his teeth grit together.
“Can I at least have my laptop so I can write?”
“We’ll be happy to allow you to have your laptop, but not for the first couple of days. We want to limit the amount of light, as you’re very sensitive right now. When we do bring your laptop in, we want to make sure it is on a low light setting as to assure exposure doesn’t induce a headache. That could delay recovery time.”
Peter simply nodded and closed his eyes.
Dr. Richards turned towards Dani. “May I have a word with you in the hall?”
Dani followed the doctor into the deserted hall. Visitor’s hours had only ended thirty minutes ago, but human activity had diminished almost instantly. The only audible sound was the far-off shuffling of paperwork from the nurse’s station.
“Before I leave for the night, I want to update you.” Dr. Richards studied Dani. Her green eyes brimmed with distress. The running makeup had long been wiped away. Now she stood, trying to hold it all together. Although she wasn’t alone, she took on the weight of the situation as if she was.
“It’s part of my job to make sure everyone here gets the care they need. Based off what you told me about Peter leading up to the accident: the changes in behavior, the drinking, the lack of focus. We want to assure he has someone to talk to. I reached out to my colleague, Dr. William Urbridge. He’s a family therapist and deals much with grief and addiction. Do we have your approval to have William come by and speak with Peter?”
Dani fought back the tears. She was sure that she couldn’t physically cry anymore today, but she was on the verge once again. It had been a hard couple of weeks, more stressful than she could have bargained for.
“Yes, of course,” she answered in just above a breath.
“Okay, I’ll reach out to Dr. Urbridge and set something up for the morning. I think this is the right choice…and Dani,” Dr. Richards paused.
Whomever had been shuffling papers earlier had stopped. Perhaps they left for a bathroom break or even worse, fell asleep at their post. Regardless, the silence was jarring.
“Get some rest. We don’t want to have to set up a bed next to Peter for you too.” Dr. Richards turned and departed into the vacant hallway.
Dani was left with the silence of the empty hospital and a tinge of hope. Just enough to give her the strength to push forward. She knew very well she would need it.
As she returned to Peter’s room, she noticed Michael had returned and was nearly falling asleep in the chair across from Peter’s bed. Peter was fast asleep.
“Michael, you should go, Olivia has to be worried. You can come back with her in the morning.”
“Are you sure?” He held onto the luke-warm cup of coffee from the cafeteria. He was only a few winks away from falling asleep in that chair and losing the little paper cup to the floor.
“Yes, it’s okay, get home. I’ll stay here. I have everything I need. Don’t worry about me.”
“I’ll be back first thing in the morning.” Michael hugged his sister and looked over at the bed at Peter. “At least he’s resting.”
Dani made herself as comfortable as possible on the recliner. Peter’s hooded sweatshirt served as a blanket and she clutched it to her body tightly as she drifted to sleep.
THREE
“Hello? Who’s there?”
Peter awoke, squinting to see his dimly lit hospital room. He was saddened to discover he was still there, but the sight of Dani peacefully sleeping in the chair next to him was a relief. But he wanted to address the soft footsteps outside the room. It must have been nurse Allison making her rounds.
A slight wave of excitement entered as Peter assumed they were delivering his laptop as he had requested earlier.
“Allison?”
No answer.
Peter shifted his weight to his elbows as he tried to peer out of his room’s window. It was hard to see the hallway, but it sounded like the footsteps were coming from right outside.
Finally, a face emerged through the window. It was not nurse Allison, but an older woman. She wasn’t wearing her medical scrubs, but instead a blue blouse with a brown cardigan sweater. She looked tired. Perhaps she had just finished her shift and was on her way out.
She seemed startled that Peter had spotted her and she quickly fled from visibility.
Ugh.
Peter sighed and laid back again, relieving his arms from the strain of lifting himself up.
He drifted back to an uncomfortable sleep. The delicate sound of water dripping echoed from the corner of his room.
FOUR
“Good morning, sweetheart.” Dani’s voice was as pleasant as ever. Peter opened his eyes but quickly shut them tightly once again. A bright, florescent halo surrounded Dani which induced Peter’s headache once again. He had slept mostly pain free all night, but the intense light was not how he wanted to start his morning.
“Argh…the light…”
“Oh crap, sorry…hold on just a second.” Dani dimmed the lights and returned to Peter’s bedside.
“The thera...uh, counselor, Dr. Richards mentioned is going to stop by soon. He just wanted to talk a little bit and see how things are going. You’re okay with this, right?” She was careful not to use the word therapist. Although it was in their best interest to speak to one, Dani didn’t want to demonize the state Peter was in. He gave no sign of being against seeing a therapist but his behavior in the weeks leading up to the accident had been erratic. It made her nervous, so she approached with caution.
“Yeah, of course,” Peter began. “I think it’s a good idea. There’re a few things I want to get off my chest.”
Dani blinked in surprise but squeezed his arm. He slowly opened his eyes to give her a look of reassurance. She reciprocated with a smile. Peter felt a flutter. It seemed like she hadn’t smiled like that in weeks. Surely, he was partly responsible for that.
His attention briefly diverted as the drip in the corner started up again. It came from the ceiling. A single drip periodically fell and then disappeared from view behind Dani and splashing onto the floor.
“Are they bringing my laptop today?” His gaze reset back to Dani.
“Yes, after we speak to Dr. Urbridge.” She nodded encouragingly. “But not too much…We don’t want to cause any more headaches.”
Peter didn’t care about that so much. He wanted to write. It had always been his way of getting things out. He agreed to speak to a therapist, but the truth was, writing would help infinitely more. The days he’d spent in the hospital h
ad already been the longest he’d gone without writing in years. It made him antsy.
#
“Peter. Dani. I’m Dr. Urbridge. May I come in?” a deep, commanding voice came from the doorway. A man stood there with thick rimmed glasses and a white mustache. Dani signaled for him to join them so he pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the bed.
“I understand that you’ve been through a lot. This isn’t anything formal, but I wanted to let you know I’m here to help.”
“I’m glad you stopped by actually,” Peter took the lead.