Andy

I rode home with my parents while Jinxx drove everyone else home. Once the festivities had concluded, we said our lengthy goodbyes to Eden and Jason and were finally headed home.

Andy sits in the seat opposite to me, looking out his own window while I look out mine, that little respective gap of space between us, with Ashley sitting uncomfortably close to Andy to keep me from disappearing completely.

My mind is racing with everything that had happened today. It was a lot and very draining. I think I'll be needing a moment to myself once we get back to sort through everything that has happened today.

Once we get through the front door, I hang out in the kitchen for a bit. I kick off my heels and sit at one of the stools at the island and channel surf on the TV for a bit. That’s where I was when we noticed that the phone was blinking red and there were four messages left on the machine.

Dad hits play and we listen, confused as to why we’d have to many messages.

Saturday, 3:32 PM: “Hi Sandy, this is Lucy. I’m just calling to keep you informed. Grandma Evelyn has taken a turn for the worst. She was unresponsive this morning when Hospice came to check on her. I’ll keep you updated... Please call me when you get this.

Saturday, 4:46 PM: “Sandy, Grandma is in the hospital now, and they’re running tests on her. Call me.”

Saturday, 5:15 PM: “I tried your cellphones, no one picked up. I don’t know how else to get a hold of you so hopefully, you get these messages. It’s urgent.”

Saturday, 6:25 PM: Grandma is stabilized now, but not out of danger yet. They think she had a stroke or something like that. Just letting you know, please call me back when you get in.

We all look at each other, the grim despair evident on my parents’ faces. My Mom is immediately on the phone, fumbling with it to dial my Aunt’s number. I watch her with a drained, emotionless expression, unable to even process this new turn of events.

“Lucy? Hi! Hi, I got your messages... What’s going on?”

My Mother exits the kitchen in search of a more private place to chat. I look to my Dad and he looks back at me, looking as though he’d just been punched in the stomach.

I realize what this means... With my Grandmother being so ill, we need to be there for her, which means our initial plans of moving have probably been moved up substantially.

Andy and Ashley went upstairs to hang out, where they could be blissfully unaware of this turn of events.

Me and my Dad sit in silence at the island, the TV muted, portraying silent figures on the screen from a vintage silent movie so it really didn't matter anyway.

It was fifteen minutes before she returned, hanging up the phone and portraying herself with a false face of confidence for my sake.

“So? What is it?”

She sighs and is silent for a few moments while she gets a grip and chooses her words, looking as though her confident, happy demeanor could slip away at any moment and reveal her true anguish.

“Lucy told me that this morning when her Hospice worker arrived to check on her, she was unresponsive. He called 911 and they took her to the hospital. She still has not woken up yet and they’re running some tests on her at the moment... She said the doctors are thinking that she might’ve had a stroke.”

Her words sit on my heart like a bag of bricks. I imagine my once lively grandmother lying crippled in her bed, worse than I’d ever seen her, and completely alone.

“It’s not looking good...” She admits, sighing a bit, leaning against the edge of the counter.

“Ash, honey, why don’t you go on upstairs and get ready for bed?” My Dad says to me. I look at him, seeing all the emotions swimming in his eyes and nod immediately, getting up to leave.

I climb the stairs, but stop at the top step and listen carefully for the things they’d never say in front of me.

“I don’t know how we do this.” My Mother cries, sobbing. “We need to go down there and be with her...”

“I agree. Could we leave first thing tomorrow morning?”

“That’s the problem... Ash’s prom is tomorrow night. If she has to miss it, she’ll be crushed.”

“Sandy, this is an emergency. Asheen will understand.”

“It’s a night she can never have back. I don’t want to rob her of that...”

“How about this, then? Ash stays here, we have the neighbors check in on her. Hell, she could stay with Elizabeth while we’re gone. I doubt there’s much she can do out there, anyway. Might as well just go ourselves.”

There’s a long quiet pause of contemplation. I listen hard for anything else.

“What about us? We’re supposed to be here to see her off on her special night.”

“What if we leave right after she does? We can make some decent distance to California before nightfall, at least. The prom starts at five and she’ll probably be out the door an hour before.”

Their talking becomes too low for me to make out. With me knowing as much as I’m going to, I take my leave and head toward the bathroom to wash off my makeup and to take a quick shower to rid me of the nasty lake water.

While standing in the hot steam, I couldn’t seem to find one distinct thing to concentrate on and think about. Everything ran into each other like overlapping voices. Unfortunately, there is no mute button.

I climb out and change into the pajamas I’d left in the bathroom. I pull my wet hair back into a loose ponytail and head back to my room, finding it empty. Andy must be with Ashley talking through the day.

I leave them alone and flick on my light. Lord knows those two need some time to figure things out. They’re still getting used to the idea of being around each other again.

I sit on my bed, working on my laptop for a bit before a knock comes on my door.

“Come in.”

My Mother peeks into my room and lets herself in, coming to sit at the edge of my bed, sighing a bit as she tries to find a way to break the news to me.

“Just say whatever you need to say,” I tell her firmly, “you don’t need to sugar coat it for me.”

“Me and your Father have decided we’re going to head down to California tomorrow to help out. I know your prom is tomorrow, so we’re leaving this entirely up to you. You can come with us if you’d like, we’ll probably be down there all week... Or you can stay here with a friend while we’re gone. We feel that you’re old enough to decide what you want to do.”

It’s a tough decision being laid on me.

“How is Grandma doing, honestly? Does it feel like this might be our last chance to?...” I trail off, unable to carry out the rest of my sentence. It hits home anyway as my Mother’s face scrunches a bit at the mention of the inevitable.

“I don’t know,” She admits with a small shrug. “She still has not woken up yet and they do not even know what’s happened to her while she was alone. Hopefully we will have more information tomorrow. Thank God she is still alive.”

I nod, looking down. “What do you think I should do? Honestly?”

“Honestly? Stay. If we need you down there with us, you could always fly or get a ride with a friend.”

“CC would take me.” I tell her, knowing in full confidence that he would. His loyalty knows no bounds. Plus, I hope it’ll buy him some bonus points with my Mother.

“And in the meantime, we could keep you updated on how things are looking. You might as well go to prom and do your thing while we keep tabs on Evelyn.”

I don’t like how it sounds... So black and white like that. Stay here and go to prom and have fun while we go hold the hands of your dying Grandmother. It sounds unfair and cold.

“Shouldn’t I go? In case things do go bad?”

“That’s up to you.”

I feel like she is only laying it on me to make the decision because she doesn’t want to make it herself.

“What if we wait until morning to make the decision?” I compromise. “Maybe we’ll have more information by then and more to go off of. If she’s awake and doing better... I’ll stay. If she’s still unconscious, then I’ll go. I’m not going to miss my last moments with my Grandmother over the prom.”

She sighs, pushing her hair back off her forehead. “I hope everything works out.”

“It will.” I reply with the same certain attitude that Andy had.

~~~


I turn out the light and lie on my stomach, hugging my pillows, admiring the moonlight coming through the open window and enjoying the temporary peace I feel having that jar in my room. Maybe it won’t even work, but for right now it gives me an artificial sense of safety and that’s good enough for me.

Andy comes back after a while, worming his way into the bed beside me.

“Are you awake?”

“Yeah.”

I keep looking at the stars outside my window, and the dark tree tops I am able to make out.

“Is your Grandmother okay?... I overheard your parents talking.”

“I don’t know for sure,” I say quietly. “but I suppose we’ll know soon enough. The doctors think she had a stroke.”

“Man...” He breathes, voice saddened. “She lives all by herself, too.”

“After this is over... If she makes it... There is no doubt in my mind that the family will have her house sold and slap her into a nursing home. She’s too independent and prideful to do it herself and it’s going to get her killed.”

I take a deep breath, feeling it relieve the pressure of stress off my heart. I haven’t decided which are more troublesome... The supernatural problems or the human problems. They both bring about their fair share of issues with a set group of ways to fix them.

It seems though that the only relevant link between the two realms is that praying hard makes it better. May it be praying to kill a creature you can’t even see, or praying for healing for a loved one... It’s the only universal cure.

He rolls over, a tattooed arm slithering around my waist in the darkness.

“Hey, you don’t smell like the bottom of a lake anymore.”

“You’d know all about that.” I chuckle quietly.

“Well... Aside from the latest bad news, did you have fun today?”

His voice is quiet and innocent, like a child inquiring about a parents’ day at work. If I were facing him right now, he’d be peeking up at me from under his lashes.

“I did.” I murmur fondly, the fresh memories still overwhelming my mind. “It was a wonderful day.”

“It was.” He agrees.

“Did you enjoy it?”

“Very much so.” He sighs contently. We lay in silence until he falls asleep, but I wouldn't be so lucky. I kept my eyes on those stars, watching them twinkle and flicker in the dark blue sky, dancing amidst the pale light of the moon streaming through my window.

Morning comes, and I’m up early to get ready for church. Andy has his own plans for the day, so it’ll be just like good old times when it was just me and my parents going to church on Sunday.

Andy hangs around while I get ready, critiquing the various dresses and skirts I pull from my closet.

“I like that one.” He says when I hold up a grey dress with no real decoration.

“Really?” I ask, looking at its blandness, trying to recognize his fondness for the thing.

“Sure,” He replies with a nod. “It’s more neutrally colored - a bold contrast to your normal rainbow colored get up.”

“I enjoy colorful things,” I defend, setting it aside over the back of my desk chair while I work to reorganize my closet and put back the rejects. “that’s something you could stand to adapt to, Mr. Tall, dark, and scary.”

“I enjoy the color black.” He replies with a mocking voice that’s meant to match mine.

“Right, well, get out now.”

“Why?”

“I’m changing.”

“I thought we were past that.” He says with a sly smile on his way to the door. I pick up a dirty shirt off the floor and ball it up, chucking it at his head as he ducks out of my room.

My Mother has not yet dropped by with more news and I’m scared to go downstairs and ask. I don’t know how to deal with this... My Grandmother has never been the frail type. She was always so lively and colorful, living with an excitement for life and its adventures regardless of what life threw at her... A trait I must’ve picked up somewhere along the way.

She would run around our backyard with me when I was younger, playing tag and dress up with all her vintage jewelry she’d bring up on her trips from California. The day she’d have to go home was always the hardest.

I can’t even imagine her now the way my Mother and Aunt Lucy have described her. Frail, broken, and fading. That’s just not in her nature and its impossible to imagine her that way.

I put in my earrings and look in the mirror one last time before grabbing my bag off the bed, my heels, and heading downstairs. I can hear the TV on in the living room, so I opt to go right and head there first. I find them sitting on the couch watching the news and chatting.

“So... Any news?” I ask hesitantly, jumping ahead of all normal pleasantries.

“No... Nothing yet.” My Mother replies. I can see the disappointment in her eyes as she says it, the dimming happiness as she is once again brought back to the reality of our situation.

I nod once, walking further into the room to sit in the recliner, looking at the TV. Politics, storms, and acts of people being good Samaritans are the highlights of today’s broadcast. It lifts my spirits a bit when they show a local broadcast about the school reopening today for senior prom, on schedule and as promised.

As though my prayers and pleading had been heard, the phone rings and we all stare at it as it lights up, none of us moving toward it right away. After the second ring, my Mother gets up and goes to it, reading aloud that it’s Aunt Lucy calling.

“Hello?”

Silence follows for a few seconds as she listens, nodding along before letting out a sigh of relief that sets my heart straight.

“Oh thank God...” She breathes, “Is she talking? What did she say?...”

A few more moments of silence.

“That is fantastic news... We’re planning on leaving sometime today to come down there to spend some time with the family and to help with stuff. I know it’s hard when it’s just you guys.”

I feel relief wash over me, a bliss that I have no experienced in some time. It is a welcomed feeling.

“Thank you for calling and letting us know... I will... Love you, too.”

She hangs up the phone, taking a deep breath before turning toward us with a massive smile of calmness and relief. “She woke up! She is responsive for the most part, just having a little memory loss at the moment.”

“That is fantastic news!” My Dad cheers, getting up to hug my Mom. They hold their hands out toward me to invite me into the circle, to which I oblige. We hug and laugh, thanking our lucky stars for this turn of events.

~~~


I go upstairs to Ashley’s room to inform them of the good news and I get an all-around positive response. Ashley gives me a high five and Andy wraps me in a bear hug, rocking back and forth, throwing his head back in cheerful laughter.

“So what are you two up to today?” I ask them once things had calmed down a little bit.

Andy looks to Ashley and then back to me. “I have to venture out and look for some top secret items and Ashley will be accompanying me. He’s got a way with the ladies, so...”

He nudges Ashley’s shoulder, giving a sly grin to hint at a memory they share that I don’t know about.

“If all goes as planned on both of our ends, I shall be seeing you tonight when I arrive as your undercover date to pack you off to prom... Wait, are you even going to prom?”

He gives me a quizzical look and I sigh, crossing my arms and pacing a bit. “Well, my original agreement was that if she woke up and was doing better, I’d stay home and handle things in my parents’ absence. Granted that that has happened, I feel like I need to uphold that.”

“So is that a yes?”

“It’s a yes.”

“Hell yeah!” He raises his gloved fists into the air.

“So... How are we gonna pull off the exit tomorrow?” I ask, “Are you coming to actually ‘pick me up’ or?...”

“I have something in mind, I have to finish sorting it this morning but yes, it will work.”

I hear my parents calling my name up the stairs, the indication that I’ve run out of time and need to start wrapping things up. I kiss Andy goodbye quickly and call out a goodbye to Ashley as I rush out of the room and down the stairs, snatching my heels off the end table as I go.

Today is as good of a day as any for prom... The sun is out, it’s warm, and not a single cloud is lacing the sky. I enjoy the sunlight pouring through my window on the drive to church.

Spring is certainly on its way with all the crab apple trees in the neighbors’ yards getting ready to bloom. The weather isn’t so dreary and it’s not so cold anymore, a far cry from what it was a month ago. Hopefully we’ve seen the end of the weird weather patterns.

Church is as normal as can be. My parents easily blend into the familiar crowd, talking about everything from weather to family inconveniences. I stand nearby, looking for a familiar face to talk to. That's when I lock eyes with the pastor. He meets my gaze for a brief moment, giving me a friendly smile before returning to his job organizing the schedules.

It's hard for me to look at this lovely, kind man and see his malicious son through him. How in the Hell is Reece his offspring?

My parents are such social butterflies, greeting everyone and having an instant conversation from nothing. Even the new faces roaming the pews become instant new friends.

I try taking a page from their book, trying to remember my former self when I was the most outgoing one in our family. I make eye contact with people and smile politely as we make our way toward our seats.

What used to feel so enlightening and normal for me now feels foreign and strange... Had a few weeks been enough to completely change my demeanor and make me an introvert?

I sit between them both on the pew, occupying my attention by constantly smoothing my skirt. Despite knowing what I’d chosen to do, I still feel doubt and anxiety for doing it. What if it’s the wrong decision? Special occasion or not, it’s not worth me missing out on seeing my Grandmother, is it?

Then again, I still have CC in mind. I know he’d help me out in a heartbeat if I needed him to. Still, I’d hate to ask him to do that.

We rise to sing the hymns. I hold my book in my palms, looking down at the mess of music notes and lyrics inside.

Singing and listening to the sermon keeps my mind busy during the morning. But as soon as the pastor concludes his chat, the thoughts and worries all come rushing back to mind.

Andy is on my mind the entire afternoon. I can’t imagine what he is off doing or what trouble he might be getting himself into.

Other than my fruitless stressing, church is a peaceful affair. Afterward, we go for a little drive around Pendant. We haven’t done this in ages, it feels so distant.

I lean my head against the glass, staring out at the streets of my hometown, trying to imagine what it will feel like to finally leave it behind and trying to understand the burning hatred Andy had toward it driving him to leave.

“We’ll probably head out for California right after you leave.” My Dad says while stopped at a light. “Unless you’ve changed your mind?”

“No... Everything’s the same.”

“I’ll call up Marcy when we get home, have her check in on you while we’re gone. At least then you'll have someone around if there is an emergency.” My Dad says while we’re stopped at a light.

I stare out at the cityscape rushing by, taking it all in and using it to calm down my nerves. I know that as soon as I return home I’d be getting ready for one of the biggest nights of my young adult life, which is both terrifying and exciting. Hopefully, it’ll be a night to remember.

Notes

Thank you Mezzy18 for commenting!