�He loves you, ya know?�
�He just thinks he does. He�ll get past it.�
�No, he won�t. He loves you.With the type of love that�s painful.�
�The type that fills you with unacceptable lust?�
�No, the type where, when they leave, you cry for days.�
�Is he going to cry for days?�
�I don�t know. You tell me.�
�How would I know?�
�What�d you write to him in that letter?�
�Everything you wanted me to.�
�Did you mean it?�
���
�Well?�
�Every word.�
�Then you�ll both be crying for days.�
�Months.�
�So you�re in love with him too?�
�� Maybe.�
�There�s nothing wrong with that.�
�You knew this was going to happen.�
�Yea, but I know everything.�
�Then what am I thinking?�
�That you can�t believe you left him.�
�Go away.�
�Hey, I�m just answering your questions.�
���
�It�ll all work out, babe. Promise. �Trust fate.� Remember?�
�Yea, I remember.�
~
Leslie woke from her dream covered in sweat and not sure where she was. Glancing around she realized she was on a mainly empty plane heading back to Dallas. She tried to calm her breathing down as their conversation replayed in her head.
Trust fate�
�Don�t use my words against me,� she said towards the window and the night sky beyond. �I don�t need you haunting me with my own clich�s, Brian.�
In response, she swore she heard melodic laughter.
Can�t help it. You�re too smart for your own good.
*
�He has three broken and two cracked ribs, a broken nose, a laceration on the back of his skull, a serious concussion, a fractured left wrist, and other assorted cuts and lacerations. Good news is there won�t be any permanent damage that we can see. Bad news is we need to keep him under surveillance for the night,� Dr. Walker informed them.
�That�s fine. As long as he will be okay. That�s a relief,� Kevin replied.
�Um� he�d been going in and out of consciousness before we put him on anesthesia when we stitched up his cuts. I�m surprised he didn�t have any facial damage - not even a fracture besides his nose. Things could have been significantly worse, but whoever cleaned him up originally knew what they were doing.�
�He wasn�t� talking about anything when he woke up, was he?�
�Mr. Carter seemed to be very concerned about a young lady whom he called �Angel�. He seemed to think she was in the room with us, but serious head injuries can cause a patient to hallucinate vividly.� The doctor paused. �May I ask you a question Mr. Richardson?�
�Yes ma�am.�
�What exactly happened to Nick? And why did you wait to bring him in? These injuries are obviously a few days old.�
Kevin tried to think of a plausible answer to either of the questions, but even the truth seemed almost mythical.
�Sir, I understand that this is a difficult time for all of you, especially being a celebrity, but these couldn�t possibly be all self-inflicted wounds; if Nick is in any trouble, it�s my responsibility to report it.�
Shocked, Kevin tried to process the suggestion that Nick could have done this to himself before, without thinking, responding to the kind doctor.
�Ma�am, I wasn�t there, so I�m not sure what exactly happened, but when I found him, he begged me not to take him to the hospital. He�s afraid of doctors, you see. And the girl who cleaned him up seemed to know what she was doing�� He trailed off.
The doctor nodded, believing the lies blindly.
�He should sleep through the night, but you can still go in to see him.�
�Thank you.�
~
�Miss, you�ll be able to disembark first when we land,� the too-sweet, make-up caked stewardess told Leslie.
Not even bothering to look up, she nodded before going back into a daydream of worries. After a delay on the takeoff that she�d slept through, her flight would land at DFW nearly an hour late.
�Please still be there�
She knew a vow of silence would be the only way to survive the next few days without being accused of lying. Her family, no matter how distressed, wouldn�t believe the truth of the past week. She�d rather watch her mother rage and cry than see her rage, cry, and accuse her of lying.
Her head continued to spin until another college-aged woman in a stiff uniform came up behind her.
�We�ve landed. I�m just going to wheel you out where you can meet up with your family��
She continued to chatter good-naturedly, but Leslie ignored her, more focused on keeping her heart from beating out of her chest than petty conversation with a chick without a name.
��okay, here we are. Thank you for flying Delta.�
As the faceless woman walked away, Leslie carefully placed her hands on the steel rims of the wheels below her, doing her best to avoid her smashed fingers. She rolled the chair towards the baggage claim while scanning the nearly empty airport for familiar faces. Feeling eyes on her, she stopped and held her breath.
�You�re late.�
Tears spilled down her face in relief. �You came.�
�Of course I came. You called and asked me to. You�re my baby sister. You really think you can disappear without a trace for a week then call me to pick you up and me not come?! I�ve been worried sick!� He�d been trying to keep his voice calm and friendly, but failed miserably as his pain showed through.
�You didn�t tell anyone? My parents?� she asked, staring at her bandaged feet in shame.
�No, of course not. You told me not to, so I didn�t. But I refuse to take you anywhere but home.�
�I love you Albert,� she whispered as her tears continued to stream down her face.
�You should and I know. Now what�s with the chair?� he asked, kicking at it from where he stood behind her.
�You promised not to ask questions,� she replied, wishing she could tell him the entire story right there.
�Yea� yea, I did. Sorry.�
�Please, let me see you� but don�t get scared. I�m all right now.�
Albert hesitated before walking around the chair and beginning to kneel.
�Why would I be sca� holy shit woman,� he exclaimed, falling backwards. �What happened?�
He reached up to touch her cheek with a gentle hand, which she covered with her slightly battered one.
�No questions. That�s why I called you Albie - because I knew you�d care enough to come and not ask questions if I asked you to� Now please, take me home.�
Albert nodded, stood up, and returned to behind her chair. �Yes ma�am.�
*
�Why did you leave the wheelchair at the airport? Won�t you need it?� Albert asked as he pulled in front of her house in the middle of the early morning.
�No, I can walk, just not far. Plus I don�t plan on walking much more for awhile,� she replied looking into the older teen�s concerned face. �You�re the best big brother in the world,� she said, reaching for his hand. �Too bad you�re not mine.�
�Yea� but I�m not anybody�s big brother. That�s why I�m so good at it,� he replied before sobering up. �Will you ever tell me what happened?�
�In time,� they said in unison.
�Do I really say that so much?� she asked.
�About as much as �Trust fate�.�
Leslie bit her lip at the sound of the phrase she was beginning to despise.
�You wouldn�t believe me if I did tell you what happened.�
"Try me."
They sat in silence for a moment, each trying to see the other�s thoughts, before Leslie changed the subject.
"Help me in?"
He nodded and began to get out of his truck before she stopped him.
�But be quiet. I don�t want them to know until morning. I�m too tired for impossible interrogations. I just want my bed.�
She hobbled to her front door while Albert got her bags from the cab of his truck. Unlocking the door with her key, she turned to him.
"Just put them in the entryway"
A nearly imperceptible head nod.
Leslie opened the door soundlessly, thankful for the disconnected alarm that her parents either never got fixed or never noticed upon her sudden exit a week earlier. Albert laid her bags on the carpet before turning back to her.
�Thank you,� she mouthed, bringing his head down to kiss him on the cheek.
�You don�t need help up to your room?� he asked with little sound, motioning to her room upstairs.
She shook her head and opened the door for him to leave. As he walked to his car, he turned and gave a slight wave, a mournful look on his face. Shutting the door, she began the tedious trek of scaling the stairs. Upon reaching the top, she entered her untouched room before crawling into bed, falling asleep as her head touched the pillow and Albert�s truck finally pulled away from the curb.
~
Bryan Flynn had to be at work by seven and he had slept late. At ten minutes before the hour, his only hope for arriving on time was an instantaneous transporter. He blindly rushed into the unlit entryway in search of his keys when his shin slammed into an object, causing him to face-plant into the carpet.
�What the hell?� he muttered into the floor. His wife hadn�t even remotely resembled herself since Leslie randomly disappeared, but the one thing she hadn�t pushed aside was cleaning; that�s about all she did. So these invisible roadblocks shouldn�t have been there.
He brought himself to his feet and reached for the light switch, scared to see what was before him. When the lights came on, however, and his pupils adjusted, he fell to his knees again in a mixture of hope and worry.
�Charlotte?� he yelled staring at his daughter�s blue backpack. �Wake up and come see this.�
*
�You�d think I�d be used to this by now. Fuzzy head, fuzzy head�
Nick laughed in his mind as he woke up from a drug-induced stupor. Not wanting to open his eyes to the sunshine he felt warming his face, he gave into the urge to wiggle his toes. As the sheets of his bed rose over his feet, he couldn�t help but grin. He felt like a small child and was unsure of why.
�Mr. Carter, I see that you�ve woken up bright and early this morning. How are you feeling?� he heard a female voice ask.
�Hmfmmbadumba�� he mumbled, his lips refusing to form the words he could hear in his head.
�Where am I? I feel fine, wide-awake. Where�s Brian?�
�Mr. Carter, it�s still pretty early in the morning, so it�d be a good idea to go back to sleep,� the nurse told him as she closed the window blinds.
�Bufuata,� he tried to protest, but soon more drugs kicked in and he lost consciousness.