Chapter
Eleven: Set Adrift On Memory Bliss
Remember when
We never needed each other
The best of friends
Like sister and brother
We understood
We’d never be alone
The girl on the plane
remained silent and had her eyes shut ever since takeoff. The elderly
businessman next to her just assumed she didn’t like flying and didn’t mind
keeping it silent. He was never much one given to chatting with a stranger
anyways.
Though she looked asleep,
Rylee was far from that. Her mind was racing, thoughts, feelings and especially
memories flooded into her mind continuously. She seemed to be watching it all
from and outside view, like a person would watch a movie.
"Momma?" A
little girl, clad in a purple jumper with a matching bow in her long black
ponytail, paused at the doorway, looking questioningly at her mother.
"Yes, Rylee?"
Her mother answered from the couch.
"Are you busy?"
"Not for my baby,
I’m not," her mother answered with a smile.
The little girl crossed
the room and climbed up on the couch next to her mother. Reaching into the front
pocket of her jumper, she pulled out a picture and handed it to her mother.
"What’s this, Momma?"
The mother looked at the
picture her daughter had placed in her hand. It was a photograph taken of two
children, a little boy and a little girl. The little boy was dressed in a pale
blue hospital gown and was hooked up to several machines beside the hospital
bed. He was either asleep or unconscious and appeared to be no more than five
years old. Curled up next to his side was a little girl, about two years old.
Her body was relaxed in sleep, except for her two little hands which held on
tightly to one of the little boy’s hands. Her expression was fiercely
protective even at her young age.
"That’s me and
Brian, right?" Rylee asked, looking up at her mother’s face and was
startled to see the beginnings of tears in her mother’s eyes. "Momma,
what’s wrong?"
"Oh, I’m sorry,
honey. I was just remembering." Rylee’s mother cleared her throat, and
pointed at the picture.
"I don’t
understand. What was wrong with Brian?" Rylee asked, worried.
"You probably
won’t remember this, sweetie, but Brian was very sick when he was five years
old. Aunt Jackie had to take him to the hospital."
"Because of his
heart, right?" Rylee questioned.
Her mother nodded.
"This picture was taken just after Brian’s surgery, before he woke up.
Your daddy and I took you to the hospital, too."
The little girl’s eyes
slid shut just like they always did when she was trying to remember something.
She remembered that day. She remembered being held by her daddy, looking down at
Brian in the hospital bed. He had looked so sick and so little.
"Dadda," she
had said. "Bwian hurted." She had pointed one little hand towards her
friend. She hadn’t understood what was wrong, but even a little girl such as
she could see that there was SOMETHING wrong.
"Yes, Rylee,"
her father said, soothingly. "Brian’s hurt, but he’ll get better
soon."
She remembered looking
back and forth between the metal hospital bed, which seemed so isolating and
cold. "Pwromise?" she asked her daddy, tears filling her brown eyes.
"I remember,"
Rylee said, and quickly recounted all the things she remembered.
Her mother smiled at all
the little details her six-year-old daughter could recall. "Then do you
know what happened after that?"
Rylee shook her head
vigorously.
"You looked at your
daddy again, then at Brian, and asked your daddy to put you down. Daddy set you
down on a chair next to Brian’s bed. The second your feet touched that chair,
before anyone could stop you, you climbed over and lay down next to Brian. Then
you told us that you were going to stay there until Brian got better. And you
did."
Rylee was quiet as she
looked at the picture again for a few moments. "Can I show Brian the
picture?" Her mother had barely finished saying yes, before she ran out the
side door, calling Brian’s name loudly.
Rylee sighed, her eyes still
closed, remembering. She had run to Brian’s house, and explained to him the
story. Aunt Jackie had seen the picture too. Her eyes filled with tears and she
had hugged Brian and Rylee tight to her.
That memory had just started
to fade, when another memory rushed take it’s place.
"Come on,
Rylee," an eleven-year-old Brian whined, standing in the middle of the
pool. "You have to learn how to swim. You should have learned a long time
ago. You’re almost nine years old!"
"I’m not going to
be nine for another six months, silly," Rylee retorted from her place on
the steps. "What does it matter anyways? My mommy doesn’t know how to
swim and she’s lots older than me."
"Well, that’s cuz
she didn’t have me to teach her when she was nine, I mean, eight." Brian
answered back. "Just come on!"
Rylee huffed and made a
big show of straightening her ponytail and adjusting the straps of her bathing
suit. She made a move to step off the stairs and let go of the side of the pool,
when she suddenly changed her mind and sat back down on the top step. "Can
I just learn tomorrow? One day won’t matter, will it?" she reasoned.
Brian rolled his eyes and
cast a glance towards the adults, who watching off to the side just in case. He
waded through the water and leaned down in front of Rylee. "That’s what
you said yesterday," he said with a grin. "Besides," he said,
lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "If you don’t learn,
we’re never gonna be allowed in the tree house by ourselves, and that won’t
be any fun. Just cuz you might fall in the pool again."
"AGAIN? What do you
mean ‘again’?" Rylee said, sounding offended. "I didn’t fall in
the first time. You pushed me!" She placed her hands on her hips and glared
angrily at Brian.
Brian’s jaw dropped.
"I did not!"
"Did, too!"
"Nuh-uh! Besides, I
was only eight! Eight-year-olds aren’t big enough to push anyone out of a tree
that big." Brian retorted, self-righteously.
Hey! I’m eight!"
Brian gave her an
innocent grin. "That’s what I was talking about."
Rylee folded her arms
across her chest. "Well, sooooooory, Mr. I’m so cool cuz I don’t have
enough fingers to show my age anymore! Forget swimming! Let’s go climb the
tree and I’ll show you if this eight-year-old can push YOU out of the stupid
tree!" With that, she started to get out of the pool.
Brian caught her arm,
preventing her from leaving. "I’m just kidding, Angel. Come on," he
coaxed gently. He held out both of his hands to her, inviting her to take them.
Rylee eyed his hands
skeptically and looked back up at his blue eyes.
"Don’t you trust
me?" Brian asked.
Rylee gave an unladylike
snort but didn’t answer him.
"Well, do you or
don’t you?" Brian asked, still waiting for an answer.
Rylee chewed on her
bottom lip nervously as she gazed across what seemed like an endless expanse of
sparkling blue pool. She looked back up at Brian, and with one last glance at
the pool, she sighed and placed both her hands in his.
Brian gave her a bright
smile and led her farther out to where she almost couldn’t reach the bottom
anymore. "Okay," he told her. "I’ll hold your hands and you
kick, okay? Are you ready?"
Rylee took her eyes off
Brian and looked at the pool uncertainly again. "I’m scared," she
said, quietly. Brian smiled patiently with her and squeezed her hands
reassuringly. "It’s okay. I’ve got you."
Rylee sighed again, and
lifted a hand to her temples, rubbing away a non-existent headache. She opened
her eyes to find that the man who was next to her was not in his seat at the
moment. She turned back to the small, cold window, her gaze drifting over puffy
white clouds and clear blue sky.
"It’s okay," she
echoed. "I’ve got you." Those were two simple phrases, but they held
a sense of power in them. She had idolized and trusted Brain even at eight years
old. And he held her up. He was her support and her strength, even when he was
halfway around the world. She had learned how to swim and even resisted pushing
him out of the tree on several occasions. He was her childhood playmate, her
most ardent supporter, her closest confidant, her best friend. And this summer
she discovered just how hard it was to keep all that in harmony with the
feelings of love that overwhelmed her every time she was near him. So what was
there left to do? Hop on a plane and fly away? Rylee sighed. "Why
not?" she said softly to herself. ‘Don’t you trust me?’ Brian had
said. He said that to her a lot. And of course, she always said yes. Perhaps
that was the problem; maybe she trusted him too much. The memory at the pool
when she was eight was reminiscent of something that had happened this summer,
only with a different outcome. Rylee turned her eyes away from the glare of the
sun outside the window and closed her eyes again.
The sun shone brightly
that day in Florida. Not too cold, not too hot, not too windy, not too dry, just
perfect for going to the beach. Or in Rylee and Brian’s case, taking a dip in
the pool. Brian dove straight into the water, and resurfaced, shaking water out
of his hair. He swam a few lengths, submerged in the water in an attempt to cool
himself down. On the other hand, Rylee walked to the steps and sat with her body
half in and half out of the water. She slipped a pair of sunglasses on and
closed her eyes, preparing to lay out.
Brian stopped swimming
and ducked under the surface again. Coming back up, he turned to look for Rylee.
Wading closer to her, Brian frowned. "Ry-Lee," he called in a
sing-song voice.
"What, Bri?"
she asked, without looking up or opening her eyes.
"Aren’t you gonna
swim at all?" he whined.
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Cuz, I’m taking
advantage of the beautiful Floridian weather and getting a tan."
Brian gave her a strange
look. "But you live in California!"
"And your point
is?"
Brian didn’t answer,
and had Rylee opened her eyes, she would have seen a slow smile start to spread
across his face, an evil smile that showed that he was up to something. He
slowly reached down, cupping his hands together, and scooped up water in his
hands. His grin widened, as he prepared to throw it on Rylee.
"Don’t even try,
Rok," Rylee said, suddenly.
Brian’s smile dropped,
and he let the water go. "How did you know?" he asked her.
With her eyes still
closed, Rylee smiled. "Cuz I'm brilliant!" Satisfied that she had
foiled Brian’s plot, she sighed and resumed her tanning.
Suddenly a wave of
freezing water splashed over her. "Brian!" Rylee yelled, sitting up
quickly in shock. She whipped off her sunglasses to find Brian laughing
hysterically from the pool. "Oh, you’re gonna get it now, little
boy!" She got up quickly and ran to the side of the house. Before Brian
could even figure out what she was doing, Rylee grabbed the hose and sprayed
Brian directly in the face.
Brian let a yell of
surprise. Rylee laughed at his expression, and squeezed the spray nozzle again.
Brian turned his head to avoid the blast, and tried to swim away. But Rylee
aimed the hose at him, following him wherever he went. Brian ducked under the
water in an attempt to escape, but Rylee merely waited until he had to take a
breath and sprayed him again. They were both laughing now, and Rylee made the
mistake of coming within reach of the pool. Brian went under once again, and
resurfaced right by the edge of the pool. He got sprayed in the face again for
his efforts, but managed to grab the end of the hose.
"Oh no!" Rylee
said, trying to retain control of the hose.
Just then, Nick walked
out of the house.
"Nick! Help
me!" Both Rylee and Brian called at the same time.
Nick froze, taking in the
sight before him. "Uh-uh! I’m not even gonna get in the middle of that
one! You both are on your own." With that, Nick disappeared back into the
house.
They both laughed again,
and Rylee gave the hose one more tug, hoping to pull it out of Brian’s hands.
Nick reappeared seconds later, this time with a soda can and a bowl of chips in
his hands. He sat down on one of the lounge chairs bordering the pool and
proceeded to watch his friends like he would watch a movie.
Brian gave a yank on his
end of the hose, and Rylee, being higher up that Brian was, got pulled into the
pool. Rylee came back up to the surface laughing. "Dangit, Bri!"
But Brian didn’t
answer, he was still laughing too hard. They stood about two feet apart, eyeing
each other warily.
Nick took another drink
from his soda can, and waited to see what would happen next. "You’re not
gonna splash me again are you?" Rylee asked, regarding Brian carefully.
Brian gave her an
innocent look, and smiled brightly. "Don’t you trust me?"
Rylee laughed and shook
her head. "No way!"
Brian nodded
thoughtfully. "That’s probably smart, considering…" he grinned
brightly again. Then he reached down and swept both of his arms along the
surface of the water, sending a giant wave of water over Rylee.
"Brian!" Rylee
yelled, and splashed him back. Then they started to have an all-out water fight,
laughing and giggling, and of course, splashing.
Nick looked on in
amusement. "This should be a FOX special," he said aloud to no one in
particular. "When Pop Stars Attack."
Brian and Rylee continued
fighting, and Brian being bigger and stronger, succeeded in pinning Rylee’s
arms down, and splashing her with his other hand. Rylee struggled, but
couldn’t do much without the use of her hands. After a few moments, she
managed to free one hand. Brian quickly captured her wrist with his free hand,
and they both laughed again. Now Brian held her tightly with her back against
his chest. His arms, still holding a firm grip on Rylee’s wrists, crossed at
her waist, preventing her from moving in any direction. Rylee tried again to
free herself, Brian just laughed at her efforts and tried to drag her into
deeper water. Rylee struggled again and Brian, both of his hands full, reached
his head down and took a mouthful of pool water.
"Bri? Bri?"
Rylee asked, craning her neck to see what he was doing. "What are
you"-
She was cut off when
Brian suddenly spit the water directly on the side of her face.
Rylee let out a shriek.
"Oh, my gosh! You did NOT just do that! You are so dead, Littrell!"
Brian started laughing
again and released her hands. He laughed even harder, taking in the mortified
look on Rylee’s face.
Nick paused in shock from
his chair, a chip frozen halfway to his mouth. "Oh, dang! Brian’s gonna
get it now!" he commented aloud, not unlike someone would talk to a TV
screen.
And he was right, for
Brian decided at the last second to move out of Rylee’s reach, and started
swimming quickly away.
Rylee’s eyes narrowed,
and she quickly dove under the water, pushing off of the bottom of the pool. She
caught up to Brian within seconds, and stretched out her arms to grab Brian’s
waist. Using her momentum, she spun him around and slammed him into the pool
floor.
Brian fought not to laugh
under water but couldn't hold it in. Though Brian was stronger and could have
easily powered his way to the surface, his battle to hold his breath took most
of his attention. Rylee held him down a little longer, while he tried to hold
what little breath he had left.
They both resurfaced,
Brian coughing and sputtering but still laughing. Rylee eyed him for a moment,
before giving in and laughing with him.
They finally began to
quiet down when Nick interrupted. "You’re not gonna start again are
you?"
They both looked at him
quizzically.
Nick explained.
"I’m out of chips." He held his empty bowl upside-down as proof.
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