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| Subject: Trust- Chapter 1- everybody read PLEASE | |
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Author: Gina Z. |
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Date Posted: 23:04:22 06/25/02 Tue *yawn* hot off Microsoft Word y'all...enjoy. Scroll a little for the prologue- this stupid thing won't lemme post both. Trust Chapter 1 The car Grant was in carrying he and his two friends, Christian and Ian, overturned on the way home from a Clinton club. The police report said the first call about the crash came in about 2:30. They’d only been twenty minutes from home. The thought of this just made tears stream down Tricia’s eyes. He promised he’d be home by three. The accident wasn’t the boys’ fault, actually. From what the police officer told she and her family, as Christian merged onto the highway, a black Ford pick-up came out of nowhere and broad sided the small Chevy Cavalier. The Chevy, being the small car it was, responded to the crash by being thrown off the road completely, spinning three consecutive times before coming to a heart stopping halt on it’s roof at the pit of a ditch. Just the description of the crash was enough for Tricia, she knew the minute she’d heard “twisted metal” that it was enough. Of course, it was more than enough for her mother. Tricia sat on the uncomfortable couch in the hospital waiting room practically emotionless. The latest issue of Seventeen magazines was held between both of her shaky hands, but as much as she tried, she couldn’t read it. Mainly she was just thumbing through the pages, looking at the pictures of various celebrities. Adrienne lay asleep next to her with her head on her lap, so Tricia was forced to be careful in any move she made. Her mom and dad had gone to get some food, and they left she and her sister there just incase any word on Grant came their way. Aside from their update upon their arrival at 7 AM, they hadn’t heard a thing since. The time was now 9:30. Honestly, Tricia didn’t expect much. The minute she heard that Grant had been in an accident, everything following seemed to happen in a blur. She didn’t quite remember crying, but she knew she skipped breakfast and got dressed in a record time. Tricia really didn’t care how she looked, and this was why she now sat in her seat in a pair of black track pants and an oversized green pullover. If she got to hot for whatever reason she did have a white t-shirt on underneath, but she was pretty comfortable right then. The outlook for Grant’s recovery was overall grim, but hopeful. Christian and Ian had come away from the crash with their own set of injuries, but Grant was by far the worst of the three. The pick-up truck hit the car on the drivers’ side, exposing he and Christian to the brunt of the impact. Ian was still hurt, but not quite as severely as his counterparts. When the same officer who greeted them at the door explained to them the cause and other facts of the accident, he explained that Grant could’ve been the worst for two reasons: the pick-up could’ve hit the back of the car, or Grant might not have been wearing his seatbelt. Either reason sounded legit, but judging by the car’s present appearance, the first reason did not seem right. Either way, it didn’t matter. Seatbelt or no seatbelt, Grant was in there, and he wasn’t in the greatest shape. Tricia let out a long, but silent yawn as she reflected on the information she’d been given. Examining a picture of Christina Aguilera at the American Music Awards, she thought long and hard about every word said. Ian came away with a possibly sprained right knee and a long gash across his forehead. The gash required thirty-seven stitches, and at the time they were still awaiting the x-ray results. Christian had a broken left arm along with his share of bumps and bruises. He too had a cut on his face, but his was a small one across his cheek. Not deep enough for stitches, a quick wash of peroxide and a standard band-aid fixed that one up in no time. Tricia was able to breathe a sigh of relief at that news; they were going to be okay. But then, there was Grant. She hadn’t seen her older brother yet, but she wasn’t quite sure if she wanted too. Her best friend, her brother, was the only questionable one who’d survived the crash. Don’t be confused, everybody involved survived, but he was the only one who the doctors “weren’t sure” about. Those were the exact words Doctor Hearst, Grant’s appointed doctor, used to tell his mom of the prognosis. What great choice of words for a doctor, right? Tricia thought so, or at least enough to turn to Adrienne while still in the doctor’s presence and roll her eyes. Of course, the doctor saw, but he failed to react, as Julie (Mom) was quick to bombard him with questions. In true doctor fashion, he had an answer to everything. If he kept irritating her the way he was, Tricia would too. The nineteen year old yawned once again, this time covering her mouth just to be polite. Even though Adrienne was the only one around her, she was right underneath her and Tricia did not want to wake her sister up. It had to be hard on Adrienne to be woken up so early and abruptly only to find out the worst about her brother. If she needed to sleep, she needed to sleep, and Tricia was not going to get between that. Aware of her sister, Tricia held the magazine open to the same page she was on and set it down slowly right beside her. She reached up and unclasped the black hairclip that’d been holding her short brown hair up for a time and shook her hair out. Every single strand seemed to fall neatly into place as she worked her fingers through her locks, running them through a few times before finally tucking the front bits behind her ears. She forgot to bring a hairbrush, so this would have to do. “Doctor Hearst, you’re needed in Exam 2, Doctor Hearst Exam 2.” Tricia’s glare was immediately turned upwards as the sounds of the PA system filled the hospital. It made her jump just a slight bit; it was sudden. After settling down just a tad bit, Tricia sat back with ease, knowing she was going to be in that seat for quite a while. Tricia propped her elbows up next to her head on the firm headrest and leaned her head all the way back. She could feel nearly every muscle stretch as she leaned her head back, then arched it forwards again. She glanced around, her statement had gone unheard, or at least she thought. She sighed, exasperation quite evident in her voice, “This is not what my entire day is going to be like.” She stated, her voice in what she considered a whisper. From down below, Adrienne stirred. Just as Tricia was about to curse herself for waking her younger sibling, she backed off. Adrienne was just shifting from her side to her back. However, she heard Tricia loud and clear. In a sleepy voice, she answered. “Yeah, it is.” The only thing Tricia could do to that comment was crack a small, drowsy smile, let out one last yawn, and shake her head. Her sister was a character. She sat up just a little, reached forward and covered her sister with the blanket they’d brought from home. “Go back to sleep, you.” As much as she didn’t want her entire day to be grim and dim, Adrienne was right. This was exactly how her day was going to be. It was exactly how everybody’s day was going to be. ***** Dan sat in an uneasy position with both elbows on the table, his hands clasped together with his chin on top of his fist as he peered straight ahead at his wife. Julie was entirely frazzled. Her son lay in the hospital teetering between life and death, just the thought of it turned her stomach. He saw as her hands shook oh so subtly. Every single muscle in her arms was tightened to stop the shaking, but it only made it worse instead. She handled her cup of coffee quite well, but it was hard for her to stomach among the other things that’d happened so far. They had many other hurdles to clear. Julie held the coffee in one hand, and her husband’s cell phone in the other, for the moment just peering at it. She knew there were people to call; she just couldn’t organize her thoughts together into one solid list of people. There was family, friends, relatives, people from all over the country who all knew Grant and needed to know about this unfortunate happening. Dan, the realist, didn’t quite know what was more disturbing, the fact that they were there at the hospital, or that if Grant had the type of injuries Ian had come away with, they wouldn’t be making these phone calls. Dan was well aware of the fact that anything was a possibility, but he dare not say a word for his sake or the girls’ sake. He had to be strong. A sudden slamming sound soon roused him from his thoughts. The cell phone now lied on the table. He glanced up. Julie was looking straight ahead, holding her coffee not saying a word. Her hands were still trembling. “No, I can’t- I can’t do this. Grant is going to be okay. There is no need to make phone calls to our relatives when we know that Grant will be okay,” Julie spattered, not making eye contact with Dan once within that whole sentence. She didn’t want to do anything at that moment. The only thing she wanted was to be by Grant’s side. Dan sighed, feeling her pain. He leaned in a little closer. Tears were beginning to form once again near the corners of her eyes. Her voice was choked up with the small droplets as well. It took her a second before she glanced up at him, her eyes glazed over with that sad look, “there is nobody to call, Dan. There’s nobody.” It tore Dan apart to see his wife like this, and as much as he wanted to believe there was nobody to call, there was. Dan wasted no more time. He reached forward, and took his hand in hers. “Julie- Julie look at me. There are people to call, but Grant is going to be okay. I want you to believe me when I say that. You heard the doctors, so he’s not in the best of conditions right now, but he is a fighter. I know and you know that Grant is in that room right now fighting for his life so he can live and come back and be with me, you, and Tricia, and Adrienne. We know that. Think positive right now, Julie, Grant wants you too.” Julie couldn’t help but nod at her husband’s statement. He did have a very good point, but at the same time she was trying to be as optimistic as she could but not get herself wrapped up in it all. There was such a thing as getting your hopes up, and when it comes to life and death, that’s not a thing one would want to do. She took in a deep breath, running her fingers through her natural red hair. “I know Grant wants me to too, but damn it Dan, it just feels like it’s so hard,” she cried, easily succumbing to the tears with no added pressure from anybody but him. Dan continued to hold her hand, running his thumb over her index finger as his fingers were laced in hers. He listened to what she said. He knew it was hard, but continued to elaborate. “Ssh, I know it does, but-“ she was the one to elaborate now. Wiping the tears away from her eyes with the corner of her coffee-stained napkin, she spoke openly. “I’m aware that Grant might not make it through this, okay? I’m aware of how bad his injuries are, and I’m aware of all of the risks that come with this that and the other. I don’t want to get my hopes up only to have my oldest and only son leave us at twenty-two years of age! I don’t know about you but I do not want to jump the gun. The grief will outweigh everything else. This I promise you.” Julie seethed, nearly taking her anger and frustrations all the way out. It wasn’t necessary, but Dan understood what she was saying and where she was coming from. Her last line sparked him to remember something. He still held onto her hand. “Julie- Julie, Julie, Julie, you’re being paranoid now. I’m aware of the same things you are, honey. The only way we are going to overcome this is to get through it TOGETHER. Yes, twenty-two is way to young, but we have to stay together, and we’ve just got to pray for Grant everyday. Strength in numbers right? I think me, you, Trish, and Adrienne can put up a good fight. Now, I’ve got a suggestion. You go ahead and finish up your coffee. Take your time, I will take the address book and the phone and call all of the necessary people. I’m only going to call people who are absolutely necessary, so you won’t have to worry. Do you trust me?” he questioned. Julie said nothing; she just nodded, “Good. I’ll be right back.” He pivoted to set off into the hallway, but stopped at the sound of Julie’s voice once again. “Dan?” she called. He turned around. “I love you.” He smiled, “I love you too.” Setting off for the hallway, he quickly unbuttoned the thick black address book and began to flip through the pages. When he saw the first name to catch his eye, he set off and began to dial. Typically, the address book was in alphabetical order. The first name he set eyes on? Diane Bass. ***** Diane was the first person Dan ended up calling. Whether it was because she was first in the address book, or her son’s relation to the family, that remained a mystery, but Diane wasted absolutely no time in calling her son and informing him of the bad news. Lance hated bad news, but you know what? This- he needed to know. Lance sat down in the comfy leather chair without a care in the world. Behind him, the television was blaring at a near full blast, the music was pouring in from the other room, and the unwanted chit-chat of the four other guys could be heard from miles away- even if they were behind him just like the television. He sat down, removing the pillow that’d been placed there before him and replacing it on his lap. He leaned his head back for a minute- wanting nothing more than the pain in his head to ease up. Looking at the way things were going, it didn’t look like a possibility. With his eyes closed, he managed to listen in as Justin yapped on the phone. He didn’t know whom it was with, but he had a good inkling as to the answer. For one, his tone of voice clued him in big time, and two, he would never speak to his mom that way either. Chances were it was Britney. Oddly enough, Justin and Britney had been doing a lot of talking lately, but none of it was good. That was the odd part. JC sat with Lonnie and Mike on the flipside of the room, playing a very rigorous game on NBA Slam on Play Station 2. All the guys loved to play; it was one of Lance’s favorites, but he just did not feel like playing right then. The annoying pain in his head made him want to stop doing everything, which he had. Not even doing nothing helped. Lance shook his head, headaches sucked. As for Chris and Joey, they stood in between the two sides of the room, throwing around a small, plush football and talking as they did so. Lance hadn’t tuned in to their conversation in a while, but the last time he had they were saying something about Fu-Man. Boring, now how many times in a day did the guys have to hear about Chris and his Fu-Man? None of these activities; the phone talking, the video game playing, or the football throwing, seemed even remotely amusing to Lance. The best thing he could’ve done was sat there, and done nothing. That’s exactly what he did. He enjoyed his few minutes of relaxation and tuned everything out. For a minute there, he was able to hear absolutely nothing. It wasn’t until one voice had to jump on in and spoil it all. “Hey Lance, what are you doing over there?” Lance opened his eyes, knowing he just experienced a rude, rude, very rude awakening. Slowly, he sat up. He turned around to see Lonnie, still playing the game and still very focused. He figured since it’d been a few minutes since he said anything, he was concerned. Lance understood, it was legit when you were guarding a super star. Not to say Lance considered himself one, of course. He sat up even straighter, and letting out a sigh, was quick to respond. “I was just sitting down, chilling. I have a headache, so I’m trying my best to get rid of it.” He explained, playing with the long sleeves of his beige sweater. Lonnie simply nodded his head in response, “Oh, have you taken an aspirin?” Lance sighed once again, but this time it was more of a huff, could that question have been any dumber? “Yeah, an aspirin and a Tylenol. I’ve napped, I’ve tried to sit in silence, and nothing has worked. You wouldn’t happen to have any tips, would you?” The head security guard shook his head, “Nope, can’t say I do. Ooh! You’re going down! I just whooped your ass,” he exclaimed jubilantly, veering entirely off subject to remind JC that he’d just lost the game. JC nodded, knowing he’d been creamed but of course was a good sport about it. Lonnie diverted back to Lance, “honestly Lance, I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t get headaches.” JC shook his head, “Nope. You just give ‘em.” Lonnie and Mike laughed, but Lance didn’t find it funny. Thus, he exited without a trace, knowing that they’d notice he was gone sooner or later. He’d given up on the NSync clan for advice a long time ago. Lance intended to head to the other room, the “quiet” room, to see if that would work, but as usual, he was stopped for what seemed like the millionth time that day. “Lance,” was all one voice had to say to make him lose his mind and all marbles that came with it forever. This time, his name came from a girl, on the second doorway to the left that he happened to be standing right in front of. Since it was spoken right into his ear, Lance shuddered. He turned to see none other than road manager Melinda. She held a cup of coffee in one hand, and a cell phone in the other. Lance recognized that phone; it was his. He’d reacted to soon, however, and didn’t quite realize it was her. “What could you possibly want now?” he whined, quite loudly at that. Justin and Joey’s heads were the only ones to turn, but when he looked down at Melinda she looked slightly taken aback. His facial expression softened almost immediately. “I’m sorry Lind, headache.” He excused himself. Melinda nodded, going back to her sweet self instantly. “That bad? Aww, try popping your neck; it worked last time,” she suggested, giving him a quick pat on the shoulder. Lance nodded, but on the inside brushed it off. Half of her tips never worked. He glanced at his cell phone, “Your mom is on the phone.” Lance’s mother never called him right before a show. She knew it was their time to focus and gather themselves together. In the past, Diane had only called one, and it was urgent. The only reason that Diane was not at this show was because she was going to be on tour with her son for the last half of the dates. She and her son made a mutual decision that it’d be better for her to stay home. Concerned, but not shaken, Lance nodded his head, said a quick thank you to Melinda, and took his phone. Now, he was forced to go into the other room so he could get some peace and quiet and clearly listen to his mother. He glanced around, realized nobody was around, and shut the door. Lance pressed the flip phone to his ear, “Hey Mom,” he greeted, not sounding to chipper in his tone. It didn’t take Diane long to pick up on that, “Hi Baby, how are you? You don’t sound to happy.” Lance couldn’t help but smile. She always knew how he felt no matter what. “I have a really bad headache right now, and I’m stopping at nothing to get rid of it. Nothing seems to be working, but I’ll find something.” He explained. Diane nodded from home. “I’m sure you will,” she assured him, switching into a serious tone of voice, “listen, honey, are you sitting down? I’ve got some rather bad news for you that I hate to tell you, but you need to know.” The minute she said bad news, Lance was searching for a place to sit. When he did, a small seat by the window, he allowed his mother to go on. “What’s going on? Is Stacey okay?” she took in a deep breath. “Oh yeah, Stacey is okay. Actually, she called today. She and Ford are doing great, and she sends her best and says she loves you,” she informed him, “what I have to tell you is- well- do you remember Mr. And Mrs. Murphy?” she questioned. Lance heart began to quicken at the simple sound of that last name. It always floored him how one- two names, could have such an effect on him, but even after all of the time that’d past and what’d happened, it still hadn’t changed. Instantly, he thought of her. “Well, yeah I remember them. Of course I do! Oh man, Mom please tell me nothing has happened to her!” he urged, immediately jumping to conclusions and thinking the absolute worse. Even though Diane couldn’t see her son, she still shook her head, not wanting him to think that at all. “Oh Lance, no. She is fine, I promise. I would’ve called you a whole lot sooner if something bad had happened to her. Actually, it’s her older brother.” “Grant?” “Yeah. Dan called me earlier this morning and informed me that he was in a car accident last night. Actually, it was pretty bad. He was in there with two of his friends, and he’s the worst off out of all three. They actually don’t know if he’s going to make it.” She explained. Lance nearly gasped. He’d only met Grant one or two times in the past, but it worried him more how his two sisters were handling the situation. Grant was cool and all, but he knew his sisters a lot better. Lance put his hand up and covered his open mouth. “Oh man, that is horrible. How is the family handling it? I mean- Trish and Adrienne in particular?” he questioned. It’d been a while since he’d seen any of them, but it’d also been a while since it’d all hit the fan. He still wondered how they were doing. “Dan said it’s to early to tell much right now, but the girls are fighters. They’re staying as strong as they can for their older brother.” Lance nodded his head, staying on with his mother for nearly five more minutes. She informed Lance that it might be good to somehow get in touch with the family. He’d be in Clinton the day after next, but at the same time he could call or email. Either way would work, but wait a second. Did anybody say Tricia wanted to see him in the first place? ***** FLASHBACK Tricia quickly swiped away the crystal teardrops that slid down her cheeks, brushing them away with a quick whip of her hand. Her face was already tear stained so it didn’t make much of a difference; she just didn’t want anybody to know she was crying. It was to late for that too, Grant was sitting right in front of her listening to her every word. He’d brushed away a few tears for her to begin with, and as much as Tricia would’ve wanted her privacy as the phone was pressed to her ear, she knew she probably would’ve been even more upset if her older brother wasn’t there. At this point in time, he tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear, sitting Indian Style on the leather ottoman which matched the leather chair she sat in. He was still in his pajamas, consisting of a white muscle shirt and a pair of blue flannel pajama pants. He’d just woken up to this. When Tricia was in his presence, he spoke nothing but positive things about her relationship with her boyfriend, Lance. However, when Tricia wasn’t in the room, he disapproved of it in every way, shape, and form possible. Tricia was fully aware of how her older brother felt towards them being together, but she’d told him on many occasions that she didn’t care. It wasn’t Lance he didn’t like, his words could be marked that if he didn’t like Lance he would’ve been gone a long time ago. Lance was a great guy, perfect for his little sister, but it was the age thing that bothered him so much. It was summer of 1998 at the time. Tricia was a mere sixteen years old, and Lance was nineteen. They’d been together on and off since Tricia was fourteen, but now as Lance got older and became an adult before she did, it scared Grant more and more. He had no idea what she meant to him, and that scared him even more. He sat patiently, silent as he listened to Tricia’s words. “What are you talking about? I am not being selfish! I love you Lance! Why would I want to be selfish?” she sobbed, running her fingers through her hair as she rested her elbows on her knees. Grant cringed. There she goes with those three words again. Couldn’t she have chosen something else to say? He couldn’t think of anything off the top of his head, but he was sure that if he looked in a dictionary, there would be a different, more reserved kind of way to say I love you. The only people Grant had ever said those words too were the members of his family, and he was one year younger than Lance at eighteen. Here Tricia was, not even with her drivers’ license rattling the words off the tip of her tongue. Once again, it terrified him. Still, he listened. Lance had broken some pretty interesting news to Tricia just one day prior, and one could only anticipate that Tricia would be a little mad. Grant knew that if his girlfriend told him something like that he’d be the same way. Two more tears proceeded to fall down her porcelain face, but Grant was sure to get them with his finger before they absorbed into the cotton of her white track pants. She veered her head up to look at him and her sad brown eyes kind of hit him on a soft spot. There were a lot of things he hated, but one thing that ranked top on his list was to see Tricia or Adrienne cry. He took his role as older brother more like a protector, but they never minded. He assured her that he wasn’t going anywhere as Tricia continued to listen. She shot up again. “What do you mean? Lance you are not making sense to me at all, I just don’t understand- no that’s not what I meant! I would never say that! I love you!” Those three words again. Hearing that out of Tricia was like hearing her swear- it was a bad thing. Grant hated it, but he dare not say anything to her. Tricia was always very fragile when it came to her relationship with Lance, and it was understandable. Since she was younger she handled being his girlfriend on her own. Seldom did she come to her family about advice or say anything about him. This was her thing, and she didn’t want anything, or anybody, to intervene. One could easily piss her off by telling her things about them. It wasn’t as if the family didn’t know Lance. He was over at their house all the time, but just recently he hadn’t been over for dinner or anything in the past two weeks. The family knew Lance very well and vice versa, it was just that when Tricia and Lance spent time together, she never spoke about it or vented about anything. Therefore, Tricia knew why he hadn’t been by in two weeks. Nobody else did, but they were bound to find out. Grant was designated to get to the bottom of it. The family messenger, if you will. For these two weeks that Lance was gone, it almost seemed like Tricia was gone with him. She was an entirely different person, she was unhappy, sad, depressed, irritable, moody to name a few. The exact opposite of what she normally was. Grant wasn’t appointed to be nosy, he was appointed so they could have the old Tricia back. But his sitting there with her on that hot July morning wasn’t a mission, he was just being her older brother. Three quick taps on the door to the game room suddenly diverted both of their attention. Quickly glancing up, Adrienne stood outside, her hair tied up in a ponytail while still in her pajamas of a red tank and short black cheerleading shorts. Looking to her left hand, the cordless phone from downstairs lay in her palm. She looked at Grant, gesturing to it. After mouthing the name “Ian”, Grant sighed in return. He mouthed “take a message” back. “Oh, so now you hate me. Great, real great Lance.” Tricia snapped, forcing Grant to whip his head back in her direction. She was getting louder, not a good thing in an argument. Grant motioned to her, gesturing for her to calm down. Tricia shrugged him off. It was either sit there and shut up or leave and give her privacy. Grant nodded, he knew, just forgot the rules for a moment there. She continued on. “What? That is such crap! I’m so sick of you doing this! Listen, it’s ten o clock in the morning in the middle of June. I am NOT going to spend my entire summer inside arguing with you! Next time you want to start a fight over nothing make sure you pick your battle wisely. I’ve had it with you!” Grant jumped for a sudden second when the phone went from Tricia’s ear one minute down to the receiver the next. With a loud slamming noise she thrust the phone down, sitting there silently not saying a word. Grant watched her, wanting to choose the right moment to speak. He took a breath. “Dare I ask what that was about?” he implied. Tricia sighed, shaking her head. She ran her fingers through her hair one more time, sniffling as she did so as she tilted her head up towards the light. “Believe me Grant, you do not want to know.” She seethed back; not angry with him but veering it towards him. Normally he wouldn’t take it, but he was willing to let one fly. He ran his fingers through his sandy blonde hair. He wanted to know. “Or maybe I do, what’ll it take to get it out of you?” She shook her head. “Nothing, don’ t bother. It’s just Lance- being an ass. Being himself,” she blurted, trying to make a joke at the end but making herself cry again instead. Almost like a reflex, Grant reached his arms out to her, signaling for her to come in for a hug. He hated to see her so upset. He felt as if she didn’t know what she was doing; it was merely puppy love. Still, he enveloped her in his embrace, cradling her head on his shoulder telling her it’d be okay. For a few seconds there, she believed him. Until the phone rang again. At first, they looked at each other, Grant giving her a “don’t pick it up” type of glare. Of course, Tricia had to disobey and lunged for it at the first ring. Drying her tears, she picked it up. “Hello?” “Trish,” that same voice bellowed through. Tricia didn’t hesitate in reacting. She slammed the phone down on the receiver, hanging up on him. ***** Tricia ran her fingers through her hair in almost the same fashion as she did on that same summer morning, leaning forward in her chair as she did so. She closed her eyes from behind her black rimmed reading glasses, her hands positioned on the back of her neck near her shoulders. As she hung her head she could feel everything stretch and pop. It felt good. After a yawn and a good sneeze, she sat back. She glanced at her watch. It was 4:30 in the afternoon. She sat back in the chair she’d been in all morning and all afternoon, and with her laptop finally shut sitting at her side, folded her arms across her chest. Tricia figured simply sitting in pure silence for a few minutes wouldn’t hurt a thing. She peered out the window and squinted at the sudden exposure to the sun’s rays. The really odd thing about the weather at that time was it was cloudy to the east, and sunny to the west. Ironically, they were on the sunny side. Nothing about this day had been sunny, to say the least. Outside, it was drizzling rain, and while one could clearly see the clouds making this possible, the visible sun on the other side made it all the more beautiful. She shook her head, positive things just didn’t seem to be in her vocabulary that day. Her mind raced with the not so great memories that the day had brought. Her parents were a wreck, Adrienne was a wreck, Tricia too was an emotional wreck but she vowed to stay strong for her family before anything else. In fact, she was focused on so many other things that she could hardly even think that she was upset. It’d just been a really long, emotional, trying kind of day. She could only hope and pray that more of those were not in store. Towards around noon, when Adrienne was checking her email, and her parents were having lunch, Tricia was actually able to go in and see her brother. The site of him nearly brought tears to her eyes for he was in really bad condition, but although he was heavily drugged and hooked up to nearly every single machine known to man, he could still tell what was going on. Grant didn’t need to see his sister cry, and therefore, Tricia needn’t be upset. The visit was long, but silent. Once she’d finally come out, Adrienne informed her that she’d been in with him for nearly an hour. It was a good forty-five minutes spent simply holding hands and praying. Very, very trying. She hadn’t shed one tear that entire day. Don’t get me wrong, there were many, many times when she’d wanted to or come close to it, but a knot in her throat was the worst it got. After that, she’d see the people around her. Her mom, a total basketcase, her Dad, a basketcase with her, and her sister, Adrienne. She couldn’t cry, or at least not in front of them. It just didn’t seem right. If Tricia cried, then whom did Adrienne have to feed off of? All optimism would be washed down the drain, and that was the last thing Tricia wanted to see happen. When the opportunity to cry came along, it was bypassed. Towards about one o’clock, Ian and his mother came by the waiting room to check in with everybody and see how Grant was. Ian and Christian were still checked into the hospital, but they of course were able to move as they pleased. Christian wasn’t there, but Tricia didn’t feel like asking why. She didn’t have the energy. Ian looked good, his knee was tightly wrapped into a stiff black brace, and long silver crutches suited to his tall stature accompanied. One lone bandage remained on his forehead, but otherwise, he still looked great. Tricia couldn’t remember much from the visit. She remembered giving him an ever so delicate hug across the waist, and when Ian asked how she was holding up, she gave a sigh and a nod. He gave details about the crash, but by that point Tricia was way to tired to listen. She curled up in a chair and fell asleep. Before he left Ian gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, not wanting to wake her but saying goodbye at that. It meant nothing, it was just a “hang in there sweetie,” friendly kiss on the cheek. Adrienne got the same thing; she too was asleep. By the time she’d woken up towards about two-thirty, her parents were inside with Grant, and Adrienne sat flipping through a magazine. It was a really eventful type of day. For about the next two hours, Tricia sat on her laptop, surfing the internet and writing on Microsoft Word. She avidly kept a diary, writing in it at least three times a week. On the side she wrote stories here and there, but she was in no such mental condition to write anything even resembling a story. Instead, she typed in her diary. That brought her to now. 4:32 PM, it said so on the blue clock hanging on the wall. She sat up slightly, looking down at herself. She was still in her pajamas. It wasn’t like she wanted to change or anything. Her sister was still in her pajamas, but was now in red break-away pants as opposed to the short cheerleading shorts she wore at home and when she arrived at the hospital. The matching red tank top still stood. That was Adrienne, everything always had to match her long red hair. The majority of her closet was red, and if it wasn’t red it was either white, black, or green. At that thought, she couldn’t help but smile. It almost reminded her of- no, it couldn’t be. Throughout the course of the day, thoughts of him periodically flashed through her mind. As fast as they came, she blocked them out, but they were still thoughts. She hadn’t seen him in person in nearly a year and a half, but why was she thinking about him? Not Lance, not now. As she thought about her sister, Lance ran through her mind. It just wasn’t right. They’d broken up a long time ago, and they’d hardly spoken since. Yet, she couldn’t get him out of her head. Almost frantically, she reached down to pick up her laptop once again. A little more writing for the day wouldn’t hurt. She was still connected to the internet, but nobody worth talking to was online. Navigating with her index finger, she lightly tapped down on the mouse pad beneath her, maximizing the program for her. She could still see her words from before, clearly typed out on the screen. After hitting enter to clear a space, she typed. 4:36 PM Never have I ever written twice in my diary, but there is always a first for everything, and today has brought a lot of those. I think it’s really safe to say that I have never been this emotional in one day about anything. I’m drained. Mentally, physically, just all around my gas tank is on empty. I’m so worried about Grant. Tricia had missed her computer inform her that somebody was online, because evidently this person was not on her list of people. As she typed her brother’s name in her online diary, her computer remained silent for she’d turned down the sound, but a window popped up right in front of her eyes, flashing on the top to inform her. She glanced at it. It was an Instant Message. The screen name made her shudder. Suddenly, she was taken back to that summer day. She’d hung up on him. Trish remembered the phone ringing a second time, and her brother not wanting to pick it up. She did anyway even though she hung up, but faced with a similar situation, her heartbeat quickened for a mere second, and her finger shivered before doing the only thing she could. The IM was from Lance, or if not him his screen name. She closed the window. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
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| Re: Trust- Chapter 1- everybody read PLEASE | Kira | 21:07:40 06/29/02 Sat |