In bad times all you have is the support of the people that you love. All bad things happen for a reason, they are supposed to make us strong. But sometimes things are so bad, you can’t see the reason behind the pain. Do bad things just happen to good people or are bad people being punished for being bad. No matter which way you look at it, nobody deserves to be in pain.
As I dial the number, I know that this cannot be good and somehow today is going to be one of those bad times.
Damon ~”Brody what is the matter?”
Brody ~”Let me just go stand outside.”
I can hear him opening and closing a door, it clearly sounds like he is standing in a closed bathroom now as his voice echoes as he speaks. His voice is shaky and there is a heaviness about him. He feels dark, if that can even be a feeling you can feel over the phone. Something is wrong, something bad is wrong.
Brody ~”Bro, it is Mason.”
Damon ~”I am not liking this man, what is wrong? Is Mason okay?”
Brody ~”Mason and Amber was in an accident.”
I drop the phone and my heart stops.
Brody ~”Damon! Damon! Damon are you there?”
In a complete daze, I pick the phone up from the floor and listen to Brody again.
Damon ~”Are they okay? Is Amber okay? And Mason is he fine?”
Brody ~”Bro, it’s bad, you have to come.”
Damon ~”Brody are they alive? Are they okay? Please tell me Amber is okay?”
Brody ~”Please just get here now.”
It takes me five seconds to dress again and rush downstairs to get Skye so we can go. What the fuck do I tell her? What the fuck do I tell her when I don’t know what is going on. She is going to crash, I can see her crashing to the floor, she is going to crumble in to pieces, she is going to break apart and fuck I don’t know how to stop it.
Damon ~”Baby, Brody called, Mason and Amber was in an accident.”
I think somewhere I can hear a window crack. Her screams are deafening. The glass that was in her hands seconds ago, is now shattered into pieces by her feet.
Skye ~”No Damon. God no! Is she okay?”
Damon ~”Baby, I don’t know, come we must go.”
She grabs her phone and purse off the table and is ahead of me out the front door.
We are racing through town to get to the hospital. She does not speak, she only cries. I squeeze her hand tight, I am not even going to try tell her everything is going to be alright because I do not know.
We get to the hospital and find Brody outside waiting for us.
Skye runs up to him and gives him a hug, the tears are streaming down her cheek.
Skye ~”Brody are they okay?”
Damon ~”Bro, tell us something.”
Brody ~”Come let’s go sit down.”
We go to the little cafeteria that is inside the hospital.
Damon ~”Are they okay?”
Brody ~”Mason is unconscious, he is beaten up very bad, he broke both his legs and his arm, his ribs are cracked and scalp his cut open. He lost a lot of blood.”
Skye ~”And Amber?”
Brody ~”Skye, I am so sorry.”
Skye ~”No. No. No. No. No. God no. Please no.”
Damon ~”Is she… de…”
Brody ~”No Bro, she is in a coma, the Doctor ~won’t tell me anything.”
Skye ~”No. Baby. No. This can’t be happening.”
Damon ~”Baby come here. Let’s go see the doctor.”
Skye ~”No. Amber. No. She has to be okay. She can’t be hurt, she is okay.”
I pull her tight into my arms, there is definitely no comfort here for her today. Why the fuck is this happening, we nearly lost her just the other day and now, now we might be losing her sister. There is no purpose behind this reasoning, how unfair can life be to these two girls.
Damon ~”Where is the doctor?”
Brody ~”She said she will meet us upstairs in a half hour.”
Damon ~”What happened?”
Brody ~”They say he lost control of the car.”
Damon ~”Goddammit, he was driving the whole day.”
Skye ~”I fucking told them to wait before they left again.”
Damon ~”I begged him to rest.”
Skye ~”No but they said they are just around the corner, well look where fucking round the corner got them.”
Poor Skye, she does not know if she should be angry or sad, if she should cry or curse. But what I do see in her face is the same thing I am feeling in my heart, regret, we both feel it is our fault. But of course it is not, we just wish that there is something we could have done to have had it stopped it from ever happening.
Skye ~”Where is she? Can I see her?”
Brody ~”The Doctor wants you to wait for her.”
Skye ~”What the fuck does it matter? I want to see her now.”
Damon ~”Baby, let’s go stand at her window and wait for the doctor.”
Skye ~”Don’t you want to go to Mason?”
Damon ~”I will go check on Mason a little later.”
Skye ~”Thank you baby.”
I take her hand and we walk together to the elevator. While we wait for it to come down, I pull her closer and kiss her on the forehead.
Damon ~”I love you baby.”
Skye ~”Baby what if she is not going to get better?”
Damon ~”Baby we are not sure what is wrong yet, we have to think positive.”
Skye ~”And what about Mason?”
Damon ~”Mason is a tough boy, he will make it.”
Skye ~”Baby I am so mad at them.”
Damon ~”Baby it is not their fault, let’s rather be mad when they are better.”
The elevator door pops open and the three of us head up to the ICU unit. Nobody speaks, all that fill the space is the sounds of Skye crying. Her body is shaking as I hold her tight into me. I am scared, scared for what lies ahead for us in that hospital bed. Brody has never been one for words but if he says badly then you have to prepare yourself for the worst.
As we reach the ward, Brody takes us down the corridors to her room. Skye closes her eyes as she steps into the doorway. She opens her eyes slowly, pleading to whomever itis listening.
Skye ~”Please don’t, please don’t.”
She open her eyes.
She screams.
Skye ~”NO. NO. NO. NO. AMBER!”
I catch her before she crashes to the floor.
She pushes past the nurse who is trying her best to stop her.
Skye ~”Oh no Amber. God no Amber.”
Damon ~”Skye baby.”
Skye ~”No Damon, no.”
Damon ~”Baby come here.”
I stand next to her in horror as she looks at Amber. It is not the body of Amber that is laying in front of us. It is the body of a lifeless ghost hooked up to machines and that has tubes coming from her mouth, she is pale and cold. It is as if all the life that has been sucked out of her once vibrant body.
Skye ~”Amber! Amber wake up!”
She shakes her body.
Skye ~”Amber. No. No. No.”
I try to pull her away but she just pushes me.
Skye ~”Go away!”
Damon ~”Baby, let’s go wait outside for the doctor.”
Skye ~”No.”
Damon ~”Baby, please let me stand with you then.”
Skye ~”No, go away.”
Damon ~”Baby please.”
Skye ~”No, go away. I want to be alone with my sister.”
Damon ~”Baby, you can’t be alone now.”
Skye ~”Leave me alone.”
Damon ~”Baby please.”
Skye ~”No, fuck off Damon.”
Damon ~”Skye please.”
Just then the Doctor comes walking into the room. It is the same Doctor that looked after Skye when she had her accident.
Doctor ~”Skye, sweety, come let’s go talk outside.”
Damon ~”Come baby.”
I take her hand, it is shaking and it is wet from wiping the tears off from her eyes.
Damon ~
I have you baby, come
We go sit down outside in one of the consultation rooms.
Damon ~”Doctor is Amber okay?”
Doctor ~”It’s Damon?”
Damon ~”Yes Damon.”
Doctor ~”Damon she had a very bad head injury, it has caused swelling on the brain, we are trying to reduce it now.”
Damon ~”Is she going to be okay?”
Doctor ~”She is not very stable. She lost a lot of blood, we had to resuscitate her twice.”
Between her sobs Skye manages to mumble a few words to the doctor.
Skye ~
What happened?
Doctor ~”The driver swerved of the road and hit a barrier, your sister was not wearing her safety belt, she went through the windscreen.”
Damon ~”And Mason, is he okay?”
Doctor ~”He got squashed by the steering and broke both legs, his one arm got crushed as he tried to hold Amber back. He has some severe cuts from the windscreen on his head. They are both in critical condition. I have to run to another patient, I will be back in half an hour again to come check upon you guys.”
The Doctor leaves the room, Skye looks at me and Brody, the tears that are waiting to burst is laying on the bottom of her eyelids.
Skye ~”What are we going to do?”
Damon ~”We will just have to wait.”
Skye ~”Is there anyone we need to phone for Mason?”
There is only one person that needs to know and right now everyone hates her. I love Skye with all my heart and fuck knows that I do not want to hurt her but I owe this to Mason.
Damon ~”Baby, I am going to have to phone her.”
Skye ~”I know, it is okay, I understand, please go phone her.”
Damon ~”Is there anyone of you that I need to phone?”
Skye ~”It’s fine, I will be okay, I will phone them.”
We leave the room and Brody turns to me.
Brody ~”Do you want me to phone her?”
Damon ~”I will be okay.”
I make my way out the hospital into the gardens. The fresh warm air wakes all the deadness that I am feeling in my body. The dread that I carried out with me has been blown away. My hand is still shaking as I take my phone out of my pocket to dial her number.
Tajsa ~”Hey Damon.”
Damon ~”Hey Tajsa.”
There is just no easy way to say this than just to say this.
Damon ~”Babe, I have some bad news. Mason was in a bad accident.”
Tajsa ~”What?! Is he okay?”
Damon ~”No, he is knocked very bad, can you please come?”
Tajsa ~”Yes! I will see you in a half hour.”
Damon ~”Drive carefully please.”
I drop the call, the one tear that is rolling down my cheek becomes two then soon it is three and before I know they are streaming down. I cannot loose Mason, he is like a brother to me, I cannot lose a brother. I cannot lose one of the most important people in my life to me.
I stand outside and wait for her, yes I should go inside but I am too damn shit scared for reality to hit me. There is a possibility that one person might die today or maybe even two. How do you stay positive in times like these when the life has thrown you one giant curveball? How can you go from being a happy group on a weekend break to being faced with where one of the group might be losing their lives?
I see her car pull up into the parking lot. I walk up to her while she is getting out of the car.
Damon ~”Hey Tajsa.”
Tajsa ~”Hey Damon. Is he okay?”
Damon ~”I have not been back in. Come let’s go inside.”
I hold her by the arm, I can see that she is has been crying, she seems to be unstable on her feet as we walk through corridors.
Damon ~”I have got you Tajsa, just hang on to me.”
Tajsa ~”Damon what happened?”
I tell her everything that the Doctor has told us.
Tajsa ~”What if he does not make it?”
Damon ~”Tajsa he will, nothing can hold that little shit down.”
Tajsa ~”Is Amber okay?”
Damon ~”I really honestly don’t know if she is going to be okay, she is worse than Mason.”
Tajsa ~”And Skye?”
Damon ~”She is in pieces, she blames herself and frankly I blame myself too. We should have never let him continued to drive after he was so tired.”
Tajsa ~”But it is not your fault and it’s not his fault either. This shit happens.”
Damon ~”I just hope they pull through. Skye won’t survive something like this.”
Tajsa ~”You guys are strong together, you will survive this.”
Damon ~”You were always the positive one of us all. I just hope you are right this time.”
Tajsa ~”What did we use to say, all for one and one for all? Nothing is breaking us up. Mason is not going anywhere.”
Tajsa ~”And Skye will be okay, her sister will fight like a bitch.”
Damon ~”Almost like she is.”
We both burst out laughing, yes maybe we should not be laughing, this is no time for jokes but we all and even Amber herself knows that she is a bitch, I really hope she fights as one.
Back upstairs I take Tajsa to see Skye first.
Tajsa ~”Hey Skye.”
Skye ~”Hey Tajsa, thank you for coming.”
Tajsa ~”I am so sorry to hear about your sister.”
Skye ~”Thank you, I am sorry about Mason too.”
Tajsa ~”They both will be alright, I mean they got us, if they can’t do it alone then we are here to help them.”
Damon ~”I agree with Tajsa they will be alright.”
Skye ~”The Doctor said if they can make it through tonight then it is already a good sign.”
Damon ~”Baby they will make it. I wish I can say I promise but I just know they will.”
Skye ~”I am going to go back inside there. Thanks again for coming Tajsa.”
Tajsa ~”I will see you a little later again.”
I give Skye a kiss and a hug before I leave with Tajsa to go to see Mason.
Tajsa ~”I am glad you guys are doing great. I still can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
Damon ~”Leave it. Like I told you in that note that I forgive you, I am just glad you listened to me and did not leave.”
So I slipped her that note that day when she gave me her letter of resignation. I wrote to her that day that I forgave her even though it was really fucked up what she did. I even went so far as rejecting her resignation, yes, she still works for me as my COO, now you probably think I am messed up. Well like I said, you just don’t ditch a friend after ten years. Will something between us happen again? No, I love Skye and will never do anything to hurt her again.
We find Brody sitting at Mason’s bed with his hands in his hair.
Tajsa ~”Brody.”
Brody ~”Tajsa!”
He grabs her into his arms and they both burst out crying. I see Brody cry like he has never cried before. He does not let go once of Tajsa as he is whispering into her ear.
Brody ~”I can’t lose him Tajsa. I can’t lose him. I have lost too many people that I care about. I can lose him too.”
Tajsa ~”Brody you are not going to lose him. He is going to be okay. You are not losing anyone.”
Brody ~”I lost you didn’t I.”
Tajsa ~”Well you are not losing him.”
They hold onto each other, like they used to hold onto each other all those days when they were together, the times after they had a fight, like they were too scared to let go, too scared the other one would leave and never come back. They had such a good love, it is sad that it had to end the way it did.
Damon ~”Guys, I have to get back to Skye, please let me know if anything happens.”
Brody ~”Sure Bro, let me know if anything happens by your side too?”
Tajsa ~”Shout if you guys need anything.”
I make the walk down the hallway again to Skye. She is sitting and holding Amber’s hand while talking to her. She has stopped crying and might even look a bit calmer. She smiles at me as I walk into the room.
Skye ~”Hey baby.”
Damon ~”Hey baby, can I get you a coffee or something?”
Skye ~”No, please just stay with me for a bit.”
Damon ~”Brody and Tajsa is with Mason now. I am not going anywhere.”
Skye ~”Is Mason any better?”
Damon ~”No baby, he is still the same.”
Skye ~”What are we going to do without them?”
Damon ~”Baby they are not going anywhere, please stop saying that.”
Skye ~”I know but I can’t help wonder if.”
Damon ~”If is the worst thing that you can think of.”
Skye ~”But it is reality.”
Damon ~”Reality is what happens and nothing has happened yet.”
I pull a chair up and sit next to her, holding her hand as she is holding Amber’s.
Damon ~”Skye baby, I love you, we have to stay positive. If not for ourselves but then for them.”
Skye ~”I love you too baby. Thanks for being here, I know it must be hard because you want to be with Mason.”
Damon ~”Baby, I am right where I should be and it’s with you. Mason will understand it.”
She lays her head against my chest as she starts crying again. I can feel her tears soak through my shirt and watch her mascara blend into it. Her hands are trembling and her body jerks, it’s like she is breaking down in little pieces with every ticking second. My baby is dying.
My eyes drown in my own tears that are forming, I can see them drop onto her hair. I hold her so tight I almost squeeze the air out of her lungs. My body is trembling and it feels like the world has stopped turning. I am lost in a pain so dead that it cuts at my heart. I am dying.
Bad things happen to good people not because they are bad but because things just happen. Do they happen for a reason? I don’t know about that so much anymore.