Bram’s lips parted. He was obviously surprised by my question. He nervously swallowed and we both turned to my mom when she returned to the table with her drink. Mom and I both waited for Bram’s answer. Bram switched glances between me and my mom.
“Can we discuss this some other time?” Bram said in a clipped voice.
I gave him a small smile, “Sure, do you want to watch a movie with us? Roland wanted to watch movies until midnight for his birthday.”
“I can’t,” Bram quickly answered.
“What time are you leaving?” I sighed. My patience was wearing thin.
“You need to come home with me,” Bram continued, “We need to talk and prepare for Roland’s birthday.”
“There’s no need.” We all turned to Roland as he descended the stairs from my right, “I decided to cancel my out-of-town celebration. It’s not worth it.”
Mom and I stared at Roland with shock and admiration. This was news to me, I had no idea that he canceled it.
“I see,” Bram stood up and turned to me, “Emma?”
I looked up to Bram, “I’m staying,” I stood up and walked ahead of him to the door, “I’ll go home when Roland decides what to do on his birthday, okay?”
Bram did not say a word, he just nodded at me then he went out of the door and left our house. I locked the door and walked back to my seat to the dining area. Both mom and Roland were staring at me.
“How are you, darling?” mom asked. She was pouring pineapple juice into a glass.
I switched glances to my mom and my brother. Roland was now seated to where Bram was seated earlier, “I feel terrible for doing that to Bram. But I also felt cheated when he did not tell me that Alicia would be at the party.”
A while later, Roland and I almost finished the three Star Wars films of Natalie Portman. Then I got a chocolate-chip muffin from the fridge and a small candle and sang him a birthday song.
“How does it feel being twenty six?” I asked Roland. I placed the muffin on the center table of the living room.
He played the movie again and responded without looking at me, “I don’t feel any different.”
I nodded and turned to the TV screen. It was the fight scene between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge of the Sith. We had seen this film many times because our dad was a fan of the series. When the film ended Roland wiped his eyes.
“Are you crying?” I asked him. Then I picked up the muffin from the table.
“I love that scene,” Roland commented. Then he turned the TV off.
I removed the candle from the muffin and walked towards the fridge, “Which part?”
“When Ani becomes Darth Vader,’ Roland answered me. Then he started to climb the stairs, “Thanks for watching it with me, Emma.”
I placed the muffin inside the fridge and threw the tiny candle to the trash bin. I checked my phone for the time and it showed five minutes after one in the morning. I climbed the stairs and went inside my room. I was actually waiting for Mama Credence to call but there were no calls from her. I placed my phone on the nightstand and went to sleep.
“Emma,” I felt someone gripping my shoulders, “Wake up, Emma.”
I tried hard to open my eyes to see who it was. I felt like I had not slept that long then somebody was waking me up already. I squinted at my mom, “What?”
“Bram had an accident, you need to get up!” I heard mom say.
I paused for a bit because what she just said did not register to me at first. My eyes widened when I came to my senses, “Oh my God, what happened?”
“Credence called me,” mom hurriedly walked to my closet and started to check my clothes, “You need to get ready, Bram’s in the emergency room. Roland’s waiting downstairs.”
My right hand was on my chest as I processed all the things that happened last night. I did not recall any offensive words that I said.
“Emma!” Mom yelled at me, “Get dressed!”
When we got to the hospital in Manila. Bram was already transferred to his suite. A nurse guided us to his room and told us that Bram was sedated. Mama Credence was in the living area, worry was all over her face. Mom and I greeted her with a cheek to cheek kiss.
“What happened?” I heard mom asked Mama Credence.
I was standing near the divider that separated the living room from Bram’s bed. I watched him sleep. He had no upper body injuries, but his left lower leg suffered most in the accident according to Mama Credence. When the attending physician talked to me and Mama Credence he said that the specialist was on his way now and he would check Bram’s x-ray results. Then they would decide if it requires surgery or not. He talked to the nurse then they both left the room.
I removed my sandals, sat on the single sofa, and put my feet up. I leaned to the right side armrest and placed my cheeks on my right palm. I looked at Bram’s direction and thought hard on what could have caused his accident.
“Try to get some sleep, dear,” my mom told me. She pointed to the green divan, “You’re pregnant.”
I listened to my mom. I transferred to the divan and laid down. I saw Mama Credence walk towards Bram’s bed before I closed my eyes.
“Emma?” I heard a voice say in my dream, “Mom? Is Emma here?”
“Yes dear,” I heard another voice say, “She’s sleeping.”
“Mom, I need her, please…” the voice said again. I opened my eyes and saw my mom was staring at me.
“Bram’s awake,” mom told me.
I slowly sat up and mom helped me fix my hair. I walked to my right because the divan was hidden by the divider. I almost bumped to the center table but Mom caught me. She made sure that I could stand on my own. Bram’s eyes pooled with tears when he saw me.
I slowly walked towards Bram’s bed. Mama Credence moved back for me as I made my way over to Bram’s right side. Bram hugged me so tight. Then he kissed the left side of my head and my ear. And he would not let me go.
“Bram,” I said his name as I struggled to break free from his tight embrace, “How are you feeling?” I asked.
He loosened his embrace but he did not let me go. He stared into my eyes and said, “Broken.”