Pulled(25)
Author: A.L. Jackson

Dad joined in our embrace, his arms drawing us all close as the three of us grieved together. He pulled back first. “I think Melanie should be in her room by now.” He took Mom’s hand, and she kept her other arm secured around my waist, and the three of us made the trek to Melanie’s room.

Dad started to push the latch on the door before I stopped him, grasping his shoulder. “Can I go in alone?” I just needed to be with her by myself for a while. He nodded and opened the door for me, standing aside as I walked past.

The room was quiet and dark when I entered, all air escaping me in an audible gush when I saw her lying in that bed.

“Melanie.”

She was white against the already white sheets, except for the huge purple bruises beneath her eyes. An IV bag hung near her head, the tube trailing down and attached to her wrist. Her mouth was slack and covered with tape that held the tube in her throat, her chest rising and falling at a constant rate. The heart monitor with its rhythmic beeping and the soft, steady sound of the ventilator were the only background noises. A blanket was pulled up over her chest and tucked under her arms, her body a silhouette beneath it.

Everything else was completely still except for the energy flowing between us, and it reassured me that she was really going to be okay. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I had just needed to see for myself. I stood beside her, taking her hand and stroking it. Her fingers twitched, and I knew she was aware I was there.

“Hey, Mel.” I placed a soft kiss on her temple and ran my fingers over her cheek, whispering into her ear.

“My love. You’re going to be okay.” I settled into the chair next to her, her hand still in mine.

“We have a baby girl.” I smiled at the image of Eva in my head. “You have to get better quickly so you can meet her.” How much I wanted Melanie to see and hold her, but all I could do was tell her about her. “She’s amazing, Melanie. So beautiful, just like you.” I choked on the emotions, knowing Melanie would understand them better in my touch than with any words I could say.

I sat by Melanie’s side for hours before Mom and Dad finally insisted I get something to eat.

“I’ll be right back, baby.” I glanced at her one more time as I stepped outside the room, praying she would be fine until I returned.

I turned and came face-to-face with Steve. His face was red and contorted, chest heaving with rage directed at me.

“You f**king coward!” I barely saw Steve’s arm c**k back before a stinging pain tore through my head as his fist connected with my face. The force knocked me to the ground. My hand went to my eyebrow, fingering the wound where the stitches had been ripped open.

“Are you insane? Don’t you dare come in here and make this any worse than it already is,” Dad hissed at Steve. I looked up at Melanie’s father. His face full of bloodlust just moments before now looked at me in horror.

“No, Dad. He’s right,” I sputtered as blood flowed down my face and over my lips. It was obvious he knew about Eva.

“Steve, I’m so sorry.” I could feel myself sway to the left as I tried to get to my knees, my body ready to collapse at any moment. “We never should have kept this from you. Please understand. We were on our way to telllyou.” I shuddered as memories of the accident flashed in my mind.

The remorse was gone as he seethed and leaned toward me, his hands resting on his thighs, his face close enough that I could smell the beer on his breath.

“You expect me to believe you, Daniel, when I get a phone call two hours ago that my baby girl,” he ground out, gesturing to himself with his thumbs and exaggerating the words, “was in a car accident on the way back from Boulder when she was supposed to be staying the weekend with a friend?” His breathing was heavy, and I could actually hear his teeth grinding together. “Then I show up here and ask for her room number, and they want to know if I also want the room number for her baby. Do you have any idea how that feels?”

I jumped as he abruptly stood and swung around, smashing his fist against the wall, crying out in both pain and fury.

“Steve, you have to calm down. I know you’re angry, but this isn’t the time or the place for this.” Dad tried to temper the situation, but Steve’s rage only grew.

“You!” Steve shouted as he pointed a shaky finger at Dad. “You knew the whole time, didn’t you? Every time you passed me on the street, you f**king knew, didn’t you?” Dad’s silence served as confirmation. Steve rubbed his hands over his face, his eyes wild. “Were you taking care of her?”

Dad’s patience finally hit its end, his cheeks red and his voice low, but sharp and stinging. “Of course I was taking care of her! Would you expect me to do anything different? She came to me!” He jabbed himself in the chest with his forefinger. “Maybe she would have come to you if you paid her a little attention instead of spending every free second drowning in your own self-pity. Did you really not see it, Steve? That girl,” Dad said, pointing at her door, “has been showing for two months! And what did you do? You turned your head the other way.” We’d attracted a crowd. Steve stepped back, raising his hands in surrender as the security guard approached him.

“Sir, we’re going to have to ask you to leave.”

“No, please. Let him stay. Steve, you need to go to her,” I said. Steve seemed unwilling to look at me while he waited for consent from the security guard. The guard gave Steve what he said would be his first and only warning.

Dad helped me to my feet, and we left Steve to stand in the hall in front of his daughter’s door.

“Come on, Daniel, we need to fix your eye.” Dad fixed me back up while Mom went downstairs and bought us dinner from the cafeteria. We ate in silence, exchanging nothing more than the occasional apprehensive glance. It was so hard to just sit and wait, each of us subject to the hands of fate.

“I’m going to go back upstairs.” I finished my food, tasting none of it, anxious to get back to Melanie.

“Dad, could you check on Eva?” I felt an impossible pull between my two girls, wanting to be with both of them at the same time.

When I returned to Melanie’s room, I found Steve sitting next to her bed with unshed tears in his eyes. He didn’t acknowledge me as I came in, but I didn’t feel threatened by him, either. We both sat in silence, neither of us regarding the other, each of us just there for her.

I turned when I heard subdued footsteps. Dad came up behind me and placed both hands on my shoulders.