Why is my brother such an idiot? Sometimes I just wish I could have a normal brother, but noooo, I got stuck with Charlie. What kind of a brother doesn't drive his sister home from detention? That's just evil, even for Charlie. Hmph. To think I got in trouble on his behalf. I rolled up his ex-girlfriend's hair in my hand and yanked it, throwing her on the ground. Not my finest hour, I will admit, but I had to teach her a lesson. According to Dez, Charlie "was smittin'" and was a real gentleman with her. I don't know how much of that story I believe, but it seems to be true to some degree. He looked upset after he got dumped, and even though I don't always show it, I love Charlie. At the end of the day he's still my brother. If you repeat it, I will accuse you of being on crack and deny it.
After a long walk in the humid weather, thanks a lot Charlie, I finally arrived home. Since I'm hot and sweaty and I don't like to be sticky and stinky, I hop into the shower and apparently an hour later I come out of the shower. It felt like I was there for only ten minutes though.
Anyways, now that I'm all clean, I can finally get some homework done. Hahahahaha! As if! I think I'll just rest a bit. Detention was soooooo boring and looking at the faces of my "detention buddies" for an hour wasn't fun. I envied the teacher. She got to sleep and I couldn't. There was no way I was going to be unconscious in a room full of trouble makers. I think I'll call Ginny and tell her about detention.
As I reach to get my phone, it's already ringing. I pick it up to see the caller ID. It's from Charlie's phone. This better be good. He's cutting into my relaxation time.
"What do you want, bonehead?"
"Is this Melanie Segal?" An unfamiliar voice was on the other line. Who could be calling from Charlie's phone though?
"Yes, who is this?"
"I'm Martin Jenkins. I hate to say it but, Charlie was in a car accident just now. He was rushed to the emergency room at Paradise Hospital and it was my job to inform someone of the family. Are you his mother?"
"Uh, no – no, I'm his sister." I barely utter out the words. Charlie in the emergency room? He's always drives carefully.
"Sister, eh? Is your mother or father near you? I wasn't able to call them. The call didn't go through."
"No, they're three hours away by car. They went on a day trip to visit a great aunt or something like that who happens to live in a woodsy area." Great work mom and dad. Of all the days to leave, you chose this one.
"I see. I'll keep calling them to see if I can get a hold of them by any chance. We need you to come to the Hospital to sign a few papers, plus you'll be able to see your brother."
"Is – is Charlie…okay?" What a dumb question. Way to go Melanie. If he's in the ER, then he's probably not okay.
"After the minor surgery the doctors will perform, he'll be fine. The doctors say it's nothing to worry about, but he may need to be in a cast for a while. I'll let you know if I reach your parents." He hung up. Must be a pretty busy man. I really don't know what to think right now. Charlie may be an annoying troll at times but he's still my brother. What do I do now? Think Melanie, think. Right! I have to go to the Hospital to see Charlie! I don't want to go alone though. I need someone with a car.
I try to hold my phone steady. I'm shaking so much that I think I dialed the wrong number, but it's worth a shot anyhow.
"Hello?" says the male voice on the other line.
"Dez? Can you bring your car to my house and drive me somewhere?"
"Like a date?"
"Dez, this really isn't a good time. Charlie's in the ER, getting surgery. He was in a car accident, my parents are out of town, and I have no way to get to the hospital quickly. The bus isn't fast enough." My voice was obviously shaky and I'm holding back tears at the same time. What if the surgery goes wrong and Charlie doesn't make it out alive?
"I'll be right over." And then he hung up…Is today "National Hang Up on Mel Day?" Because it sure feels that way.
I was in the living room, pacing and waiting for my ride to appear. In ten minutes I heard a car honking, which was obviously Dez. I slung a bag over my shoulder, rushed out the door, and climbed into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. As soon as I closed the door, he drove off and we just sat in silence. Not an awkward silence but not a comfortable silence either. It was just a worried and anxious type of silence.
The minute we parked the car, we sprinted out of there. I checked in with the receptionist and signed the forms that basically said that a family member showed up, he wasn't left alone, blah blah blah. I asked if I could go see Charlie, but the doctors were performing the surgery now. She directed me and Dez to the waiting area.
It was odd how we were the only ones there. I guess people are too busy tanning and swimming and having a life that they don't have time to get hurt. I sat down in a chair facing towards the window. Let's see, I got out of school at 6 because of detention, I spent an hour in the shower and got out at 7, I got that phone call about 45 minutes after, then by the time I called Dez and he showed up, it was 8, by the time we got here it was 8:15. I looked at the wall clock and saw that it was half past eight. We've been here for fifteen minutes, but it's felt like forever. From the corner of my eye I saw Dez taking a seat next to me. He looked out the window for a couple of seconds; looking at the moon and the stars before he turned back at me and pat my knee lightly.
"He'll be fine, Mel. The doctors here are really good."
I just stared at him. I really had nothing to say, so he just went on.
"One of my grandpas loves to complain. That's why we were all shocked when he fell into a coma. It was strange not hearing him talk. The doctors took really good care of him though. There were always at least two doctors close-by just in case he woke up. On day eight, he woke up. Want to know what the first thing he said was?" I nodded and listened as he imitated an old man's voice, "'Would you stop making such a fuss over me! Give me some room to breathe.' It was back to complaining for him, and we were all happy to hear it for once."
I slightly smiled as he finished up the story, chuckling to himself. Did he always have that dimple…? Snap out of it Melanie, your brother is in the ER. Plus, it's Dez.
Before either of us could say anything, a nurse dressed in purple scrubs walked in. She looked at her clipboard and announced, "Melanie, your brother is fine," she smiled, "The surgery was successful. Charlie just needs some rest before he can have visitors. You can wait for about half an hour, but after that visiting hours will be over and you'll be able to see him tomorrow."
I nodded, "Thank you." As she exited, I looked at Dez.
"Thank you too. For driving me here, and waiting, and telling that little story. It made me feel a bit better."
"I think I know something else that can make you feel better?"
I tilted my head, "What?"
"A kiss." He grinned as I rolled my eyes with a hint of a smile on my face.
"Nice try."
"Just wanted to lighten the mood."
"I'm just saying that if we were going to kiss, which we aren't, FYI, I wouldn't want our first kiss together to be at a hospital."
"So you were thinking about kissing?" He raised his eyebrows and gave a half smirk.
"Don't twist my words." I lightly swatted his arm but I could tell he wasn't offended. He seemed amused and he chuckled.
As the night grew longer we just ended up looking out the window in a comfortable silence. Charlie was okay, so we didn't have to worry anymore.
It was just us, staring out the window in silence, waiting for Charlie to wake up. Or at least it was silent until Dez started talking again.
"So why exactly did you call me?" he raised an eyebrow, "Don't you always do everything with your three friends?"
"Don't flatter yourself. I didn't call you because you were the first person who came to mind. I called you because I thought Charlie would have liked to see one of his friends when he woke up."
He nodded, "Makes sense. I've seen you and Charlie argue, but I know that you two actually care about each other. He would probably kill me if he found out that I told you, but when you went all Hulk on his ex, he said it was cool of you."
"So Charlie thought it was cool that I yanked his ex-girlfriend to the ground?" I snorted, "So much for smittin'."
"He wasn't happy about that. He thought it was cool that you would do something like that to show that you care about him."
I rolled my eyes, "Please. I didn't do it for him."
He furrowed his eyebrows, "Then why did you?"
"I don't know. I just did." I shrugged.
"I know Charlie would do the same for you."
"Yeah," I started bitterly, "I'm sure he would."
"No, really. We were in the boys locker room, changing out of our gym clothes when we heard a bunch of guys talking about the girls they'd like to get a chance to 'tap that.' Some guy said you and then said a bunch of disrespectful things. So then-"
"Wait a sec, who said it?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. Looks like I'm gonna have to give some jerk a piece of my mind.
"Some loser on the soccer team," he waved his hand dismissively, "I don't remember who it was. Anyways, Charlie kicked the guy in the place it hurts and told him that if he ever talked about you like that again, his foot will 'accidentally' end up kicking his ass."
"R-really?" I don't know what I'm more surprised at. The fact that some creep talked about me like that or that my brother actually was being protective of me.
"Yeah. Just don't tell him I told you," he looked at the clock and then back to me, "Visiting hours are pretty much over. We should go before we get into trouble. Where are your parents anyways?"
"They texted me an hour ago. Stuck in traffic. Of all nights. They're probably on their way home since they know that they won't make it to the hospital in time."
We got up and left the hospital since my booger of a brother didn't wake up yet. We were driving in the car again with a comfortable silence. I wasn't feeling particularly talkative. I was still feeling surprised at how Charlie kneed some guy's balls for saying dirty things about me. I didn't really know that he cared all that much. Maybe I should attempt being nicer to him. Hahahaha, that'll be a work in progress. Australia wasn't built in a day. Wait a sec, that's not how the saying goes. Was it Greece? Italy? Oh, whatever. This explains my C- in history.
We finally pulled up to my house. Through the windows I could see that the lights were on. I guess my parents finally got back.
"Thanks for the ride, Dez." I managed to flash a slight smile.
"Anytime."
I opened the car door and before I left I said, "You know, you're not as weird as I thought you were."
He lightly chuckled, "Ummm, thanks?"
"No problem. See you around." I closed the car door and he waved from the window before driving off.
What did I just say? Did I just say, 'See you around?' as in, see you soon? Why did I say that? Did I imply that I actually wanted to see him soon? Why am I asking so many questions? I sighed and realized all I needed was some sleep. My unresolved feelings will just have to wait a while.
A/N: Remember! Reviews make me smile! Seriously, I actually smile when I read reviews. Also, feel free to give some constructive criticism. I really hope Bunheads gets renewed for season 2. It would be a shame to stop everything now that the storylines have gotten better. On another note, a lot of people think that Mel is a lesbian. Personally, I don't see it. I think she's just been repressing her feelings for Dez, but *shrugs* who knows? Annnnnyyyways, review, review, review!
