Chapter Two:
Present Past Song quote

"And the danger is that in this move toward new horizons and far directions, that I may lose what I have now, and not find anything except loneliness"
~ Sylvia Plath

Lulu sat on the couch refusing to take comfort in the familiarity. It wasn't as simple to just say goodbye and walk away. The transition she sought after would only work if she wasn't longing to be home with him, so the loft could no longer be considered somewhere she wanted to be. Dante made the task all that more difficult. He attentively brought her a beer and jumped to any commit that may have solicited her needs. When he sat down he pulled her legs into his lap to help her sink into the soft sofa. Everything he had always done, but with more exuberance. "I hated you being away…," he told her with a sigh of relief. All she could do was muster up a smile in response. "How does it feel to be home?"

"Good," she lied. It was less that being home with him didn't feel good, but that she couldn't let it. She couldn't let him know it either.

"Are you hungry?"

"No… I'm just really tired. I didn't get much sleep on the plane." His reaction never met her eyes. She untangled their bodies and ripped herself away to the bathroom leaving him confused.

"Hey…" he called after her finally catching a whiff of the awkward air. His did an instant replay of every movement and word that had come from Lulu since her arrival.

"Yeah…" she answered and fiddled with the bathroom.

"I forgot to ask how he is…" His voice bounced around the room, but mid-question the spray of water in the shower hitting the cold ceramic was all anyone could here.

"Hey…" A voice tried to sooth her while a hand rubbed her back. "Lulu… this was not your fault. It was an accident, and it will all be okay," Nikolas kept making the effort to reassure her, but his own fears radiated off his body. They had done this song and dance four times already since she had been brought to the hospital. It had been hours.

"I got out of the car and told him to leave me alone," her words scratched against her sore throat, which was exhausted from her own hysterics. "I made him go and…" Her frail body stranded to fall apart again in the middle of the waiting room, and the hand returned to her back in an attempt to comfort her.

Hours later they heard from the surgeon that he had survived, but they could not examine the extent of the damage until he woke up. She considered survival enough to be thankful for if he were to open his eyes again, but then he did wake up. "I can't feel anything! I can't move!" he demanded over and over again. He stung with his own tears during his childlike outburst leaving them all distraught. Seeing him in so much anguish made reality seep into her gut, and she had to leave. Parking herself in the waiting room she had spent so much time in already.

"I did that to him," she admitted to her big brother. "I did that to him with a stupid argument… we were so angry…" As she relived it she was haunted by the things she said and their obstinate behavior.

"What were you fighting about?" Nikolas finally asked. He had been so removed from his duties in their lives that he hadn't the time to play referee to their new found bickering.

"I don't even remember."

The days and test flew by in succession until the doctor was finally able to put forth the unwilling diagnosis. "We have done every test and exhausted every resource. My final assessment is that Lucky's arms and legs are going to be permanently paralyzed. What we can do now is get him acclimated to this situation, and also do a full recourse of physical therapy in the hope that he may eventually regain sensation in his limbs over time."

Author's Note: I am sorry about the shortness. Don't get used to it.

I'm very thankful for anyone taking the time to read this story, and especially thankful for those who don't hate it. Please comment… even if you do hate it. Constructive criticisms help.