Brandon's eyes looked down upon her slightly cut face. Her hair was tied up, her head laying heavily onto the flattened pillow. Her hands were clenched onto wet towels that would keep her hydrated. Brandon's fingers slowly ran over one of the tube's that lead into her veins.
It was almost like looking at a robot. All these wires and tubes were keeping her alive. Working her body. This was a robot, this wasn't Callie. Reluctantly, he slowly ran his fingers near her face, brushing the stray strand of hair away carefully. His fingers lingered onto her hair and he left them there, not moving them, but laying them there gently.
After holding his mother while she sobbed in the dining area of the hospital for a few minutes, a nurse directed them away, explaining it was disturbing the others. He had helped her towards Callie's room, but then he figured it wasn't exactly ideal in this exact moment.
Luckily, Sharon had arrived and taken matters into her own hands, leaving Brandon with the distant echoes of his mother's cries throughout his mind. He didn't really know what to do. Walking back towards the dining room where the rest of his siblings were, eating quietly, he didn't want to be with them right now.
Without any other place to disappear to, Brandon headed towards Callie's room, the only place he oddly felt comfortable in. Although he thought it would be much worse to watch her connected to all these tubes and wires, it was quite the opposite. Robot Callie was the closest thing he got to comfort lately.
His mothers were too tired and worried. Jude wasn't speaking much other than for necessary words of "I'm hungry," or "let's leave." Marianna was too stressed out lately, reflecting Stef and Lena's behaviour. She was too quick when it came to answers, and said things that weren't exactly necessary. And Jesus was just always finding a way to keep busy. If he was finished doing something, he's immediately have to occupy himself by doing something else.
Robot Callie was the only person who didn't bother him. And she was a hell of a good listener, too. One of the perks of having someone you care for in a coma was that they were forced to hear your awful babbling without any interruptions. The bad thing was, they couldn't give back advice. But maybe he didn't really need advice. He just needed to speak out loud to someone who wasn't himself.
This was the closes thing he got.
Brandon's fingers started running through her hair lightly, not forced but almost as an instinct. He wondered if she could feel it. If she could hear him.
"You know, Robot Callie," Brandon whispered calmly, moving his fingers down to grasp onto her hand lightly. "I think I like you better than normal Callie."
And then he laughed to himself. But not the happy laugh. The forced, ironic laugh you sometimes get when you're angry or sad. He opened his mouth again, the words falling out without any thought.
"Don't tell her."
Brandon's dead laugh occupied the skies tonight. It was a repetitive wave of voices. Different and then the same.
She laid on a bed tonight. Her hair was spread out across the silky silver pillow forming a dark swirl of curls over them. She was spread out like a starfish, her legs and arms wide apart from her body.
She was in a room as well. An empty room with nothing but the bed and her own presence. A disgustingly boring shade of grey was colored onto the walls and the floors were a dark wood.
The stars were the only thing bright in this scenario.
The room, although it had simply normal walls and floors, didn't have a roof.
Surprisingly, it wasn't cold. Just chilly, yet she was coated in heavy wool blankets.
The sky was dotted in so many bright stars that she could barely see any of the darkness.
Every once and a while, she'd get this scenario.
And every time, the skies were filled with different voices of the people she cared about.
The first voice she heard was Mariana's. She was speaking to her quickly and loudly, babbling about things she didn't really want to hear. The stars slowly turned a dark red, reflecting upon her attitude.
Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore, and found some odd strength in her body she never knew she could have.
She felt Mariana's clammy hand grasp onto hers, and without further a due, to shut her up, she squeezed it.
She didn't really know how she did it at first. Some weird reflex? Had she flinched? Whatever happened, it worked because Mariana's words were barely echoes in the bright sky. And then, the scenario changed, as if the world holding her had turned around completely.
A few hours later, she felt as though she was dropped back down on the bed, and a soft, familiar voice flooded the skies with millions of stars. So many they overlapped one another, finding comfort onto the other.
She knew whose voice it was. It was Jude's.
His voice was steady at first, Callie's ears open wide and her eyes staring blankly at the star-filled sky. She tried to comprehend every word she heard, grasping onto them with all of her strength.
When his voice started to shake was when she began to feel as if she was shaking as well. It was as though their attitudes had an odd mirror effect on her own. It was as though she were on a boat and the waves were getting bigger and stronger by the second.
And then, when she heard the soft cries which belonged to him, she clutched onto the bed tightly, her eyes closing lightly, only listening to his soft, echoless words.
These were the only words she could truly hear, the ones who didn't continue in echoes.
And it was when she felt rain fall upon her soft skin, rain which felt like soft, salty tears, she found that strength again. The strength which was in the deepest parts of her heart. And she squeezed his hand.
It was bitter-sweet when the scenario had changed to a warm day in the park filled with greens and yellow colours. She could still hear his shaky voice in the back of her mind.
So now, listening to Brandon make corny, idiotic jokes made her want to wake up more than anything. There was just one odd piece holding her back.
Who would've guessed the cord holding her up from falling back into consciousness was this strong?
Lena splashed the cool tap water onto her warn out face. The bathroom at public places usually smelt awful and looked dirty. You'd assume worse for a hospital. I mean, it was filled with sick people trying to heal, or maybe even trying to die.
Yet it wasn't like that at all.
It was clean, the mirrors shined brightly, the light hanging from the wall reflecting onto it. The sinks were a pearly white and the bathrooms were clean as well. The room smelt like Febreze and cleaning products.
Although the smell wasn't dirty, it was still disturbing. It smelt like hospital. Nobody enjoyed the smell of hospital.
Lena walked out of the bathroom, tying up her hair quickly. She was on the search for Brandon. No one had seen him since Stef had her meltdown. They looked everywhere. The only place left was Callie's room, but it wasn't visiting hours. And Brandon wasn't one to break the rules.
Lena suddenly felt like a light had opened in her head, and without further thought, she ran to Callie's room. Totally unfocused, as Lena turned the corner she bumped into two girls.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Lena apologized quickly stopping, cracking a half smile at the two teenagers. They seemed nice, yet tired as well.
"Its fine," One of them explained, her red hair sticking out in odd angles. The other one, with dyed blue hair was nodding aimlessly behind her, looking dazed.
"Alexis, Tessa!" A man's voice busted behind Lena loudly, causing her to turn around.
"Mr. Evans!" The redhead exclaims throwing herself into his arms, the other girl following reluctantly. "How's Axton doing, is he holding up?"
Axton. Mr. Evans. These names were familiar. After looking towards the man, she immediately remembered. Axton was the boy in the car with Callie. The one who before anything had crashed, had apparently thrown an arm over her body protectively.
He tried to protect her. He tried to protect to her daughter. Lena felt nothing but respect for him and for his family. She could only hope Axton was doing alright. That he was breathing and alive.
"They took him out of surgery," Mr. Evans explained, both girls staring at him intently, wide eyes and soft faces. "He'll be alright." The second those words were said, both of the girls let out deep breaths and fell into one another's arms.
Although Lena was happy for him, for the boy who tried to protect her, she still felt jealous. She couldn't imagine how it would be if this boy got to live, yet her daughter, the one who was probably reluctant to even get into his car, would die.
She wanted his family to be happy, but of course, being human means being selfish. And being selfish means wanting more for you and your family than other's. But it was human nature. All families, all people, want their families to live over other's.
Lena wasn't a selfish person. But now, she couldn't help but feel like the most selfish of them all, wondering why he wasn't in the coma, yet Callie was. It wasn't fair. And Lena and Stef and the rest all had to live with unfairness of the world, while The Evan's family got to keep their son.
"What about the other girl?" The one with the blue hair had spoken up loudly. Lena's eyes opened wider in shock, looking at them even more. How had they known Callie? Were these the girls who Callie wanted to hang out with?
"Callie? Is Callie alright? Oh God, I hope she's alright. Axton wouldn't be able to live with himself knowing that he lived but someone he barely knew hadn't." Lena smiled half-heartedly. She looked at the girl's face, worry occupying all her expressions. These were good people.
Before Mr. Evans would even notice Lena was there, she walked away only hearing his distant words explaining how she was in a coma, and the gasps of the girls who Callie wanted to spend time with.
The girls who could cost Callie her life. Lena slowly proceeded towards Callie's room, running into a nurse along the way.
"Umm, I know that these aren't visiting hours, but I think my son is in my daughters room right now, is it alright if I can check?" Lena asks rubbing her clammy hand over her neck.
"Ten minutes," The nurse says flatly, her eyes never leaving the paper work she's working on. With a quick 'thank you' Lena heads to Callie's room, running through the empty halls to find Brandon.
The cries are loud.
Fire is building up around her, no place for the girl to escape. She screams, begging for people to save her.
Calling for help, but to no one in particular.
She screams louder, pulling the hair from her head.
Words of hatred are being forged out of the fire.
"You're nothing!"
"A worthless foster kid!"
"You're a piece of shit, Callie. Be happy someone like me wants someone like you!"
The last words hit her the hardest, making her fall to her knees, the fire building higher. Hearing those words, the words Liam had told her before he had raped her, was like ten shots to the heart.
"You're an ugly, fucking bitch!"
"A slut! I don't want a slut in my damn house!"
"Can you ever just do anything properly?"
Callie falls deeper now, her hands holding her up from having her face hit the hard ground.
"Stop!" She cries loudly, the wind still swirling strong, the fire still crackling loudly, and the words still falling out quickly. "Stop it! Leave me alone! Change this! Change it now! I want to leave!"
The words become faster now.
"Stupid girl! Don't you ever look at yourself?"
"Go throw the trash away! And might as well leave yourself there, too. I don't see any difference!"
"You're such an idiot! Your brother would be so much better off without you! Poor kid is being held back from being wanted 'cause of you!"
"No!" Callie yelled. The words burned in a way the fire never could. It burned her soul. It burned her heart. The skies turned a mahogany red and black clouds formed over hear heads. "I said no!"
Callie's cries deepened, causing her to crumple into a little ball. Her sobs becoming louder. "Stop," she whimpered, clutching onto her mother's necklace as if it were he life line. "Please."
And then everything suddenly changed. And she saw a light.
"Brandon!" Lena exclaimed loudly, walking over towards him, anger evident in her voice. "What the hell are you doing in here? Don't you know it's not visiting hours! This isn't like you!"
Lena's eyes begin to widen, waiting for an answer. Unfortunately, the only thing she received was Brandon staring down onto Callie, no emotion, just grasping onto her hand tightly.
"You think she'll ever wake up?" Brandon asked calmly, not glancing away from his view on Callie. Lena frowned, sitting across from him on the bed, placing a hand on his tense shoulder.
"Oh Love," Lena says calmly, reaching to place her other hand over his own. "Callie is a strong girl. I'm sure she will be okay. Doesn't she always end up okay?" Brandon looks at Lena, a desperation in his eyes.
"Callie is never okay," he admits. "She was about to be adopted. Then Robert happened. Her mother died. She got raped. Now this! No she's not fine. There's a difference between acting like you're okay, and actually being okay. She's not okay."
Lena didn't know what to say. And Lena always knew what to say. Brandon's words hit her like a rock. The meaning of his words filled with nothing but honesty and pain. Because it was true.
Facing the truth was hard. And Lena wasn't even Callie. She couldn't imagine what Callie had been telling herself all this time. How could she have ended up so stable? Even though people wouldn't call her exactly stable, she was definitely stable after all she had been through.
"Maybe you should talk to her," Lena says quietly, squeezing his hand. "I was told she squeezed Jude and Mariana's hands. That's a good sign, you know. Maybe she'll even squeeze yours."
Brandon shrugged. "I've spoken to her for hours and nothing's happened. Maybe you should try." Lena just shook her head ready to deny, but a voce disturbed them.
"Brandon, Love," Stef says quietly. "Please go to the waiting room with the rest of your siblings. And I swear, next time you disappear for that long, don't expect me to be this calm."
Brandon just nodded and walked away, leaving Stef and Lena in the room alone. Stef sat where Brandon was previously sitting, placing her hand over Callie's, just like Brandon had done.
"One hell of a fighter, huh?" Stef says softly, Lena nodding in agreement. Stef's head shifted to look at Lena, who stared at Callie intently. "I'm sorry about before in the dining room. I shouldn't have said that about Robert and how Callie shouldn't have been with those other people. I was just tired and needed to let out my feelings."
"I shouldn't have walked away like that either," Lena admit, reaching out to grasp Stef's hand. "We were both having a stressful and tough time. We should've been there for each other rather than have argued. It's not only better for us, but maybe even Callie felt the tension."
Stef laughed lightly, reaching out her other hand to rub Lena's cheek. "I bet you she knows exactly what's going on." Lena laughs lightly, looking down at Callie. Before she even knows what she's doing, Lena opens her mouth and begins making promises she doesn't even know whether or not she can keep.
"If you wake up," Lena begins, brushing Callie's dark curls lightly. "I promise we'll find a way to get you back as quickly as we can." Stef looks up to Lena, nodding in agreement.
"I promise, too," Stef says, wishing that she could keep this promise more than any other one.
The
The light was beautiful.
It was a mixture of cool and warm colors, all of them welcoming her as though they were opening their arms.
Callie ran towards it, her hair flying back in the wind.
Laughter was present in the background, laughter of her friends and family. Laughter of all the people she's ever loved.
And not the fake, forced laughter you'd make when you'd hear a bad joke but don't want the person to feel bad.
It was the real, genuine laughter you get when you're with people who make you laugh the most.
The laughter where you end up crying, and your stomach hurts from too much movement.
And Callie can hear music, too. The song her mother always used to sing to her playing comfortably in the background.
The words echoing into her mind.
And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how
Callie runs faster, the music getting louder the closer to the light she gets.
Because maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
Callie runs towards the light even faster, her feat burning, her head feeling like a balloon filled with helium.
I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
Suddenly, the music stops and the light disappears. And before she can fall unconscious, she sees the smiling face of her mother, nodding lightly and whispering tree small words.
I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
Lena and Stef get up reluctantly, the two of them holding hands, their backs facing Callie.
"Let's go before that nurse with the stern look murders us," Stef says quietly. Lena nods and laughs in agreement.
Lena looks back one more time at Callie, squinting as she notices something a little differently. Ignoring the feeling, which is probably wrong, she turns around opening the door.
And just before Stef and Lena can walk out they hear a deep, broken voice. A voice that doesn't sound like they've spoken in forever.
"Moms…"
Ok so thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you review and hopefully another chapter will be posted soon! Also the song is called Wonderwall by Oasis.