***DISCLAIMER***
Me: It's almost over!
Adam and Tommy: (come in holding hands)
Me: (flailing at the yummy cute sight.)
Adam: Did you you were almost done?
Tommy: That sucks. . .I was hoping for me.
Me: Wait I thought you didn't like it.
Tommy: (shruggs) Nah, I was jsut being stubborn.
Adam: (smiles and kisses Tommys cheek)
Me: (almost faints) . . .So are you two?
Adam: No.
Me: (confused) then why?
Tommy: What he means is, your story has inspired me to expariment. . .
Me: (confused but excited) Exparament? Ooo yay. . .really?
Adam: For now anyway. . .(looks at me) Is this really almost the end?
Me: Yeah, but I think Im gonna write an epilouge and a pre-qual.
Adam: (raises an eyebrow) A what-qual?
Tommy: (being the movie junkie that he his; smiles) A pre-qual! It means the story takes place before the current one. Movies do it all the time!
Me: Exactaly!
Adam: Oh. . .thats cool. . .now lets read, I wanna know what happens!
Tommy: Me too!
Me: (Laughs) Okay. . .(to readers) here ya go guys one of the last few chapters left, and as I've said before, I don't own them! Enjoy!
~CHAPTER ELEVEN~
"I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing
With a broken heart that's still beating
"In the pain there is healing, In your name I find meaning
So I'm holding on, I'm holding on, I'm holding on,
I'm barely holding on to you."
~Adam's Point of View~
A sudden annoying ringing sound broke my concentration as I attempted to read my lines one more time.
"Can somebody get that!" I hollered, after the third ring.
I waited for the ear piercing sound to cease, and when it did, I returned to studying.
"It's for you!" I heard my mother call back from the bottom of the stairs.
I sighed, and sat my tattered paper script on the bed beside me; and picked up the phone located on my desk. Very rarely did I ever get calls; and the times that I did get them they were from people I didn't want to talk to.
"Hello." I said, slightly annoyed.
I didn't have the time to talk on the phone. My hair still needed to be died and there where a few lines I still wasn't sure about.
"Adam?"
My mood shifted instantly. "Tommy?"
My heart began to race at the sound of his voice. I didn't like the tone he was using. It was too much like the one he used when he was standing in the rain on my front step.
"What's up?" I asked knowing Tommy never called unless absolutely necessary. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah." He huffed. He was upset, probably at his mother.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
There was a pause, then he let out a heavy breath.
"Yeah. Look, my mom wants to take me to the show since the car is back. . ." His voice trailed off.
"Is she okay?" He knew what I was poking at.
"She says she is. I'll just see you at the show okay." he sounded annoyed.
"Okay." I said.
The other end of the phone clicked, letting the dial tone echo in my ear. I sat the phone on my desk and stared at it for a while. He sounded anything but himself. I couldn't even fathom what he must have told his mother when he got home. Especially after all that she had put him through. I didn't understand people like Tommy's mother, not entirely anyway.
Slowly I made my way back to where I was sitting before. I ran through my lines a couple more times before making my way to the bathroom with a box of black hair dye. When that was finished I left at the very last minuet and headed to the school.
The interior of the car felt empty without Tommy sitting next to me. Even if we never said anything to each other during a drive, at least I knew he was there. In the weeks past it was like he had become part of that seat, and wasn't there I missed him.
I drove fast, probably faster then I should have, knowing that if I was even thirty seconds late, Ms. O'Conner would have a conniption fit. I smiled to myself, visualizing Tommy getting scolded with the 'I don't give a shit' look on his face. It was the smallest, most unimportant things that where my favorite about him. I could honestly care less about all stuff he thought I couldn't take. That was who he was, and I accepted it. There wasn't a single thing I would change, because he wouldn't be Tommy otherwise.
When I pulled into the parking lot, I found the closest parking spot, and went inside the back doors of the auditorium.
~oOo~
"Ten minuets till show time people!" Ms. O'Conner barked above all the commotion backstage.
The final moments before the curtain was raised were the most hectic by far. Actors and stage personnel rushed around the area; placing props, fixing costumes and dropping equipment. People were nervous, excited, queasy, some even cried. It was mass hysteria, but I loved every crazy moment of it.
Once I was satisfied with my freshly died hair, and what little makeup I needed to get the proper greaser look, I smiled at my reflection in the mirror. Tommy was right. Black hair looked better then brown. Never again would I be a ginger. The only thing I was missing now was my leather jacket. I strutted over to the rack of costumes, which was pretty picked over, and found mine. I slid my arms into the heavy fabric, glancing at my reflection in the full length mirror and smiled agian. When I turned around, I found a very disgruntled Monte walking towards me.
"Hey!" I said happily, running on a pre-production high.
"Have you seen Tommy?" he asked, looking over my shoulder to the chaos behind me. I had been so preoccupied with making myself up, I had forgotten to check for him.
My brows furrowed. "No, he said his mom was gonna bring him."
Monte fell silent. "Then they're running late, cause I haven't seen him yet." He finally said.
"He'll be here." I said finally. Mostly to assure myself.
Monte nodded and met my eyes. "Hey, good luck man." He said lightly patting my shoulder.
"Thank you." I said. "You too."
Monte smirked and went back to the band room with the other musicians. As the smile melted on my face, so did the rush of excitement. My mind was jumbled and the only thing I could think was wondering where Tommy was. My heart started to pound at the thought of him not being here. But I was going to have to focus. The sooner the play was over, the sooner I could find Tommy.
"Five minuets!" I heard the director scream; sending everyone into a violent frenzy around me.
I stood in the center of it all, trapped in a daze until someone ran into me and brought reality back to me. Our places were called, and with a few deep breaths, I hurried to fill mine. Somewhere off stage, Ms. O'Conner counted down the seconds, then the curtain lifted and I stepped into the blinding lights.
Thunderous applause fanned out over the packed auditorium, laced with shrill whistles and obnoxious hoots and hollers. It was actually the only time I had ever seen Ms. O'Conner smile. All the cast took one another's hands, and walked to the very edge of the stage to take the final bows. Seeing smiling faces and hearing the excitement of the crowd was my favorite part of performing.
When the routy crowd died down and we all were hidden behind the dark heavy curtain, I took no time little time to change back into my street clothes. After that, I made a bee line to the band room. I got stopped a few times by students and teachers, congratulating me on my performance, and I thanked them humbly.
The band room was in much the same condition as the stage. Kids were trying to put their instruments away, while parents with smiling faces greeted them with hugs and kisses. I scanned over all the faces, and before long I realized that I only recognized one face and it belonged to Monte. His eyes landed on mine and he shook his head with a shrug. Already knowing what I was going to ask. I spun around and grabbed my car keys from my pocket. Unfortunately for me, my parents found me before I could even get out of the room.
"Oh Adam!" my mother said cheerfully. "You were amazing." she kissed both of my cheeks and handed a bouquet of colorful flowers.
"Thanks mom." I said hastily.
"Ya did good son." My father said placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Thanks."
Mom proceeded to stand and tell me all her favorite parts of the play, while I nervously swayed back and forth. I had to get out of the school before I busted. Without saying a word I left, ignoring my families confused shouts behind me.
I was probably over reacting, but I couldn't quite scratch the feeling that something was horribly wrong. There was a vast number of reasons why he wouldn't have shown up. As I continued down the road, I started to calm down a little bit as my mind filed through all the other things that could account for his absence. His car more then likely broke down, or his mother had another one of her fits.
Gradually, traffic started to slow to a point that was close to stopping. Traffic back in Indiana was bad, but not near as bad as L.A. Small droplets of water started to decorated my clean windshield as the weather turned misty. I didn't know it rained so much in California, but I guessed the rain was better the snow I was used to this time of year. The street lights over head illuminated the dash of my car, casting tiny spotted shadows upon the smooth surface. I tried to count the little dots to distract my thoughts, but it wasn't working. My mind kept going back to Tommy.
As I sat there, not really listening to the Guns and Roses song on the radio, I noticed all the people out of their vehicles walking down the street. I didn't like the look on their faces. They were full of concern and bewilderment. Curiosity pulled me out of my daze. Swiftly, I grabbed my jacket from the back seat and got out into the misty rain. Through the heavy moisture looming in the air, I could see the reflection of flashing lights bouncing off of the damp cars.
My feet carried me across the wet pavement, splashing into puddles, soaking my pant legs as I hurried to see what the commotion was about. Whispers of a two car collision echoed around me and my heart started pounding. A head there was a group of people huddled against road blocks trying to push forward. The police officer restraining them shouted at them and told them to back up, which caused the large mass of bodies to pin me against the hood of another car. I quickly climbed on the hood, attempting not to scratch the red paint, but also made sure I could see around the huddled people.
It was bad.
My eyes saw before my body had time to react. A white Ford had swerved off the side of the road and crunched into a street light. But that wasn't the worst part. An SUV sandwiched the small Ford, causing the light pole to fall onto the passenger side of the car. The windshield was broken in and shards of glass was strewn out onto the asphalt.
My knees shook and I stumbled down from the car and shoved my way to the officer who was still shouting.
"Sir, I can't let you up any further." he said sounding angry.
My yes kept glancing at the white car. I had seen it before, but I couldn't place it.
"Sir-" the police officer pushed me back a second time.
"What happened!" I asked frantically.
The tall police officer glanced over his shoulder at the horrific scene behind him, then sighed. Obviously this wasn't' the first time he had explained it.
"The driver of the Ford was intoxicated, lost control of the vehicle and hit the pole. We are still trying to determine why the SUV hit the white car..." His voice trailed off.
All the man had to say was intoxicated driver for my entire world to stop. All of a sudden I remembered the car.
"How many passengers were in the white car!" I asked.
I hoped and prayed that the answer he gave me was different then the one I was thinking. That was Tommy's car. There was no denying it.
"Two." he told me. "The woman was driving."
"What about the other!" my voice was teetering on the edge of insanity.
". . .The boy was rushed to the hospital right away."
"What did he look like?"
The officer thought a moment, "He was about your age with blond hair; wearing a black and grey striped jacket. . ."
I was running back to my car before the officer could give me the full description. But I didn't need it, because I knew exactly what the boy looked like. He was petite, but strong, and beautiful. He had warm chocolate brown eyes, that could tell story after story about his hard life. I knew that boy all too well, but I feared that that description would soon prove no longer correct. Rushed to the hospital? I didn't even want to think about what that entailed. My head was becoming dizzy and I felt nauseated by the time I reached my car.
There wasn't much room for me to get the car out of the traffic jam, but I didn't care. I had to get to that fucking hospital by any means necessary. I drove the car on the side of the road, hoping there was a street a head I could turn onto. My sanity was dwindling by the second. I was certain every move I was making, every stop sign and red light I sped through was illegal. But right now, that was the last thing on my mind.
The rear end of my mustangs fish tailed as I turned quickly into the parking lot of the hospital. I parked in the first open space I saw and rushed inside. Instantly, memories of the weeks I spent in the hospital flooded back into my brain. No matter where I was, hospitals always sent those wretched memories back into my mind. They brought back all the pain and hurt I felt over a year ago.
The woman sitting behind the reception desk was busy filling papers when I reached her.
"Excuse me." I breathed almost silently, hoping to get her attention.
She looked up from her work and smiled at me.
"Can I help you dear?" Her voice was soft and caring like a mothers. Her name tag read Joyce, which was embellished with little sticker face and angel. I imagined she was usually a nurse on the pediatric floor.
As I opened my mouth to speak, a sickening metallic taste rose on my tongue and my stomach churned uncomfortably. I swallowed hard.
"Yes. . .um Tommy Ratliff. They brought him in on an ambulance. . ."
The woman dropped her stack of papers on the counter, and started typing something into the computer. "Lets see what I can do."
As I waited for Joyce, I tried to steady my breathing to keep form passing out. I was using the counter as a crutch incase I felt like I was going to fall. Things seemed to be moving in a rush around me and it was hard to stand straight. My body was weak and shock was making it difficult to do much of anything; not to mention my shaking hands and tunneling vision.
When the woman turned around, a solemn, but controlled expression met me. I felt all the blood and warmth drain from my face.
"Tommy Joe Ratliff is currently in the ICU, and unable to be visited right now." she explained.
I stared at her, unable to speak. I had to see him. She looked at me kindly. "Why don't you go home, get some rest and come back in the morning."
I shook my head. "No. I can't do that. You don't understand. I need to see him. . .he needs to see me." Tears started to work their way to the surface as I spoke. "Please, I have to see him."
Joyce looked at me a long time, her soft eyes glistening as they, themselves seemed to start watering. She came around counter, and with gentle hands, lead me to a small sitting area. "I will see what I can do. Okay?"
I only nodded, far too upset to even utter a noise. As she walked back to her place at the reception desk, I was thinking that this couldn't be happening. It was so surreal, This was a dream, it had to be. Soon I would wake up, and Tommy would be laying sound asleep and safe beside me.
This just couldn't be happening, not to Tommy. Not to my baby.
A/N: . . .CLIFFHANGER!. . . don't hate me. . .cuz i gonna post the next chapters really soon, just cuz im almost done! but please leave me a review! and i LOVED all the LONG reviews you guys left me. It was awesme to see what parts/quotes were your favorite! I hope i get more like that, and i have a feeling i will. lol ;) im gonna keep it short so i can get this posted and you can read it!
**Thanks for the reviews! ;) i loved every single one!
