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Lucy hung up the phone, plopping onto the chair nearby. She put her face in her hands, shook her head, then ran her fingers through her blond locks, completely exhausted. She had just gotten off the phone with her little sister, Julia, whom she had told the news about the car accident. Before that, Lucy had spoken to her family in New York, having a lengthy conversation about Lizzy with each person. Everyone seemed pretty distraught over it--as she knew they would be--and it took a great deal of talking to convince them that Lizzy was going to be just fine.
The hardest to convince had been Max, who always got very shaken up whenever something bad happened to someone close to him. Lucy remembered the time Michelle got hurt and had to be taken to the hospital for stitches. Max had beaten himself up inside, feeling horrible that he hadn't been there to shield his little girl from the danger. Or, last year, when little Max had to get his appendix removed. Valerie had been out when little Max had started complaining about the pain, and Max didn't know what to do. He had to call an ambulance to rush his son to the emergency room, then to surgery. Besides fighting in Vietnam, Max had never been so scared in his entire life. Hearing about Lizzy had brought on a new wave of panic.
Lucy got up from the chair and walked into the living room with the intention of falling asleep on the couch. It was coming up on six in the morning, and she needed some sleep if she was going to head back to trade shifts with Jude. She was halfway to her destination when the phone rang. Groaning inwardly, Lucy went back to pick it up, pulling the cord a distance away so she could sit down in the chair.
"Hello?"
"Hey, love." was the reply, and even in her half-asleep state, Lucy could tell that voice from anywhere.
"Oh, hey, Jude," Lucy replied tiredly. "How is she?"
"She's sleepin' for now," he told her. His voice sounded drained and weary with stress. "I just got off the phone with me mum. She sends her love. She feels bad that she can't do much of anything to help."
"Julia was the same way."
"How 'bout everyone in New York?"
"They're worried, of course. I told them Lizzy was okay, but…"
"Yeah," Jude sighed. There was a short silence on the phone line before he spoke again. "I'm worried about Lizzy, too, Luce."
Lucy immediately became concerned. "Why? What's wrong?"
"I took 'er up to see Paul…and before she went to sleep, she told me she wanted to go home. And she didn't mean to the Harrisons' place, either."
"Oh."
"She wants 'er family," Jude explained. "And I think she's blamin' 'erself for what's happened to Paul."
"What do we do, Jude?"
"I dunno," Jude sighed again. "Listen, if ya have any ideas, call Lizzy's room, all right?"
"Yeah."
"Love ya."
"Love you, too."
Lucy hung up the phone, feeling much more miserable than she had before. She had no idea what to do. Her baby was in the hospital, in pain and homesick--how was she supposed to sleep now? Nevertheless, she dragged herself back over to the couch, sat down, and let the tears come rushing back. Lucy had been crying for about five minutes when Mrs. Harrison came down the stairs and found the poor, troubled mother alone and upset.
"Lucy?" Maggie asked, approaching the young woman. She sat down beside her as Lucy wiped away the last of her tears. "What's the matter? You look exhausted…why don't you go on up to bed?"
Lucy shook her head, pushing a chunk of hair out of her face. "I don't know what to do, Maggie…"
"About what?"
"Jude called," she clarified, sniffling. "He said Lizzy's having a rough time with things. She misses everyone in New York, and she feels terrible about the accident."
Mrs. Harrison smiled, hooking her arm around the younger woman's shoulders, pulling her closer. "Don't worry," Maggie reassured her. "I know how we can fix this."
Lucy stared up at her, hope flickering in her bloodshot, cerulean eyes. "How?"
"Charlie and I will pay for everyone to fly here to see Lizzy. It's early--graduation isn't for awhile--but we have plenty of room. Everyone can stay 'til then, and even if they aren't going to the ceremony, they'll be here for the party. She would love that."
"I can't ask you to…you've already done so much for us…I can't…"
"Don't worry, Lucy," Maggie said again. "Lizzy wants her family, so we'll bring her family to her."
It was six in the morning, and Max was freaking out inside.
Val was watching him from the living room couch as he paced back and forth across the carpet, eyes fixed on the floor. He had started pacing once he got sick of playing musical chairs with various pieces of furniture; he hadn't been able to sit down for longer than three minutes after getting off the phone with Lucy and hearing about the car accident Lizzy was involved in.
"Max, you do that any longer, you're going to wear a track in the carpet."
Max ignored his wife's comment, the humor not able to break his shitty frame of mind at the current moment. He continued to pace, lost in his thoughts. Lizzy…his beautiful, wonderful niece… He shuddered, picturing her broken and scared in a hospital bed thousands of miles away from where he was. It brought back memories; horrible memories of Vietnam and Max himself lying in a hospital surrounded by the wounded and dying. Sure, Lizzy's case wasn't as extensive as his had been, but he could relate at least on some level.
There was a knock on the door--quiet, but urgent--that tore the veteran from his thoughts. Before Val was even standing, he had already reached the door. Not bothering to check to see who it was, Max unlocked the chain and tugged the door open.
He was instantly met with the faces of four very sullen looking adults. Prudence and Rita were standing in the front with Sadie and JoJo behind them. JoJo had his arm wrapped around Sadie's waist, his hand resting on her hip while her head leaned against his chest. Prudence and Rita had their arms slung around each other's shoulders.
"Sorry to bother you, Max," Prudence said quietly. "We haven't been able to sleep since Lucy called."
Max let the weary-eyed adults in, closing the door behind the group. "We haven't had much luck, either."
Prudence, Rita, Sadie, and JoJo settled themselves onto the chairs and the couch with Valerie, sitting in an uncomfortable, nervous silence. Neither of them had any idea what to do with themselves, or what to say about the current situation. They hadn't had to deal with something so serious since Lizzy left them all those years ago. Everything had been pretty tame since then; minor things had happened, like one of the kids getting stitches or little Max having surgery to get his appendix taken out. But there was a major difference between those occurrences and the one that was happening now. Now, they couldn't be there by Lizzy's side--they couldn't offer any physical comfort to Lucy or Jude, either.
And it wasn't just Lizzy they were worried about. Lucy had told them about Paul, too. Although the group of adults had only met him once, they knew he was a good kid, and they understood how close he and Lizzy were, especially now that their relationship was beyond just plain friendship. They knew Lizzy was okay; she had made it out of the accident with some injuries, none of them becoming too serious. From what Lucy had shared, they were told that Paul had received the worst of it, since he had been the one driving at the time. They could only hope that he would make it out of this all right, if not for himself and his family, but for Lizzy's sake as well. She would be a wreck if something tragic happened…
Sadie sighed, either to let her emotions out or to break the stony silence that had settled among the group. She didn't know which--maybe a little of both. "Our baby's hurtin'," the singer stated. "And we can't even be there…"
"Why couldn't she have come to New York sooner?" Prudence murmured. "Maybe this wouldn't have happened."
"You don't know that, sweet pea," Sadie countered. "This could've happened anywhere."
There was finality in their words, something that irritated Max. They were talking about her as if something worse had happened--as if the accident had been fatal. Lizzy was alive, damn it. She was alive and probably scared shitless. Max knew he would be, if he were in her position. Lizzy most likely had never been through something this traumatic. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that this ordeal had probably messed with her head a bit.
"She's okay," Max said firmly, more to reassure himself than anyone else in the room, "She'll be okay."
The phone suddenly rang, making everyone jump at the unexpected, shrill sound. Max jumped from his temporary seat to grab it. "Hello?"
"Max, it's Lucy."
"Hey, Luce," the elder Carrigan replied. The adults in the room snapped to attention upon hearing Lucy's name mentioned, and attempted to piece together what was being said. "Is everything all right?"
"Yeah," Lucy answered. "Just tell everyone to pack their bags--and I mean everyone. Max, Michelle, Jimi and Eleanor included. You have a flight booked for one in the afternoon. You're coming to Florida--indefinitely."
"Is Lizzy okay?"
"She's fine. She just needs you guys here, that's all."
Max felt like he had won some amazing, spur-of-the-moment prize. "All right. We'll be there. But how are we paying for--"
"The Harrisons are taking care of it."
"Okay. See you tomorrow, Luce."
Max hung up the phone, turning around to face his friends and wife, only to be met with confused stares.
"What's going on, man?" JoJo questioned.
"Better start packing," Max advised. "We've got a one o'clock flight to Florida."
Valerie's eyes lit up, as did the rest of the adults. "All of us?"
Max nodded. "Everyone," he confirmed. "We're going to see Lizzy."
Lizzy had no idea how long she had slept, but it felt as though it had been an eternity. She remembered waking up a few times, only staying conscious for a couple minutes--long enough for the nurse to check her vitals, or for her father to ask if she needed anything. Even then, she had been in a haze, most likely from exhaustion and the pain meds flowing through her system. There had been a time that she'd woken up for another reason, though.
Before tearing herself from sleep, she recalled seeing herself standing on the corner of the sidewalk, near the intersection where the accident took place. The Lizzy that stood on the sidewalk watched as the Lizzy and Paul in Mr. Harrison's car were struck by another car. This time, there wasn't anyone around to see it--only the horror-struck Lizzy looking on from the sidelines. After the sounds of the crash settled, a deafening silence took its place. Then, suddenly, there was screaming. Lizzy realized that she was the one screaming as she propelled herself off the curb and to the mangled car, pounding on the doorframe. She looked in to see Paul hunched over the steering wheel, and the "second" Lizzy slumped against the cracked window. She was an outsider glancing in on herself and Paul--a sort of freaky, out-of-boy experience--except the scene was different. No one was around…no one was coming to help…it was all wrong.
Lizzy was relieved to wake up and find that it had been a dream, and nothing more. She faintly remembered her father standing beside the bed, making sure she was okay and asking what was wrong. Then, she drifted off once her head hit the pillow.
She wasn't really awake now. Well, she was awake--she could tell that it was late afternoon, probably, judging from the intensity of the sunlight hitting her eyelids--but she had yet to open up her eyes. And she didn't want to--not yet. After seeing Paul yesterday, she didn't want to look at the stark white rooms, the less-than-comfortable bed sheets, the machines beeping and flashing. She wanted to leave; run away and escape these walls. When was she going home? Not soon enough, unfortunately.
Lizzy kept her eyes shut, contemplating whether or not to just got back to sleep. She wasn't tired enough for that, so she focused her ears on the sounds in the room, the hushed conversation that seemed to be getting louder, including more people. The people sounded dream-like, their voices distorted. Lizzy almost thought for a moment that she was imagining them. Too many pain meds, perhaps…
She felt someone poke at her sheets, near her leg, almost as if the person was trying to wake her up. However, she didn't open her eyes.
"Max, leave her alone, honey," A familiar female voice scolded, "She's sleeping."
Was that…Aunt Valerie? No, it couldn't possibly be…there's no way… Lizzy thought. Although, it sounded a lot like her.
"How long does she have to stay?" Another familiar voice asked. This time, Lizzy could've sworn that it sounded like Sadie. Her raspy singer's voice was unmistakable.
"Doctor said she can go sometime in the next two days," Lizzy heard her father say, his accent distinct. "They kept 'er a bit longer 'cause she was havin' some trouble with the pain."
"How long will she be outta school?" she heard her Uncle Max ask. Wait a minute…Uncle Max?
"A few weeks, until her ribs heal. That's what they're worried about the most. She has to take it easy for awhile. She'll be mostly recovered by the time she has her finals." Lucy replied.
"Well, I can come over and keep her company when I don't have school," Lizzy thought she heard her younger cousin, Michelle, suggest. "And I can paint her nails for her." Someone muttered an 'of course' in response to Michelle's offer, and it could only be Eleanor.
Lizzy thought that maybe now was a good time to open up her eyes, seeing as she was confused to no end. Slowly, she let her eyes flutter open, and as the room came into focus, she saw that she was, in fact, surrounded by the familiar faces of her family. Everyone was there--her parents, Max, Val, little Max, Michelle, Sadie, JoJo, Eleanor and Jimi, Prudence and Rita… The room had changed a bit since the last time she had woken up, too. It was no longer plain and boring. There were vibrant flowers, colorful balloons and handmade cards everywhere to liven the place up.
"Well, look who's up!" Prudence smiled.
"Hey, sweet pea. How are you feeling?" Sadie asked.
"Okay," Lizzy answered, still a little puzzled. "How…how did all of you get here?"
"With a little help from the Harrisons." Lucy told her. She nodded, not believing that they were all truly here. It was nice--having home come to her. Maybe now, recovering from this would be a bit easier.
A/N: So, there you have it, Chapter 29. There will be more interaction between Lizzy and her family in the next chapter, as well as Paul.
Oh, and although this fic isn't over yet, I have some news for all of you: I am planning a prequel to "Dizzy Miss Lizzy". I will probably work on finishing this fic and the prequel before I get back to my other fic, "Anna, Go To Him" (Chapter 2 is up, btw!). Just wanted to let you guys know…
Here's a new trivia question! Who was the first Beatle to get married?
Please review :)
