A Brush with Death
It was raining. Not hard, but hard enough to cause the hair on your arm prick up and passing cars hit you with a misty spray.
Collins walked in this rain, slowly, around the downtown area of New York. Everything seemed different, even darker, than he could ever had remembered it being. Except for those few months after Angel's death...Despite his brave smile and upright standing, he was weakening with the days, and every step brought him another wash of slight discomfort. Sometimes pain, but mostly just an aching that welled from deep inside of him and flooded his heart with cold.
It was like a reunion. Maureen and Joanne's big plans for Broadway fell through when Maureen broke her leg at the audition, so they had moved back in with Mark, Roger, and Mimi while the bone healed. Mimi and Roger, they were as close to married as anyone could ever be. Mark had gone on and off with this one girl-Jackie, Collins thought, was her name. But he couldn't be sure. Benny, Benny had gotten in thick with Alison, and was taking refuge back at the loft. With his pleading smile and cunning way with words, ill feelings were forgotten and he was accepted graciously. To everyone's surprise, he was as kind as everyone had previously thought him slimy.
Collins had just needed an escape for a little bit. Even now, excitement made him a little unhappy. Even worse was the holiday season that was rolling around again. Tomorrow would have been his three-year anniversary with Angel.
If Angel was still alive.
Realizing that he always started to get down around this time, everyone back at the loft had let him go off on a walk without comment. Honestly, Collins didn't think anyone really noticed. All of a sudden Mark had gotten very involved with some new film of his. A new film that almost everyone but Collins seemed to be in on. After about five minutes of pondering on the subject, Tom had shrugged it off and turned his attention to other things. Somehow, nowadays he didn't always feel a part of his old friend's personal lives anymore. Sometimes they'd come to him for advice, but mostly, it was just he.
Not that Collins blamed them. They were happy, Maureen and Joanne, Roger and Mimi, Benny, even Mark. The last thing he wanted was to rain on their parade.
Speaking of rain.
A cold wash fell over him as a car sped past. His coat was drenched completely. With a begrudging sigh, he leaned over and began to attempt to wipe off the sopping water. All his attention focused on his wet clothing, Collins never realized what was heading towards him at the breakneck speed.
It all seemed to go in slow motion. The honking of the horn. The wild look in the driver's eyes as he tried to swerve around Tom on the slippery road.
All of a sudden, a strange feeling of hands being pressed against his chest flooded Collins' nerves, and he was jolted to the left. The car hit him with a crash as he fell to the cement, bathed in red blood and coughing repeatedly. The vague sound of a car door slamming entered his ears, along with the hum of the crowd the accident had gathered.
"Get a phone!"
"Somebody call a doctor."
"Somebody call an ambulance!!"
Collins could see nothing but a blinding light that had flooded his eyes. Softly, a murmured voice whispered something close to his ear.
"Hang on Tom..."
That was the last thing he heard before the light over took him, and he gave in to the pain that was seeping through his skull.
----------------------------
Mark paced in the whitewashed hallway of the hospital.
"Mark," Roger's voice sounded from a chair a few feet away, "sit down and calm down. It's okay."
"It isn't okay! Collins is in the hospital! We don't even know-"
"Marky." Maureen's hands fell to his shoulders and pushed him down gently to a chair. The filmmaker slumping in the chair like a limp doll followed weak resistance, face paled.
Roger looked around at the group, gathered together in the waiting room. Maureen sat next to a shaky Mark, Joanne at her side. Benny was sitting by himself, dutifully filling out paperwork. Mimi was curled up next to Roger, slowly shivering. Ever since her own brush with death, sensitivity levels had shot up.
"Are you all here to see Mr. Collins?"
Mark stood up anxiously.
"Yes."
"You may go in to see him one at a time."
With a sidelong glance, Mark walked slowly into the hospital room where Collins was. Faintly he took in the room number. 224B. The same room Angel had been in. He wasn't sure whether Collins had noticed that or not. Chances are, he hadn't.
"Collins?"
One dark eye flickered open, and a faint smile was shot Mark's way.
"Hey Mark."
"Hey. How are you feeling?"
"Groggy, and my head hurts."
Mark nodded, and let his smile grow bigger. Something told him Collins was going to be fine.
"So, is Jackie-I think that's her name-here?"
"No, we broke up this morning."
Collins nodded. "I'm sorry."
"Hey no problem." Mark said with a laugh. "I've never had much luck with women. You're single, right Collins?"
This made Collins' smile bloom into a full-fledged grin as he chuckled softly along with his friend.
"So...what happened?"
"I'm not sure." Tom's eyes squinted slightly as he tried to remember. "Some car had passed and got me soaked with rainwater. I was brushing it off when there was that honking, and when I looked up, a car was speeding towards me. I didn't even run, it was like I was frozen. Then, there were these..." Collins stopped, and thought for a moment. When he talked again, it came out almost hollow. "There were these hands I felt on my chest that pushed me over to the left. That's when the car hit me. And there was a voice..."
Collins' voice trailed off as his hand drifted up to gently finger a guardian angel pendant that lay on a golden chain around his neck. The metal shined against his dark skin. This had been Angel's pendent for a long time. Two days before his disease, however, he had given it to Collins, asking him to keep it close. This necklace was Tom's prized possession, and he hadn't taken it off since its transfer of owners.
"Collins, you don't think-"
But Collins wasn't listening. His mind had shipped off somewhere else, as the faraway look in his eyes revealed.
Roger's blonde head peeped through the doorway.
"Get out Mark, it's my turn." His voice was chuckling, and it seemed to bring Collins back to the present as he looked up and smiled.
"All right, all right. I'm leaving." Mark grinned and walked out of the room.
"So how is he?"
"He's fine. He says that he felt these hands push him over to the left right before the car hit him though...and he said something about a voice."
Maureen's thin eyebrows lifted up, as she let her mouth drop. "A nurse just told us that if he had been even a little farther over to the right, he would have been killed for sure. You don't think-"
Mimi nodded. "Angel."
"He's done it once."
Mark swallowed the lump in his throat, and narrowed his eyes.
"You don't know any of this for sure. And don't you go telling Collins this, it'll just aggravate him more."
"Don't you see? Angel pushed Collins to the left. If he had been where he was standing, he would have died. Angel saved Collins' life, just like he did Mimi."
"But-"
Mimi nodded again, taking a deep breath. "It's true. I mean, if Angel steered me back to life, why shouldn't he save Collins'?"
"Because! That's why!"
Mark clenched his fists and stormed towards the elevator angrily just as Roger was exiting the room.
"Mark, what-"
"Just get away from me."
Elevator doors clamped shut behind him.
It was raining. Not hard, but hard enough to cause the hair on your arm prick up and passing cars hit you with a misty spray.
Collins walked in this rain, slowly, around the downtown area of New York. Everything seemed different, even darker, than he could ever had remembered it being. Except for those few months after Angel's death...Despite his brave smile and upright standing, he was weakening with the days, and every step brought him another wash of slight discomfort. Sometimes pain, but mostly just an aching that welled from deep inside of him and flooded his heart with cold.
It was like a reunion. Maureen and Joanne's big plans for Broadway fell through when Maureen broke her leg at the audition, so they had moved back in with Mark, Roger, and Mimi while the bone healed. Mimi and Roger, they were as close to married as anyone could ever be. Mark had gone on and off with this one girl-Jackie, Collins thought, was her name. But he couldn't be sure. Benny, Benny had gotten in thick with Alison, and was taking refuge back at the loft. With his pleading smile and cunning way with words, ill feelings were forgotten and he was accepted graciously. To everyone's surprise, he was as kind as everyone had previously thought him slimy.
Collins had just needed an escape for a little bit. Even now, excitement made him a little unhappy. Even worse was the holiday season that was rolling around again. Tomorrow would have been his three-year anniversary with Angel.
If Angel was still alive.
Realizing that he always started to get down around this time, everyone back at the loft had let him go off on a walk without comment. Honestly, Collins didn't think anyone really noticed. All of a sudden Mark had gotten very involved with some new film of his. A new film that almost everyone but Collins seemed to be in on. After about five minutes of pondering on the subject, Tom had shrugged it off and turned his attention to other things. Somehow, nowadays he didn't always feel a part of his old friend's personal lives anymore. Sometimes they'd come to him for advice, but mostly, it was just he.
Not that Collins blamed them. They were happy, Maureen and Joanne, Roger and Mimi, Benny, even Mark. The last thing he wanted was to rain on their parade.
Speaking of rain.
A cold wash fell over him as a car sped past. His coat was drenched completely. With a begrudging sigh, he leaned over and began to attempt to wipe off the sopping water. All his attention focused on his wet clothing, Collins never realized what was heading towards him at the breakneck speed.
It all seemed to go in slow motion. The honking of the horn. The wild look in the driver's eyes as he tried to swerve around Tom on the slippery road.
All of a sudden, a strange feeling of hands being pressed against his chest flooded Collins' nerves, and he was jolted to the left. The car hit him with a crash as he fell to the cement, bathed in red blood and coughing repeatedly. The vague sound of a car door slamming entered his ears, along with the hum of the crowd the accident had gathered.
"Get a phone!"
"Somebody call a doctor."
"Somebody call an ambulance!!"
Collins could see nothing but a blinding light that had flooded his eyes. Softly, a murmured voice whispered something close to his ear.
"Hang on Tom..."
That was the last thing he heard before the light over took him, and he gave in to the pain that was seeping through his skull.
----------------------------
Mark paced in the whitewashed hallway of the hospital.
"Mark," Roger's voice sounded from a chair a few feet away, "sit down and calm down. It's okay."
"It isn't okay! Collins is in the hospital! We don't even know-"
"Marky." Maureen's hands fell to his shoulders and pushed him down gently to a chair. The filmmaker slumping in the chair like a limp doll followed weak resistance, face paled.
Roger looked around at the group, gathered together in the waiting room. Maureen sat next to a shaky Mark, Joanne at her side. Benny was sitting by himself, dutifully filling out paperwork. Mimi was curled up next to Roger, slowly shivering. Ever since her own brush with death, sensitivity levels had shot up.
"Are you all here to see Mr. Collins?"
Mark stood up anxiously.
"Yes."
"You may go in to see him one at a time."
With a sidelong glance, Mark walked slowly into the hospital room where Collins was. Faintly he took in the room number. 224B. The same room Angel had been in. He wasn't sure whether Collins had noticed that or not. Chances are, he hadn't.
"Collins?"
One dark eye flickered open, and a faint smile was shot Mark's way.
"Hey Mark."
"Hey. How are you feeling?"
"Groggy, and my head hurts."
Mark nodded, and let his smile grow bigger. Something told him Collins was going to be fine.
"So, is Jackie-I think that's her name-here?"
"No, we broke up this morning."
Collins nodded. "I'm sorry."
"Hey no problem." Mark said with a laugh. "I've never had much luck with women. You're single, right Collins?"
This made Collins' smile bloom into a full-fledged grin as he chuckled softly along with his friend.
"So...what happened?"
"I'm not sure." Tom's eyes squinted slightly as he tried to remember. "Some car had passed and got me soaked with rainwater. I was brushing it off when there was that honking, and when I looked up, a car was speeding towards me. I didn't even run, it was like I was frozen. Then, there were these..." Collins stopped, and thought for a moment. When he talked again, it came out almost hollow. "There were these hands I felt on my chest that pushed me over to the left. That's when the car hit me. And there was a voice..."
Collins' voice trailed off as his hand drifted up to gently finger a guardian angel pendant that lay on a golden chain around his neck. The metal shined against his dark skin. This had been Angel's pendent for a long time. Two days before his disease, however, he had given it to Collins, asking him to keep it close. This necklace was Tom's prized possession, and he hadn't taken it off since its transfer of owners.
"Collins, you don't think-"
But Collins wasn't listening. His mind had shipped off somewhere else, as the faraway look in his eyes revealed.
Roger's blonde head peeped through the doorway.
"Get out Mark, it's my turn." His voice was chuckling, and it seemed to bring Collins back to the present as he looked up and smiled.
"All right, all right. I'm leaving." Mark grinned and walked out of the room.
"So how is he?"
"He's fine. He says that he felt these hands push him over to the left right before the car hit him though...and he said something about a voice."
Maureen's thin eyebrows lifted up, as she let her mouth drop. "A nurse just told us that if he had been even a little farther over to the right, he would have been killed for sure. You don't think-"
Mimi nodded. "Angel."
"He's done it once."
Mark swallowed the lump in his throat, and narrowed his eyes.
"You don't know any of this for sure. And don't you go telling Collins this, it'll just aggravate him more."
"Don't you see? Angel pushed Collins to the left. If he had been where he was standing, he would have died. Angel saved Collins' life, just like he did Mimi."
"But-"
Mimi nodded again, taking a deep breath. "It's true. I mean, if Angel steered me back to life, why shouldn't he save Collins'?"
"Because! That's why!"
Mark clenched his fists and stormed towards the elevator angrily just as Roger was exiting the room.
"Mark, what-"
"Just get away from me."
Elevator doors clamped shut behind him.