Chapter 24: Inner Demons

After insisting that his friends be able to go with him to the ICU, if only for a few minutes, the four of them had made their way into Kara's room. She was lying in the bed, motionless. It reminded Rob of something out of a Frankenstein horror book. There were numerous tubes and needles coming from her arms, as well as a ventilator tube coming from her mouth. There was a section of her hair missing, where they had performed the brain surgery. In short, Rob was very shocked at the way she looked, but he didn't say much.

Alan and Ellie had stayed a little farther back, closer to the doorway. It didn't take long for the head nurse to show herself.

"Excuse me, I don't want to seem rude here, but the limit is two people at a time. So, some of you will have to leave."

Alan took care of it before it would escalate into any sort of problem.

"Sure," he said to her, then he looked at Rob, "We'll go downstairs. Try to find a hotel or something, okay?"

"Thanks, Alan," Rob said quietly.

Smiling faintly and nodding, Alan left the room, with Ellie behind him. After they got to the elevators, she began to talk.

"She looks pretty bad."

"Yeah. It was a little shocking," he said, as he pushed the button to get the elevator.

The elevator got there quickly, and they stepped inside. He noticed that Ellie was being really quiet.

"You look like you're in deep thought," he observed, as he pushed the button for the lobby.

"I was just thinking that I know exactly how Rob feels right now."

Alan couldn't think of the correlation right away, but then figured it out, just as she continued talking.

"I was somewhat horrified to see you lying in that hospital bed, unconscious. It was very unsettling, to say the least."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said, not really remembering much of what had happened after his accident.

He could see tears forming in her eyes. She stopped talking and just hugged him. He held onto her tightly, as the elevator made its way to the first floor. As the doors opened, Ellie let him go and pulled herself together. They walked to the lobby and Alan smiled, as he saw that same helpful woman from before, behind the desk.

Rob and his father sat on opposite sides of Kara, completely quiet. Finally, Rob Sr. stood up.

"I'm going to go and check on things back home."

Rob nodded, but did little more than that. He watched his father leave the room, walking in his usual professional demeanor. Always the showman.

Finally having the chance to be alone with his twin, Rob began to have some real heartfelt thoughts. He had been elated to find out that she had made it through the surgeries, but now, seeing her like this, it was tearing him up inside. His flesh, his blood, his counterpart, was lying helpless in a hospital bed, trying desperately to hold onto life. He could do nothing about it. Nothing at all. And to make it worse, it probably really was his fault. Hearing his father accuse him of being at fault, angered him immensely, but the more he thought about it, the more he believed the angry words his father had shouted at him. He brought a hand to his head and noticed that it was shaking. He hadn't even noticed how nervous he was, until that moment. Wiping a tear from his face, he moved his chair closer to Kara, gently grasping her hand.

"Hang in there, sis," he said, almost crying.

Having nothing else to think about at the moment, Rob's mind began to rewind into the past. Suddenly, he could picture himself and Kara, at the age of ten.

"Daddy, where is Mommy?" the ten-year-old Kara asked.

"Mommy went away. We're going to have to be brave and go on without her," Rob Sr. said.

Kara began to cry and Rob had grasped her hand, trying to get her to stop. Rob Sr. didn't like people to show their shortcomings, so he yelled at the little girl.

"Stop your crying, at once! Be strong and never show Mommy that you're sad about this. She left you. She is the one who should be sad."

Little Kara did her best to stop crying, holding onto her brother's hand tighter and tighter. Rob looked at her, feeling like the man in front of them was some sort of stranger with no feelings whatsoever.

As he was looking at the ten-year-old version of his sister, his memory progressed into their young adult years.

"Rob, talk to him. Tell him your side of what happened," Kara pleaded.

"I've already tried to do that. He's not interested in what I have to say."

"Well, go try again. He's just not thinking straight."

Rob nodded and went into the study. Their house was very large, with twenty separate rooms, spread out over 6,000 square feet. His father was a very successful entrepreneur, and had earned every cent of what they had, through years of hard work. He had strict family values. Very strict. As a Tandy, you were not supposed to ever stray from these values. Ever. It seemed that Rob had done just that, though, but not intentionally. A close friend of his had been stopped by the police in a routine traffic stop, and cocaine was found in the car. Rob had no idea that there was an illegal substance in the car, but since he was there, he was hauled off to the police station, as well. His father had bailed him out, and the two hadn't talked about it for two days, as his father all but refused to talk to him further.

Rob stopped, took a very deep breath, and entered the study.

"Dad, I'm really sor -"

"I don't care what you might be sorry for. So, if you don't mind, I'd like you to get away from me."

"Let me tell you what happ- "

"You're going to tell me what happened?"

"Yes, if you wou- "

Rob was interrupted again, but this time with a newspaper in the face.

"Look at that. Front page. That is what happened. I can fucking read what happened for myself."

Rob glanced at the paper. The headline read "Tandy Tragedy: Son of Robert Tandy Charged With Felony of Narcotic Possession." He put the paper down on a nearby table.

"Please, just let me- "

"Have I taught you nothing?" his father interrupted again.

"Yes, you've taught me a lot of- "

"A dependant-free home is a good home, that will develop extraordinary people," his father said.

Rob could say the statement, word for word, in his own head, as his father spewed it out. It was a phrase his father had been using for years, and despite what his father thought right now, it was a statement that Rob had always listened to.

"Yes, I understand that, and I have always- "

"I want you out of this house," his father said, matter-of-factly.

"Dad!" Kara said, from the doorway.

The two men looked at her, but said nothing. Rob was speechless as to why his father was so angry, not even wanting to hear his side of things. Rob Sr. was only thinking of the negative publicity that this would surely bring. Hell, the negative headlines had already started, and it had only been two days. He looked at his daughter.

"He has to be punished for this think-less act. I cannot have a drug dealer in my home."

"He is NOT a drug dealer!" Kara yelled.

Rob stood by, watching the situation getting more and more out of hand. It was clear that Kara was going to defend him to the hilt, but he didn't want to be the cause of any more fighting.

"Kara, it's okay," he said to her, as he touched her shoulder, getting her attention. He looked to his father, "I'll leave this afternoon."

"Rob, no," Kara said softly.

"Good," his father simply answered, "That is the tactful thing to do at this point. I'm glad you've come to the right decision."

Rob stopped the memory from going further. It was a very painful time for him, and he didn't want to relive any more of it. But all this trying to forget, brought up the second half of the confrontation that drove the final wedge between father and son.

It had been six months since Rob had moved out, and he had gone back to the house to ask for money. Not for himself, but for his friend. That same friend that had begun all of this family trouble in the first place. He had asked Rob for help financially, trying to seek a better lawyer. It could be the difference in several years in prison, and Rob wanted to help. This was a good friend from childhood, and Rob had decided that this good friend had merely taken a wrong turn in life. Wanting to help, and actually helping, were two different things, though. He had no money, except for what Kara would sneak to him. He had gotten a job at the local museum, but the pay was barely enough for his own bills. If he was going to help his friend, he would need to ask his father for money. Plain and simple. He arrived at the house, early for the "meeting" with his father. Having to schedule a meeting with his parent, was completely foolish to him, but he went along with it anyway. He kept telling himself that he needed to help his friend, and that's why he was there.

He walked into that same dreary study, and found his father sitting at the desk in there, glaring at him.

"Hello," Rob said, trying to start out small.

"What do you want? Rent money?"

Rob almost turned around, but then thought of the tears that actually rolled down his friend's cheek when he last saw him.

"I need some financial help, yes, sir."

"Figures. You finally realized that the real world out there is quite different from the safe haven I had so meticulously built for you and your sister?"

Rob was very happy now, that he didn't mention what he needed the money for. His father thought it was for him, and that was perfectly all right with Rob at this point.

"Yes, sir. The world is full of obstacles."

"The answer is no."

"No?" Rob asked, quite shocked.

"I'll repeat it, if you would like. No."

"Okay," Rob said softly, not wanting to get into another fight with this asshole.

He turned around and began to walk to the door of the study. He looked around as he did so, hating everything about the room. About the man in the room. He really hated how his father treated people. His inner thoughts were interrupted.

"I know what you need that money for. And that is why you're not getting it," his father offered.

Rob turned to face him.

"What do you mean, you know?"

"I have my resources."

Rob got very angry suddenly.

"You've been having me followed?" he shouted, angrily.

"It was for your own good. And I'm pleased that I had the forethought to do so now."

"You are a real piece of work," Rob growled.

"You can leave now."

Rob stood motionless, staring at this man who called himself a father.

"I hate you," he said with fury.

"That is your problem, now isn't it?"

The only thing he could think of saying, the only thing that he thought would really hurt the man, didn't as much as cause him to blink. Rob tried another approach.

"Mom hated you, too. That's why she left you. She didn't leave us. She left you, you pathetic asshole."

Rob slightly smiled in his triumphant attack, as his father looked clearly hurt by the words.

"You have no idea what you're rambling on about. You're just grasping at straws."

"Am I?" Rob challenged.

"You're an unfit child."

"You weren't the greatest of parents yourself," Rob countered.

Rob Sr. became very enraged by that last statement. Rob had struck several emotional chords in a very short time.

"I consider myself a great man! I dare you say otherwise! I've worked hard my whole life, to provide for the two of you. I "thought" that I had instilled values, but I can see now that it didn't take. At all."

"Newsflash for you! You are NOT a great man! You are a pompous, over reactive, unemotional businessman. Nothing more. You were never a father to me. Never. I hate you."

Rob turned and left the room, leaving his shocked father in the study alone, staring blankly at the arsenal of words that were just thrown at him. Rob marched down the hallway, ready to break down at any moment. He reached the front door and swiftly walked out of the house, running into Kara, who was coming home.

Detecting that her twin was very distraught, she questioned him immediately

"Rob, what is it?"

"Nothing more than usual. Why don't you ask that pathetic excuse for a parent in there, what is wrong."

He began to turn away, but Kara grabbed his arm.

"He's got his faults, but he loves us."

Not really sure which one of her words triggered him to cry, Rob hugged his sister tightly. Kara was thrown off guard by the sudden show of emotion. She realized that there must have been a very big confrontation inside, as she could feel Rob shaking.

"I love you, Kara," he whispered. "You take care of yourself."

He let her go, and walked toward his car.

"Rob, where are you going?"

"I don't know."

"Rob, wait."

He got into his car and drove off, never to step another foot in that house. He would see Kara (and his father) again, of course, several times during the course of the years, but he never went back to that house again.

Rob wiped a few random tears from his eyes, as the final memories of that day disappeared into the back of his mind once again. He had been keeping them locked up deep inside, and fought to place them back where they belonged. He looked at his sister, laying there now in the bed. Squeezing her hand some, he leaned over and kissed her hand. The action released some sort of emotion inside, and he began to cry like a baby, holding his sister's hand close to his heart.

"Take care of yourself now, Kara. I love you," he stuttered through crying.

Alan stood up and walked toward the hospital, stopping briefly to let two cars drive past him, before crossing the street. Ellie watched from inside the rental car, hoping that he would be able to talk Rob into coming with them. When he disappeared inside the automatic doors, she turned her attention toward the radio, to see if she could find the evening weather report. Being unfamiliar with the local stations, she switched to the AM frequency and pressed the scan button. Satisfied with what she heard, she pushed the scan button again, holding the radio to that certain station. The man on the radio announced that the weather report was coming up after the next station break.

Alan made his way upstairs and found Rob, sitting next to his sister, holding her hand.

"How are you holding up?" he said softly, so he wouldn't startle him.

Rob picked his head up and wiped a tear or two away.

"Better, I think. The doctor was just in here."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He said she's coming along well. About as to be expected. They don't think she'll regain consciousness for a little while still, though."

"Well, at least they came in here and told you something," Alan said, looking around, "Where's your father?"

"He went to make a phone call, or something."

Alan nodded, but didn't say anything. It made for an awkward moment. Finally, Rob looked up at him.

"He's going to stay with her tonight. I'm going to stay with her tomorrow."

"Sounds like a good plan, Rob."

"Yeah," Rob said to no one in particular.

Alan noticed he stopped looking at him again, his thoughts already drifting back to his sister in front of him.

In the approaching darkness, it looked as if a storm was coming. Just as Ellie had this thought, it began to sprinkle lightly. The station came back from commercial break and they first did traffic, since there was an accident somewhere in the vicinity. As they were about to update the weather, people outside of the hospital began to get kind of loud. She turned the radio up a little bit, and that's when it began to down-pour. The passenger window was still rolled down, from talking with Alan, and she began to roll it up, as the radio personality could be heard saying, "Possible rain showers in effect until 8:30PM."

"Well, no shit," she said to herself, as she continued to roll the window up, "Why in the hell didn't we get automatic windows?"

The window was up, when she glanced toward the hospital. The voices she had heard earlier, had belonged to none other than, Robert Tandy, Sr. She rolled the window down a little bit again, to listen to the argument that was still very much underway, about twenty feet from the entrance.

"Sir. You cannot smoke right here. I'm very sorry that I've upset you, but you're going to have to walk a little farther down."

"Listen, here," he began in a patronizing way, looking down at the security guard's uniform, "Julie. I'm not about to go over there. In the first place, I can smoke wherever the hell I want to. And in the second place, it is now raining . . . Julie."

Ellie watched from the car, getting more and more agitated. This guy really treated women poorly, and she was almost to her breaking point. Had this been a male security guard, things probably would have gone differently.

After a little coaxing, Alan finally talked Rob into trying to get some well-deserved rest. Alan waited outside of the ICU room, while Rob gave his sister a kiss good-bye on the forehead. Letting her hand go was one of the hardest things he had ever forced himself to do, and it almost made him cry again.

"She's going to be okay," Rob whispered to Alan, as he walked toward him.

"I know she is. She's very lucky."

"She is lucky. She's always been lucky, ever since we were kids."

Alan nodded again. He knew that what his friend needed, was someone to just ramble on to. So, that's what he did. He listened to Rob's varying ways of trying to make himself content with leaving Kara in the hospital.

"Sir, if you don't go over there right now . . . or extinguish that cigarette . . . I will be forced to-"

"To what?" Rob Sr. practically laughed in the female security guard's face, "To issue me a scary warning? Get the hell away from me and go find some other person to bother."

Ellie, without thinking of the consequences, got out of the car, exposing herself to the pelting rain. She marched across the street and stopped herself, just short of being directly in front of Rob's father. The hospital awning blocked the rain.

"Why don't you give a person a break? One single break. People weren't put on this earth to serve you."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes. Yes, it is. I wasn't sure you knew that, and now I'm quite sure that you didn't know that."

Alan and Rob walked through the automatic doors, right at that precise moment. Instantly, they both heard Ellie's angry voice, over to the right. Alan took a few steps toward his beloved, while Rob stayed behind some, slightly smiling.

"Ellie," Alan simply said in a whisper.

Ellie whirled around quickly, looking into his eyes.

"Don't bother stopping me. It's too late for that."

Alan was about to say something, when Rob Sr. made eye contact with him.

"Why don't you keep your girlfriend quiet and put her in her place. You're such a pathetic man."

Alan didn't answer, only because he was shocked that the man would say something so unbelievably stupid, right in front of Ellie.

"This picture you have of women . . . it's very unhealthy," Ellie stated.

"No, honey. I don't see it that way at all. A woman does not deserve all of these rights."

"So, you're saying . . . that women don't belong in the workplace?" Ellie asked, getting closer to the man.

Alan grabbed her arm, as she took a step toward him.

"That is exactly what I am saying," Rob Sr. said, taking one step closer to her, as well, and throwing his cigarette down on the water-soaked grass.

"Don't verbally attack my friends," Rob commented, from behind Alan.

"You are a piece of work, you know that?" Ellie said to Rob Sr., even more disgusted than just a minute ago.

"If it weren't for people like myself in this world, the world would not be as well off as it is right now," Rob's father said, as if he were the single reason the world turned on a daily basis.

The female security guard, happy that he finally extinguished his cigarette, headed back inside the hospital, away from the crazy people. As she made it past Rob, he apologized to her, for the outbursts.

"Well off? People like you make the world a shitty place to live in, mister," Ellie yelled back.

"Ellie," Alan whispered, trying to reel her in. There was no reeling her in, though, and he all but knew that. He still tried, just the same.

"This world was much better when women, at the very most, could only be maids, nurses, and housewives."

"You are living in the past. You archaic asshole!" Ellie shot back.

Rob's father stood speechless, for a moment. Then, he looked away from her and fixated on his son.

"You need to teach your friends better manners. Or better yet, get all new friends, because it's obvious to me that these two are lowlifes."

Ignoring what the man was saying, Alan grabbed Ellie, who was very much on her way to physically assaulting the idiot in front of her. The very action of Alan pulling her away from the argument, fueled her anger.

"And another thing!" she shouted, struggling with Alan.

Rob Sr. turned to look at her, but nothing further came from Ellie. Alan had placed his hand over her mouth, as he continued to attempt dragging her away. After a few seconds of silence, she finally realized how silly the whole thing must have looked, so she relaxed some. He removed his hand, and was thankful that she was still quiet. He persuaded her to walk toward the car, leaving Rob standing there alone with him.

"I'll see you in the morning," Rob relented.

"Fine," his father said.

Rob watched him go back inside the hospital in a silent rage. It was obvious that his father wanted to say even more to Ellie, but he decided to go inside and out of the storm. Rob shook his head, as he turned and walked toward the car. Alan was already in the driver's seat, but Ellie was standing outside, waiting for Rob.

"Get in, get in," he insisted, "It's raining like mad out here."

"You want the front seat, or back?"

"Back is good with me," Rob answered.

They got inside and slammed their doors at about the exact same time. Alan already had the car started, so he put it in gear and drove out of the parking lot. While on the road, and almost to the nearby hotel, Rob began to chuckle from the backseat.

"What's so funny?" Ellie questioned, in a concerned way.

"You know. What you said out there. To him."

"I'm sorry about that, Rob," Ellie said, sighing in an embarrassing way, "I didn't mean to get all crazy like that. I really do apologize."

"No, there's no need to do that. At all. Really."

Ellie had turned around to look at him by now and he laughed at the puzzled look on her face.

"It's just . . . you said every single thing that I've ever wanted to say to that man. All in one full swoop. Everything."

"Well . . . I . . . " Ellie trailed off, not knowing what to say to that.

"Simply put, Ellie . . . you are my hero," Rob said, smiling.

Ellie smiled at that, as well as Alan, who continued to drive toward the hotel, which was only about a five minute drive from the hospital. The trip was extended slightly, by a quick visit to a drive-thru fast food restaurant, since none of them had thought to eat lately.

Soon after, Alan was leaving the car in idle, as he quickly exited the car and made his way toward the hotel office. It was still raining, so he ran, splashing into a few puddles on the way. Rob and Ellie remained in the car, neither of them saying much. Ellie began to fall into a rhythm of sorts, staring at the windshield wipers moving back and forth, every few seconds. She was thinking about saying something, but then that feeling quickly faded, as Alan opened the door once again. He got inside, his clothes very wet.

"Okay. I got two rooms. 101 and 102. They're adjoining."

Ellie nodded. Rob was bombarded with a sudden question, running through his very tired mind.

"How are you paying for all of these expenses? First the plane, and now this."

"Credit cards are wonderful little useful pieces of plastic," Alan said, as he held the card up for Rob to see from the backseat.

Rob shook his head, "Well, I'm going to pay you back."

"Why start now?" Alan joked, as he drove the car away from the office.

Rob laughed, and Ellie was happy to see some of his tenseness and worrying go away.

"Tomorrow," Rob simply said.

"Huh?" Alan asked.

"Tomorrow, I'll have a better comeback for that sorry dig you just conjured up out of nowhere."

Alan pulled the car into a parking space, right in front of room number 101.

"Home at last," Ellie whispered.

They sorted out the room keys, giving Rob the key for room 102, and then quickly made their way toward the doors. Ellie made a beeline for the bed, allowing herself to fall onto it, slightly bouncing. Alan brought the small suitcase, that he and Ellie were sharing, into the room, sitting it down just inside the door.

"Thanks for shutting me up, in front of the hospital," she said.

"No worries," he said, smiling, dragging a smile out of her, as well.

He quickly sat down on the other bed and picked up the phone. Ellie was going to ask who he was calling, but only after a few rings, Alan began talking to someone on the other end.

"Hey, Carl. Just called to give you an update."

"How's his sister?" Carl Porter asked.

"She's doing pretty well . . . she's stabilized . . . "

Ellie listened for a moment, and then began to drift off to sleep. She knew she was tired, but she wanted to check on Rob again. Alan's gentle and soft-spoken voice wasn't helping her will to stay awake, though. She soon fell fast asleep, listening to him talk on the phone.

"What guy?" Alan asked, continuing the conversation with Porter.

"I didn't get his name. He was very persuasive, though. He was interested in the summer promotion thing we have going on, apparently."

"Well, why didn't you just sign him up?"

"He asked for you, Ellie, or Rob . . . by name. He wouldn't accept a substitute."

"That's a little bit odd."

"I thought so, too. I'm hoping that he just forgets all about it, and never finds his way back here," Porter said.

"Well, I guess I'll take care of that when the time comes."

"How long will you be gone? Any ideas yet?" Porter asked.

"I think Ellie and I will probably be back in a few days, but Rob will, more than likely, stay quite a bit longer."

"That's too bad, about what happened. But at least the outlook is good for his sister."

"Yeah."

"Oh, shit," Porter sighed.

"What?"

"Damn it. I've got to go, Alan. Seems there's a slight windstorm here, and half of the damn volunteers are already gone for the night. I need to cover up a few things."

"Okay. Good luck, Carl. And try to preserve the teeth found on Horizon 4, about four days ago."

"Gotcha."

"It could be an important find," Alan reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay."

Alan hung the phone up and walked toward the door that adjoined the two rooms, glancing in Ellie's direction as he did so. Smiling at how peaceful she looked, he quietly opened the door into Rob's room. Rob was already fast asleep on the bed closest to the window, snoring loudly. Content with the way his friend had been able to get some rest, Alan made his way back into his own room. He looked toward Ellie, once again. She was sprawled out on the bed closest to the bathroom, not even under the covers. Not wanting to disturb her, he took the top blanket from the other bed and gently placed it over her body, watching her stir ever so slightly. Then, he walked to the other bed and laid down, alone. His eyes were closed, almost before his head hit the pillow.