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Chapter Four: Give and Take
Heath was woken by the sound of the phone ringing. He did not know what time it was but the darkness indicated that it was very early in the morning. The ringing continued as Heath rolled over to face Brax. Heath sat straight up, alarmed by the sight in front of him. His brother looked even worse this morning than he did last night. His face was bruised and swollen and his lips were pale, almost bluish in colour. His breathing was loud and fast and Heath could see that each breath Brax took was a painful effort.
"Brax," Heath gently tapped his brother. "Brax are you awake?"
"Yes," Brax's voice was barely audible as he answered his brother.
"Are you sick?" Heath had seen his brother beaten up many times before, but never like this. Never to a point where he could barely breathe. Heath was worried and he didn't know what to do. Brax slowly opened his eyes and saw the worried look on Heath's face.
"I'm OK. Just… give…. me…. a…. minute." Brax replied in between breaths. Brax knew there was something wrong. He had been finding it progressively harder to breathe as the night wore on but with Danny around, seeking help was not a simple task.
The phone continued to ring. Brax carefully stood up and very slowly made his way to the door. He peered out into the living room and saw his father passed out on the couch. The continuous ringing of the phone had not even slightly stirred him. "Heath…go….and….answer….the….. phone….for…..me," Brax panted. Heath could see that Brax was struggling, so he bounded out of the room and picked up the phone.
"Hello," said Heath.
"Hello. Is your father there sweetie?" a nice sounding lady replied.
"No, he is asleep."
"Can you go and wake him for me? This is important. I need to talk to him because your mother is in hospital." Heath did not know what to do. He knew that it was not wise to wake a sleeping Danny but he didn't know how to deal with the news that Cheryl was in hospital. He looked over at Brax and waved him over to the phone. Brax was the one who always had the answers, not him. Brax sighed and slowly walked towards the phone.
"Hello? Are you there?" the lady called out.
Brax grabbed the phone. "Yes," he replied.
"I need to speak to your father, can you get him for me please?" the lady was growing impatient now.
"No. He…is….sick." Brax puffed.
"Well you need to give him this message urgently. Your mother is in hospital. We have been trying to call all night. She has had the baby. Can you tell your dad that he needs to come to the Reefton Lakes hospital?" Brax couldn't believe it. He knew the birth was getting close but he wasn't expecting it to happen just yet.
"Yes! Thank you! What…did….she….have?" Brax inquired.
"A little boy!"
"Is… he… OK?" Brax asked hesitantly. He knew that his mother had consumed alcohol throughout the entire pregnancy, despite the doctor's pleas for her to stop drinking. Brax himself had tried everything to get her to stop as well but he was powerless against her addiction. The health of his sibling had weighed heavily on his mind.
"Just perfect!" Brax smiled as he hung up the phone. A rare blessing and he was thankful!
A worried looking Heath interrupted Brax from his thoughts. "Is Mum OK Brax? The lady said she was in hospital."
"Yes! She….had….the….baby. We….have…..a….brother." Brax smiled at Heath.
"Really? A boy? Awesome!" Heath cried. Brax slumped down at the dining table. His brief happiness was short lived. He was really struggling to breathe and he would now have to wake his father. He did not know what kind of mood Danny would wake up in today but he was in no state to contend with another bout of his anger. The hospital would start asking questions if their father did not make an appearance soon though, so Brax had no choice.
Brax walked over to the couch and began to prod his father. "Dad, wake…up!" Danny finally began to stir and looked up at his son.
"What? What's going on?" he mumbled.
"Mum…had….the….baby…..Dad. We…have…to….go…..to….the….hospital." Brax gasped. Danny sat straight up upon hearing the news. It took a minute for him to register what was going on, but then he leapt off the couch.
"Right! Your mother always did have impeccable timin'! Interruptin' me sleep. Grab your brother and both of ya get moving into the ute." Danny stammered. He walked to the sink and splashed his face with water. He needed to get himself together. The last thing he wanted was another kid to look after, nonetheless he would now have to go and play happy families at the hospital. Not easy to do at the best of times, let alone with a hangover. That woman would be the death of him!
The car trip to the hospital was a silent one. Heath did not dare speak and Brax was too busy focusing on getting enough air into his lungs. It was not until they were nearing the end of the drive that it occurred to Danny that he had not asked about the gender of his child. "Darryl? Is it a boy or a girl?"
"Boy." That is one small blessing thought Danny. Boys he knew, but girls were different all together. They were emotional and unpredictable and knew how to manipulate men. Boys were simpler. Danny knew how to teach his sons to play by his rules. His boys knew not to step out of line and they knew their place. Another boy added to the Braxton clan would fit fine.
Danny led the boys to the maternity ward of the hospital. They stopped at the waiting area and he pointed his sons to the plastic hospital chairs. "Wait here while I go and see ya mother. Don't even think about causin' any trouble." Danny stormed off and left the boys on their own. Heath looked over at his big brother as he crumpled onto one of the seats. His breathing was sounding even more labored and Heath could see how much pain he was in. Heath slid into the seat next to his brother and Brax's body immediately slumped against him. Brax's eyes closed and his head rested on Heath's shoulder.
"Brax, are you OK?" Heath asked anxiously. "Brax? Braxxxx?"
"Mmmm" Brax's reply was barely audible. Heath started to panic. Something was clearly wrong with his brother. The fact that they were in a hospital was a blessing and calmed Heath slightly, but he knew his father would not be happy if Heath started talking to the hospital staff. Brax began coughing and Heath looked down to see that as he coughed blood was coming from his mouth. As Brax slumped even further into Heath, he decided that his fear of Brax's condition outweighed his fear of his father, so he called out to the closest nurse.
"Help me please, my brother needs help!" Heath cried. The nurse rushed over and was immediately horrified at the sight of the boy. Despite his face been swollen and bruised, he still looked pale and his lips were blue.
"Somebody call a doctor," she called out. The nurse then turned to Heath, "What happened to your brother darling?" she asked in a gentle voice. Heath didn't know what to say, so he said nothing and stared at the ground. Some hospital staff rushed over with a bed and carefully lifted Brax onto the bed.
"What are we dealing with here? What happened to this boy?" the doctor urgently inquired.
"I don't know doctor. His brother isn't talking but from the bruising, it appears he has been involved in a violent fight of some description."
"He has lost consciousness. Quick, get him out of here so we can see what we are dealing with." Heath stood as he watched Brax get wheeled away. A darkness formed inside him, a darkness that he had never known. Heath knew what it was to suffer, his short life had been far from easy, but he had always faced the tough times with Brax by his side. No matter the obstacle, Brax always got them through it somehow.
It felt like a lifetime ago that Heath was celebrating the news of his new brother. Heath should have known that the happiness would be short lived. It always was! But if the price he had to pay for a new brother was losing Brax, it was a price he was not prepared to pay. As Heath sat back down on the waiting room chair, he had never felt so alone in his life!