***It's been so long, and I'm extremely sorry! I've had a lot going on. But thank you all for continuing to read! I promise this story is going somewhere. I'm going to work on writing more, and quicker! This chapter is going to be pretty short, but please leave a review and let me know what you think anyways! Also, you may want to re-read the last chapter before you read this. Just so you know what's going on. Thanks again y'all! ***
-Chapter 19-
My eyes were just about to close when I heard Kyra's voice from outside of the room.
"Jake, shut up!"
I slowly pulled myself away from Brock and sat on the bed. His eyes were still closed, but his arms had released his grip on me and were now at his sides. He sighed, and I knew he was sad I had gotten up.
Jake pushed through the door, and immediately ran to the bed when he saw Brock. Kyra came in slowly behind him, followed by Cheyenne who was still crying, and then Van, who looked at me questionably when he saw me sitting on the bed so close to Brock. He was the only one who seemed to notice.
"Is he okay?" Jake asked. I looked over to find a worried look stretched across his face.
"Yes, he'll be fine. He may not be very talkative right now, but he'll be okay." I smiled as the worried look eased away him. I scooted off of the bed and back into my chair. Jake leaned over and hugged Brock gently.
"It's okay if you can't talk much, Dad. I understand." Brock managed a slight smile, and my heart seemed to melt. Jake looked up at me. "There's a gift shop down the hall. Can I go check it out?"
I couldn't help but giggle. "Yes, I guess so. Be careful. Straight there and straight back, okay?"
"Okay!" He practically bounced out of the room. How one kid could be so energetic, I'll never know.
I turned to face Kyra, who was standing by the door. Her arms were crossed and her face was unreadable.
"Kyra, are you going to come over here?" I asked gently.
"I don't see why I would. There's no use. He can't even talk." She said bluntly.
"Kyra, what's wrong with you?" Cheyenne started through tears. "He's our dad! Do you not see what's happened-"
I cut her off. "Cheyenne." I turned my glance back to Kyra. "It would mean a lot if you'd at least hug him."
She hesitated, and then trudged forwards. When she reached him, she leaned down and briefly rested her arms around him. It was hardly even a hug. Afterwards, she walked back to her original position and sulked by the door. Cheyenne mumbled under her breath.
There was an awkward silence in the room. Kyra seemed as if she wasn't even there. Cheyenne sat down and started crying again, although no one knew exactly why. Van sat beside her and looked down at his shoes. In the silence, I turned and looked back over at Brock. As if it were a natural instinct, I reached out and held his hand in my left hand, while stroking it with my right. For the longest time, nothing was heard except the ticking of the clock and the beeping of the machines. At one point I turned to check on Cheyenne, and found Van staring at me the same way as before. He looked down at our hands, and then back up to my face, as if he knew what each of us were feeling. I pretended not to notice, and continued to rub Brock's hand, squeezing it every few minutes, and wondering if he felt it. Suddenly, though, the tranquil mood of the room was disrupted. Without warning, the door slammed open, and Barbra Jean barged in.
"Reba!" She yelled through her tears as she run forward and awkwardly embraced me, almost sitting in my lap. She cried onto my shoulder as I rolled my eyes. Finally, I shoved her off.
"Barbra Jean, get off."
She stood and wiped her eyes. She looked over at Brock sympathetically and then back at me, as if I was really the one in pain.
"How are you doing?" She asked, kneeling besides me and taking my hand in hers. I yanked it back.
"I'm alright. How are you?" I asked sternly.
"I'm not good at all. This is awful, Reba. Just awful." She stood again and began pacing the room. "Have you heard from the doctors? What's going on?"
"They are going to take a few more tests, so they have to keep him overnight. He should be out tomorrow. He'll be fine."
"Well, that's good. But I'm more worried about you."
"Me?" I asked.
"Yes, you! I know Brock will be okay. But what about your fragile heart?" She said, tears making her voice sound weird. The cheesiness of what she said made me chuckle. But she was dead serious. Somehow, that comment even made Cheyenne start crying again. As soon as she did, Barbra Jean rushed to the other side of her and pulled her close. They each sobbed as me and Van stared at each other awkwardly.
"Why are y'all crying?" I asked as gently as I could.
"B-because, you don't need this!" Barbra Jean said through her sobs.
"Don't need what?"
"Don't need this, mom!" Cheyenne said, as if that answered my question anymore that what Barbra Jean had said. I stared at her confused until she continued. "You've had enough going on. No matter how hard you try to hide it, we can all tell!" My breath caught in my throat. "Now you're going to have to worry about dad on top of everything else. I know you care about him mom! It's been so obvious these last few weeks! I can't even imagine how hard this is on you!" She started crying again. I walked over to them. I grabbed Van by the collar and practically threw him off of the couch before sitting beside Cheyenne.
"Hey, I'll be okay. You're not supposed to worry about me." I said in my motherly voice. Both of them continued to cry. I sighed, and then while looking up, noticed how Kyra had turned her head the other way. "Kyra?" When she wouldn't look at me, I knew what was going on. "Kyra, baby, come here." She put her face in her hands and ran towards me, trying to hide the tears she had been holding. There was no room on the couch, so I pulled her onto my lap. I'm sure it looked funny, considering she was about my size, but at the moment I didn't care. I pulled her face against my chest and rocked with her like I did when she was a baby. "It's okay." I hummed.
"No it's not." She cried into me. Cheyenne and Barbra Jean continued to cry next to me. Suddenly, Jake rushed in the door, smacking Van with it.
"Mom can I have some mon-"He stopped when he saw us. "Um, never mind." He turned to Van, who was rubbing his head where the door hit him. "Van, can I have some money? There's a really cool toy gun at the gift shop." He asked quietly, trying not to kill the mood.
"Yeah!" Van said, forgetting about his head and reaching for his wallet. They rushed out together, and there was no doubt in my mind that Van was going to buy himself a gun too.
I held Kyra tighter. "What's wrong?" I felt like I knew somehow, though I couldn't find exactly what it was. She didn't answer, but continued to cry. "Is it because your dad was in an accident?" She mumbled 'no'. "What is it, then?" I heard her breathing slow as she tried to get herself together to speak. She didn't lift her head from my chest, but mumbled just loud enough for me to hear.
"He did this for you mom. I'm not stupid. I know about why he picked you up that night. That's why I went downstairs- to wait for each of you to come home. I know everything that's been going on. You left your phone. I saw the missed calls. I know mom." She kept repeating. "I saw your bruises. I saw them and I know." She sounded so distant. Cheyenne looked over at her slowly, wiping a tear.
"What are you talking about?" She asked cautiously. I didn't want Kyra to answer, if somehow she did know.
Could she know? No. There's no way. She could have an idea, maybe. But she couldn't know all the details. She couldn't know exactly what's been going on. I had to talk to her before she answered Cheyenne. I didn't want to know what her answer was.
"Kyra, honey, I'm not sure what you're saying. But I just want you to know that I'm okay now. Okay?" I held her close. "I'm okay." I whispered.
"No you're not." She said bravely. It was silent as Cheyenne looked from her to me. "And you won't be until you let dad back in. We all know he knows he made a mistake. Now he wants to make it up to you. You've seen what he'll go through for you, mom. And you still won't take him back." She pulled away and stood, looking me dead in the eyes. I was speechless. "You need someone to protect you from whatever or whoever is hurting you. You need him. He needs you. Is this not proof enough?" She said, her voice rising, as she gestured to Brock on the hospital bed. "Mom, you've got to open your eyes and stop living in the past. I'm done seeing each of you in pain! I'm sick of it! I know the only way it'll all end is if you have each other. You both know it, too. Please, mom… Just give him another chance." Cheyenne and Barbra Jean gasped, and then turned to look at me. My eyes fell to the floor, and then over to Brock. I bit my lip, not knowing what to say or how to feel. I knew she was right. So what was stopping me? Right as I was about to speak, the nurse from earlier walked in.
"Hey guys! I'm sorry about this, but visiting hours are over." She said, being dramatically sad. "But you can come back first thing tomorrow!" I looked to Kyra, who was staring at me intensely. I looked over to Cheyenne and Barbra Jean who were doing the same. I looked over to Brock, who looked so vulnerable and alone. I knew that feeling. I also knew there was no way I was leaving him alone- Not when he was like this.
"Can't someone stay overnight?" I asked in a shaky voice.
"Well, usually that doesn't happen unless the patient is in critical condition. But I'm sure that would be fine! Only one person can stay, though." She said, using her sad-dramatic voice again.
"Okay, that's fine. I'll be staying overnight." Kyra's eyebrows rose a little. I turned to Cheyenne. "Can you watch the kids tonight? I'm not leaving him alone when he's like this. We can finish our conversation later." Her shoulders dropped slightly.
"Yes, I can." She stood up, and then stood by Kyra and looked down at me. Barbra Jean did the same, and I felt dominated by them. "Just know that what Kyra said is 100% true, mom. Every bit of it." She grabbed Kyra's arm and started leading her out of the room. The nurse held the door for them. She turned around one last time. "We are finishing this conversation." She added sternly, taking me by surprise. Then, she looked down the hallway and sighed. "Great. Van and Jake are out there shooting each other. We've got to go. Bye mom." She let go of Kyra and rushed out the door. "Van! Jake!" I heard her yell.
Kyra looked at me one last time. I couldn't tell if she was angry or hurt because I didn't respond to what she had said. Either way, it hurt me. She turned and walked out, bringing a tear to my eye.
Barbra Jean was still looking at me. "Remember what I told you, Reba." She finally said. "It would be a shame if you threw away what you and Brock have over one small mistake." And with that, she walked out behind them. The nurse shut the door while giving me a huge, star struck grin.
I sat there in the silence of the empty room, processing what Kyra had said and trying to figure out just what I was feeling. After a while with no luck, I stood and sat by Brock once again. I couldn't tell if he was conscious or not.
"Brock?" I finally whispered. He moved slightly, but then remained still. "Did you hear any of that?" I asked quietly, knowing it was no use. He didn't respond in any way.
I rested my head in my hands and sighed loudly, feeling completely hopeless. That's when I heard his small, weak voice.
"I heard." He said. It sounded as if speaking for him was painful at the moment. He didn't open his eyes, or even move his hand. "We raised a smart girl, Reba."
I sighed. "I know we did."