Coming Alive: Welcome to Carson, Book One

by Renee Harless

  Next, Avery pulls out the ceramic phoenix Mila had always kept on her dresser. Whenever Avery asked her about it, she always shrugged and reminded her that even when we think we have nothing left but ashes and dust, we will rise again like the phoenix, and come alive with a new spark of life. Instead of placing the figurine in the safe, Avery decides to keep it out as a reminder to rise above her grief.

  Finally, Avery finds herself facing the items at the bottom of the box, though they are far from the least significant. She packed three items from Aria’s belongings, though she could have found something noteworthy with anything that belonged to her sister - they all held memories for her. Like when they would go to the mall with a few extra dollars and get her a new pair of shoes, or the doll she had admired after seeing one of her schoolmates presenting it for show-and-tell. Aria never asked for anything and she was always grateful for everything she was given.

  Avery pulls out a baby onesie first. Unbeknownst to her grandmother, Mila and Avery bought the pale pink material a few weeks after Aria was born. Avery remembers Aria being so tiny that she thought the outfit swallowed her whole, but of course babies grow fast and she only got to wear it twice more. She chuckles aloud at that thought. Next, Avery plucks a small teddy bear from within the depths of the chest. Aria had slept with this bear every night for as long as Avery could remember. Closing her eyes, she swears that the bear still smells like her sister. It had obviously seen better days and Avery knew she couldn’t leave it vulnerable to the elements, so she gently placed it in the safe amongst the other items.

  Last, but not least, Avery removes the folder of drawings and artwork of Aria’s that she collected throughout the years. Even at her young age, Avery knew Aria was destined to be a great artist. She had a knack for showcasing emotions within her pictures. As Avery flips through the cut-and-paste artwork from pre-school, the finger paintings from elementary school, and the penciled sketches she did just while around their apartment, she stops at a drawing that she had forgotten. Though she now remembers asking Aria about it, the youngster only replied that she saw it in her dream and needed to draw it.

  Spellbound, Avery unfolds the large piece of paper and rises slowly from her closet, stretching her legs. Resting the drawing on the bed, she walks out of the bedroom to find Melanie.

  “Hey, can you come here for a sec?”

  “Sure, I’ll be right there. We have something to give you before we head out.”

  Walking back into her bedroom, Avery stares down at the picture before her, drawn in a three-dimensional format. The sketch showcases four angels, none of which has any distinguishable features other than the detailed wings on their backs and the color of their hair. The view comes from behind the angels as they are looking down onto the Earth. That’s where you see a girl, who eerily looks like herself, with long brown hair and blue eyes, fire building at the bottom of her feet. The girl is drawn looking onward, past the paper, at people off in the distance - only determinable due to the shadows cast in the drawing. It looks to be a man holding a small hand in each of his own.

  Heart racing, Avery looks closer at the angels drawn so carefully in the picture, one significantly smaller than the others, and one with shoulder-length hair.

  As Melanie comes into the room holding a small wrapped package, Avery tells her the history of the drawing and asks her what she makes of it.

  “I’m really trying not to freak out right now, Mel.”

  “Don’t worry, I am too. There is no way she could have known right? I mean… how could she?”

  The girls stare and ponder a bit longer before Melanie speaks again.

  “She said she dreamed this?” she inquires, in as much disbelief as Avery is herself. At Avery’s nod, she continues, “Who do you think those shadows belong to?”

  “I don’t know, that part has me the most confused.”

  With a puzzled “humph”, they both go back to studying the picture before a car alarm outside the window startles them back from their innermost thoughts.

  “All in all, I think it’s kind of cool she had this vision and drew it, as dark as its background may be. If it is all four of them it shows that they’re watching over you, because obviously that girl in the drawing is you. It’s a bit comforting actually.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I think I’m going to frame this and hang it up. It’s beautiful.”

  “It really is. She was so talented.” Melanie sighs quietly, then shakes her head. “Anyway, we’re going to head back in a bit, but we wanted to give you this.”

  Taking the box from Melanie’s hands and shaking it lightly to hear the rattling within, Avery watches a grin grow along Melanie’s face as she tears apart the paper and flips over the frame. It’s a beautiful shadow box containing a key to the old apartment, Avery’s old name badge, her college identification card, and eight pictures.

  The first picture is of Mila holding Avery as a toddler. She’s looking at the baby lovingly, just as any mother would. Next is a picture of Avery holding a sleeping baby Aria, followed by a picture of the three of them at Avery’s high school graduation. Below is a picture of Avery and Nick on the day of their engagement; a photograph of Melanie, her, and Max, taken at their wedding; a candid shot of Declan and Avery at another music festival they had gone to, dragging Melanie and Max along with them. One of the last pictures is of her and Aria outside in the courtyard of their apartment, squirting Nick with water guns as he steps out of his car. Boy, Avery remembers that day; by the time they all came inside they were soaked to the bone, fighting off the chill from the cool night. Glancing at the final picture in the box, Avery’s breath is stolen completely from her lungs, like a fist squeezing around her diaphragm. Before her is a seamlessly created photograph of Max, Melanie, Declan, herself, Aria, Nick, and Mila. Gasps of air, like a fish out of water, are the only sounds escaping Avery’s lips as she finds herself utterly lost for the appropriate words to describe the impact of this gift.

  “This is… wow, Melanie. I’m speechless.”

  “I hope you don’t mind. When we were packing things up, I took a few photos from the albums you had boxed away. And Max spent some time compiling a bunch of them for that last one. He’s a bit of an editing whiz.”

  “It’s…it’s… extraordinary Melanie. I can’t ever thank you enough for this,” Avery sniffles as she holds back the tears.

  “None of that or you’ll have me blubbering, too, and I am not a pretty crier, as you know.”

  Avery chuckles as she places the box on the bed beside Aria’s drawing. She hugs Melanie one last time before they discover Max outside, waiting for them.

  “I’ll miss you guys. Thank you, for everything.”

  Max leans forward and hugs her before stepping back and cupping her face in his hands.

  “You can do this, Avery. I have the upmost faith in you. You’re one of the strongest people I know. Please don’t hesitate to call us if you need anything.”

  “Thank you, Max. I appreciate everything you all have done for me. I’m in a good place right now and I’m excited about the move.”

  They both hug Avery once more with promises of a visit soon, then she watches as they drive off into the proverbial sunset.

  As she steps back from the sidewalk to head towards the apartment, a small set of arms wrap around her shoulders from behind, startling her in their haste.

  “I’m Nikki, your new roommate,” she exclaims cheerily, not realizing that she has scared the crap out of Avery.

  Turning around and stepping back, Avery glances at her new roommate before mirroring her smile. The good genes must run rampant in their family, as she is a spitting image of Melanie, except that her hair is a golden blonde where Melanie’s was black. Nikki is alarmingly attractive.

  “Hi, Nikki, it’s great to meet you.”

  “I am so excited to have you here. At first I thought it was Melanie and Max moving in, but then she told me all about you and I knew we would be a good
fit.”

  “She told you about me?” Avery asks hesitantly, not quite ready to start answering any intrusive questions.

  “She did, but I am certain you don’t want to talk about it, so we’ll just skip ahead and agree to be lifelong friends, ok?”

  Chuckling at her bubbly personality, Avery says, “Sure,” with relief. “Do you want to head inside and give me the low down on how we’ll work this out?”

  “Yep, follow me. Lucky for us, all of our neighbors are amazing. Mrs. Jacobson lives in the apartment two doors down and brings me cookies every Sunday. She is just going to love you.” Opening the door to their apartment, she tosses her bag on the small table in the foyer before continuing on, “I left three cabinets available for you to use and feel free to use whatever cookware I have. No need to buy more, right? I also left a shelf free in the fridge for things you don’t want to share. Otherwise, the top shelf is a free-for-all. If you get this job, we’ll be working the same schedule so we can switch back and forth for dinners if that works for you. And I prefer reading to television so I only have limited cable channels.”

  Avery nods in understanding and responds, “I’m the same way.”

  “Great. We each have our own bath, so no worries there. And as far as guests go, I don’t really care as long as we give each other a heads up. I don’t want that sort of surprise,” Barely pausing for breath, she gestures towards the mess in the living room and continues, “So, I’m a bit of a slob, but I’ll try to keep that in check since you’re here. If you notice it getting out of hand, please let me know. It won’t hurt my feelings. Mel said you were a bit anal about that stuff.”

  “I just like things organized, that’s all. Thank you again for this, Nikki. And please let me know if I’m getting in your way; I don’t want to be a burden. I can always make other arrangements.”

  Grabbing the check from her bag, Avery hands Nikki the slip of paper and explains that she has a full year’s worth of rent paid. Nikki tucks the paper into the back of her jeans and looks at Avery in a concerned manner before tilting her head and asking if she’ll need any help unpacking. Luckily, Melanie helped Avery tackle that task right away, so she is free to relax for the night.

  “Actually, I just need to get some groceries and a large picture frame. Can you tell me where to go for those?”

  “I’ll take you. I need to pick up a couple friends named Ben & Jerry anyway.”

  Avery smiles at her and laughs as she says, “More mutual friends that we have in common.”

  Avery asks Nikki about the town as they drive to the small shopping center. In her typical bubbly manner, Nikki explains that Carson, North Carolina has a population of a few hundred people, most of whom work at the new plant built in the next town over and live in their new apartment complex. Carson is the biggest town in the county and it’s where most people find themselves, especially since Asheville is about a two-hour drive.

  Strolling down the grocery aisles, they grab the items needed for a weekly menu that Avery created, thinking it would help keep things a bit more organized.

  As Nikki tosses a pack of cookies into the cart she says, “So this practice is pretty big, five doctors that service this town and about twelve other surrounding counties. We don’t really have a local hospital. If it’s something major, most patients have to be transported out by helicopter or ambulance. Anyway, we have three older physicians: Dr. Fields, Dr. Mayner and Dr. Lunar; they were the original owners of the practice. As the town grew, they needed to expand and, lucky for us, brought on two new grads; Dr. Chamberlin and Dr. Burnette. And let me tell you that both of those men are sexy with a capital S. Dr. Chamberlin and I have been circling around each other for months and we had a date last night.”

  Interrupting her, Avery exclaims, “I am so sorry I barged in on your date!”

  Hand in the air, Nikki waves her comment away with a ‘shush’, “It wasn’t working out anyway. No biggie. I think we just both liked the idea of each other, not the actual follow-through. Where was I?” she ponders, finger tapping on her chin as she looks up at the ceiling. “Oh yes, so we’re hiring medical assistants for each of the physicians, we already have a nurse on hand, but she’s running pretty ragged. When I tell you that business has picked up, I meant that as an understatement. We’ve seen quadruple the amount of patients in the past three months.”

  “Really? Why do you think that is?”

  “That big production plant opened up a town over and a lot of the locals took jobs there, giving them access to insurance that they didn’t have previously.”

  “I see.”

  “Yep. So, everyone but Dr. Fields has hired their new MAs and they are holding interviews tomorrow and the next day. You will really like him. He is such a great person. All in all, that makes up the practice. Oh! And I’m the receptionist and office manager. I love my job.” She beams, choosing a carton of Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Therapy ice cream.

  “Well it sounds great.” Avery replies, “My interview is on Thursday, so I’m hoping I will make a good impression. This is all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

  “Dr. Fields will love you, and from what Melanie says, you’ll be a shoe-in.”

  ARRIVING AT HIS SMALL home after leaving Nikki’s place, Logan can’t seem to shake the vision of that dark cascading hair from his mind. All he can think about is running his fingers through the silky mass, those thoughts triggering unwanted desire through one of his lower extremities.

  “Shit,” Logan mumbles out loud.

  Needing to get a handle on his brain and his dick, Logan walks into his kitchen and grabs a glass, filling it with some whiskey. Tossing back the warm liquid, he lets its smoky flavor penetrate his taste buds, focusing his attention solely on its husky taste. Swallowing slowly, Logan places his glass in the sink, making a mental note to wash it in the morning, and moves from the kitchen to his bedroom.

  Turning on the light, Logan is pleased to find everything clean and organized, with stacks of clean laundry waiting on his bed. Once a week, a husband and wife team, the Stantons, come to his home to clean, complete the laundry, and landscape the outdoors. With his chaotic schedule, Logan finds it extremely difficult to devote any extra time to those things. Plus, growing up he was never taught how to do any of it.

  Logan’s mom left when he was born, discharging herself from the hospital after the delivery, so he never met her, but apparently to his dad, Logan is a spitting image of her. This revelation did nothing to endear him, but rather caused his father to hate him. Why his mother ever thought that leaving an infant with that no good, piece of shit was a smart decision, Logan will never know. He’s surprised that he didn’t die of starvation or illness because God knows that when he was growing up, food was hard to come by. But beer? Beer could always be found. And chores were not something handed out lightly. It was more of washing clothes in the sink when he needed something to wear. On the plus side, Logan became really good at making his own meals when there was food to be had.

  Placing his clothes in their designated spot in his dresser, Logan shucks off his clothing and slides into bed, turning on the television resting atop the dresser on his way. This is Logan’s favorite time of day: the time where he can sit in bed and not think about anything or anyone. Logan turns off his “doctor-mode” and loses himself in mindless drivel.

  An hour later, Logan finds himself turning off the television, sliding farther down the bed, and closing his eyes as he rests his head against his firm pillow. It takes only a second, but the moment Logan finds himself drifting off to sleep, he pictures wave after wave of dark glossy hair. His dream comes farther into focus and he pictures this dark-haired goddess resting on all fours on his bed while Logan pounds into her from behind.

  Jesus Christ!

  Even in his dream, he can feel the buildup of release from deep within his spine. His visionary persona thrusts once, twice, three more times before coming inside the wet heat of his mate. Startled by the explosion, Logan sits
up in bed and finds that he came all over himself like a fucking fifteen year-old kid. Disgusted, he quickly changes his sheets and tosses them in the trash. No need to explain that mess to Mrs. Stanton.

  Lying back in bed after changing his sheets, Logan stares up at the ceiling, knowing he needs to do something to get his mind off this chick that he has yet to even see. He takes it upon himself to picture her face as an atrocity made for monster films. Chuckling out loud at his imagination, Logan continues to stare up at the ceiling, hoping that his mind will finally tire and rest.

  The fatigued and grouchy mood Logan found himself in the following morning only intensifies as he notices that the waiting area in his practice is packed full of locals looking more than miserable.

  “What’s going on?” he asks Nikki as he strolls behind the counter to check his patient list for the day.

  “Seems like a food poisoning outbreak from a retirement party for librarian Myrtle. Right now, Dr. Fields has them all scheduled for thirty minutes of IV fluids to treat the dehydration. Unfortunately, we just have the two interviews today. I think they’ll run in the other direction if they see the office this way.”

  Nodding at her assessment, Logan walks back to his office before calling patient after patient to be hooked up to an IV.

  Fifteen patients later, Logan sits at his desk, head cradled in his hands. He has been vomited on twice and had to help an elderly patient make it to the rest room before it was too late. It was just too much on top of his already irritable mood.

  A knock on his door is quickly followed by Dr. Fields standing in Logan’s doorway, reminding him of one of the two interviews they have scheduled today. Logan’s already contacted Mary Bell about joining his team, so he’s joining the remaining interviews just so he can get to know their potential employees.

  Following the other physicians into the conference room, they sit around discussing the mayhem going on in their practice while they wait for their candidate, Avery Poindexter. Logan sits and checks his phone for any messages from Austin about meeting up after work tonight, since he knows he’s going to need a beer or five. After calculating that ten minutes have passed, Logan angrily glances around the room, searching for any sign of the interviewee.