I slowly slip into the back and take a seat as far away from Shane as I possibly can. Once seated, I grab my phone and try to decide what to do. I should probably call Aiden and let him know what’s going on in case something bad happens, but I know he would yell and scream at me and worry way too much. He would tell me that I’m stupid and crazy for picking up the brother that almost killed me. And he would be right. What I am doing is beyond crazy. But there was simply no way, I could let Shane leave, the way I saw him. He clearly needs help and if I don’t provide it right now, I don’t know if anyone will. No matter what happened in the past, he’s still my brother and I simply can’t let him wither away like this.
I make a decision to call Lou, instead of Aiden, as I know Lou tends to be a lot more level-headed than Aiden. I give him a brief account of what’s going, when he picks up the phone, and as expected he remains calm and collected. He insists that I let him stay on the phone with me until I get to my parents’ house and to let him know how things went once I talk to my parents. I don’t argue with him. I simply hold the phone to my ear, while keeping a close eye on Shane. He seems to have a hard time keeping his eyes open, and his eyes finally droop and his head falls back against the headrest. I release a sigh of relief and let some of the tension leave my body. But only a few minutes later, his eyes pop open and he breaks into a coughing fit which lasts so long he starts coughing up blood. I want to reach out to him, to get closer and offer comfort and see how he’s doing, but knowing what he’s capable of I keep my distance. The coughs finally stop and he immediately goes back to snoozing.
We arrive at my parents’ house a few minutes later and I hop off the car quickly to rush to the house. As soon as I see the front door, the enormity of the moment hits me. I left this place over a year ago, not knowing if I will ever come back. I haven’t seen my mom and haven’t said a word to my dad in all these months. Facing them unexpectedly and unannounced at this hour of the night will not be easy. I should have called them, but staying on the phone with Lou made that impossible. And now I’m standing at their door at this ungodly hour and don’t know how to face them.
My stomach clenches at the thought of seeing my dad. My sudden nervousness makes me take a few steps back. I glance between the car and the house a few times, as if the universe will suddenly give me a way out of this if I wait long enough. My glance falls on the annoyed expression on the driver’s face then, and I realize I have no choice but to face them. I straighten my spine and steady my steps, as I make my way back to the front door and reluctantly ring the bell.
I hold my breath as I wait for them to open the door. It feels like it takes forever for someone to come to door. It’s past eleven at night, and I know both my mom and dad are in bed by this time. Finally, after ringing the bell two more times, I hear footsteps behind the door. I clench my fists to prevent my hands from shaking and brace myself for what is to come.
My dad opens the door. As his gaze fall to my face, his mouth falls open and his eyes get so big they look like they are about to pop out of his head. And he’s stunned silent. It’s as if he’s seen a ghost. His shocked expression adds to the unease I already felt. I don’t know how to react for the first few seconds. Finally, when I see that he’s not moving, I force myself to take a few steps in his direction.
“Dad…I’m here…”
My voice seems to break him out of his shock.
“Aleah,” he suddenly yelps. He takes a few steps towards me, reaching for a hug, but steps quickly back once he sees the expression on my face. I’m not here to kiss and make up with my parents.
“I…I don’t know what to say. I’m so so….” he starts saying.
I stop him before he has a chance to say anything else. I’m not here to talk to them about me. I’m not prepared for any of that, and this is not the time or place for it.
“Stop, Dad. I’m not here for me. I’m here for Shane.”
“Shane?” he asks in surprise.
“Yes, it’s a long story. I was coming from a fundraising and saw him in the street. He’s not doing well, Dad. We have to take him to the doctors but I didn’t want to do it on my own. Can you change quickly, so we can leave?”
He looks thoroughly lost and confused. “I don’t understand.”
“When was the last time you saw Shane or talked to him?”
He hangs his head back and takes a ragged breath. “It’s been a while…maybe a couple of months. He stopped coming around and hasn’t been answering our calls.”
“Aleah? Is that you?” I suddenly hear from behind my dad. Before I know what is happening, my mom throws her arms around me and starts sobbing. “Oh my God. I can’t believe it’s you. I missed you so much,” she tries singing in my ear. I gently push her back as soon as she lifts her head up to look at me.
“Mom. I… We don’t have time for this. Shane is in the car. We have to get him to a hospital as soon as possible.”
“What? What happened?” she asks in alarm.
I take a deep breath and try to appear composed and collected to get them to calm down. “I was explaining to Dad that I ran into him on the street. He looked like a homeless person and was asking people for money. I approached him and he looked dazed. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. I think he’s under the influence of drugs, but he looks really sick. I didn’t know what to do with him so I made him get in the car with me. He was coughing badly on the way here. I think we should take him to the hospital. Can you two please change so we can go? I’m afraid that if we wait too long or if he finds out where he is, he’ll get out and run away.”
My dad is grabbing his keys and locking up the door before I even finish my last sentence. Mom looks dazed and in shock, but I don’t blame her. My dad grabs her arm and pulls her towards the car. Shane is sleeping when we get there, but one look at his direction is enough to make Mom cover her face and start sobbing quietly into her hands. Dad appears so sad and broken; he looks nothing like the strong resilient man I knew growing up. I study both of them as we make our way to the hospital. They have both aged significantly in the last year. It appears as if everyone in my family has lost weight and gained wrinkles while I was gone. I wonder what happened to them in the last year to make them appear so shattered.
The time we spent apart was not easy on me, but I got through it all and I feel stronger and happier in my life now than I’ve ever been. It seems life has not been as kind to them.
We arrive at the hospital a few minutes later and have a really hard time getting Shane to wake up and leave the car. When he sees my parents, he looks disgusted. He tells me he’s not going anywhere with them. I end up having to send my parents ahead and requesting wheel chair assistance to be able to finally get him inside. Once we’re finally there, the nurses take over, making us wait in the waiting area.
My older brother Shervon arrives a few minutes later. When he sees me, he walks directly up to me and pulls me in for a tight hug. He doesn’t act awkward or apologetic towards me. He just acts as if we’re siblings who haven’t seen each other in long time. At first, I’m shocked by his reaction. But as he starts talking to me like nothing’s happened in the past year, I realize I appreciate the normalcy. It’s definitely easier to handle than the awkward distance between me and my parents.
The doctors take quite a long time to come back to us. When they do, I’m not surprised by their diagnosis. Shane has a lot of drugs in his system. They think he’s showing signs of heroin dependency and a lot of symptoms associated with prolonged heroin use. He’s also suffering from pneumonia and some infection. They want to keep him overnight, but think that he could be discharged tomorrow once the effects of the drugs start to dissipate. After giving us the brief explanation, the ER doctor pulls my dad aside to talk to him privately.
After he leaves, I see pain in my dad’s face. “He recommended that we take him to a drug rehab. He…he said if he goes back to the streets and goes back to using…he won’t survive very long,” my dad choke
s up on his last words. As much as I feel hurt and betrayed by these people, I can’t help but to feel their pain. I know my dad doesn’t know the first thing about rehabs. And I know fully well they can’t afford to pay for one.
“I’ll find a rehab for him,” I jump in. “I have to go home now. The poor driver is still waiting in the car, but I’ll start looking online as soon as I get home.”
“I don’t know if we can afford one, Aleah.” My dad says, his voice laced with shame.
“I’ll take care of it.”
I realize once I’m seated back in the car, that I never called Lou back. I grab my phone from the bottom of my purse to call him when I remember I promised Aiden I’ll call him as soon as the event was over. My stomach instantly clenches, as I realize how angry Aiden must be with me right now. Ever since my attack, he goes crazy with worry, anytime I’m even a few minutes late in calling him. This must have driven him insane. I check my phone and sure enough I have six missed calls and ten text messages from him. I don’t bother looking through his messages. I decide to send him one instead.
Me: Are you awake?
My phone starts ringing immediately. I look at the screen and brace myself for his outburst.
“Hey.”
“Aleah–where have you been? I was this close to jumping on a plane and coming there. What’s going on? Why didn’t you call?”
“It’s been a long night, Aiden.”
“You got that right. It’s four in the morning my time, and I just hear from you now. I’ve been pacing the floors of this stupid hotel room for the past two hours. What happened?”
I take a deep breath, and tell him everything. I know he will be angry at me and call me stupid and crazy, but Aiden deserves nothing but honestly from me, and I refuse to give him anything less. I brace myself for his rage after I finish, but instead I’m faced with silence.
“Aiden–are you there? Did you hear me?”
“I heard. I’m really conflicted right now. I want to be mad at you for putting your life at risk like that and being kind to the people who have been nothing but nasty to you, but honestly I feel nothing but admiration for you. You…you make me speechless. I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone as kind-hearted as you. I can’t be mad at you for being the woman I fell so desperately in love with. I just want to be there to hug you right now and show you how much I love you. You awe me, baby.”
I release the breath I had been holding “Oh, thank God. I was waiting for you to bite my head off.” I chuckle.
“Don’t worry. I’ll do that too when I see you…which will be in a few hours. What are the plans for today?”
“Wait, what do you mean you’ll see me in a few hours?”
“I mean, I’m not letting you go back to them by yourself. I’ll take the first flight out.”
“No, you won’t. Aiden, you can’t drop your work and your life, every time there is another drama in my life…which unfortunately seems to happen often these days. I’m an adult. They’re my family. I can deal with them.”
“Aleah, I told you I wasn’t mad at you, because I know how loving you are and I wouldn’t have expected you to act otherwise, but don’t expect me to stay here and watch from two thousand miles away. I don’t trust your family, and I can’t stomach, even the remotely possibility that they may say or do something to hurt you. The only way, you’re going back to them is if I’m coming with you. That’s non-negotiable.”
My mouth drops open. “What? You don’t control me.”
“No, I don’t, which is why I didn’t get mad at you for doing what you did last night. But I do control my own life, and I’m the one who gets to decide when to drop my work for things that are more important.”
“Aiden–please don’t do that. There is no need. The most difficult part is over. I may not even go back to the hospital. I could just call them with the info about the rehab. You already took ten days off in the middle of your last assignment for me. Please don’t put your chances at risk for this.”
He takes a deep breath before responding. “Fine. I’ll email Lou and ask him. I’ll only come if he says it’s okay.”
I just hope he stays true to his word. I have enough drama dealing with my family as is. I don’t need to add Aiden’s presence to the drama.
TWENTY-NINE
AIDEN
I start searching for flights even before she hangs up the phone. I know I promised her to email Lou, and I will do that. But I’ll be going there no matter what Lou has to say. I don’t trust her family. At all. The idea that she is going to be alone with them for any period of time is worrisome enough to make me drop everything and book the first flight out. The fact that her crazy brother is clearly addicted and will soon be going through withdrawal symptoms only adds to my worries.
I know she’s strong and independent, and she can deal with a lot of crap on her own, but she’s also very gullible and trusting. Those traits come from her purity of heart, which is one of the reasons I love her so much, but they could also hurt her. There is no way I’m going to stand by and take that chance.
I shoot an email to Lou and Steve and explain the situation. I make sure my email is explanatory and firm. I’m making this trip no matter what. Once that’s done, I book the first flight out to Los Angeles and start packing my bag. The flight leaves in three hours and I’ll be leaving for the airport in one.
My plane lands in L.A. at eight thirty in the morning, and I take a cab directly to her penthouse. As I walk in the lobby, I say hello to the lobby attendant and thank God that I no longer need him to let me up to her floor. I have the elevator code and a key to her house, which could come handy one day in surprising her. But today, after the events of last night, I decide it’s best not to spook her.
I knock on her door and wait for her to respond. She takes a few minutes to get there, and then a few seconds to look at the security monitor screen by her door which shows a live image of who is standing on the other side. I picture her face once she sees me standing there and can’t help smiling.
She tears the door open in her barely there pajamas with her bedhead and a big scowl on her face, and the sight of her takes my breath away. She throws her hands up as soon as she seems me. “Aiden–what the hell? I told you not to come.” She tries to act upset, but can’t hide the glimmer of excitement in her eyes.
I raise my eyebrow at her. “Are you not happy to see me?”
I see the play of emotions on her face, as she struggles for a second with how to respond. Thankfully, she quickly decides to give up pretending like she’s mad, and wraps her arms around my neck. I crash my lips to hers in a scorching kiss that has both of us panting and needy in seconds. I have to remind myself that this is not why I am here, and force my body to pull back. She releases a small sigh, placing her head on my chest. And I wrap my arms around her.
“I missed you so much,” I whisper into her hair.
“I missed you too. I’m really upset that you didn’t listen to me, but I can’t make myself be mad at you for coming. It truly feels good to have you here.”
I can’t help the grin that crosses my face at her admission. We move to the breakfast table then, where we discuss her plans for Shane over coffee.
“I called every single one of those places this morning. A few of them told me it’s too early and I will have to call back in an hour for availability and pricing. But I was able to talk to a lady that was really helpful at one of them. I researched them online and they seem to have a really good reputation. It’s a bit pricy, but I don’t mind. I was just about to call my dad when you came. We have to talk to Shane first. I have to make sure he understands what this is about and that he’s willing to try. I’ll only pay for this, if he wants to do it and promises to make an effort.”
“I still can’t believe you’re doing this for the brother who beat you up… But if you’re going to do it, I agree that you have to make sure he’s onboard first. Based on my personal experience with my mom, that’s the f
irst step in trying to get over addiction. They have to want to do it. Even then, it’s a long and difficult journey. There may be a lot of setbacks. He may get better for a while and then fall back into it. You have to prepare yourself for that.”
“I know. I stayed up all night thinking about all of that. I’m only going to give him one chance. If he refuses help or goes back to it again, he’s on his own. I won’t let him drag me into his drama. I’ll make it clear to him that this is not an invitation for him to come asking for my help every other day. He’ll get one shot. It’s up to him what he wants to do with it.”
“That sounds good… I just hope he’s coherent enough to be able to grasp all of that.”
She takes a deep breath. “I hope so too.”
She calls her dad to let him know what the plans are, and we leave for the hospital shortly after. Once we park the car and start walking towards the building, I grab her hand in mine out of habit. At first she wraps her fingers around mine, but a second later, she pulls her hand free and stops walking abruptly. I turn back to face her.
“Aiden–I don’t know how my dad and brothers will react to you? I’ve told you how they are. The idea of me having a boyfriend will probably send them into a rage... Don’t get me wrong. I don’t care one bit what they think about me anymore, but I just don’t want to create more drama at the hospital. I’ll be honest with them if they ask, but I want to avoid creating conflict if possible… Unless they ask, I won’t mention anything about our relationship. I’ll just introduce you as Aiden… And please let’s keep the PDA to a minimum.”
I don’t like this at all. The main reason I’m here is to show her family that Aleah has someone that has her back no matter what. I want to show them that if they do anything to hurt her, they will have to deal with me. And I don’t give a rat’s ass what they think of me or our relationship. If it was up to me, I would grab her and kiss her hard as soon as we walk into that room, so they all know who she belongs with. But as I look into her pleading eyes, I can’t bring myself to say anything other than yes to her. I can see in her eyes how important it is to her to not create a scene here, and I’ll do my damn best to not cause her any more stress.
Redeeming Love (Resilient Hearts #2) Page 20
