Redemption Song

by Melodie Murray

  Ben had thankfully made a couple of friends that were going through the same obstacles as him. Playing with them at the treatment center was the only time she ever saw her brother remove his signature ball cap without shame and just be the carefree little boy she remembered from before he was diagnosed. Alaina knew one thing; she would not have been able to deal with Ben’s treatments with as much strength as she had if not for the awesome nurses and doctors that worked with him. They provided her about as much comfort as they did Ben.

  After Alaina finished her daily devotional, she groggily finished up the touches on her appearance, feeling the effects of her lack of sleep during the night, and exited into the hallway. She wondered if Ethan had remembered to set his alarm, and if so, if he had managed to not hit the sleep button until it quit going off. She hoped so because it was almost five and they needed to hit the road immediately. When she reached Ben’s bedroom and tapped lightly on the door, she was surprised upon opening it to find that the room was empty.

  She backtracked and descended the staircase to find Ethan standing at the front door talking to Granny Mae and Ted. Alaina’s stomach did a summersault upon sight of Ethan and her feelings for him instantly magnified. Fully dressed and ready for the day, Ethan stood with his guitar case hanging from his back, and Ben lying peacefully asleep in his arms. She paused for a moment at the base of the stairs to take it all in.

  “Good morning, hon,” Granny Mae said sweetly when Alaina entered the living room. Ted gave a slight wave and Ethan’s head shot up, their eyes meeting instantly. He gave a slight grin and shrugged.

  “When I saw the time, I figured you would want to leave soon so I went ahead and brought Ben down for you. I hope that’s okay,” Ethan said.

  Alaina’s heart melted. “Thanks,” was all she replied. Their eyes never veered and a silence fell in the room. The memory of Ethan’s lips against hers flashed in her mind and her cheeks grew hot. She sucked in a deep breath trying to calm her nerves as Ethan studied her from across the room. Neither realized that Granny and Ted were watching with intrigued expressions.

  Finally, Granny cleared her throat. “Ethan, dear, why don’t you take Ben out to the car before he wakes up?”

  He simply nodded and turned for the door as Ted pulled it open for him. He carried Ben out to the Charger that still sat parked in the same place it had been when they’d arrived home from the festival.

  Alaina reached for a couple of pillows and a blanket that Granny had laid out on the couch for her. On her way out the door, Alaina stopped to give Granny a swift kiss on the cheek and was handed a bag of goodies for the road. “Thanks, Granny Mae,” Alaina said gratefully. Granny always had everything together for her early morning departures.

  She ran to meet Ethan at the car. She opened the backseat door, placed the pillows on one side, and pushed the seats forward as Ethan carefully laid Ben down. Alaina took the blanket and spread it across him. He never budged.

  Ethan insisted on driving and as they reached the outskirts of the Fairhope city limits, he turned onto Highway 10 to Mobile which would eventually lead to I65 all the way to Birmingham.

  “I can’t believe you got around so fast this morning,” Alaina said once they had been driving awhile.

  He seemed a bit surprised. “What did you expect?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I guess I just wasn’t expecting you to be so . . . efficient.”

  Ethan scoffed. “Are you kidding? I’m totally efficient! Five a.m. is a normal morning for me.”

  “A big rock star like you?” Alaina jeered. “No way, I’m not buying.”

  “Okay, maybe it’s not five every day,” he smiled, “but it is sometimes. Like when I’m performing on a talk show or doing a radio show. I have to get there really early for wardrobe and sound checks. Good Morning America was the worst. That day started around three a.m. The Ellen Show wasn’t too bad, being in the middle of the day, but I think Letterman and Leno were my favorites. They made for really late nights, but at least I didn’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn and . . .”

  Ethan paused when he noticed Alaina staring at him.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” she said quickly, trying to hide her smirk.

  “Then what’s with the face?”

  Alaina gave a quick laugh. “You . . . amaze me sometimes.”

  “Oh yeah?” Ethan cast a proud grin. “And why’s that?”

  “I don’t know. It’s just, when we’re together you seem so normal—helping my brother and going with me to the hospital—and then you talk about appearing on talk shows. I mean, who does that? It’s a little . . . strange . . . that’s all. Sometimes I forget what your real life is like.”

  “My real life?”

  “Yeah, the life that doesn’t involve lengthy hospital visits and sick kids and emotionally stressed out girl . . . acquaintances . . .”

  Alaina abruptly shut her mouth realizing she was about to call herself Ethan’s girlfriend! What was she thinking? It was one kiss for goodness sakes. Only one kiss! Alaina didn’t know what it took to be considered the girlfriend of the world-renown teen pop sensation, but she was fairly certain that their last two days together probably didn’t qualify her.

  After a short silence, Ethan spoke with a curious tone, his eyes never veering from the road ahead. “Acquaintances? Is that what we are?”

  Alaina froze. “I . . . uh . . .” Her stomach twisted in knots and she gave a slight grunt to clear her throat. “What . . . what would you like us to be?”

  Ethan smirked, as if he found something in his own thoughts quite amusing. He reached down, took hold of her hand, and lifted it. His lips pressed gently to the back of her hand and he held it tightly against his chest. “Whatever you want, Ali. I’ll take whatever you’ll give me.”

  Chapter 18

  Alaina

  The ride to Birmingham felt to Alaina as if it took only a fraction of the time it normally did thanks to Ethan’s company. She could be so carefree with him. She didn’t have to be anyone but herself. She didn’t worry about not looking the right way for him, or whether or not she was saying all the right things, and even though she knew Ethan wasn’t a believer, Alaina didn’t have to hide the fact that she was. She made constant references to her faith and Ethan just listened intently as if he actually might be a little interested to hear more. She sat in the passenger side of the rental with her bare feet resting comfortably on the dash in front of her. Her hair hung in a loose side braid, and her eyes rarely shifted anywhere but to the boy that sat beside her.

  Ethan held her hand and pretended to tickle her until she screamed and smacked him on the arm for not watching the road. He told her she looked beautiful even though she knew she’d gotten way too little sleep to hide the bags that hung under her eyes. He sang her songs, usually making up his own lyrics to every song that came on the radio; either completely butchering the song or putting the original singer to shame. Alaina was nothing short of enchanted, and with each passing second of their time together, she fell deeper and deeper for the boy she knew hardly anything about. And it was almost . . . just almost . . . enough to distract her from the fact that Ben had not woken the entire trip there—which was a first.

  It wasn’t until Ethan pulled into the parking garage of the University of Birmingham Treatment Center that Ben finally began to stir.

  “Hey Ben,” Alaina said lightly as her brother rolled over and grudgingly rubbed sleep from his eyes. He sat up slowly, eyes not quite open.

  “Are we there yet?” Ben replied in his usual singsong voice he used when he knew exactly how far they were from the center.

  “Yeah, bub, we’re here.”

  “Really?” He seemed a little surprised. He usually just asked that question to be a pest. “Wow, I slept the whole way this time!”

  Alaina’s heart broke a little. Ben talked as though this was some kind of small accomplishment when she knew it was only because he was getting worse. She wo
ndered how long it would be before this trip was no longer an option for him.

  Ben shifted his focus, noticing that Alaina was not driving.

  “Ethan! I didn’t know you were coming!”

  Ethan glanced at Alaina and grinned with a slight wink. “Sure thing, little buddy, and your sister told me you’ve got to do this treatment thing and it takes awhile but that you get to hang out with your friends while you’re doing it so . . . I brought you a little something to pass the time.”

  Ben’s weak eyes sparkled and Alaina thought she saw a little life returning to them. “What is it?” he asked.

  “It’s in the trunk. C’mon I’ll show you.”

  Ben scrambled out of the back seat and met Ethan at the back of the car. Ethan used the key to pop the latch of the trunk. The door swung open to reveal his black leather guitar case lying flat inside.

  “Wow! You brought your guitar!” Ben smiled ear to ear. “Are you going to play for me and my friends while we get our treatment?”

  Alaina had noticed Ethan’s guitar strapped to his back that morning, but she’d been so tired, she hadn’t thought a lot about it. He surely wasn’t going to play for the kids. It would give away his identity to everyone there. She wondered what he had up his sleeve.

  “Actually, rock star, I was thinking that maybe you could show off your new skills.” Ethan gave Ben a little wink.

  Ben’s eyes widened. “Really? Do you really think I’m ready to go public?”

  Ethan unsuccessfully tried to suppress his amusement. “Yeah I think you’re ready. Besides, the girls will love it.”

  Ben smiled. “Cool.”

  Alaina watched, not having the slightest clue what either of them was talking about.

  “Someone want to clue me in on this conversation?” Alaina said.

  Ethan spoke before Ben. “Don’t you worry about it, big sis. This is a guy thing.”

  Alaina cast Ethan a skeptical look.

  “Let’s get you to that appointment, Ben.” Ethan pulled the guitar from the trunk, wrapped the strap around his back, and his arm around Alaina, leading them toward the entrance. Ben reached up and grabbed Ethan’s hand. Ethan glanced down at Ben’s smiling face and his ball cap with the messy curls. Ethan looked a little surprised and Alaina waited to see if he’d let go . . . but he didn’t. He grinned at Ben and gave him a pretend punch across the cheek with their intertwined fingers. Ben dramatically acted as if it hurt. They both laughed as if it was a joke that only they understood.

  Alaina knew that Ethan had chosen to hang out with Ben the day before, which by now she was pretty sure was just a way for him to try to impress her, but what she hadn’t realized was how well they’d hit things off. Ben was sound asleep when she and Ethan arrived home and she hadn’t been able to ask him how his day had gone. She hoped he’d had fun. She had to admit that the idea of Ben hanging out with someone who didn’t know his condition scared her a little, but she really wanted Ben to have a chance to hang out with his “idol” without the worry of Ethan being nice to him strictly out of pity. Obviously it worked out fine because Ethan hadn’t reported any problems to her. She was sure he would’ve told her if anything had gone wrong. As far as she could tell, he’d been honest with her about everything.

  Alaina and Ethan managed to get Ben to his appointment a mere five minutes early. On the elevator ride, Ethan leaned over and murmured in her ear, “So what’s it going to be like up here?”

  She could detect the angst in his tone, and she knew it well because it was the same way she had felt the first time she’d taken that same elevator ride. She’d expected to walk into a stark white hallway filled with the echoes of children screaming in pain and parents crying in agony for them. That thought was comical now that she knew what it was really like.

  “Let’s just say it’s not what you’re expecting,” she whispered back.

  When the little light above the elevator doors reached the number five, a ding sounded and the double doors slid their separate ways. Ben immediately let go of Ethan’s hand and ran to meet the nurses that looked forward to seeing him every week. Alaina paid close attention to Ethan’s reaction as he stepped off the elevator.

  It was just as she expected. Ethan’s eyes widened and he released her hand walking a little ways ahead into the large mural painted waiting area. “Wow,” he breathed, not realizing she should hear.

  “Told you,” she grinned. “You haven’t seen anything yet. C’mon, I’ll introduce you to the nurses.”

  Alaina took Ethan’s hand back in hers and led him around the corner to the nurses’ station. There they found Ben, already seated in the middle of three of the nurses, laughing and licking a sucker. How that kid managed to find candy in the first five seconds, every time they arrived, Alaina would never know.

  “Hey Ali!” One of the nurses, Katrina, waved with a huge, greeting smile from beside Ben in the station.

  “What’s up, Kat?”

  Ethan leaned near her ear. “I thought only special people got to call you Ali.”

  “Yep, and you have no idea how special these people are.”

  The nurses were laughing and joking with Ben when they suddenly became very much aware of the fact that Alaina was not alone this time. They all became silent about the same time, eyeing Ethan, unsure of what to say. Knowing her and Ben’s situation, they too were not accustomed to Alaina even talking about boys, much less bringing one to the hospital.

  A tall African American nurse, named Rache`, that Alaina had grown to love from the first time she’d met her, was, not surprisingly, the first to speak.

  “Well, well, who do we have here?” she asked Alaina in an overly dramatic voice.

  Alaina’s head dropped and she felt her cheeks grow hot. She knew these nurses pretty well by now and she felt sorry for Ethan for what he was about to go through.

  “This is my friend . . . Brandon,” Alaina said, smiling at the use of Ethan’s alias.

  Ben’s head popped up and he let out his most disbelieving, argumentative ten-year-old voice. “No it’s not.”

  Alaina’s mouth popped open a little and she turned to Ethan, unsure of what to do. She had completely forgotten to explain Ethan’s situation to Ben and hadn’t even considered the fact that Ben would never go along with the story unless prompted first. But then, once again, Ethan took her by surprise.

  “It’s cool, lil’ man,” he said to Ben. “Sometimes I go by Brandon, too. I think we’ll use that today. Is that okay with you?”

  Ben cocked his head with a confused expression that was so cute, if Alaina hadn’t been so worried about messing up Ethan’s cover, would’ve made her want to run and hug him. She thought for a second he would argue in typical Ben fashion, but Ethan had a way of talking to Ben that Alaina didn’t think she’d ever master.

  “Sure. Whatever, dude,” Bed said, sounding much older than he really was. “If you wanna be Brandon today, it’s fine with me. What should I be? How bout Will? Or maybe Chuck?”

  Ethan laughed. “I like Ben. Just Ben.”

  Ben grinned. “Cool . . . Brandon.”

  The nurses remained silent throughout this entire exchange, but Alaina knew Ethan wasn’t off the hook yet.

  “So, Brandon,” Rache` continued, putting on a protective expression, “how did you meet our sweet Ali?”

  To Alaina’s surprise, Ethan didn’t so much as flinch beneath her harsh gaze. “I came to visit my grandma. I think you’ve probably met her? Her name is Mae.”

  “Oh, Mae’s your grandmother?” Rache` went on, not lightening up a bit on her accusatory tone. “So I guess that means you are sharing a house with Miss Ali, and I see that you are holding her hand, so that leaves me with only one question.” The nurses behind her giggled and so did Alaina. Technically, Alaina could have jumped in to rescue Ethan at any time, but sadly, she was kind of enjoying this. “I take it you are behaving yourself,” Rache` cleared her throat, “if you know what I mean . . .”

  E
than slipped Ali the quickest of glances, causing her to bite her upper lip to keep from laughing. “Yes, of course, ma’am.”

  Rache` eyed him up and down one last time before turning back to her file that sat on the front counter.

  “Mmm-hmm, you’ve got a long day ahead of you, child. We will see.”

  Once the nurses recovered from trying to hold back their laughter, all the while Ben was completely unaware of anything but his sucker, Katrina got up and grabbed hold of Ben’s hand.

  “C’mon Benny Boy, let’s go get you hooked up. A few of your buddies are already here and they’ve been asking about you.”