by Urban, Ami
“Not everything.” Brendon glanced around the room for a moment, then ducked behind a waist-high island near the door.
“The fuck are you doing?” I watched him with a brow raised.
“Just a sec.” He crouched down and out of our view. Lisa and I exchanged glances, then shrugs. We had no idea. The dude was grade A weird. A few low grunts later, and he popped back up, his face pale and somewhat sallow. “Here.” He brought up his hand. In it were two small vials. One was full of a watery red liquid and the other had some kind of pinkish tissue inside.
“What…?” Lisa trailed off.
“Brain tissue.” Brendon cocked his head to the right, indicating the vial with the pink stuff inside. “Blood sample.” His head tilted toward the other vial. “Snuck ‘em out.”
No one moved for a moment. I was the first to speak. “Where did you hide those?”
His eyes shifted from one side to the other. “Let me worry about that.”
I ain’t gonna lie. While that was fucking gross as hell, it was mildly impressive.
“Dude…”
Lisa jumped off the table, clutching the sides of her gown together over her chest. Energy seemed to explode around her. “Those are from Scott?”
Brendon nodded. A smile lit up her face. She was beautiful in that moment. I wanted to remember it forever.
“I cannot believe you!” Without a second’s hesitation, she threw her arms around his neck, knocking some of the breath out of his body in a grunt. Our gazes met. I narrowed my eyes. Just knowing my wife’s breasts were pressed against his naked chest again was causing my heart to thunder in my own.
Before I could say anything, she let him go and turned back to me, the smile still plastered on her lips. It was contagious.
“This is better than the time I won the Medical Executive Meritorious Achievement Award.”
The way she said it, you’d think she was talking about sex.
“Did you know she was an overachiever when you married her?” Brendon asked me.
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “I not only knew, but I encouraged it.”
She was so excited, she actually jumped into the air once. An impressed noise caught in the back of my throat. It was amusing.
The sound of rustling plastic caught our attention. Wood was back.
Brendon hurriedly popped the vials into his mouth. I cringed inwardly as his face contorted. Bet that was tasty. And yet, it was so funny, I had to stifle a laugh. Fucker deserved it.
“Alright, you three.” Wood approached us. “I’ve concluded the autopsy and you’re all free to go.”
No one made a move to leave. Wood looked at each of us individually, a frown adorning his mouth. His last glance was at Brendon whose eyes widened.
Wood stepped closer to him. He was a good head taller. “You got something to say?”
Brendon’s Adam’s apple bobbed with a nervous swallow. He shook his head, but Wood only narrowed his eyes. Lisa laid a hand on the doctor’s arm.
“Thank you, Dr. Wood. We’ll be leaving now.”
The man turned toward her as Brendon’s posture sank about four inches. He nodded. There was something hiding behind his closed expression. I couldn’t tell what. “By the way, Dr. Reynolds,” he said, “I’m afraid you have no more jurisdiction over this hospital. It is now CDC property and I’ve been made the chief of medicine. You’re fired.”
***
“Uncle Jack!” Lexi threw herself into my arms, bumping my bruised ribs and pushing the air out of my lungs in a gurgling cough.
“Okay, okay…” I pushed her back a bit, trying to hide the pain in my face.
There were dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks were stained with shed tears. Her chin quivered when she looked into my eyes. “I thought I’d never see you again!” Avoiding my chest, she threaded her arms around my neck, planting a soft kiss on my cheek. “I love you. I’m sorry I’m a bitch.”
“Aww, hey.” I sat back on my heels, taking her hands in mine. “I’m the asshole.” I paused. “Can you ever forgive me?”
I could’ve sworn a blush started to creep into her cheeks. “Shit, you might be lucky enough for me to call you Dad one day.”
My heart almost stopped in my chest. The breath caught in my throat. No words came to me in that moment. It was like my brain had shut down. So, I did the only thing I was good at.
“You said it. You can’t take it back. Just remember. There’s no difference between a bad joke and a dad joke.”
She stood there for a moment, staring at me like she hadn’t heard what I’d said. But then it seemed to sink in when her expression changed. Her eyes rolled to the ceiling. “Oh, my God. How embarrassing. I cannot handle this. I’m going back to bed before it gets worse.”
“It’ll still be here tomorrow!” I called after her.
To my surprise, she stopped and regarded me for a moment. “Yeah. I’m glad, too.” Then, she jumped up the rest of the stairs, taking them two at a time.
I didn’t even have time to process my emotions from that encounter, because my sister screamed my name, threw herself into my arms and immediately began sobbing. I gathered her, telling her everything was going to be okay. But instead of hugging me back, she pulled away and slapped me right across the face.
“Hey!” I held a hand to my stinging cheek.
“Stop dying on me!”
“I’m not doing it on purpose!” The sting of her slap shocked my blood pressure up a few points. But she just burst into tears again and latched onto me, her fingers digging into my overshirt.
It took ages to calm her down. An hour in, Lisa and Brendon excused themselves to the kitchen to give us some privacy. My sister used the pads of her fingers to dot around under her eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t want to smear my makeup! I’m almost out.” She tossed her head back to catch any remaining tears at the corners of her eyes.
“Why the hell are you wearing makeup so late?”
“Why are you being so mean?” She glared at me. “I thought you were dead. Again. Like, for real now.” Her tone dropped to a softer one. “It’s different when you know.”
A veil of darkness passed over my eyes. “Don’t I know it.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. I have some ideas for future search parties. If you’re willing to be a teacher.” She batted her eyes at me. Under any other circumstance, I would have agreed.
“Lisa got fired from the hospital.”
Raychel’s eyes widened. “Oh, no… And I was so mean to her earlier. Is she okay?”
“I think she will be, but…” I sat back to get a better look at my baby sister. “Raychel, we probably won’t stay.”
Her eyes welled up with tears again, her bottom lip quivering. But she sucked it up. I guess she really didn’t want to ruin her makeup.
“Oh.”
We were silent until Lisa and Brendon came back into the room. “I’m gonna get going, guys.” Brendon’s words were clipped.
My wife put a hand on his arm. “Thank you for all your help today.”
He looked at her for a long time. Then, he nodded, kissed her on the cheek and left. He didn’t even look at me. So much for being best friends…
After one last, lingering hug from my sister, I followed Lisa up the stairs. Strangely enough, we didn’t speak the entire way to our room. It was almost as if each of us had our own thoughts to keep busy with. We hadn’t been alone for more than five minutes since the night before. And as soon as I stepped through the door, I realized all I wanted was to sleep. Man, even being dead a whole day made you tired.
Lisa went to the bathroom to begin her nightly ritual. I watched her put toothpaste on her toothbrush and run it under the water. When she bent forward, there was a subtle wince in her otherwise serious face. A ribbon of fresh rage lit me up. That fucker had hurt her.
“Hey.” My own voice startled me as I leaned against the door jamb. And while she glanc
ed at me, she said nothing. “You took care of yourself, right?” I shifted my weight off my bad knee. “I should be the only one who’s good at dying.”
To my surprise, me gave me a small smile after finishing her task. “I’m alright.” She paused, studying herself in the mirror. “I believe.”
I waited for her to elaborate. After a few seconds of silence had passed, she pushed away from the sink, her hands going to the hem of her shirt. She lifted it to just under her breasts. I winced.
A large, splotchy bruise was forming on her stomach just above her belly button. It was just the right size and shape of a knee. She touched it gingerly before retracting her hand.
“It certainly doesn’t feel pleasurable.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed at the simplicity of her statement. “Come here.” Motioning for her to come to me, I took a step forward. She allowed the hem of her shirt to drift back into place before slipping into my arms. She snuggled into my chest. A small twinge of pain ripped through my lungs. I ignored it.
“I can’t believe you’re here.” Her voice was nothing but a muffled whisper against my shirt.
I brushed my lips against her forehead. “Promise I won’t go anywhere again. Deal?”
She nodded, saying nothing. It wasn’t until later I found out she’d been crying silently against me. Had I known, I would have dried her tears any way I knew how. But instead, we laid down together, falling into an almost instant exhaustive sleep.
From the desk of Dr. Lisa Reynolds – July 5
The two vials of what was left of Scott stared at me from the desk. With my index finger, I poked the small glass tube that held his blood. The red substance sloshed back and forth as it rocked against the wood.
I was back at square one. No research, no slides and no direction. They’d also banned me from the hospital, so I was no longer allowed in. Not only that, but Brendon hadn’t returned any of my phone calls in two days.
The door creaking open caught my attention. Jack poked his head in. “Hiya, Foxtrot. Hear anything yet?”
I shook my head as he approached me and laid a hand on my shoulder. “Nothing. He won’t answer me.”
“Me either.” His expression was soft while he spoke to me. “I just finished replacing the tie rod ends on his car, though. Maybe we should drop it off at his place.”
My brain lit up. Jack was a genius. After hopping out of my seat, I snatched the vials off the desk. “Let’s go.”
I was pleased with my husband’s recovery from his surgery. He no longer relied on crutches to get him around, but instead a stylish cane. And while he wouldn’t need it long, he’d certainly taken a liking to smacking things with it and putting on an elderly voice while doing so.
Once we arrived at Brendon’s large home, he used the tip of it to ring the bell. Then, he glanced my way. “Everyone should have one of these.” His smirk warmed my heart.
There was no answer. I pulled out my cell phone to check the date and time. If the schedule hadn’t been messed with, I knew it was his day off. He had to be there.
Jack and I exchanged glances before taking the handle. Then, he pulled the door open, revealing a dark entryway. But after straining our ears, we heard the dull drone of a television coming from somewhere deep within.
“Come on.” Jack laced his fingers with mine as we entered the home. The strong scent of cigarette smoke fluttered to meet us. There was no doubt Brendon was there. When we finally found him, he was slouched into his sofa, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, with a remote in his hand.
“Yeah?” He didn’t look at us, only stared emotionless at the television.
“You haven’t been returning our calls,” I said, wanting to break the tension curling around us.
“I know.”
I sunk into the cushions next to him. He shifted, moving over a bit, but still didn’t engage. “Is everything alright?” I tucked a strand of hair behind one ear.
“Yup.” The cigarette left his mouth, secured between two fingers. Smoke crawled its way to the ceiling. Silence enveloped us. The only sound was the television droning on.
“I don’t think you’re telling me the truth.”
He took another drag. “Nope.”
“Oh, no. Don’t worry,” Jack said, his tone dry. “I’ll just stand here and hold my breath until you get over yourself.”
“Don’t take my silence as defeat, Reynolds. I’m just deciding not to encourage your stupidity.”
“Wow,” my husband said, his expression a mixture of anger and hurt. “And to think I fixed your car for you. Well…” he turned slightly. “Your silent treatment should come with a disappearing act, B.”
With one swift movement I hardly saw, Brendon put out his cigarette and turned toward Jack. “Thanks for fixing my car. Goodbye.”
Jack grumbled something about him being a good riddance before ambling back toward the front door. But I wasn’t giving up yet.
“Hold on.” I put my arms out. Both men turned to look at me. “We’re not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong.”
Brendon studied my face for a while. Whereas before I stopped him when his gaze went too far south, I didn’t have to worry about it that time. His eyes never left mine.
“Look, I heard Jack tell Raychel you guys were gonna leave. And I know you’ve been calling me nonstop because you just want to say goodbye. So, I took care of it for you. Goodbye.”
The tip of my finger tapped against my cheek. I looked toward my husband, but all I got was a shrug. “I see. You hate goodbyes.”
Brendon rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Intuitive.”
“Hey, man…” Jack began, pointing straight at him. “We’re trying to help.”
“Help with what?” He stood, placing his ash tray on the arm of the sofa. “With my lonely existence? My dead wife? My unemployment?”
Something in my brain clicked. “They fired you, too?”
He looked at me, fire burning behind his dark eyes. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure Wood knows I took the vials, but he said it was because of my lack of responsibility.”
Nodding, I stood to face him. “They can stop us from working at this hospital. But they can’t stop us from going elsewhere.”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m done with surgery.”
I took a step back at the force of his words. They penetrated my pericardium like an arrow. Filled with hurt and anger, they dripped with disdain. I could tell he’d thought it over quite a bit.
“But you’re so talented.”
“Not according to Dr. Wood.” He approached the TV and smashed the button on the side. The screen went dark. “According to Dr. Wood, I’m a danger to the hospital. Just as well. I’m not licensed.”
I inhaled. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
To my surprise, Brendon gave me a sad smile.
“I cannot believe you’re allowing an out-of-touch biologist to put you down. He can take your job, but he can’t take your talent.” I stood my ground, not wanting to back down. He needed to know that people believed in him and trusted his advice.
He seemed to ponder my words for a moment. “I’ve killed people.”
All I could offer was a shrug. “So have I. Eight to be exact.”
It was his turn to take a step back. “Remind me never to go under your knife.”
Jack snickered from behind me.
“Being a doctor means having to deal with death. You didn’t intentionally kill anyone. Plus, you’ve saved far more people than not. Look at Jack.” I gestured to him. “It’s been three weeks and he’s already able to put weight on that knee. I’ve never seen something like that happen.”
Brendon studied Jack for a moment, washing his gaze over him head to toe. “No PT?”
“None. He never needed one Physical Therapy appointment.”
A look of impressed pride fell over him for a second. But it was washed away as quickly as it came. He pushed his hand through his mop of dark hair and sighed. “There’
s nothing left for me here…”
“Look, the reason I’ve been trying to reach you is because I need your help.”
“Mine?” Curiosity bloomed behind his eyes. One hand flew to his heart.
“Yes.” I dug in the pocket of my jeans for the vials. “We need to study these. The rest of my research has probably been incinerated, but I can start over. I’ve done it before.”
For a moment, no one spoke. Brendon’s gaze went from my hand, to my face, to Jack and back to my hand. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. He had a decision to make. And it wouldn’t be easy.
“How do we do that?” He asked, shifting his weight to the other foot.
I shrugged, turning halfway between the two of them. “Road trip?”
***
It was very strange being back in California after all that had happened. And while I missed my old stomping grounds, my house and my bed, I wasn’t eager to get back to them. It was an odd sensation. As if something sinister were waiting there for us.
But, just the same, we crested the hill outside Tehachapi the next day as the sun was just warming the air. After a few twists and turns through a suburban neighborhood, I noticed my modest white house.
It stood at the end of a cul-de-sac. For Rex, that was the best environment. The homes on either side were set far back from the road, effectively giving mine a cushion of more land. That extra space allowed my son to scream without being heard by either neighbor. On the rare occasion they did, they understood my situation well enough to leave it be.
But now, each house on the street was dark and quiet. The neighborhood used to bustle with activity on the weekends. Couples would be out walking their dogs, playing with their children or having picnics. It used to be a happy place full of laughter and energy.
Not anymore. Each house stood like a dark entity, rising up above anyone who dared enter. Some doors hung open, revealing the darkness inside. Cars sat abandoned in the street or on the grass. Their doors propped open, hazards flashing.
Splashes of water bubbled from a broken fire hydrant, dissecting the road as it flowed across to the opposite side. It was quiet. As was my house.
