I Rize (14 page)

I tried fighting back and yelled out loud hoping someone would save me after the first blow to my chest, but no one came. I blacked out.

Adny stopped to hold her heart again. She plopped a couple pills in her mouth.

When I woke up, all I remember is feeling the worst pain imaginable. My stomach ached and it felt like I was having multiple Charlie Horses at the same time. As the ambulance sirens got closer, I yearned to hear anyone’s comforting voice. I heard nothing. Help from people I needed was scarce. In my darkest hours, I was alone.

Junior had a moment of revelation as tears trickled down his stressed face. His mind filled with deep, relentless thoughts watching Adny flinch from the pain.

He kept thinking about the date and time Adny arrived at the party. Usually, the coach kept everyone’s phone in his office during meets. After the team won, the guys went back to the locker room to change. The team members always lightly joked about him being gay, but it didn’t bother him until that fateful day. One of the guys accused him of making an unwelcome flirtatious advance. They pushed Junior against the locker, cornering him. They took his clothes and left for dinner. He saw Jace laughing with the rest of the team. He was left defenseless.

Junior looked back up with tears, struggling to continue hearing the rest of the video.

When the police came, everyone scattered. I could see his footsteps approaching from below. He gave me a hand and helped me to the ambulance truck. I don’t remember his name, but I will never forget his face.

I was released from the hospital the same night. I know there were a lot of sick people there, but I still don’t understand why I was released so quickly. I was and am still in pain. My parents came to pick me up from the hospital, freaking out, and asking a million and one questions.

Terri told them tiny, little distorted lies about how I sent ‘inappropriate’ pictures to Madison’s boyfriend and how she felt the need to beat me up. She told them how she and Shandi tried to stop Madison from fighting me. I’m not surprised because she is the biggest liar I know.

Giving up is easier than having to constantly fight against the frustration and anger every single day. I wish that I could just go on top of the roof and yell at the top of my lungs for the whole world to hear. WHY THE HECK DID YOU CHOOSE ME?

Michelle slammed the laptop down and stood motionless, staring at the refrigerator. Darla tugged on her pant leg, but failed to snap her back into reality. The entire house remained silent. Junior immediately picked up his cell phone to call Detective Miller.

He slurred his words, struggling for clarity. “Hey Detective Miller … this is Junior … and I know it is late … but I need you to look at a video … it’s important.”

“Junior, is your concern regarding the video about the party?” No response was heard on Junior’s end. “I was there that night.”

“Detective, what do you mean?”

Detective Miller was the first on the scene to respond to a noise complaint. It was the first and last time he saw Adny. He walked in, causing everyone to run with fear. Empty liquor bottles were scattered everywhere. Adny was on the kitchen floor gasping for air when he called 911. She was too shaken up to remember her name.

“Junior, could you meet me at the hospital tomorrow?” I want to talk to the doctor who saw her that night.”

“Yes,” Junior said and hung up the phone. Michelle’s constant crying was heard throughout the entire house for the rest of the night.

J
UNIOR AND Detective Miller sat in the waiting room waiting for Dr. Andrews to contact them. As the nurse called them in he saw Miss Nora walking out of the office with tissue in hand.

“Good afternoon Miss Nora.”

“Hello Junior. I can’t wait to hear what you will say at the gathering.”

“Okay,” was the only word that came from his mouth because he never saw her eyes so watery. Despite outside appearances, he noticed the smile remained.

Miss Nora was unrecognizable. The dark circles under her eyes overtook her sunken face. The protruding cheekbones indicated loss of appetite. Her skin looked pale, as if she were a spirit stuck between two worlds, looking for a way out.

Back in the office, Detective Miller handed Dr. Andrews the video transcripts and flash drive. Dr. Andrews carefully reviewed the video transcript. “Detective, other than the beating, do you know what else may have caused her heart attack?”

He paused to look at Junior before responding. “I recently talked with a former suspect and have reason to believe a gunshot also triggered the heart attack.”

Everyone could hear the concern in Junior’s voice. “Doc, is my friend going to be okay?”

“We hope to find a match soon because she has been number one on the list for awhile.”

He tapped his fingers against the edge of his chin. “Not every heart is a match?”

“There are many factors in place when it comes to finding a transplant donor such as blood type, and the overall health of an individual.”

“You have to be dead, right? You know, to give a heart.”

Dr. Andrews rummaged through his files, taking a long time to answer the obvious question. “It would be considered murder otherwise.”

When they both left, Dr. Andrews had a small break before his next patient, so he placed the flash drive into his computer. One phrase of the video from the night of party—
I was released from the hospital the same night—
was repeatedly played
.

The night Adny was admitted to the hospital, the rooms were overcrowded. Multiple car accidents occurred within a short time frame. Dr. Andrews was the doctor in charge when Adny arrived during the graveyard shift. With the constant flow of people in and out all night, they decided it was best to discharge Adny.

The nurse on duty walked in with a patient’s chart in hand. “Dr. Andrews, your next patient is ready.”

The chart was snatched from her hands as the blinking green light in the office indicated the room was ready. He walked into the room and greeted the new patient. “Hello, Shandi.”

She flinched when he tried to shake her hand.

“I need to know a few things left blank on the sheet. Do you remember the name of the clinic or doctor who gave you the abortion?”

“I couldn’t afford a real doctor.”

Dr. Andrews pondered over her health charts before continuing. “Did you feel any pain or discomfort during the process?”

“I was injected with novocaine, so not during the procedure. But once it was over, the weird pain in my stomach and vagina has been persistent ever since.”

Dr. Andrews did a basic examination of her vaginal area. The tenderness and pain at the touch of the opening of the vaginal walls were jotted down in her health charts. “Based upon your lab results, the profuse bleeding, pain, and uncomfortable feeling you have is due to an infection.”

Shandi jumped down from the bed. “Am I going to die?”

“Shandi, don’t worry, you’re not going to die.” Dr. Andrews moved his chair in closer. “But the infection has spread further to the point where we may have to remove your uterus. I am terribly sorry.”

She lost control of her body, falling to the hard hospital floor. Her eyes were wide. Foam discharged from her mouth. It opened and closed on its own accord as she said, “No…No…sorry …sorry…Adny.”

J
unior ran straight to Adny’s room after the meeting and watched Shandi being pulled away by hospital staff. Mickey was at Adny’s bedside when he walked in. “Junior, guess what? I finally told my parents I am gay. The crazy thing is they knew all along. We can be together in peace now, without having to worry.”

Junior refused Mickey’s hug, taking a step back from him. “You think everything is so easy, don’t you? Life isn’t as simple as you think.”

Mickey blurted out numerous lines, but it wasn’t enough to win Junior’s heart back. Mickey walked out with his head down after many unsuccessful attempts. Junior clenched his fists tight, heightening the veins in his forehead. He crumbled the last copy of Adny’s poem into the trashcan. “I have no one. I trust no one.”

Gracie walked in and unraveled the poem from the trashcan. “Sorry to interrupt, but I came to pay my respects to a girl who inspired me in ways she will never know.”

As Junior opened the door to leave, Adny’s grandmother walked in, and knelt beside the bed. “Junior, my body’s been too tired to come for awhile, but I’m here now.”

Junior grabbed Gracie’s hand and told her to close her eyes and listen. Adny’s grandmother started down the long trail of childhood memories again. “Child, when you were younger, you messed with dead rats in the backyard. Don’t know where they came from, but you always had one dangling by the tail, at the age of six or seven.”

The beginnings of laughter could be heard from behind.

“I came outside and saw you and Junior hunched over one of those rats out yonder. We lived in the same house since you were born and I came over, and you had a butter knife in your hand. I saw Junior with some string. You were so excited and convinced of your ability to bring a new life to the dead rat.”

Laughter amongst Gracie and Junior grew louder.

“I think ya’ll were gonna sew the plastic toy heart I gave you for Christmas into the poor rat. I immediately stopped the operation. Telling the story thirteen years later still makes your granny laugh.”

Gracie and Junior opened their eyes with smiles spread far across their faces. They exchanged conversation as Adny’s grandmother hummed a church tune.

Gracie dangled the poem in front of Junior. “I can tell how you’ve changed for the worst.” She closed his hands around the poem. “A great guy told me the choice to be the victim or victor is in these brave hands.”

Junior offered no response as Gracie left. The pupils of his eyes widened while constantly shaking his head from side to side, as if disagreeing and agreeing with her statement occurred simultaneously. The mood change was apparent, so Adny’s grandmother rocked him back and forth throughout the night like she used to do when they were young children.

J
unior visited Detective Miller again for more answers. When he got bored after almost an hour of waiting, he found a video hidden in a separate folder. It was one he somehow missed.

Adny appeared on the screen with a chocolate Valentine’s bunny holding a heart. The only part bitten off was the head, and the rest was thrown in the trash below the desk.

Out of the three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, Valentine’s Day is the most awkward day ever created. People disgustingly kiss and hug at all corners of the hallway. The lovey-dovey couples swarm the entire school, forcing me to partake in the hoopla.

I haven’t heard from Jace since the party. I’m glad because I have this weird feeling that he and Madison were conspiring against me with the whole texting thing. Maybe they spent Valentine’s Day together.

Who cares?

Junior smiled at the thought it. “Now you understand.”

I say things that seem like I could care less, but there is something about Jace that consumes my mind every day. When I am around him, I get too scared to say anything useful.

His smile faded quickly. “I was wrong, you still don’t understand.”

I know you always laugh at me when I talk about it, but one day I would love a guy to give me white roses and Reese’s for Valentine’s Day.

Junior rolled his eyes, with his finger inches away from the stop button.

At least you have a special valentine. Mickey is a great guy, and he has helped me through more than you will ever know. It makes me sick to say it, but you two are way too perfect for each other. He is your funny half who balances you.

Remember that day at the beach when I forced you to talk to him for the first time? You were a chicken.

Junior laughed out loud and said, “So true.”

Seeing you two so in love gives me hope that my true love is out there somewhere waiting for me; with a white rose and Reese’s, of course.

Promise me you will never give up on him; he is one in a million. Trust me.

“Adny is right.”

He jumped up, causing the laptop to fall to the floor. “Detective, I forgot you were here, you scared me nearly to death.”

“I didn’t mean to keep you waiting so long, but it’s been a busy day. Mickey needs you right now.”

Junior grabbed his keys and left the office for the last time.

W
hen he knocked on Mickey’s door, his parents said he left minutes prior. He sat in the driveway for what seemed like hours thinking of where Mickey could be. One particular phrase from the last video watched crossed his mind.
Remember that day at the beach, when I had to force you to go talk to him for the first time?

Windshield wipers pushed the heavy rain aside. The beach was unusually quiet. Usually, couples would be outside filling the beach with love. The wet sand slowed his movements. Mickey was nowhere to be found. He squinted his eyes and noticed a silhouette of person in the distance. As he climbed over the jagged rocks, each crevice reminded him of the times they spent alone on the beach together. Behind the rocks, quick man’s sand came into view, reminding him of the first time their eyes locked; where true love trickled through the depths of his heart.

Approaching, he recognized the curly strains engraved in Mickey’s head. “It seems kind of lonely out here.”

He knew Mickey recognized his voice.

“You ever sit mesmerized by calmness of the water? At any moment, I can jump in, allowing the beastly waves to swallow me whole. Never ceases to amaze me.”

A solemn look fell upon Junior. He was lost for words as Mickey continued to speak.

“I lost you … I lost Adny. I have completely stopped eating. My hair is falling out. I can barely get out of bed each day.”

Faint words trailed from Junior’s lips while talking with his head down. “I’m sorry for everything. I will always love you.”