The Call Read online

“Boy you’ve known me long enough to know better than to call me ma’am. I let it slid at the house because I adore your manners.” She kisses my forehead, and then Reagan’s. Peter and she say their good nights, and then take off.

  I hit the button for the lights to shut off as soon as everyone is situated. Once again, I fall asleep breathing in the scent of my sweet girl.

  »»•««

  Reagan

  “Abraham, I’m so sick of this damn place! I want to go home! Tell me. Tell me right now. I can’t stand it anymore. I feel like I’m living in a dream. Is that what this is? Is this a dream? Why won’t I wake up? I know I’m not in heaven, I can still feel pain, and heaven is supposed to be bliss. Is this hell? Abraham, you get down here right now, you asshole!”

  He fades in from the darkness. My brows furrow and I take a step back when the familiar smell of cinnamon catches my nose. “Abraham?”

  “Can you see me now?” His voice echoes as if it is coming from every direction. He looks haunted.

  “I can.” I look at him warily. It’s like he is different somehow…like I could reach out and touch him. Abraham smiles.

  “Think, Reagan.” His voice sounds like it’s actually coming from him.

  The echo sounds like one of the parents from Charlie Brown and I can't make out what it is saying.

  “Only if she’s ready for it.” It comes from Abraham’s lips again and I grow more confused. It’s like he wasn’t talking to me, but rather the muffled and jumbled echo. “Do you remember the fries?” The question is aimed at me.

  “Yes.” I’m so going crazy. “Abraham, I don’t want to be here anymore. Please! Tell me. I can’t stand this. I hate feeling so alone, and I’m tired of crying without tears.” I'm about to crumble to my knees and have a nervous breakdown. Maybe I went insane. It would explain me seeing the man I love and then hearing his voice come from all around me.

  Abraham rushes to me and wraps me in his arms. I can feel it. I can feel his touch, his warmth. I can even smell him. My whole body comes alive with tingles. “Don’t be sad, sweet girl. Please. I’m here. I’m here.” His lips touch mine and I can taste it. Cinnamon and Dr. Pepper.

  “Mm.” My arms move up and grip onto him like he’s what is holding me to this earth.

  He pulls back and smiles at me. “I miss you so much, sweet girl. Come home to me.”

  “Oh my God! You’re the voice. You’re the sad voice that I hear asking me to come home and telling me that it's okay.”

  His smile grows so much that the corners of his eyes crinkle. I know that smile, and it warms me to my bones. “I really hope that this is real and not just my mind trying to make me feel better.”

  “Reagan, come home. Devon needs you, now more than ever.” Abraham tightens his hold on me once the words are out of his mouth.

  Devon? My brother? “Why? What’s wrong?” I lean back to try and gauge his face.

  He starts to fade away from me, yelling, “No. I’m not ready yet. Fuck!”

  “No! Don’t leave!” It feels like a piece of me is being ripped away from my soul as Abraham is being pulled from my body.

  “I’m sorry, sweet girl. I love you.” It’s the echo.

  “No! Please! God? Someone? Mom!” I fall to the ground and cry. “Someone, please. Please take me from this place. Abraham! Abraham, I want to remember! I want to know all of it. I don’t care if it hurts! Please just take me from this place.”

  My cheeks itch with tears. The more I try to wipe them away, the more frustrated I become. The streams won’t go away. They stay even when the tears stop.

  I feel warmth on my cheekbones. It moves in a windshield wiper-like motion.

  Please don’t cry. I’m here. I’ll always be here, angel. God. I promise you, sweet girl.

  Abraham reappears and smiles radiantly at me.

  I’m still here. It’s going to be okay, I promise. I love you so much.

  “You’re ready to remember now.” His thumbs brush the tears away from my face. His voice alternates, coming from his mouth and then echoing through everything around me. “Don’t be sad, I’m here baby, I promise. I’ll always be here for you, angel. Do you hear me?”

  “Abraham?” Blood starts to appear on his skin from nowhere. “Oh my God. Abraham. What’s happening to you?” His smile is still intact as he leads me through a mirror-like door.

  The scene before me is horrifying. There’s a Jeep that launches through the air. It's quiet. Glass, blood, fries. “Abraham? I don’t understand.”

  “Think. Remember, sweet girl. Go look inside.”

  I start to move toward the overturned Jeep. When I get close I can see…two hazy figures. I know they’re bleeding because there’s blood that continues to spill to the floor.

  “Oh God. No! Please!” She sounds like me. Is this my parents? No, they weren’t in a Jeep.

  One is pulled from the wreckage, and the other is screaming in pain as…Devon? Devon pulls her from the Jeep. She takes off after the other body. Devon grabs her by the waist to keep her from going any farther.

  “Devon, let her go! She has to get to him! Devon, she needs him! I need him! Oh God.” Devon’s arms grip tighter around me. Oh, it hurts so much. “Abraham! No! Don’t you dare leave me here alone! You promised! Abrah—” It was me. I turn to see Abraham’s body lying in the Jeep again, covered in blood and glass. “Abraham!” My voice cracks.

  Dropping to my knees I scream at the sky. “Mom! Don’t take him from me! Please!”

  I’m here, Reagan, I’m right here. Please, don’t cry. Wake up. Come home to me. It will be okay, I promise.

  A million memories shoot through my body and they actually cause me pain.

  Promises, promises. The phoenix. Motorcycles. Horses. I love you’s. I promise. I promise…

  Fading away from Abraham, I close my eyes as the pain and warmth overcome me. As my eyes close, they open. There he is. Abraham. “Abraham?”

  Chapter Five

  Abraham

  I’m pulled out of her arms when a noise wakes me. Sitting up, I see that it was just someone’s phone that fell on the floor. When I look back at Reagan, there are tears streaming down her cheeks.

  Confused, I wipe them away with my thumbs. Her mouth opens and she takes a deep inhale.

  “I’m here, Reagan I’m right here. Please, don’t cry. Wake up. Come home to me. It will be okay, I promise.”

  Her legs start to twitch next to mine. “Reagan?” Her fingers move. Her heart rate skyrockets. Just before I'm about to call the nurse because I think she might be having a seizure, her lips move.

  “Abraham?” Her eyes open and tears from mine fall to her cheeks. I start to laugh and wipe them away.

  “Reagan, oh thank God. I love you so much. Fuck. Reagan.” I mash my lips to hers.

  Her hands press to the sides of my face. I can’t believe I’m feeling this right now. I can’t believe she’s awake. I also can’t believe I’m having such a happy moment that I’m pitching a tent beneath our sheet into her hip.

  “Reagan. Sweet girl. My angel. Are you okay? Do you need pain meds?”

  She croaks out, “Water would be nice… and maybe a toothbrush.”

  “Devon! Devon, wake up!” He shoots up and rubs his eyes.

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  “Who’s being loud?” Kate sits up on Mickey’s chest and Damon uses his remote to turn the lights on and blind us all. I couldn’t give a fuck.

  I’m laughing, smiling, and kissing my sweet girl. The best part? She’s kissing me back. “Water.” I say in between locking my lips to hers. “She wants water. Reagan wants water.”

  Sara rushes out of the room.

  “Oh my God!” Devon pushes my shoulders so he can look at her. “You’re awake?” His chest starts heaving up and down and he puts a hand on either side of her face. “You’re awake.” He kisses her forehead.

  Nurse Maggie pushes her hip into him to get him to move. I lean back so I don’t end up on the end o
f her wrath. “Dear? Do you know what your name is?”

  “Sweet girl.” She’s grinning at me. Her eyes haven’t moved from mine since they opened.

  “Um?” Maggie looks at me in question.

  “It's okay Mags. She’s right. She’s ‘my sweet girl.’ ”

  “Okay, do you remember what happened? Why you’re here?”

  “Unfortunately, I do. S’pose, I’ll need a new vehicle now huh?”

  We all laugh and Damon yelps. “Fuck that hurts.”

  Reagan’s eyes leave mine to search him out. “Oh shit! Damon? What happened?”

  “It's no big deal. You should see the other guy.”

  She looks back to me for an explanation. “Later.” Sara hands me the cup of water and I look at Nurse Maggie for approval. She nods. “Drink this.”

  “Slowly,” Maggie adds.

  She hums her delight and the noise makes my suddenly-alive-again cock harder. Damn it. The second her lips leave the cup, I connect mine to them again. Nurse Maggie pops me on the arm that doesn’t have a cast on it.

  “Keep mauling her and I’ll make you get out of that bed.”

  “Ah lighten up, Mags. I haven’t seen this stud in a couple of days.” She looks at me in silent question.

  “Seven.”

  “It's been a week?” She looks down and shakes her head.

  “Just about. It's okay, sweet girl. You’re here now. That’s all I care about. I love you so much.”

  “I love you too, Abraham. Oh how I love you. I’ve missed you so much.”

  “Okay, um hello? How about some love for the rest of us over here?” Kate is on her feet and next to the bed with her hands on her hips.

  “Look, at you.” Reagan is smiling down at her belly. “You’ve got a little baby bump.”

  Kate sits on the edge of the bed and hugs her. She’s crying when she comes up. “Don’t you ever do that again. You can’t do that to a pregnant woman.”

  “I love you too, wife. Do we know yet?” Kate smiles. “You do, well?”

  “Kyle William has a little less than five months to go.”

  Everyone whoops and hollers. Reagan grabs her head and everyone shuts up. “Baby? Are you okay?”

  “I’ve got a headache. I didn’t notice it until now.” I look at Nurse Maggie, concerned, and she shakes her head, indicating it's nothing to worry about.

  “The doctor is driving in. He’d be here in a couple hours anyway.” When I look up at the clock, it reads five thirty.

  “Can we get her some pain meds now?”

  “And maybe some food? I’m really craving fried chicken.” We all crack up. “What?” We tell her all about what she’s missed over the past week while she brushes her teeth, using a little pink bowl of water as a sink, and wait for the doctor.

  »»•««

  Reagan

  Doctor Johnston gives me a clean bill of health and says that, when I start eating enough and get moving around, he’ll give me one last MRI and, if it's clear, he’ll let me go home. He set the stipulation that the panel Damon shot out gets fixed first.

  Abraham agreed all too quickly. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Peter came in about fifteen minutes ago. “So, when are you two planning on coming out of the closet?”

  Aunt Kathy growls at me. “Child, if you hadn’t just woken up, I would pop you like I did your boyfriend.”

  “Please, I’ve known you for twenty-seven years. None of us care. Out with it.”

  Uncle Peter looks at her and she smiles. He kisses her square on the mouth and we all ick and eww, then laugh. “I wish I’dda had the chance to meet her sooner. I think I’m gonna keep her around a while.”

  I take a look around the room at all of my family and friends. “Do you guys realize that we’re all related in some form or another, or I should say, if we marry whoever we’re with right now, we will be related in a big ass circle?” They all look around, just realizing what I’ve said.

  “Weird. Just weird.” Sara says it from in between Devon’s legs on the cot on the floor in the middle of Damon’s and my bed.

  Smiling at my family, my heart warms. My problems don’t seem so big with all of them here. Granted, Chris is still out there, and his aggression is getting worse. But right now, this very moment, I couldn’t be happier. Surrounded by my family and friends, this is one of the happiest moments in my entire life. I really am blessed. The morphine doesn’t hurt any either.

  »»•««

  It took a while to get everyone comfortable enough to leave. Devon was the hardest to convince that I wasn’t going anywhere, and that it would be good for him to go home and get some rest. He still feels like I’m going to disappear, like he was dreaming that I woke up. I don’t blame him. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared to go back to sleep.

  Damon is snoring in his bed across the room. Sam is hunkered down with him and silently playing on her phone with headphones in. And Abraham? Well, he hasn’t taken his eyes off of me since the moment I opened mine.

  “Afraid I’m gonna disappear, stud?” He gently places the hand that’s in a cast on the back of my head, and presses his lips to mine. It’s heart stopping. My hands cradle his face. We put a little more into it than we should.

  My heart monitor machine starts going crazy. Nurse Maggie comes flying through the door. “Seriously? You two are going to give me a heart attack. I’ll be ecstatic when Dr. Johnston gives you the green light to go home tomorrow morning. Devon is getting the panel fixed today, right?”

  Abraham laughs and nods. “Yes, as we speak actually. I called my guy at six and told him it was priority. We’ll be out of your hair in twenty-four hours, Mags.”

  “Good. Because you’re making me work too hard for my double shifts.”

  I smile. “You’ll miss us. I won’t be back to work for a while. You’ll have to come to me.”

  “Whatever, you kids just keep your wandering hands to yourselves until you get home. Actually, it might be longer than that. But Johnston hasn’t spoken to you about the safety precautions yet. Have fun with that.”

  When she leaves the room, Abraham turns huge eyes on me. “What is she talking about?”

  “As much as I hate it, we will be ‘advised’ to abstain from sex for a bit. He could say a week, he could say three. It all depends on what my MRI kicks back. Speaking of, how awful do I look right now? I can’t even remember the last time I saw a mirror.”

  “You look as beautiful as ever, sweet girl.” I squint at him and he leans back. “What?”

  “You sir, are a terrible liar. Help me up, I have to pee anyway. You’ve been shoving water down my throat all morning, and they removed my catheter hours ago.” It’s two in the afternoon now. Abraham has been forcing food and liquid down my throat whenever we’re awake.

  “Okay, hold on.” He scooches to the foot of the bed and then stands up. “Give me your hands.”

  “Okay, be gentle though. I still hurt.”

  “Trust me.” I put my hands in his and he slowly lifts me into a sitting position.

  After I’ve dangled my feet for a few seconds, per Maggie’s orders, he helps me stand and walk to the bathroom. Once my IV pole and I are in, I shut the door. “Let me know when you’re done.”

  Good lord. I really hope he doesn’t think this is going to be how it goes until I’m fully healed. If he thinks he’s going to help me with every little thing, I’ll explode.

  After flushing the toilet, I go to the sink to wash my hands. “Oh my God!”

  “Baby? What’s wrong?” He’s already through the door and has hold of my hips.

  “I look disgusting. I need to take a shower. Ask Nurse Maggie to come here please.”

  “What do you need? I can get it for you.” Abraham questions.

  Swatting his hands away from me I say, “No you can’t. I need her to go to my locker upstairs and get my toiletries.”

  “Oh. Okay. Well, let’s get you back to the bed or the chair first. Johnston said not to let you stand fo
r too long.”

  Grumbling, I go to the chair right outside of the bathroom. Yup, this is going to get old fast.

  After a few minutes, Maggie walks in with all of my shower supplies from my locker. “Thank you.”

  “You’re very welcome.” She holds it out. When I go to take it from her, she pulls it back. “I’ll give it to you on one condition.”

  “Okay, I’m listening.”

  “As much as it pains me to give you permission to do this, you’ll have to have someone in the bathroom with you. Just in case you get woozy. I don’t need you falling and breaking anything. I don’t need your lovey butts here any longer than is necessary.”

  “Mags—”

  She puts her hands up. “It’s the rules and you know it. If you want, I’ll be the one to come in there with you.”

  Abraham’s lip curls up a little. “Uh, I’m perfectly capable of helping my girlfriend wash. Thanks.”

  “Don’t you get snippy with me, youngin’. Besides, there will be no hanky panky going on in there if you are the one to help her. She’s not to be on her feet any longer than necessary. Understood?”

  He smiles at her. “Understood, Nurse Mags.”

  “Do I get a say in all this? Couldn’t I have a shower chair?”

  Mags looks at me like I’m stupid. “I wasn’t born yesterday, child. I’d bring it in, but you wouldn’t use it. As frustrating as it is for you, you will need help these next couple of weeks.

  “Reagan, you were in a major car accident. You had to have major surgery to fix your insides—and you were in a coma for the past week. There isn’t room for pride or ego here. And you know damned well what you should and shouldn’t do. You’re just going to have to deal with it. Do you want the shower or not?”

  Huffing dramatically, I grind out, “Yes, I want the damned shower. Can I have my phone please, Abraham?”

  “Yeah, hold on.” He goes to the windowsill. “Here ya go. Fully charged. I had to have Devon go to the police station to get all the crap that was in the Jeep.”

  A shiver runs through my body at the memory of my phone amongst the glass and blood-covered fries. I dial and wait for her to answer.

  “Hey, wife. The new panel is fixed and you can’t even tell that it was busted.”