“Over my dead body… and just before you went? Please, for the love of God, tell me you aren’t talking about the night of my birthday party because that would honestly be the worst betrayal of all time.”
Shit… I’m silenced because of course it was. Everything that I say in an attempt to make things better doesn’t work. Maybe I am a terrible person and the worst friend in the world. Perhaps this is all my fault.
“Argh!” Just as I’m about to really run this time, a loud scream rings out, shocking both me and Brandon. It’s Jenny, and as I glance over to her I can see that she’s gone ashen. She looks really freaked. “It’s Leah.”
Leah has fallen to a heap on the floor and she looks lifeless as she lies there. My emotions flood me, this is the woman that I love here, but a practical side to my brain kicks in as well. I remember some of the medical training that I got along the way. My brain spins through the rolodex of information in my mind, until I know.
“I think the stress must have gotten to her,” I gasp while racing to her side. Me and Brandon get there at exactly the same time. “I keep trying to make sure that she’s eating and drinking enough but it’s hard to watch her all the time. You know what she’s like. And with her studies and her job, it’s impossible.”
Brandon reaches out as if he’s going to pick his sister up, but then as if a miracle has occurred he pauses and looks to me for advice. “So, what should we do?” he asks me quietly. “What do you recommend?”
I look her up and down, searching for any signs that she needs an actual medical professional, one who works in the business every single day, but I really don’t think that she does. As far as I can tell, this is more emotional exhaustion than anything else. If I had one hint that it was anything else, I would call an ambulance immediately.
“We just need to get her off the ground and take her home. She needs to rest and liquids too.”
“Can we move her?” Brandon looks unsure. “Aren’t you supposed to leave people?”
I can’t resist smiling to myself. “No, that’s only with neck injuries, and there isn’t one here.”
“She didn’t fall funny,” Jenny jumps in. “She just sort of slumped. I saw it but I couldn’t get to her quick enough. I’m so sorry.” She shakes her head in dismay. “I could have stopped her from getting hurt.”
“She’s not hurt, don’t worry,” I reassure Jenny. “We just need to get her out of here.”
For the moment, me and Brandon are united in the girl on the ground, the one person that we both care about so much to fight because of her. We lift her up together, both being equally gentle, and unfortunately because I only have my bike with me, we have to load her into Brandon’s car. That makes me uneasy because it makes me lose control over what happens next to Leah, and I’m sure that when she wakes up she’ll want to be with me.
“Shall we, erm…” Brandon glances to Jenny who gives him a reassuring nod. “Shall we meet you at your place? I mean, that’s home for Leah now, isn’t it?”
Wow… that’s quite a big turn around considering what was happening only moments ago. I rest my hand on my chest, shocked that Brandon would suggest such a thing. “Of course, yes, that would be awesome.”
We share a bit of a look, one that communicates volumes because we’ve been friends for such a long time. We have a short hand that comes out for just a moment. I don’t think for one second that everything is going to be perfect from here on out, but maybe our communication will be a little bit calmer. Hopefully, anyway.
I hop onto my bike and whiz home quickly. Then while I’m waiting for Brandon and Jenny to turn up with Leah, I get her a little bed set up on the couch with plenty of water nearby. A little kit to keep her going once she comes around. As I do, I keep thinking about her face. Thank goodness I had the medical training to know that it isn’t something serious. That might not be much, but to me it makes me a little bit grateful to my father. Especially now that me and my dad are starting to get on better terms... it’ll take some time, but we’ll get there.
I still want to use what I learned in college anyway, in some way. I just don’t want it to be my career. I haven’t quite worked out what I intend to do, but that’s because I’ve been focusing on the bike shop and there here and no
w. With what just happened with Leah though, I feel more determined than ever. There has to be something useful to come from it. Once I get a chance, I’ll sit down and have a real think about it all…
I race to the window once I hear a car engine, and I take the stairs two at a time. Between us, we manage to successfully get Leah up into the bed that I’ve made for her, then Jenny sets about making coffee for us all while I check Leah over. Her pulse is fine, her breathing is okay, she seems very much just passed out.
“I’ll just keep an eye on her for a while,” I reassure Brandon. “Check to see if anything changes.”
“Do you think maybe I could stay with you?” he replies. “I just want to make sure that she’s okay and apologize when she wakes up. I guess I didn’t take the time to think how my behavior has been affecting her.”
I smile knowingly, having been there myself and experiencing that revelation recently. “Sure, you can.”
“Good, thank you.” Brandon nods. “And maybe it might be time for us to actually have a talk. I mean a calm one, not one where we fight and yell at one another.”
“Do you think we can do that?” I reply, relieved that we can tease one another again so quickly.
“I don’t know, but I’m willing to give it a go.”
“Yeah… me too.”
Chapter Thirty Three – Leah
“Huh? What?” I mutter as I feel a bright light trying to creep into my eyes. “Where am I?”
I rack my brains, trying to think of the last thing that I can remember, but it’s all very blurry. We were at the café… there was a lot of yelling… then we went outside and it’s pretty much blank. I don’t think I felt very good, but that’s about it. I certainly don’t know how I ended up in bed, or wherever I am.