Clash Of The Rockbands
Survival Isn't Guaranteed
James’s POV
By the time we reached the hospital, Melrose’s tears had dried up, but she looked more miserable than ever. She led the way through the double doors, past all the people in the waiting room, and up to the front desk.
“Can you tell me which room Earl and Patricia Carlyle are in?” she asked. She sounded calm, collected, and polite, but I knew her insides were frantic and scatterbrained. The nurse looked at a few papers before answering Melrose.
“They’re in ICU.” the nurse answered kindly. “Go straight down that hallway until you meet a sign. It’ll tell you which way to go.”
“Thank you,” Melrose replied with a forced smile. She turned, seized my hand, and continued to lead the way through the hospital.
The instant we turned into the ICU section of the hospital, a shriek echoed down the hall. Melrose released my hand and flung her arms open just in time for a blur to slam into her. Melrose staggered back a couple of steps, but somehow stayed standing as she wrapped her arms tightly around the mystery person. Melrose dropped a kiss on the top of the brunette’s head before they peeled away from each other.
The brunette looked remarkably like Melrose. She looked younger, and not as matured as Melrose, but they both had the same facial structure and eye color, except the smaller brunette didn’t have the rim of black that Melrose’s had.
“Oh my gosh, Daphne!” Rayne exclaimed. “You’ve grown up!” Daphne laughed weakly and nodded.
“It’s been a bit since you’ve seen me.” Daphne explained. I could even detect a trace of Melrose’s voice behind hers. “Kim!” Her emerald eyes switched to Kim. They hugged each other, being about the same height. Pretty soon, everyone hugged Daphne.
“Oh, you look so lost.” Melrose told me. I felt lost. “James, this is my little sister, Daphne. Daphne, this is my boyfriend, James.” Daphne looked at me for a few seconds before leaning over and whispering something in Melrose’s ear.
Melrose laughed.
“He is, a little bit, but he’s a nice guy.” she told her.
“If you say so,” Daphne replied disbelievingly. “But come on.” She grabbed a hold of Melrose’s wrist and dragged her down the hallway. “Mom and Dad are still in comas. The doctors say that they both of swelling of the brain, and possibly even a bit of internal bleeding.” Daphne pulled Melrose into a room.
Everything was white and sparkling clean. It smelled like cleaning chemicals and rubber gloves. Two people, a man and a woman, lay in beds a foot or so apart. Machines were hooked up to both of them, and the beeping of said machines filled the tensely silent room. The woman looked a lot like Melrose and Daphne, but the man also had similarities with them. Each of them had bruises on their faces, and cuts and scrapes on their arms that lay on the pristine white sheets.
Melrose stepped between the two beds, her gaze flitting between the two people. She slowly reached out and gently touched the woman’s cheek. She withdrew her hand quickly as if burned. Then, she turned and scraped the man’s dark brown hair away from his eyes. She took a slow step back from both of them.
“They’re both ice cold.” she murmured. “Like death has already started creeping up on them.”
Behind us, a doctor in a white knee-length lab coat walked in. We all turned to look at him.
“Ah, you must be Melrose.” he said, stepping forward towards Melrose. “I’m Dr. Lynder.”
“Hello,” Melrose said, shaking his hand.
“Your parents are both in comas at the moment.” Dr. Lynder began, looking down at his clipboard. “There is slight swelling in the brain for both of them, and we have detected internal bleeding in both as well. There is a slight chance that they may survive, but with their age and injuries, I would be rather surprised if they did. I am not guaranteeing that your parents will survive, but we’ll just keep monitoring them and hopefully they’ll pull out of it.” Melrose nodded, her lips pressed hard together. Dr. Lynder shook her hand once more before leaving the room.
Once he had left, Melrose just stood in between the two beds, staring at first her mother’s face, then her father’s. I think she thought if she stared hard enough, they would wake up and be healthy and fine and live. I knew she just wanted to speak to them one last time, even if they died afterward.
I stepped forward and gripped her shoulders reassuringly. She laid her hands gently on mine, leaning back into my chest.
“Melrose?” Rayne asked tentatively. Melrose turned to look at her. “We’re going to go drop our stuff off, okay?” Melrose nodded silently before looking back at her parents. “C’mon, James.” Rayne pulled on my sleeve. I figured Melrose would tell me to stay, but she didn’t say anything as I released her shoulders. I decided she just wanted to be alone with family for the moment.
I dropped a kiss on the top of her head. She turned her head and planted a kiss on my cheek. I gave her a quick, squeezing hug before following Rayne, Kim, Jen, and AM out of the room.
**********
“She needs time alone with just family.” Rayne explained calmly as the five of us climbed into the rented SUV. “She knew it, too. We’ll go back, don’t worry. She just needs time alone with her parents and her sister.”
“I wonder what Daphne whispered to her.” I thought out loud.
“She told Mel that you look creepy.” Kim said instantly.
“You could hear?” I asked incredulously.
“She has great hearing,” Jen said.
“I’m not—” I began, but stopped. Okay, I might look a tad bit creepy to someone who’d never seen me before and didn’t know me. Especially if that someone was a grief-stricken teenage girl. I mean, my tattoos and extreme height doesn’t exactly come off as ‘warm and friendly’.
“Think they’ll be alright?” AM asked the silent SUV.
“I don’t know,” Rayne answered as she stopped at a red light. She reached over and turned the radio up to drown out the tense silence.
After about a twenty minute drive, most of which had been taken up by just getting out of Indianapolis, Rayne turned into a gravel driveway made up of white rocks that nearly glowed in the dark. Loud crunching noises sounded beneath the SUV as the rocks shifted beneath the spinning tires. Rayne pulled right up to the metallic garage door before turning the vehicle off. We all piled out and went to the trunk of the SUV to grab our respective suitcase or duffel bag.
I dragged the strap of my duffel bag onto my shoulder and pulled it out of the trunk, also grabbing Melrose’s suitcase. Once the girls had all grabbed their stuff as well, I closed the door of the trunk and Rayne locked up the car. Then, she led the way up to the front door. She slid the key into the doorknob and turned it. When she tried the doorknob, it turned easily and she pushed the front door open, stepping into a small living room.
We all followed after her, and I closed the door behind me. Rayne walked over and flicked the light on, illuminating beige-colored walls and scarlet red furniture. The contrast of the bland and the startling worked quite nice.
“Someone can crash on the couch.” Rayne said, pointing towards the couch. “Jimmy, you’ll sleep with Melrose in her bed.”
“Don’t get excited.” Kim warned. “Under these circumstances, it’s very unlikely that you’ll get lucky.”
“Thanks for the warning,” I replied.
“Kim, shush,” Rayne scolded. “Two of us can sleep in the guest bed, which means one of us will have to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag.”
“I will.” Kim piped up. “I can sleep practically anywhere. I could sleep on the dining room table if I had to.”
“Okay,” Rayne answered. “Who’s sleeping on the couch?”
“I will.” Jen said.
“Which leaves you and me to sleep in the guest bed,” Rayne told AM.
“Zacky and Syn shall be jealous.” Kim announced.
“I’ll show you where Melrose’s bedroom is.” Rayne told me, ignoring Kim’s comment. “C’mon, AM. You two,” She pointed towards Jen and Kim, “I’ll get a sleeping bag and some blankets for you.” She led the way out of the room and down a short hallway that turned at the end and transformed into a narrow staircase.
We met a small landing at the top of the staircase. Rayne crossed to the door exactly opposite the staircase and pushed it open.
“There’s Mel’s room.” she informed me. AM had already stepped into the guest bedroom. Rayne followed her and I walked into Melrose’s bedroom.
Everything but a queen-sized bed was gone out of it. I put my duffel bag and Melrose’s suitcase on the floor and walked over to the bed. I sank down onto it, looking around the room. I could clearly see a bit of Melrose’s personality in it. The walls were painted a bright, almost eye-hurting green, and the ceiling was painted pretty much neon yellow. The shag carpet stretched out across the floor was hot pink and slightly flattened from years of being trodden on.
“You ready?” Rayne asked, poking her head into the room. I nodded and rose up off of the bed before flicking the light off and following Rayne back down the stairs.
By the time we reached the hospital, Melrose’s tears had dried up, but she looked more miserable than ever. She led the way through the double doors, past all the people in the waiting room, and up to the front desk.
“Can you tell me which room Earl and Patricia Carlyle are in?” she asked. She sounded calm, collected, and polite, but I knew her insides were frantic and scatterbrained. The nurse looked at a few papers before answering Melrose.
“They’re in ICU.” the nurse answered kindly. “Go straight down that hallway until you meet a sign. It’ll tell you which way to go.”
“Thank you,” Melrose replied with a forced smile. She turned, seized my hand, and continued to lead the way through the hospital.
The instant we turned into the ICU section of the hospital, a shriek echoed down the hall. Melrose released my hand and flung her arms open just in time for a blur to slam into her. Melrose staggered back a couple of steps, but somehow stayed standing as she wrapped her arms tightly around the mystery person. Melrose dropped a kiss on the top of the brunette’s head before they peeled away from each other.
The brunette looked remarkably like Melrose. She looked younger, and not as matured as Melrose, but they both had the same facial structure and eye color, except the smaller brunette didn’t have the rim of black that Melrose’s had.
“Oh my gosh, Daphne!” Rayne exclaimed. “You’ve grown up!” Daphne laughed weakly and nodded.
“It’s been a bit since you’ve seen me.” Daphne explained. I could even detect a trace of Melrose’s voice behind hers. “Kim!” Her emerald eyes switched to Kim. They hugged each other, being about the same height. Pretty soon, everyone hugged Daphne.
“Oh, you look so lost.” Melrose told me. I felt lost. “James, this is my little sister, Daphne. Daphne, this is my boyfriend, James.” Daphne looked at me for a few seconds before leaning over and whispering something in Melrose’s ear.
Melrose laughed.
“He is, a little bit, but he’s a nice guy.” she told her.
“If you say so,” Daphne replied disbelievingly. “But come on.” She grabbed a hold of Melrose’s wrist and dragged her down the hallway. “Mom and Dad are still in comas. The doctors say that they both of swelling of the brain, and possibly even a bit of internal bleeding.” Daphne pulled Melrose into a room.
Everything was white and sparkling clean. It smelled like cleaning chemicals and rubber gloves. Two people, a man and a woman, lay in beds a foot or so apart. Machines were hooked up to both of them, and the beeping of said machines filled the tensely silent room. The woman looked a lot like Melrose and Daphne, but the man also had similarities with them. Each of them had bruises on their faces, and cuts and scrapes on their arms that lay on the pristine white sheets.
Melrose stepped between the two beds, her gaze flitting between the two people. She slowly reached out and gently touched the woman’s cheek. She withdrew her hand quickly as if burned. Then, she turned and scraped the man’s dark brown hair away from his eyes. She took a slow step back from both of them.
“They’re both ice cold.” she murmured. “Like death has already started creeping up on them.”
Behind us, a doctor in a white knee-length lab coat walked in. We all turned to look at him.
“Ah, you must be Melrose.” he said, stepping forward towards Melrose. “I’m Dr. Lynder.”
“Hello,” Melrose said, shaking his hand.
“Your parents are both in comas at the moment.” Dr. Lynder began, looking down at his clipboard. “There is slight swelling in the brain for both of them, and we have detected internal bleeding in both as well. There is a slight chance that they may survive, but with their age and injuries, I would be rather surprised if they did. I am not guaranteeing that your parents will survive, but we’ll just keep monitoring them and hopefully they’ll pull out of it.” Melrose nodded, her lips pressed hard together. Dr. Lynder shook her hand once more before leaving the room.
Once he had left, Melrose just stood in between the two beds, staring at first her mother’s face, then her father’s. I think she thought if she stared hard enough, they would wake up and be healthy and fine and live. I knew she just wanted to speak to them one last time, even if they died afterward.
I stepped forward and gripped her shoulders reassuringly. She laid her hands gently on mine, leaning back into my chest.
“Melrose?” Rayne asked tentatively. Melrose turned to look at her. “We’re going to go drop our stuff off, okay?” Melrose nodded silently before looking back at her parents. “C’mon, James.” Rayne pulled on my sleeve. I figured Melrose would tell me to stay, but she didn’t say anything as I released her shoulders. I decided she just wanted to be alone with family for the moment.
I dropped a kiss on the top of her head. She turned her head and planted a kiss on my cheek. I gave her a quick, squeezing hug before following Rayne, Kim, Jen, and AM out of the room.
**********
“She needs time alone with just family.” Rayne explained calmly as the five of us climbed into the rented SUV. “She knew it, too. We’ll go back, don’t worry. She just needs time alone with her parents and her sister.”
“I wonder what Daphne whispered to her.” I thought out loud.
“She told Mel that you look creepy.” Kim said instantly.
“You could hear?” I asked incredulously.
“She has great hearing,” Jen said.
“I’m not—” I began, but stopped. Okay, I might look a tad bit creepy to someone who’d never seen me before and didn’t know me. Especially if that someone was a grief-stricken teenage girl. I mean, my tattoos and extreme height doesn’t exactly come off as ‘warm and friendly’.
“Think they’ll be alright?” AM asked the silent SUV.
“I don’t know,” Rayne answered as she stopped at a red light. She reached over and turned the radio up to drown out the tense silence.
After about a twenty minute drive, most of which had been taken up by just getting out of Indianapolis, Rayne turned into a gravel driveway made up of white rocks that nearly glowed in the dark. Loud crunching noises sounded beneath the SUV as the rocks shifted beneath the spinning tires. Rayne pulled right up to the metallic garage door before turning the vehicle off. We all piled out and went to the trunk of the SUV to grab our respective suitcase or duffel bag.
I dragged the strap of my duffel bag onto my shoulder and pulled it out of the trunk, also grabbing Melrose’s suitcase. Once the girls had all grabbed their stuff as well, I closed the door of the trunk and Rayne locked up the car. Then, she led the way up to the front door. She slid the key into the doorknob and turned it. When she tried the doorknob, it turned easily and she pushed the front door open, stepping into a small living room.
We all followed after her, and I closed the door behind me. Rayne walked over and flicked the light on, illuminating beige-colored walls and scarlet red furniture. The contrast of the bland and the startling worked quite nice.
“Someone can crash on the couch.” Rayne said, pointing towards the couch. “Jimmy, you’ll sleep with Melrose in her bed.”
“Don’t get excited.” Kim warned. “Under these circumstances, it’s very unlikely that you’ll get lucky.”
“Thanks for the warning,” I replied.
“Kim, shush,” Rayne scolded. “Two of us can sleep in the guest bed, which means one of us will have to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag.”
“I will.” Kim piped up. “I can sleep practically anywhere. I could sleep on the dining room table if I had to.”
“Okay,” Rayne answered. “Who’s sleeping on the couch?”
“I will.” Jen said.
“Which leaves you and me to sleep in the guest bed,” Rayne told AM.
“Zacky and Syn shall be jealous.” Kim announced.
“I’ll show you where Melrose’s bedroom is.” Rayne told me, ignoring Kim’s comment. “C’mon, AM. You two,” She pointed towards Jen and Kim, “I’ll get a sleeping bag and some blankets for you.” She led the way out of the room and down a short hallway that turned at the end and transformed into a narrow staircase.
We met a small landing at the top of the staircase. Rayne crossed to the door exactly opposite the staircase and pushed it open.
“There’s Mel’s room.” she informed me. AM had already stepped into the guest bedroom. Rayne followed her and I walked into Melrose’s bedroom.
Everything but a queen-sized bed was gone out of it. I put my duffel bag and Melrose’s suitcase on the floor and walked over to the bed. I sank down onto it, looking around the room. I could clearly see a bit of Melrose’s personality in it. The walls were painted a bright, almost eye-hurting green, and the ceiling was painted pretty much neon yellow. The shag carpet stretched out across the floor was hot pink and slightly flattened from years of being trodden on.
“You ready?” Rayne asked, poking her head into the room. I nodded and rose up off of the bed before flicking the light off and following Rayne back down the stairs.
♠ ♠ ♠
Heyloo.Just think about it. James WOULD look creepy if you hadn't been expecting him.
He's creepy anyway, really. But so totally adorkable!
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