Another Hospital Stay

Chapter 9

When we finally landed in Trenton, I handed Leena back her iPod and gather all of my stuff, heading towards the exit. As soon as I was inside the airport, I pull out my phone and search for my grandma's number, the one who is living in Trenton. I call her and she picks up on the second ring.

"I'm here," I announce, looking around. "And I sorta need a ride," I add, realizing that I had no idea on how to get home.

"Hi to you, too, dear," she says, laughing. "I completely forgot you were arriving today and your grandpa's at work. Can you find a cab," she asks, sounding completely serious.

"You're joking, right? I have no idea where to go around here," I say, mouth agape. "Lemme find a cab and I'll call you later," I add, looking around for Leena and finding her near the entrance.

"All right. Call me as soon as you find one, okay," she says before hanging up.

"LEENA! Leena! Wait up," I yell, walking as quickly as I could to catch up to her. When I finally did, I was completely out of breath.

"Hey, what's up," she says, turning to find me nearly doubled over trying to catch my breath. "You okay," she adds, placing her hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just wondering…how are you getting home," I ask, standing straight up.

"My brother's coming to pick me up. Why? You need a ride," she asks, cocking her head.

"Yeah. Do you mind," I ask, looking her in the eye.

"Depends on where you're going," she replies, heading towards the exit. "Oh, and if you're going outside, you might want to put on another sweater or something. It's cold," she warns, stopping near the doors. I dig through my messenger bag and pull out a white sweater, pulling it on over the one that I already had on.

"I'm heading over to my grandma's house. I think she said it was near Parkridge Mall (made up name). Just a few blocks away," I say, following her outside.

"Street name?"

"Uh…Kelly."

"Wow, that's just a couple streets away from my house," she says, turning to look at me. "Yeah, I can give you a ride. I'm sure my brother won't mind," she adds, looking around for her brother, I was guessing.

"Le-E-nA," I hear someone yell from nearby. I turn and see a guy who somewhat resembled Leena, waving his arms around frantically.

"That your brother," I ask, nodding in the direction of the guy. She turns to look at him and grins.

"Yeah, how'd you know," she asks, turning to look at me.

"Well, he was yelling your name out, waving his arms around like a windmill and he looks a bit like you. How much younger is he than you, anyway," I ask, looking over at him again. She starts walking in his direction and I follow behind her.

"He's a minute and a half-younger than I am," she says, glancing back at me and grinning.

"He's your twin brother? Whoa, I've never met twins before," I say, looking from one to another.

"Trust me, it's not great having someone who looks like you," she says, groaning and rolling her eyes. We finally reach her brother and she smiles. "Jason, you know I love you, right?"

"What do you want, Leena," he asks, sighing.

"Well, Jason, this is my friend Alexia. Alexia, this is my brother, Jason. Okay, introductions are out of the way," she says before pausing.

"And your point is…" her brother asks, moving his hand in a circle, motioning for her to continue.

"And she needs a lift to her grandma's house. Now, it's just a couple of blocks away from our house. Her grandma's place is on Kelly," she explains, opening the car door and throwing her stuff inside.

"Fine with me. Nice to meet you, by the way," he says, nodding in my direction.

"Ditto," I say, smiling.

"Umm…just get in the back and as soon as we get on the street, tell me what house it is, all right," he says, walking around the drivers' side, opening the door and sliding in. Leena doing the same but on the passengers' side. I put my things inside and get in, pulling out my phone and calling my grandma again. She answers and I tell her that I'm on my way and ask what house it was. She quickly tells me that it's the first house on the left side. The front yard had a few pine trees scattered throughout it. I finally hang up and tell Jason what house it was. I remain quiet for the most part, watching the streets and buildings flash by.

"So, you said you were going to visit your mom, right," Leena asks, turning in her seat to look at me.

"Yeah, I haven't seen her in awhile," I reply, taking my eyes away from the window and looking at her.

"How long?"

"Almost fifteen years," I say, looking back through the window.

"Fifteen years? Whoa, that's a long time to go without seeing your mom," she says, letting out a low whistle.

"Tell me about it. My grandparents, her parents, just barely told me where she went the other day," I explain.

"Did she leave you," she asks, turning back around.

"Yes and no. My grandmother told me that she's actually interned at a mental hospital in Belleville. After my father died, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and she decided that it would be best if she went to get help," I say, not taking my eyes from looking out the window.

"Whoa. That's…I'm sorry," she says turning to look at me again. I catch her gaze and her eyes were telling me that she was being sincere.

"Thanks. How long is it till we get there," I ask, wanting more than ever to see my grandma.

"About ten minutes. So, how long are you gonna be down here, anyway," she asks, putting on some music.

"I don't know. Few weeks or maybe a couple of months. I don't know. I guess I'm just tired of Philadelphia after spending like my whole life there," I reply, gazing out the window.

"Well, if you're gonna be here awhile, we should hang out. I could introduce you to a few of my friends," she says, looking back at me.

"That would be cool, thanks," I say, smiling. The rest of the ride was quiet and I literally jumped when I heard Jason announce.

"We're here! Whoa, that's a huge house. You must have a loaded grandma. You need any help getting your stuff out?"

"No thanks. So, I guess I'll be seeing you around? You're still going to that concert, right," I ask, looking over at Leena.

"Yeah. Umm…I'll come over beforehand and help you out," she replies, grinning.

"Help me out with what," I ask, confused.

"With what you're going to be wearing. You're not gonna wear that, are you," she asks, indicating to the pink skirt and white flowy top I had on.

"This isn't okay," I ask, cocking my head.

"No, honey. Of course not. Tell you what, I'll bring over some clothes of mine and we'll see what you like best, all right," she says, starting to pick at her chipping nail polish. "Wait, let me give you my number. Let me see your phone." I hand it to her and she quickly punches in her number before handing it back to me. I shove it into my pocket and just smile.

"Okay. We'll I'll see you tonight then," I say, grabbing my bag and suitcase. I open the door and get out, setting my bag on the ground and looking up at the house. I hear a car horn and turn, finding Leena waving out the window as the car turns the corner. I wave back and pick up my things, walking up the winding sidewalk that led to the house.