Through the Light of the Bottle

“Could you please cut this whole 'let’s see how many times I can collapse dramatically' thing you’ve got going on?” His voice cut the ringing silence of the room as I slowly blinked my eyes open to the white walls.

The faint beeping of the heart monitor alerted me to the fact that I was in the hospital. Again.

“I mean seriously, you have to fork over a liver to get a gallon of gas, and yet I’m driving your ass to every goddamn hospital, because can Holly drive you? No, cause she’s never witness-“

“Frank?” I moan, cutting him off.

“What?” he halts the frantic pacing, staring at me expectantly.

“Shut the fuck up and tell me why I’m here yet again,” I calmly reply, shutting my eyes as a throbbing pain sets into my head.

“Well, we were at the party and then you passed out. And since I was the only sober one of the bunch, I figured I’d probably be the best choice to haul your sick ass here.”

“Wait, why were you on the only sober one?” I quickly interject, sitting up in my bed, eyes wide in disbelief.

“What? Oh! Don’t be stupid, of course Gerard was sober,” I sink back down into my pillows as Frank continues, “he was just a little…preoccupied…if you catch my drift,” he finishes with a sly grin and a wiggle of eyebrows.

I roll my eyes and a tight feeling consumes my chest. “Well, what’s wrong with me,” I sigh, closing my eyes again.

“Well, see, I’m in fact, not your relative, and thank the Lord I’m not married to you,” I throw my middle finger up in his direction after his comment, to which he laughs softly as he continues, “so I would in fact have no idea whatsoever. I mean, I’m technically breaking the rules by being back here. Thank God I’m so goddamn handsome that I could flirt my way back here-“

I snort, throwing him a look.

“Fine, the nurse’s daughter is basically in love with me, so she let me pass if I would give her an autograph to give to her daughter.” He finishes on a duller note, flopping into the chair near the head of my bed.

“That’s classic,” I smile, staring up at the ceiling.

“Perks of being the objects of affection to millions of teenage girls across the world,” he sighs in mock content.

“So, how come you didn’t leave me to die on the pavement?” I break the silence that had settled over us, turning my head in his direction.

“Cause that is the last thing we need, the reputation that we not only promote suicide,” he gives a slight eye roll accompanied by a smile, but continues, “but murder while we’re at it,” he quickly drops the smile as he takes on a serious tone when he sees that I’m not kidding with my question.

“Because I’m the only one that knows this whole thing is just business. It’s the farthest thing from personal that I’ve ever seen. You’re only doing this shit because those corporate heads back in New York would have your ass otherwise. And last time I checked, we were throwing punches right back at you. You’re just doing your job and we’re just doing ours. However, our whole tour has taken on the mindset of prepubescent girls and decided that they’ll be offended.”

A small smile sets on my lips as he finishes.

“Plus, Toro was throwing a hissy-fit and I wanted to shut him up,” his voice is even but I see the small smile on his face out of the corner of my eye.

My laughter is quickly interrupted by the doctor swinging the door to my room open and addressing me in a deep, formal voice.

“Ms. Monahan, may I have a word. You’re fiancé is welcome to stay: it may be beneficiary to your wellbeing if he hears this piece on information also.

“Oh, he’s not my-“ I start to speak up before I’m quickly cut off.

“Sweetie, quiet,” Frank grabs my hand, squeezing it tightly as he addresses the doctor, “I think she’s sort of out of it,” he whispers loudly so I can hear, “Can’t seem to remember me, the love of her life.”

I snort loudly and Frank’s grip gets tighter. I quickly cover it up as a coughing fit as the Doctor replies.

“Hmm, I’d say it’s a normal side effect of the pain killers mixed with the antibiotics she’s under. She’ll come out of it in no time,” he smiles reassuringly at Frank before turning to me.

“Now, Ms. Monahan, this is a very serious matter,” he begins, glancing over his clipboard before meeting my eyes with a somber stare. “There’s been a complication.”

Now, that’s never a good thing to hear.

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The party was too loud for her; I should have known it, recognized the fact that she wasn’t supposed to be there. Not just by mom and dad’s standards, but by society’s standards, fate’s standards.

She was the sweet little Bronx girl; her hair hung in brown curls down her head, framing her pale face, which was dotted with freckles. My old hand-me-down jeans were much to big for her slim waist as she stood awkwardly near the couch I was [color=bluelying across; every minute or so she’d nervously pull the jeans that were sliding down back down her waist.

“Lile, lighten up,” I tease, shoving a large red plastic cup in her hands. She throws me a timid look before taking a hesitant sip, trying to act nonchalant, yet failing miserably. I shake my head, my bangs falling gracelessly into my sight as I survey the rest of the party.

It was my entire junior class shoved into a small tenement in Woodlawn. A few sophomores and seniors could be seen throughout the crowd; even few freshmen, like my sister, were present. I had only dragged my sister along so my parents I could give mom and dad a reasonable excuse for me wanting to go out. Currently, in the minds of our parents, Lile and I were comfortably seated in the local movie theater seats splitting a large popcorn.

Only, the money they provided for popcorn was quickly handed over to Jeff, the sucker who got talked into making a beer run every hour or so. And instead of those comfy movie theater seats, Lile was currently sinking lower and lower into the couch in the corner as a kid from my class tried to put his arm around her bony shoulders.

I rolled my eyes as she shot him an icy stare. He let out a sigh and stood up slowly, stumbling his way over to the cooler on the other side of the room.

“Kate,” she let out a small cry as I walked towards her, “can we please-“

“Come on Lile, grow up,” I laugh, flopping down next to her, letting out a small giggle.

She rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath before taking a large gulp from the red cup. She shuddered slightly and opened her mouth in disgust.

“Kate, it fucking burns,” she cried and I promptly place another cup in her other hand.

“Her, drink this,” she eyed me suspiciously, but I continued, “no, you prat, it’s not more vodka, it’s a chaser. Just drink it, it’s ice tea for god’s sakes.”

She took a hesitant sip, before downing half the glass. She looked at me for a moment, before repeating the process over again; a quick sip of the vodka followed quickly by a drink from my iced tea.

She struggled a smile as she looked at me again. I laughed and threw my hand over her shoulder, motioning for her to stand up.

“Finally, my baby sister lets loose,” I joke, leading her through the house. She elbows me slightly as I lead her down to the basement, where we’re met with the sight of a group of kids from a mix of grades.

“Everyone, this is my sister Lile, Lile, this is…fuck if I know,” I laugh slightly, aware of the fact my words are slurred. I spot an old friend in the corner and push Lile towards him.

“Sam, watch her, will ya?” he nods, pulling her down next to him and hands her another red cup almost immediately.

I linger only for a moment before stumbling back upstairs, shutting the door loudly behind me.

Eleven hours later, as I’m clutching my head in the waiting room with an officer watching my form, the doctor steps carefully into my view.

“Ms. Monahan, there’s been a complication.”

My heart skipped a beat.