Fragments

There was sobbing at the end of the line when Courtney answered it. “Hello?” she asked quietly, wondering if it was Lee – who was at work – or Elena, her younger sister. She hoped it wasn’t Lee because her pain would be unbearable to deal with. She didn’t think she’d seen Lee sob since the first time they met.

The sobbing continued brokenly. “I don’t know where I am,” a girl whimpered, sounding young and distant.

That was when Courtney pulled the phone away from her ear and checked the caller ID – she didn’t usually bother to check who was calling because not many people did. The phone screen read Lee. Bringing it back to her ear, she said, “Lee?” The distressed voice didn’t sound like Lee but who else would have her phone?

“Oh god, no,” the person stuttered, her voice shuddering as if she were someplace really cold. Slight relief that it wasn’t Lee was ruined by the worry that someone – someone sobbing – was using her phone. Maybe Lee had lent her phone to someone at work who needed to call someone but that someone had ended up calling the wrong number.

“Look, I’m sorry, but I think you’ve got the wrong number,” Courtney said as a beep sounded in her ear to alert her that someone else was trying to call. Wow, she was popular for – she checked the clock – after midnight. “And I have someone else trying to call. Sorry.” She hung up, wondering if maybe she should’ve stayed on the line and checked if the person was okay and asked why she was using Lee’s phone.

Dismissing her thoughts, she answered the phone for the second time that night. “Hello?” Her tone was irritable now, annoyed that people were interrupting her from putting together something nice for when Lee came home from work. She wanted to decorate the room the way Lee liked it – full of scented candles, long curtains and deep colours of purple and red. She’d been halfway through changing the bed covers when the phone had rung.

“Courtney?” It was her mother, which was strange for a number of reasons. It was midnight and her mother always went to bed early – she could not stay up past midnight without falling asleep wherever she was. Another reason was that Courtney and her mother had grown distant over the past few months, ever since the confession Courtney had made to her family. It wasn’t that her mother was against what she’d told them – it was just that she didn’t understand.

“Mum? What’s wrong?” She caught the phone between her shoulder and her ear so her hands were free to keep working on the room. Lee usually came home from work between one and three o’clock, so she still had a couple of hours, if she was lucky. Lee had told her that she worked night shifts at a shopping centre that was open all hours of the day.

“Um, Courtney, are you able to pick up Dad and come to the hospital?” Her mother’s voice was twisted up with worry and other emotions that travelled through the phone line and entered into Courtney through her ear.

“Why?” She frowned as she picked up a dark purple candle from the cardboard box and looked around to find a place to put it. Wondering if maybe one of her mother’s friends were hurt, she spotted an empty spot on the window sill, behind one of the curtains. Slowly, she began to wind her way around the mess on the floor to the window to check if the sill was far enough away the curtain so it wouldn’t be dangerous.

“Because your sister was hurt...and you dad doesn’t have a car...” Her mother’s voice was faint but the emotions in it told Courtney that it wasn’t just something simple, something that could be fixed with a cast and a few weeks of patience. Shocked, she accidently dropped the candle and it landed on the floor with a thump, remaining unbroken.

“I’m coming,” Courtney assured her mother and hung up, already certain she must have meant Standpoint Hospital. There was no other hospital close enough. Casting a glance around the room, she decided she wasn’t going to be able to finish it before Lee came home and saw the incomplete mess. It didn’t even matter, really, not with Elena hurt and in hospital.

She found her car keys underneath a loose bed sheet and some spare paper and a pen in a mostly empty drawer. Scrawling a quick message to Lee, she stuck the paper slightly under yet another candle.

Lee, sorry about the mess. I’m going to the hospital – Elena’s hurt. Love you, Courtney.

And she left, stuck in a whirlwind of worry and more worry – although her mother would have to be in an even worse shape. She arrived at her parents’ house quicker than she thought and her father, Christopher, emerged from it as soon as her headlights made a way through the darkness. As soon as the passenger door opened, Courtney frowned and asked, “Where’s Toby?”

Her father’s expression was one caught between guilt and surprise. Clearly, he’d forgotten about his son. Biting his lip, Christopher shot a glance back at the dark house. “He’s still asleep. Should I go and get him?”

“Depends,” she answered. “Are you going to stay at the hospital all night and into the morning?” Not that there was much night left.

“Probably,” he muttered, reluctant to waste any more time. His wife needed him and he wanted to be there when they were allowed to see Elena. He sighed. “Okay, I’ll go get him.” Like a ghost, he slipped out of the car and disappeared away to the house. Courtney tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, impatient and slightly nervous in the darkness of the night.

After a few excruciatingly long minutes, her father had returned, white faced and distressed. “He’s not in the house. I checked every room, called his name...He’s not there.” Her own face paled too but she didn’t want to lose it then.

“Maybe Mum took him to the hospital with her,” Courtney suggested, searching for an explanation. “Or maybe he snuck out with his friends to go somewhere or something...” Her feeble attempts at explaining weren’t working too well. “Come on. If he’s not at the hospital with Mum, we’ll call the police.”

“Okay.” Courtney started the car as her father buckled his seat belt and they both raced to the place where a loved one needed them.