chapter 36

chapter 35
The darkness wasn’t letting up. Bree desperately wanted to open her eyes, nothing could make them open. Gray fluffy clouds began to swarm her mind. She was whisked to a scene of a man and a little girl.

“Daddy, why did Mommy have to go?”

“I don’t really know, Embrey, I guess it was just her time.” The man whispered as he kneeled before the little girl.

“Are you going to go too?” tears began to fill the little girl’s violet eyes.

“I’m not going anywhere as long as I can help it, I wish I could have helped her, Bree, I really do.” He pulled the little girl into his embrace.

She felt tears prick at her own eyes as she looked on the scene. She remembered the feel of those arms, they were strong, comforting, and safe. She hadn’t felt those arms in five years. Five very long years.

Another scene began to flow in front of her as the father and little girl began to disappear. There was no denying the older girl was her.

“Dad, please, I’ll be home on time, I won’t drink, I just want to hang out with my friends.”

“Oh, Bree,” her father began, it almost sounded like it was going to be a no. “I will drop you off and I will pick you up, go get ready.”

She threw her arms around him quickly then rushed out of the kitchen. She remembered the smell of the BBQ chicken her father had cooking at the time.

She searched through her clothes quickly and picked out the perfect ones to wear to the party. She changed then rushed back to the kitchen, an explosive grin plastered to her face.

The scene began to melt away quickly, and she was pulled through another memory. 

“Ali, please, I have to go, I have to meet my dad, he’s already on his way here, I can’t do this,” Bree begged the girl that was leaning over the toilet hurling. She was holding back the girl’s long blonde hair. Her father was going to kill her if she was late. He gave her strict instructions to meet him outside the house he had dropped her off at by 10 p.m., and it was 9:55, she had to get Ali squared away.

"Just go, Em, I’m fine, I promise.” Ali mumbled into the toilet. Bree rubbed her back gently. This was wrong, she couldn’t leave Ali there by herself, the others had already taken off about an hour after being at the party. It really wasn’t that great, and Ali’s drink was spiked. It had to be because Bree didn’t see her pick up a beer, just sodas. Maybe she needed to just go get her dad, she needed help.

Bree made the decision and headed down the stairs fast, before she knew it something thick thudded against the back of her head. A scream left her lips and to the ground she fell. What was going on? She felt the pain now as the memory continued, she hadn’t lost consciousness yet. She got back up off the floor and ran towards the front door.

She glanced at her watch, 10 p.m., she threw the door open of the deserted house, “Daddy!” she yelled as she tried to stumble down the steps. Her eyes landed on the dark green pick-up truck. “Dad!” she screamed again just as he looked towards the house. He threw open his door and started to run around the truck.

“Bree?” he questioned just as she felt another thud against the back of her head. That time darkness rolled over her. She heard the gun shot but couldn’t get her eyes to open just like now.

Justin heard the alarms ringing like crazy from Bree’s room. He rushed in right before the nurses and a doctor. “Bree, honey.” He called gently as he moved towards the bed and laid his hand against her arm. Why were so many sounds going off? He tried to understand the screen that Bree seemed to be hooked up to, but he couldn’t. He rubbed her arm in tiny circles with his thumb, but it didn’t seem to be helping.

A nurse rushed in and pushed him aside. “I’m sorry, sir, you’re going to have to leave.” She informed him and began to grab things from the cart that was in the room. He watched her grab a syringe and start to open it just as a doctor came in.

“What happened?” the man demanded as he read the screen Bree was being monitored by.

“I was outside her room when the alarms just started going off.” Justin explained.

“And you are?” the doctor demanded but didn’t turn towards Justin.

“Justin Mathers, her fiancé, is she okay?” Justin made a move to touch Bree again, but the doctor blocked him, which sent anger straight through him.

“The nurse just gave her a sedative, we must keep her as calm as possible right now, she’s been through a lot and from the looks of it I don’t know if she is going to pull through, we’re in the wait and see stage and try to keep her relaxed, you have to leave now.”

Justin glared at the doctor. “You can’t tell me to leave my fiancé, if she needs me I am going to be right here in this room.” He dared mister want to be hot shot doctor to tell him something else.

“Justin, he’s right,” the soft voice came from the doorway. “She needs to stay calm right now.”

Justin glanced over his shoulder to see Cierra standing in the doorway. “What are you saying?”

“Justin, she’s remembering what happened to her, I can feel it, all the memories she’s buried the last five years are coming back to her and it’s not a pretty experience, let’s let them work on her, when she’s ready to wake up she’ll wake up.” Cierra explained as she walked further into the room and began to pull Justin towards the door by his arm.

“Cierra-”

“Justin, do as I say.” She cut him off, and she hardly ever did that.

He let out a sigh and let her lead him out of the room back to the chair across from his darlin’s room. “What are you doing here, Cierra? I told Ben to take you to the station with him.”

“I told him he could handle everything at the station, I’m needed here.”

“Do you really think she’s starting to remember some things?” Justin ran his hand across his burning eyes.

“Yes, I do, Justin, that poor girl had a long, winding road ahead of her, and now you’re calling her your fiancé?” Cierra locked eyes with him.

“It was the only way they were going to let me know how she was or what was going on with her, I didn’t know what else to do, I’m going to make you, Ben, and everyone else see that these feelings I have for that woman are real, what’s going on at the station?”

“Ben shut down the investigation, he called his buddy on the way over to the station once he picked me up, they will be here within the hour.”

“Damn, I’m going to end up having to leave Bree again, aren’t I?” this was a great way to start showing people his feelings were real.