Eyes Behold

21. Little brother

This was a big blow . Both the girls sat there motionless staring at Rose with wide eyes and open mouths. Tyler was holding Rose's hand in a firm hold . It was more of him trying to reassure himself that Rose was still sitting right next to him than to bring reassurance to Rose that he was with her . Rose was still in the same position crouched on the couch. Slowly Claire snapped out of it followed by Amelia who now really looked at Rose . All this while they were in their daze . But before they could make a move to hold her , she motioned them to sit down. There was more , a lot more to it.

" I woke up in a hospital bed all dazed up. My uncle Kayden was sitting next to me holding my hand tight with red puffy eyes and slouched down figure . He was shaking . It took him some time to realise I was up. Slowly the events hit me like a train . "

Rose had started shaking by the time she had recollected everything. Kayden looked at her holding her tight telling her to calm down as he called for the doctor . She was shaking , really bad . Doctors came running in but she held her hand up telling them to stop in their tracks . Tears were rolling down her eyes as she looked at Kayden and asked him where was her family ? Her father ? Her mother ? And her dear little brother? Where were they ? She refused to be checked until she was told everything.

Kayden himself was shaken up when he heard about the accident . He had gotten a call from the hospital saying that his brother and his family were here in the emergency ward . They had been contributing money and medicine supplies for all the poor patients of the hospital and were well known there . He had rushed to the hospital immediately.

Kayden tried to reason with her that the tests were important. But she wasn't having anything. She just needed answers . She was pleading , thrashing , yelling , doing everything in her power to just make them oblige.

" It has been roughly 40 minutes. Chris is in the ICU being treated for heavy damage to the brain and his legs. " Kayden breathed out finally seeing that not telling her was causing more damage.

Rose stilled , her heart breaking for her little brother.

" And mom and dad ?" she asked barely above a whisper . It would have gone unheard if it wasn't for the complete utter silence in the room .

Kayden's breath hitched "Rose it's important. Get your tests don..."

" I said what about mom and dad uncle?" She questioned again cutting him off.

Kayden looked away from the eyes that reminded him of his dead mother and now his dead brother .

" They're no more." He resigned in a silent whisper .

Rose's breath hitched . But no tears came out of her eyes . Kayden looked up when he didn't get anything in return . He saw Rose looking at the wall in front with a steady gaze , no glare, no tears, just emptiness in her eyes . But there was a small twinkle of hope , of life , now for her brother.

This wasn't good . She had to react , not go numb . The doctors and the nurses looked at her with confused yet scared looks . It was never good when the patient just went silent . They saw as Kayden got up calling her name , shaking her. They saw her slowly turning her face towards him with the same expression. They saw her nod in recognition and then go back staring at the wall. Her mind had gone numb after hearing the news .

This was all too scary . The day had been a dreadful one for the happy family of four. It was rare to see such cases even for the doctors. They pried off a distraught Kayden from his niece and told him that there were times when the patient opens up after some time. It takes time for the brain to process such a heavy amount of information and even more to let it settle down to the current situation. Kayden reluctantly agreed .

The doctors prodded her to ask her permission to let them check her up . She slowly nodded and let her tense muscles relax a bit . All this while Christof clouded her thoughts . She till date couldn't comprehend that why didn't she let it out ? Why didn't she think about her parents ? Why only Christof reigned her thoughts ?

Maybe it was because she had to be strong for him ? Maybe because now , only he was left and in this moment of distraught he was still struggling for his life ? Yes. She was worried about her only family left , she wanted to be strong for him . Only him . Her little brother.

The operation went on for long . Except for a deep cut on her right upper arm , a broken rib and a twisted left foot , she just had small cuts on her body from the glass. These injuries were nothing in compared to what Christof suffered and absolutely tiny in front of her parents severely bruised body . They were declared brought dead due to excessive blood loss.

After the tests she was transferred back to the room where she had woken up to hear the worst news of her life. She waited patiently with her legs spread and her head resting on the pillow which had been raised enough for her to be somewhere between laying down and sitting straight . Her hands folded on her stomach and her gaze fixed on the ceiling . The only sign of her living was her blinking of eyes occasionally and the steady state of her heart beat from the machine .

The door opened slightly as a few figures slipped in but she was far gone. It wasn't until she heard a slight clearing of throat that she acknowledged the company , a few doctors in the typical green surgery outfit . She immediately sat up straight with a flicker of hope in her eyes. The eldest stepped forward , Dr. Ron whom she knew through her father . His eyes glistening as he spoke the next words she wished she never lived to hear .

" I'm so sorry Rose . Due to excessive internal bleeding and major brain damage , we couldn't save Christof. " His heart ached for the friend he had lost , for the son he had lost , for the lady who loved everyone and most for the girl whom he had seen growing up . He cried for his loss that day . Kayden cried for his loss . A bewildered Avi who had just entered to hear the last line burst out into tears . Even the nurses who didn't know them cried for the girl's loss.

But the girl didn't shed a tear as she still looked at Ron . She had gone all steady and numb . She had lost everything that mattered to her the most that day . Even when she felt the familiar hands of her Aunt wrapping around her , she just felt blank , completely. Everything had vanished . The small flicker of hope and life in her eyes flickered off just like that. Her eyes felt empty , she felt empty . So she just laid down on the bed and closed her eyes.

Avi and Kayden were shocked . She had just lost her world and didn't drop a tear, didn't shout, didn't scream but just like that laid down motionless. If it hadn't been for the heart monitor , it would have been difficult to comprehend whether she was alive or not . She was this calm.

As she finished off , Rose after all those years was calm again . Again her eyes held no tears. But today they weren't empty . They had life , they had hope , they had happiness,they had love care affection . They held a beautiful Rose inside them blooming all together.

Amelia and Claire still were in a shock . Their parents figures had died , their little brother had died and they never knew about it . They were in pure shock . Tyler glanced at Rose who had broken out of her trance and was staring at them worriedly. She and Tyler swiftly moved towards them .

Surprising everyone yet again , Rose hugged them tight to herself and rubbed caring comforting circles on their backs. That's when they broke down and held her tight . Gaining strength from her , giving her strength. That's when she broke down too and the three held to each other for dear life . They stayed like this for a while until Rose fell asleep to Amelia racking her fingers through her hair and Claire rubbing her arm ever so gently . That's when they glanced at Tyler.

" Why didn't she tell us then ? Why did she just run away ?" Amelia asked. She felt Rose didn't trust them enough . Why else would she leave ?

Tyler sighed " It's not what you think Mels . "

He glanced at Rose . " Let me tell you."
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A/N

Hi guys !!! How are ya all ???

Well the blast is complete.... Did you feel the shocks and waves in you ??? If yes , then I succeeded.

Anyways tell me how you think of Rose till now ?? Do you like her being strong like this or did you wish her to break down too ??

Pls vote , share and comment guys !!!

Thanks
Lots of love and hugs
Joban ❤️