Grey's Anatomy

Chapter 22

Adira pulled out her cellphone and stared at the blank screen for a long time. She opened it up: pulled off the case, took off the back cover, and retrieved the small scrap of paper hiding. The door opened as she ran the small piece of paper in between her fingers—she looked up to see Derek fall into a chair. “Amelia?” questioned Adira softly.

“Recovering,” he replied, giving her no more and no less. He sighed; a deep, heaving, from your bones sigh. He nodded to the piece of paper in her hands, but not moving his body from its crumpled position in the chair, “so, you’ve made your decision, you’re going back into the dark?”

She shook her head, “Oh, I’ve made my decision, and I am going to stay here.”

“But, what’s the catch?” He questioned, his voice low. She looked at the floor. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t hear me. What’s the catch, Adira?”

“I am not going back under,” she repeated, “but,” she raised her eyes to his, “I am going to save Lizzy and put whoever did this behind bars, at whatever means necessary.”

“And,” he prompted. “What happens when that involves your past?”

“I will not leave my children parentless. That is not an option.”

“So, where do you draw the line?” He whispered, looking into her green eyes, not finding an answer.

…

Adira looked out the window and pulled out her phone once again. She looked at the scrap of paper that had been run through her fingers more times then she could count and finally entered the number into her cell. She put it to her ear, tears pricking at her eyes; the weight of what she was about to do haunting her; grief and fear weighing her down like a never ending shadow. A gruff voice was what came to her ear; a voice she wasn’t expecting. “Hello?” It was Damien. “Hello? Anyone there?”

Adira finally found her voice. “Damien?” She had no real need to confirm what she already knew, but she did it anyways.

“Alice?” his voice as low and seemed to lose some of the sleepiness. Adira looked at the clock – it was only ten. Things must have changed; Damien had always been a night owl.

“Alexander said he saw you. I didn’t believe him. You’re alive?” It came out phrased as a question as opposed to a statement.

“I am very much alive. And, yourself? Settled down yet?” Adira couldn’t help but let the smile into her voice.

“Haven’t found someone elegant enough, you know how it goes. But, I got a steady job. Got a degree in accounting, you know how I tend to like numbers more than guns. So, with my new job, the Six-Mile Crew (authors note: this is the name of their gang) has been profiting, for real this time. No more being cheated now that all of those damned numbers make sense. How about you, what have you been up to?”

“I got a degree in motherhood.” Adira’s fake identity had only went as far as her last run in with the gang, and now she had creative authority over the so called Alice. She decided to try and keep some truth from her real life, but she didn’t want to live a total life. “I have kids. They’re a lot of work. A husband. The works.”

“Ah, I know you and you wouldn’t just call your long lost, over worried, brother for no reason. So, what’s up, Nena?"

The use of her nick name stung her heart but she fought the pain. “I have a friend. She got meth from the Lost Souls.” Even over the phone she could hear Damien suck in a sharp breath. “It’s tainted meth. She’s in the hospital, but Damien, is everyone okay?”