Almost Heaven

Chapter 2

Rebecca sat at the foot of her dad's hospital bed. She looked at the hollow wrinkles and sunken eyes and fondly remembered when they brought so much joy to her life. Her mother always said that his smiling face and booming voice could light up any room. Now, that the lights were forever out, just a memory of his smile was enough to fill the void. With tears filling her eyes, she smiled for the first time today while looking at her dad.

Over the past few days, the dark bags under his eyes and strained breathing that greeted her every morning sucked all of the good times from her memories, leaving her stuck in the void of depression. Now, while holding onto his left hand, she caressed the bony fingers and joints with her thumb before carefully tucking his hand back under the blanket. She comforted him like a baby getting ready for eternal sleep.

The only decent man that she had ever known was preparing to leave her forever. Instead of like all of the others that left her, she had no right to be mad or bitter. She was purely a victim of circumstance this time. However, try as hard as she might, emotions are never that logical. It would be a constant struggle to not let the anger fill the hole in her heart that her father left behind. Once in, miseries necrosis tries to rob any joy from childhood memories.

Her phone began to aggressively buzz over and over in her purse. She waited for the call to go to voicemail but never did. It managed to keep ringing for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Rebecca walked over and picked up her purse while walking out into the hallway. Frustrated, she shoved her hand into her purse before snatching her phone out and quickly answering. She greeted the caller with an insincere "Hello?" but was met with an odd static sound.

She spoke a few more times to the caller, repeating "Hello?" before hanging up with audible frustration. "Damn telemarketers" she sighed under her breath. She turned around and tried to reopen the door to her dad's room but was unable to. Regardless of how hard she turned the handle, it wouldn't open.

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Bonnie kept her head hung in shame as she was rolled along. With a content smirk on his face and head held high, Josh pushed her along in her child's size wheelchair. Both stayed silent as the wooden doors and milky white walls went by in a blink. They quickly arrived at the correct door. "Have fun sweetheart!" he rolled her in while walking away and slamming the door behind him.

She looked around and saw that she was in a child's playroom. The obnoxiously bright colors that adorned the walls made her head hurt just from seeing them. She kept her head low as she sulked in shame in the doorway. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something peek around the corner. She raised her eyes without moving her head to see a big head timidly looking around the corner.

"Is he gone?" Kyle fearfully asked. "yes," she said while returning her depressed eyes to the floor. Having to look anyone in the eyes at this moment was simply too much for Bonnie."what's the problem?" he asked curiously. She didn't have the strength this time to look up and respond. If she did, Bonnie knew her older brother would see the tears that were still in her eyes. They were constantly threatening to overflow and run down her cheeks.

Perhaps out of pity, Kyle decided to unbuckle her arm and leg straps. Even though she did not attempt to get up, he still rolled her over to a corner where she could be out of the way. Bonnie still refused to raise her head. There was nothing pleasant around to look at anyway. Just some old wooden play tables filled with donated toys that surely would've given you a disease from simply touching it.