Jodee

Chapter 52 - Living

Caleb and I dashed towards the room I had spent so much time in in the last couple of days.

I used to hate this room. Hate how my brother was lifeless and was practically dead every single time I went in there. I hated all of the machines hooked up to his body, pumping drugs that gave us hope he could somehow pull through. I hated every bit of it, even hated the stupid white walls with the white bedding and the uncomfortable chairs that lined the edge. All of it.  

But now. Now .... I loved this room.

This room was now the place I got to hug my brother and speak to him after he was gone from the world for so long. Gone from my world. 

Caleb and I crossed the threshold of the door, our hands still intertwined as we looked at the scene unfolding before us.

My brother was sitting up in his bed, his hospital gown pulled down as a nurse inspected his chest. The lady who came to get us was already at the end of his bed, fixing the chart that had stayed there all of the time we had been there. I had hated that chart as well. The blue haired nurse at Ace's bedside also looked at monitors and said something to him, but I didn't hear it.

I doubt my brother did either. Ace did not look happy. In fact, he looked pissed. 

His lip was curled up in annoyance, but his mouth stayed shut. It's not like he would ever talk to the nurses or doctors here. His hands were clutched at his side in angry fists that made his veins pop out and his body rigid, as if he was preparing for the nurse to do something bad.

But she wasn't going to do anything bad. All she is trying to do is examine his chest ... and he wasn't letting her.

Ace thrashed away from the nurse attempting to touch his naked body, a low sound coming from the back of his throat as if it was a warning attempt. She said something, annoyed herself, before trying to touch him again. He just jerked away again. 

"Woah, Ace, my man. Calm down." Caleb broke in once we had both fully seen and comprehended the scene before us and how Ace was making this very hard for the nurses who were only trying to help him.

Caleb dropped my hand, rushing over to the other side of the bed where the nurse wasn't to place his hands on Ace's bare chest and hold him down. Ace's face was relieved when he saw his best friend, but then turned to annoyance again when he realized Cal sided with the doctors and not him. My brother's face morphed into confusion from his annoyance as his electric blue eyes scanned Caleb and then looked towards the door. Looking for someone. 

"Ace!" I cried out once we had made eye contact, holding my hands over my mouth before rushing towards the bed.

My big brother's face split into a slight, boyish grin usually reserved for Caleb. But I didn't care at that point, seeing my brother smile was everything right now. He is everything. 

I don't think anyone realized just how much they need or how much they depend on that person until they are gone. It's like when teens are terrible to their parents and one bad thing later, they're wishing they didn't take those moments so for granted. You never realized the weight of someone on your life until they are so forcefully ripped from you and you are forced to pick up the pieces on your own. 

But that wasn't me, because I didn't loose anyone. Ace is back!

"Jodee." He echoed back, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes fixated on me as if I was the only one in the entire world that mattered. 

I rushed towards him, my eyes trapped in his deep oceans, but before I could make contact, finally being able to hug my brother with him hugging me back. I was stopped.