2011
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"Happy birthday, Hailey. Tell your mom I said hi. Don't forget, I'm picking you up and taking you bowling on Saturday, okay? Yup. Got it. Talk to you later. Love you too! Bye." I hang up the phone.
There's a knock on the door and Diana walks in with a bright smile on her face. "Look who wanted to say hi." She tells me. I look down and see Amelia stumble towards me. My chest feels full and I have to take a deep breath as I watch my daughter stumble towards me on her little feet.
"Hello, baby girl," I say. I pick her up and she giggles. I smile at her and she giggles again. I rock her in my arms. "Was that Hailey on the phone?" Diana asks. I nod. "When you pick her up on Saturday, tell her I said hi, will you?" She says. I nod.
"You are forgetting one person," I tell her, a happy grin on my face. "Who would that be?" She asks playfully. She knowingly places a hand on her stomach. I look at the bump and I feel tears well up in my eyes.
"I believe you're forgetting our son, Benjamin, who was named after my father," I reply. I look into her eyes and we smile at each other.
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2013
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I walk over to the grave and replace the old, wilted flowers with new ones. "Benjamin Stormer, 46 years old. 1951-1997." I say, reading the gravestone.
"Hey, Dad. It's been a while since I visited you. Benjamin, your grandson, is so adorable. I wish you could have met him. And Amelia. And- and Penelope. You would have loved all of them so much. I love you, dad." I say.
I shift my gaze to the grave next to his. "Hey, Penelope. My beautiful daughter. I say this every time I visit but... I wish you could have met your little brother and sister. I bet you would have adored them as much as they adored you. I love you, Pen." I take a deep breath and walk to my empty car.
My phone rings as soon as I slide into the driver's seat. I look down and groan. "What do you want?" I ask.
"Don't forget the meeting on Monday." Diana says, her voice sharp and cold. "I won't. You better not ask for anything outrageous, Diana. Don't forget, you're the one who cheated, and you're the reason this divorce is happening." I tell her.
I quickly hang up and take a deep breath before I break something. I buckle my seatbelt and take off down the road.
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2014
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"Why do you hate this girl again?" I ask Hailey. She groans. "Because she's a bitch. Plain and simple." Hailey tells me. I roll my eyes. "Did you just say that you've never met her in person?" I ask. She scoffs. "So?" She asks.
I shake my head and take a sip of my coffee. "So, eighteen, huh? I must be an old crone by now. My goddaughter is eighteen years old. It's hard to wrap my mind around." I say, shaking my head. She laughs.
"You're not that old. You are only, what, forty-three?" She asks. I give her a light smack on the arm. "Jackass. I'm thirty-five. But if anyone asks, I'm twenty-one, got it?" I say. We both laugh. "Sure thing, Auntie Andi." She replies. We are both silent for a few minutes before she speaks.
"Andi? You, uh, you never talk about what happened to you and the yellowjackets." She says. It's clear she wants to know what happened out there. I stare down at my coffee, suddenly wishing it was a whiskey on the rocks.
"There's nothing to tell. The plane crashed, some survived, some died, and then we were rescued. Simple as that." I say. Hailey shakes her head.
"A few years ago, while my mom was on one of her crazy drunk rants, she told me a little bit. She told me about how she got pregnant and gave birth to me in that forest. She told me you were an aspiring surgeon and that most of them would have died without you." She says. I take a sip of my coffee.
"Your mom told the truth. I was an aspiring surgeon. I saved a lot of people out there, in those woods. Hell, I was even the one who delivered and cared for you when you were a baby while your mom recovered from giving birth." I take another sip of my coffee.
"But there's more to it than that. It wasn't that simple. Out there, we had very little in terms of medical supplies. Every time I treated someone, a little bit more of those supplies would be used. Every time I performed a surgery, a billion things could and sometimes would go wrong. Eventually, I had to perform surgery on someone. It was urgent and I had no time to waste. I had already cut them open. But, when I reached for the medicine I needed, it was gone. I had used it all. Not just on other surgeries, but on smaller injuries. There was nothing I could do. The patient died. The only one to blame was me." I tell her. I sigh. That isn't the whole truth, only part of it. I won't tell her everything that really happened that day.
"I didn't want to ever feel the pain I felt when my patient died right in front of me ever again. The pain- the helplessness.... it was all too much. So, I decided that being a surgeon wasn't for me. That's all the questions I'll answer for today, okay?" I say.
"Okay." She mutters, her mind clearly in deep thought. "So, uh, how are Diana and the kids?" She asks me. I sigh.
"Diana's wedding is coming up in a few weeks. I hope that she and that bitch she cheated on me with enjoy themselves. Once and cheater, always a cheater. As for Amelia and little Benji, they're currently at daycare. I'm picking them up and then dropping them off at Diana's for the weekend." I say.
She nods. "Well, at least you got most of the assets and the kids in the divorce. She only gets to see them every other weekend." She says. I nod, smiling.
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2016
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I take a sip of my whiskey. I look at my phone and my finger hesitates over the call button. *Ring* *Ring* *Ring*. "Who is this? What do you want?" The voice on the other end asks. "Nat. It's me, Andi. I know we haven't talked since- since back then, but we need to meet up. Not just us, but everyone." I say.
I take another sip of whiskey. "Fine. Where?" Nat asks. Her voice is cold and rough. I'm not surprised. "I have a friend who owns a bar. It's always closed on Sundays. We'll meet there. I'll send you the details." I reply. "Got it," Nat replies. She hangs up the phone. The door to the room opens.
"Who gave you whiskey!?" The nurse asks. She snatches the glass away from me. "I'm just too charming for anyone to resist my requests," I reply cheekily. She shakes her head and checks the monitors beside me.
"Just no more alcohol, understood?" She asks. I nod. "Yes, ma'am," I reply. She rolls her eyes and walks away. I stare out the hospital window. I wonder what they're all doing now?
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2016, One week later...
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I sit on the barstool in the empty bar. I take a sip of whiskey. The door opens and I turn my head. Natalie, Shauna, Misty, and Taissa. I wonder where Lottie and Van are? "What are we all doing here?" Nat asks. She takes a seat beside me and snatches my whiskey.
"Well, last week my son Benji- Benjamin, visited me in the hospital-" I start but Misty interrupts. "Why were you in the hospital?" Misty asks. I shake my head. "Not important. He brought me a picture he drew. It was that thing in the woods." I say.
Nat shakes her head in a mix of disbelief and terror. She stands up and starts pacing. "No. It's not possible. You must have- have told him something! Or maybe you were sleep talking and he heard something! It's not possible Andi!" Nat yells, pointing an accusing finger at me.
"I'm going. I have a husband and daughter I left at home for this- this lunacy." Shauna chimes in, standing up and grabbing her purse. "Believe me or not, I don't care. That wasn't the only reason I called all of you here." I say. Taissa finally speaks.
"Why else did you call us here then?" She asks sharply. "All my drinking caught up to me. Six months ago, I was diagnosed with liver cancer. I'm on the organ transplant list but... the doctors say I most likely won't get one in time. After everything we've all been through together... it didn't seem right for you all to find out about my death through a newspaper if things don't end well." I say. Everyone in the room stares at me. I can practically hear the sound of silence.
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YOU ARE READING
The Sound of Silence - Yellowjackets
FanfictionAndi Stormer has always wanted to be a surgeon. However, when she finds out that Taissa Turner is her half-sister and she is forced onto a plane with the yellowjackets headed to nationals, she might have to put the skills she has practiced for years...
