Invisible String

Chapter 20 - Breathe

The ride to the airport went fast, and Heidi had followed through as per usual. She set it up so we could get through the airport quickly and quietly, and into a private plane. God only knows how much it cost Alex. I attempted to ask him, but he wouldn't tell me. I only asked because I wanted to help pay for it. I had more than enough money to contribute, and he knew that.

The flight took nearly five hours, and by the time we reached Minnesota, it was around nine-thirty at night. From the airport in Rochester, my hometown, it wouldn't take long to get to the hospital. The drive was only about fifteen minutes, and the entire way, I was breathing like a maniac, having one of the worse panic attacks of my life. I'd grabbed a vomit bag from the airplane and taken it with me, and now was the time I needed it. I breathed into it, and after a few minutes and a lot of lightheadedness, I finally felt somewhat okay. We were waiting in the parking lot, and I was too scared to get out of the car.

Alex held on tightly to my hand as I sat still, frozen like a stupid statue. "I can't do it, Alex. I can't say goodbye to him. I don't know how. How am I supposed to let go?"

I looked at him, and he shrugged lightly.

"I don't know, Hannah, but you need to see him. You wouldn't want... you can't... you have to say goodbye."

I knew what he wanted to say, but I was glad he didn't. I couldn't even think about what was going to happen. I felt like I would actually die if I accepted it. So I wouldn't. At least not right away.

Slowly, we both got out of the car and walked towards the big white building. It was wider than it was tall, which didn't bode well for my sense of direction. We wandered inside for a while before we found a directory. The woman at the desk instructed us to follow a red stripe that turned into a blue one all the way to the other side of the building, then to take the elevator to the third floor and follow a green stripe, and so on and so forth. At that point, I completely blanked out. Thank God for Alex. He led the way, and when I saw my brother out in the hall with his wife, I realized we'd arrived. His wife was on the phone, and she saw me first, then tapped on his shoulder and pointed at me. He turned around, a smile already on his face, and wrapped his arm around me tightly.

"Little bug, you're here!" he nearly shouted into my ear.

"Of course, I'm here," I said, with mixed feelings. I peered into the room, and the TV was playing Matlock. "How is he?"

"He's asleep right now," Julie, my brother's wife, said while hanging up the phone.

I stood at the entrance to his room, completely still, staring in. I could only see his feet covered with a wool blanket on the edge of the bed. The TV hung from the ceiling in the farthest corner of the room. It smelled of age and death. I shuddered.

Alex put his hand on my shoulder, and I faced those around me. Alex had moved his arm around me, and I leaned against him.

"I'm Julie, I'm glad to finally meet you," she said it in such a pleasantly rude way that I wanted to smack her, but I contained myself. She was part of my family, after all.

"Sorry, George, Julie. I wasn't thinking." I turned to Alex with a hand pointed towards him. "This is my boyfriend, Alex. Alex, this is George, my older brother, and Julie, his wife."

Alex and George shook hands, and surprisingly, they were all very casual. My family had met very few celebrities, but they were good people, so they knew how to keep their cool. At least most of the time.

"At least if you knock her up, it's not like you can just leave and get away with it," George joked. Julie elbowed him hard into the ribs, and I looked away, embarrassed, but Alex just rubbed my back.