More Heartbreak For Bree

On July 18th, Bree finally convinced herself it was time to go back home. She had cried enough tears and her situation had not changed. It was time to start moving on and getting beyond the heartbreak. She figured things could only get better from that point.

She hugged Nicole and thanked her for everything. “Are you sure you’re ready to go back? You can stay here as long as you need to.”

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

Her cellphone sounded, she looked and saw her step-father’s number. That was odd because she only spoke to him in person. She didn’t like him even though she grew up under his roof for several years. They never formed a bond. He was always gone and when he was home, he was out doing what he wanted.

She answered, “Hello? Sam?”

“Hey, it’s me. Um, I have some bad news.”

Bree’s heart sank, “Is Jorian okay?”

“He’s fine. It’s…your mother.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked. Nicole listened attentively.

“I came home and found her passed out. She’s in the hospital.”

Bree shook her head, “I don’t understand, is she okay, what happened?”

“I can’t get into anything over the phone. Jorian needs you here. He’s scared.”

“How bad is it?”

“She’s on life support. She may not make it. I’ll see you when you get here.”

The call ended. Bree’s stomach suddenly felt ill. Nicole reached for her hands, “What happened?”

“I have to leave. I have to go to Tampa. My mom is on life support.”

“What?!”

“Can you drive me to the airport?”

“Of course.”

As Bree waited to board a flight to Tampa, she called her younger brother Jorian. He answered solemnly, “Bree. Are you coming home?”

“Yes. I’ll be there soon. What happened?”

“I was at my friend’s house. When I got home, I saw the ambulance taking mom away. It was probably a heart attack.”

“Who said?”

“My dad.”

Bree didn’t believe it. Her mother wasn’t a spring chicken, but she was healthy. She didn’t smoke or drink, “Heart attack?”

“Are you staying at the house?”

“No. I’ll be at a hotel.” Bree didn’t like staying at the house. She and Sam often had differing opinions and Bree hated how he treated her mother.

“I wish I could stay with you. I can’t be in this house.”

“You can. Pick me up from the airport.”

“I can’t. Dad took my car. We’ll be at the hospital when you get here.”

She nodded, “Don’t worry. I’ll get a rental. Everything will be okay.” She didn’t know if that statement was true, but she always did her best to comfort her brother. She practically raised him. She often babysat him and he went everywhere she did.

Three hours passed and Bree was back in Tampa, the area she had lived in since she was in high school. Palm trees, tall Oak trees with Spanish Moss, colorful houses, the smell of salt water, the sun beamed, if only her visit was under different circumstances she thought as she drove the rental vehicle toward the hospital.

As soon as Bree arrived, she met her brother outside. He had grown even taller and was more muscular. “Look at you,” she said just before hugging him.

He stepped back, “I’ll show you up to mom’s room.”

“How is she,” she asked as they headed to the elevator.

Jorian didn’t want to say, but in his mind, he didn’t think she was going to make it. “I don’t know. Dad hasn’t said anything. The doctors just keep saying the same stuff, ‘we’re doing everything we can.’”

They both sighed. They got off the elevator; they saw Sam talking with the doctor, He waved at them, “This is my step-daughter, Breonna.”

She shook the doctor’s hand and asked, “How’s my mom? I heard she had a heart attack.”

The doctor made a face, “Well--”

Sam interjected, “Her heart stopped. I gave CPR until the paramedics arrived and now the doctors are doing all they can.”

“And that means what exactly?”

The doctor looked at her and sighed, “It’s hard to say exactly,” he replied. He wanted to say, but Sam had asked him not to say too much as to excite Bree. He knew if he said the real reason that Bree would have blown up at him and he didn’t feel any of it was his fault. “I have to go make my rounds; I’ll return before the end of my shift.”

Bree stared at the back of his head as he walked away. Sam smiled, “I’m glad you came.”

Bree nodded, “I’m going to go see her.” She walked in and saw her mother hooked up to all sorts of wires and tubes. Jesus, she thought. What could have provoked such an **** health response? Suddenly, she felt truly ill. The last time she spoke with her mother, it was harsh. What if this is it? She thought. My last interaction with the woman that birthed me was cruel.

She stopped herself from thinking the worst, “Don’t do this Bree, keep your shit together,” she said to herself. Jorian walked in. He saw how his sister held their mother’s hand.

“It doesn’t look good, does it?” he asked with his voice cracking.

Bree put on a brave face and turned to him, “We can’t think that way. We have to think moment to moment.”

He nodded, she hugged him, “Mom’s been through a lot. If anyone can survive this…she can. Let’s go grab a coffee. I saw a Starbucks close by.

They headed to grab a coffee. They talked for a while to take their mind off things and then headed back. They saw a nurse leaving their mother’s room. The woman stopped at the nurse’s station, they were about to ask how she was, but they heard the nurse, “Mrs. Young, the toxicology report showed her system had high levels of opioids, if only they would have found her sooner—”

“I’m sorry, did you say Mrs. Young had opioids in her system?”

“And who are you?”

“I’m her daughter, we’re her children.”

“Um, I think you should speak with the doctor, look there’s Dr. Rodriguez. Dr. R, these are Mrs. Young’s children. They have questions about her status.”

He nodded, “Sure. I was looking at Dr. Martin’s notes and the paramedics said that she was found in the bathroom **** from an overdose.”

Bree and Jorian looked at each other and then the doctor, “We don’t, what—”

“I’m sure Dr. Martin mentioned this.”

“Yeah,” Bree lied to get more information from the new doctor on shift, “He did mention it…so what’s the plan?”

He rubbed his chin, “Honestly, each patient is different. The sooner we can administer the Naloxone…the better chance of survival.”

Bree walked off to the room. Jorian followed her. She felt an unnatural rage building inside of her. Her neck was hot. She saw blood. Jorian saw that look.

“I knew something wasn’t right,” said Jorian. She wasn’t happy. She was sad all the time.”

“You think she was sad enough to do this.”

He nodded. “They argued a lot the past week. I hated being home. Some nights he’d leave and wouldn’t come back.”

They went into the room and looked upon their mother clinging to her life. Sam entered. They turned to him with an accusing look. He clasped his hands together, “I was talking to the doctor and we have to start thinking about—”

“What did you do this time?” Bree asked angrily.

“Excuse me,” he responded confused by her question.

“What. Did you do this time? It’s a simple question, Sam.”

He grunted, “I don’t like your tone.”

“Fuck you. Do you think I care if you like my tone? My mother is lying in this fucking bed because you don’t know how to keep your dick in your pants!” she gritted through her teeth.

“Will you excuse us Jorian,” he said to his son.

“I’m not leaving. She’s my mother too. And she’s lying there because of you. She wasn’t happy. Why do you have to be like this?”

“Son—”

“Don’t call me son.”

“You will not disrespect me.”

“You don’t deserve respect. I’m glad my sister taught me not to be like you. I don’t know how my mom put up with your bullshit for so many years.”

He swung on his son, but Jorian moved. Bree got between them, “Don’t you dare hit him. You know he’s right. Our mom sacrificed her mental health and now her physical health because of all your lies and whoring around. How many girls did you get pregnant this time?”

He didn’t respond. Bree continued to scold him, “Now you’re standing here all nonchalant trying to convince me that it’s a good idea for you to end my mother’s life.”

“Bree—”

“I don’t care what you say. Don’t take her off life support.”

“If the doctors—”

“Don’t! Let’s go Jorian.”

“Where are you taking my son?”

“My brother is not staying with you. He’s eighteen. He can make his own decisions.”

Jorian left with Bree.

As Bree drove, her brother told her about the arguments between their mother and Sam. “I used to go in my room and listen to my music loud to escape.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“I’m sorry he’s such a horrible man. I don’t to be anything like him.”

“You’re not. Trust me.”

He looked up and saw where she was parking. He chuckled, “It’s been a while since we’ve eaten here. I remember you used to take me here with that one dude. He was Hispanic or something.”

She laughed, “Marcel.”

“Yeah, he was a cool dude. I don’t know why you left here with Demetrius.”

“Demetrius was cool. And besides, he’s starting to see the error of his ways.”

“Yeah, after he took my sister away.”

“Well, let’s eat something and hopefully take our minds off of things. At least for a couple of hours.”

The Cheesecake Factory, a place filled with deliciousness. They both smiled as they walked up. A group of pretty girls saw Jorian with Bree. One of them spoke, “Jorian, you’re not going to introduce us to your girlfriend.”

He shook his head and made a face, “This is my sister.”

“Oh, she’s pretty. Hi, Jorian’s sister.”

Bree smiled, “Hi.”

“After you eat meet us in the mall, we’ll be hanging out for a little bit.”

“Alright.”

The group of girls walked off merrily. Bree nudged him, “Someone’s popular.” He chuckled before opening the door and allowing his sister to walk ahead of him. They checked in and were seated.

“So, which one of those pretty girls?” Bree asked.

“None.”

“Come on, be honest.”

He laughed, “I’m serious. I mean they’re pretty and all that, but—”

“Oh, I see. It’s someone else.” She smiled as her observation made him blush.

“You got me. You got me. I do like someone. Her name is Tyra. She’s different. I feel like we can talk about anything. She’s outspoken. She does a lot of community service and is into everything at school. She wants to be a lawyer.”

“Oh, nice. She sounds like a keeper. But—”

There was a year of school left before Jorian would have to decide on what college to attend. He was being looked at by several schools for his ability to play wide receiver.

“I know. We’re hoping to go to the same college or at least in the same state. You think long distance would work?”

“It could. I mean it’s a lot of work, but people have done it.”

“Why’d you leave?”

She squinted her eyes, “To be with Demetrius. You know that.”

“No. I mean really? Because I heard you tell Nicole that you were in love with Marcel, but you left anyway.”

She nodded and sighed, “Fear.”

“Fear?”

“I was afraid to stay and fight for what I really wanted. I was doing what everyone…mainly mom wanted me to do. There were a lot of obstacles. I was being fucking lazy. It’s sad.” She almost cried.

Just as their food order arrived, a man walked by the table, “Bree?” She looked up and her eyes met him, “Bree, wow, it is you. I was sitting over there with my friend staring at you, but I was there’s no way she’d come to Tampa and not call me.”

“It’s me and I’m sorry. We’re in the middle of a family crisis. This is us trying to escape for a moment.

Marcel looked at Jorian, “Is this lil man? You remember me?”

Jorian smiled, “Yeah. You and my sister were good friends for a long time. You used to throw the football in the backyard with me.”

“Yeah. Those were good times, so what’s going on?”

“Our mom’s in the hospital.”

“Wow, do you mind if I sit for a moment?”

“No, sit. Sit.” She watched as he sat, “She’s overdosed on opioids.”

“No fucking way. Is she going to be okay?”

It got silent, but Bree nodded, “She’s a fighter. We’re just hoping for the best.”

“Where are you staying? At the house?”

“No. We’re going to a hotel after we go check on her again.”

“No, no. You two can come and stay with me. I have plenty of room. I could use the company.”

She smiled. Jorian grinned, “Fear,” said Jorian.

She chuckled.

Marcel looked confused, “Fear?”

“Just something we were discussing earlier. Um, let me cancel the room and we’ll be over later. It might be late.”

“It’s fine. I’ll be up.” He stood.

She stood and hugged him, “Thanks so much.”

“No problem.”

He went back to his table. Jorian was still grinning as he ate his food, “He still loves you.”

“Maybe.”

“You still love him?”

She thought about it. He was a precious piece of her life. Yet her heart was still aching for what she had back in North Carolina. He was off-limits, “It’s complicated,” she replied and began eating her food.