"Well, a phone is... well, it's something that you talk into and you
can talk to other people..." Vega trailed off, letting her voice drown
out into the confused expression pasted across the boy's face.
"Go on," he coaxed, but she had already thought to herself that
she had said enough. "Never mind," she finished.
The boy raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Well, I guess I
haven't introduced myself properly. My name is Jacob," he said
shyly, gazing toward the muddy ground they were trudging across.
"Oh, well, thanks for rescuing me from the rain, I guess, Jacob,"
she answered, trying not to sound too polite. Guys usually got
the wrong idea if she over did any appreciation for something they
did for her. Vega couldn't help it. She was just one of those nice "huggy" people.
"Not a problem at all, miss," he answered. "But we'd better get
you inside before you catch cold," he stated with genuine concern.
They approached the house and finally came to the tattered screen
door that was the entry portal into what felt like another world.
Jacob stepped in first, then Vega. She gasped at her surroundings.
Everything was completely picturesque. Spotless hand-woven rugs
dressed the sturdy wooden floors. Intricate designs were stitched
on the flowing white curtains that hung from every window. Everything
just felt perfect. The air smelled of all different kinds of flowers
and fruits, creating a delicious aroma that Vega could almost taste.
"What is that wonderful smell?" she asked aloud, breathing it in
as much as she could to take in the scent.
"Oh, that. It's the candles. My mother makes them and sells them
to people like you and earns us extra money so we can help out other
people in our town who aren't so fortunate. Father plows the fields,
and I help him a lot with that. It's very hard work though, and
I get easily tired," he admitted, wiping the wet drops of rain off of his face.
"I see," Vega said, still in awe at the simple beauty of this home
she had stumbled upon. This is truly amazing she thought to herself.
"Well, would you like some clean clothes or a towel or something?"
Jacob asked, noticing Vega's sopping wet clothing.
"Some clothes would be suitable," she replied, doubting this family had ever heard of GAP.
"Okay, come with me and we can look through Sarah's things," he
said, grabbing her hand, and pulling her up the stairs.
At the top, they reached a finely carved door that had "Sarah" engraved
in delicate calligraphy in the upper portion. Vega stopped to admire
it and was barely able to get out a "wow" before Jacob dragged her
into what appeared to be Sarah's bedroom. He took her to the drawers
and hesitated. "Feel free to anything you can find, but I'll be
leaving now so as not to see my sister's...". His voice trailed off,
and he turned around and closed the door behind him, leaving Vega
alone in the beautiful bedroom. She sighed and looked around at
the room as it seemed to engulf her heart. Everything around here
was just so beautiful. She took another breath of candled scent,
and began rummaging in Sarah's drawers. She came upon a plain black
dress. She held it up. Ugly she thought, but sighed, and
started undressing. She emerged from the room in the black dress
that somehow fit her perfectly. "Jacob?" she called.
A door opened on the opposite end of the hall, and Jacob came out,
dressed in new clothes also. Vega couldn't help but notice that
guys look really good in black... especially suits.
"You look nice," he said.
"Thank you very much," she replied, mocking his accent, and doing
a little curtsy. "You don't look so bad yourself," she said.
"Are you saying I look bad?" he asked, concerned.
"No, you look good," she said, annoyed at his insolence.
"Well... okay," he said and began descending the staircase. Vega
followed him into the kitchen. "Is anyone else here?" she asked, looking around.
"No. Mother is off at a church event, Father is selling some of
our corn in town, and my brothers and sisters are at school," he said nodding at the end.
"Why aren't you in school? And how many brothers and sisters do
you have?" Vega questioned.
"I have six brothers and three sisters. I am the oldest, I have
to tend the farm when they are away," he answered simply. Ten Kids! "Oh I see. Well... can I help you with anything?" she asked.
Jacob's face lit up. "Well..."
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
Jacqui felt her face being pushed up. She opened her eyes. Did
I fall asleep? she asked herself. Judging by the wetness on
the side of her face, the answer was most definitely 'yes'.
She looked down and saw that her friends Isaac and Taylor were being
carried out into the ER. Dear Lord please help them she quietly prayed.
She climbed up and followed them into the doors of the emergency
room where she was stopped by a security guard. "Family only, miss," he said sternly.
She pushed his arm out of her way. "I was in the accident too,
I'm their sister," she spitted bitterly into his face. He backed
up and let her through to where her friends were being operated on.
Jacqui gazed at Ike. I think I'm going to be sick she thought,
seeing them pull out a drill. She felt her legs go numb and then everything went dark.
Jacqui awoke in a hospital bed. Huh? she thought. A sharp
pain hit her directly in her temple. "Ouch!" she said aloud.
"Like you have a lot to be complaining about," a familiar voice
sounded into her ears. Jacqui's eyes snapped open to see Taylor's
smiling face in the hospital bed next to her.
"Tay! You're all right! I knew you would be!". She smiled and
tried to move but her head stopped her from doing so. She groaned
in another rush of pain. "Why am I hurting anyway?" she asked aloud. \
Taylor gave a weak smile. "The nurse said that you fainted when
you saw them working on Ike. You wuss," he said, playfully. Then
his face solemned. "How did you get off so lucky from the accident anyway?" he asked.
"Because I was the only one wearing a seatbelt, Tay. I came out
with just a few scratches, and then I see you, Ike, and Becca lying
on the ground...". Her voice trailed off as she remembered her friend.
She looked up into Tay's eyes. "Did they tell you?" she asked.
"Tell me what?" he replied.
"Becca died, Tay. She died," Jacqui said as she covered her face.
Taylor's smile dropped and he was quiet. He hadn't even known Becca
all that well, but he knew that she had real talent. This was awful.
He closed his eyes as mourned in silence as he listened to Jacqui's gulps of air amidst the tears.
The air was still and silent until finally he spoke up. "I'm sorry," he said simply.
"It's not your fault, it's Ravi's," she said, after regaining a
breath enough to speak. "Completely his fault."
"So where's your brother anyway?" she asked after a ten-minute gap of silence had passed.
Tay closed his eyes. "They won't tell me," he said, sadly.
"Oh my gosh, your parents don't even know this has happened! They
must be so worried!" Jacqui said, concerned.
"Actually, they're on their way. The nurse asked me for their number
and I gave her my wallet with the hotel's number in it. Hopefully
they won't ground me. I have a CD to make," he stated with a raise of his chin.
A noise in the hall took Jacqui's attention away. It sounded like
a lot of people. Some of them were young, she could tell, by the
cute little voices, and another crying kid.
"What room is it? Oh dear Lord I hope they're all right!" an anxious
mother's voice echoed through the hall.
"Mom, hey Mom, I'm in here," Tay attempted to shout, but resulting in a shaky tone. This ought to be interesting Jacqui thought to herself.
A worried woman with incredibly long hair rushed into the room and
began smothering her son with kisses and hugs.
"Ouch! Ma! Be careful!" Tay complained, attempting to push away his mother.
"Oh honey are you okay? We've been so worried, where have you been
and where's your brother?" Mrs. Hanson questioned unnervedly.
"They haven't told me where Ike is but I'm sure he's okay," Taylor
said, noting the worried expression on his mum's face.
A doctor walked into the room and his smile flipped over. "Who
are all of you?!" he demanded.
"His family!" the mother hen stated in a do-you-have-a-problem-I-didn't-think-so tone.
"Oh," the doctor replied, adjusting his collar as if it was suddenly
too tight. "Well, you can stay for a moment, but he needs his rest."
"Where is my other son?" she asked the doctor, the mother instinct kicking in again.
"Your other son? Do you mean the other guy in the accident?
Well... ma'am... I don't want to be the one to tell you, but..." Chapter 28
