The secret - an Evansson story

5

~September 2009~
The 27 year old walked into the hospital the next day. Up the elevator to the forth floor and into the room lined with empty beds, he finally made it to the blue curtain that surrounded Aleah's hospital bed.

As he opened the curtain, his heart dropped, seeing nothing but yet another empty bed. The bed was unmade and the wires that used to be attached to Aleah, now scattered across the sheets. The man scurried back down to the first floor where the reception desk was.

His anger rising as he became more and more worried, Chris slammed his fists on the counter.

"Where is my daughter!?" He barked. His irrational thoughts ran wild as his heart pounded with fear.

The woman at the desk looked at him in confusion, not knowing what patient he was talking about.

"My daughter!" He yelled again. "Aleah!"

As the 24 year old was about to step into the elevator, a familiar voice urged her to stop. Turning around, she saw her best friend standing at the front desk, yelling in a fearful tone.

Scarlett quickly walked over to the desk, grabbing Chris' hand as she quickly caught on to the fact that Aleah was not in her room.

"Where is she!?" He commanded.

The woman at the reception desk rapidly typed into the computer, looking up at the two worried face's in front of her every once in a while.

"Name of patient?" The woman asked, looking up at Scarlett and Chris.

"Aleah." Scarlett answered quickly. The woman nodded as she looked down at the computer again and continued to type rapidly.

"She was moved to room 218 last night." The woman informed, looking back up toward the two who were already rushing to the stairwell.

The two best friends walked into the private hospital room, where Aleah sat up in bed, wailing.

"Oh thank God." Mary sighed in relief, standing up from a chair and walking over to the two. She handed Chris a duffel bag that contained some of Aleah's clothes.

"What's going on?" He asked just as Mary was about to leave the room.

"She knows her parents are gone." Mary said dryly before leaving.

Hearing those words caused Aleah to cry even louder, her cries echoing throughout the room.

The 24 year old sat down on the bed, pulling the child into her embrace. She could feel Aleah's body heave in her arms, her breathing became shallow as she struggled to let air in between sobs.

"Aleah, you need to breath." Scarlett muttered softly, rubbing her back in sympathy.

The six year old started gasping for air, her face becoming bright red.

"I want my mommy." She wept.

In an effort to help Aleah calm down, Scarlett placed the girl on her lap, cupping her face so they were making eye contact.

"Aleah, breath." Scarlett ordered in a whisper. "Everything will be okay, I promise."

Chris sat beside Scarlett, watching as the little girl slowly calmed down in Scarlett's embrace.

"I wanna go home." Aleah whined as she wrapped her little arms around Scarlett's neck, looking for some kind of comfort.

Scarlett was startled by the sudden hug she received, not knowing what to do.

"Come on, princess." Chris said, lifting Aleah's body off of Scarlett after he received a pleading look from his best friend. "We'll take you home with us."

Aleah didn't let go of Scarlett's neck, causing Scarlett to be pulled along as well.

"No!" Aleah screamed, directly in Scarlett's ear. Chris immediately let go, leaving the child attached to Scarlett, who quickly became irritated by the girl.

"Dammit, Aleah!" Scarlett scolded as she tried to pry the child off of her.

"Mommy says that's a bad word." Aleah stated sadly at the thought of her mother.

Scarlett rolled her eyes as Chris successfully lifted Aleah off of her lap and into his arms.

He held the girl on his hip, both of his arms wrapped underneath her to keep her secure. With the duffel bag hoisted over his shoulder, he looked like a natural father.

__

"Why do I have to take her?" Scarlett asked as they made their way to the parking lot.

"Because I'm in a hotel right now." Chris answered. "She needs stability in her life and she's not gonna get that living in a hotel."

Scarlett grunted as she watched Chris grab a car seat from his car and place it in the backseat of her SUV.

"When did you even get a car seat?" She asked astonished.

"Last night." He replied as he placed Aleah in the car seat and buckled her in safely. He shut the car door and met Scarlett behind the car.

"Everything will be fine, I promise." He said, pulling his best friend into a warm and comforting hug. Scarlett shrank in his embrace, she didn't want to let go.

"Ryan is gonna be so pissed." She whispered into Chris' neck.

He stayed silent, not knowing what to say to help his best friend. Part of him didn't even want to help her and her marriage.

"I'm gonna come by tomorrow." Chris reassured as he gave her a kiss on the top of her head. Scarlett nodded, hesitating before pulling away from the hug.

She watched as Chris drove away before getting into her own car and starting the engine.

"You ready?" Scarlett asked the six year old, looking over her shoulder.

Aleah nodded, looking out the window.

In just one day her whole life changed. She had two parents, who loved her dearly and in a blink of an eye, they were gone. Then, two other people show up and treat her like a Disney princess.

Who are they? Aleah thought as the car jolted forward onto the road, her heart hammering against her chest.

She closed her eyes tightly, but all she could see was the pair of headlights racing toward her.

Her eyes shot back open. As her hands shook with fear, she grabbed onto the arm rests of her car seat, holding on for dear life as they drove the rest of the way to her new home.