Heaven Help Us

Ray

I was lying next to Jeph on Rain’s bed later that day, reading while he watched a movie on a small portable DVD player and tried not to think about being sick.

“Dad?” He asked when his movie ended.

I set my book down and looked at him. “Yeah?”

“Where’d Mommy go, again?”

I laughed. Rain had left a bit ago to get groceries with Dante. “She and Dante went out to get some food.”

“Oh, okay. Will you tell me more of the story?”

“Sure. Where’d we leave off?”

“Um…they had just kissed. Are they dating now?”

“Yeah, they’re dating. That night, while they were eating, she got a call from a payphone number. She had no idea who would be calling her, so she didn’t answer. The next day, when they went shopping, Andrew ran to the bathroom. On his way back to the store that the girl was in, he saw a young boy arguing with a vendor over sandwich prices. He was young; maybe thirteen or fourteen, and almost definitely homeless, if the grime and dirt that coated him was any indication. Andrew decided to buy him the sandwich. It turned out the kid had a friend, so Andrew made the vendor double the order. There was something familiar about the kid…After the kids ran off, Andrew went back to the girl. The following morning, they went about getting ready to go to the competition. The girl’s and her assigned band mates got along fantastically, so they decided that if the competition went well, they’d become a real band. They even came up with a band name. After a terrible pop group finished, her band was up. Andrew kissed her good luck and her friends all hugged her. They stood on the sidelines and watched as the band ran out and began. Andrew was so nervous for her, but at the same time he was confident that she would win. She had the song down, and her voice was magic. They did fantastic! Andrew was so proud of her. Excitement and pride was in the air as they ran back off stage, until they heard someone causing a commotion. A young homeless boy of around fourteen draped in all black was yelling that he be let backstage to talk to the girl. The guards wouldn’t let him get past, and he yelled, ‘She’s my sister.’ The girl turned and was taken by surprise. There was her brother. Much older than when she had last seen him, much dirtier, but her brother nonetheless. Andrew was shocked. The boy he’d met the day before, the boy that he had bought food for, was his love’s brother.”

Jeph coughed a few times and then urged me to continue with the story.

"It didn’t feel real. They took him back to David and the girl’s apartment and got him to tell them his story. He’d been abused by his mother for money, and one day he’d seen a video of the girl with Andrew’s band. He decided that he had to get away and find her. She was his only hope at that point. So he ran away. He made it to California and met a friend, who helped him find his sister. His friend unfortunately died the night before the competition. The boy, Ray, had a stab wound from fighting he and his friend’s attacker the night before, but he didn’t let on until the end of his story that he was hurt. The girl, Andrew, and David spotted the blood after a bit and she ran to get a first aid kit. Andrew could tell that Ray was uncomfortable with all the hospitality, so he told him that he was home now. He was part of their family, no matter what. Ray was extremely grateful. But eventually, Andrew had to go on tour again. A horrible thing happened while he was on that tour…Ray fell extremely ill. He had a previously incurable disease. The doctors that they went to, however, had found this new medicine that they figured would cure him. It had only been tested a few times and was a one in a million chance that it would cure Ray. The girl was torn up about this. The medicine put Ray into a deep sleep, a coma, for quite some time…even long enough that he was still in a coma when Andrew returned home. David, the girl, and Andrew spent that night at the hospital, at Ray’s bedside. Andrew couldn’t sleep very well in the hospital chairs…his girlfriend and his potential brother in law needed him. They were both hurting, and he could do nothing to help except be there. It frustrated him. As he watched, Ray’s heart moniter sped up. Andrew woke the girl and they all watched as doctors and nurses rushed in to help and level out everything. He was waking up.”

We heard the front door open. “We’re home!” Dante yelled.

“Alright, I’d better go help them with the groceries. Try to get some more rest.”

He nodded and pushed the DVD player off to the side, trying to get comfortable enough to sleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry about the quality of this chapter...I've been super busy lately. Thank you all for your patience, though. <3