Heartbreak Town (COMPLETED)

Chapter Eight

Renne woke up to the sound of a rooster crowing. A slight summer breeze came in through the open window, filling the room with fresh mountain air. Stretching her arms above her head, Renne stretched, looking around her room. She sighed when she remembered where she was at.
     Renne slipped out of bed and grabbed clothes and toiletries that she needed for a shower, then padded her way to the bathroom down the hall. Halfway down the hall, Renne heard a noise downstairs. She practically stopped in the hallway as she tried to figure out who it was. Then she heard a voice-no, wait- two voices. Both were male; she definitely recognized one of the voices- it was Swayde's. The other voice sounded familiar, but Renne couldn't place who it was. Shaking it off, Renne continued her way into the bathroom.
Renne let the hot water run down her back as she tried not to think about what happened between her and Swayde yesterday. They almost kissed, now she wanted to know why. She hoped that sleep would have let her forget her day with Swayde yesterday entirely, but now she realized that sleep only made it worst.
Knowing that she couldn't stay locked in her room all day, Renne made her way downstairs after she got dressed for the day. Warm, fresh pancakes greeted her on the kitchen island once she got downstairs. But so did the person she was trying to avoid. "Mornin'." Swayde said to her plainly.
      "Mornin'." Renne replied. She worked around Swayde to get herself a plate, silverware and a glass. Not bumping into each other was hard to do in the tight kitchen. It had never seemed so small to Renne in her life.
     "Your grandma called me this mornin' she wants us to go see your sister at the hospital. I'll give you a ride there." Swayde said, forking pancakes onto his plate. He didn't look at Renne.
     "It's fine. I remember where it's at. I can drive myself." Renne replied in the same plain tone as Swayde.
     "I wasn't offerin', your grandma told me to drive you, so I don't have a choice." Swayde poured syrup on his pancakes. He placed a spoonful of butter on top, then sat down at the kitchen table.
     "Okay." Renne shrugged. She took her plate to the table as well, but sat in the seat furthest from Swayde. "What time were you fixin' to leave?"
      "Right after breakfast, that work for you?" Swayde took a bite of his pancakes.
     "Like you said, I don't have a choice." Renne replied, being a smart Alec. The last place she wanted to be was in a truck with Swayde.

The ride to the hospital was just as tense as breakfast was. Swayde nor Renne said anything to each other the whole ride there. It didn't hit Renne that her sister was actually dying until she walked into her sisters room and saw her laying there with no hair, pipes and tubes coming out from all over, and machines beeping relentlessly. Renne's eyes scanned Mallory's slim, weak body just laying there. She didn't know what to do. Tears surfaced to Renne's eyes, but she forced them down; she had to be strong for her sister.
     Mamaw and papaw were sitting in chairs against the wall. Renne had forgotten that anyone was in the room until Mamaw walked up to Renne, wrapping her plump arms around Renne, engulfing her in a hug. "We are so glad that you're here, Reagan." Mamaw said into Renne's shoulder.
     Renne let her guard down and hugged her grandma back. It had been so long since she had let someone hug her like that. Mamaw pulled back, but kept her hands on Renne's shoulders. "It's so good to see you." Mamaw smiled, the corners of her wrinkled eyes turned up.
     "You too, Mamaw." Renne said truthfully. She didn't realize just how much she missed her until just now. But Renne still wasn't ready to forgive these people yet.
     "How's she doin'?" Renne asked, looking down at her sleeping sister.
Mamaw pulled down her light yellow cotton shirt. "She's tired. She just had a chemo treatment today; those days are her worst. But we told her that you were coming and she was excited to see you. Her kids are coming in about an hour."
"I'm glad I was able to come." Renne replied. She took a seat in the chair by Mallory's bed. Swayde stood behind her, but kept his distance. Renne looked around the room. In the process, her eyes drifted back to where her grandparents sat. Her eyes met her grandpa's. He gave her a sad look, then looked away.
A few minutes later, the hospital room door opened and in came four young children in front of a tall cowboy. He looked so familiar, but Renne couldn't place how she knew him.
"Okay kids, be quiet. Your mama is sleeping." The male voice said. That's the voice that Renne heard this morning when she was on her way to the bathroom.
The man turned and shook hands with Swayde, pulling him into a hug. "Hey Doug, thanks for bringin' them out."
"It's alright man." Doug replied, standing next to Swayde. Renne felt both Swayde and Doug's gaze on her. She turned around cautiously and looked up at Doug.
Doug looked at Renne. A flash of sadness flashed across his eyes when he remembered who she was. "Doug, you remember Reagan, right?" Swayde broke the silence.
"Yeah. Yeah, of course I remember Reagan." Doug looked at Swayde. They exchanged an undecipherable look. "How you been?" Doug asked, just to be polite.
"Doin' well. And you?"
"Good." Doug said plainly. He looked away and clenched his jaw. Doug is Swayde's best friend, actually, he's more like a brother to Swayde. They'd been best friends since middle school. Renne and Doug used to be pretty close friends, especially when Renne and Swayde were dating, but after Renne left and Swayde and Renne ended, so did her friendship with Doug. The look in Doug's eyes told her that her leaving hurt him as well; she could tell that he too, just like Swayde and her family, was mad at her for leaving, and mad at her for breaking Swayde's heart. Her quitting town must have left a bigger impact than she thought.