Alone Together {Patrick Stump}

Chapter 32

~ Patrick ~

I was home alone. Lyra was at Danni's house and the guys all left last night. When I heard a knock on the door, I got up and walked to the door. When I opened it, there was a girl standing on my doorstep. She didn't seem much older than Lyra, and she had the same blonde hair.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Is Lyra here? I found out from the internet that I could find her here," she said.

"She's not home right now," I answered. "She's over at a friend's. Is there something you want me to tell her when she gets home?"

"Tell her I'm alive," she said, turning to walk away.

"Who are you, if I may ask?" I said.

"Just tell Lyra J's alive," she said. "She'll understand." Then, as she made her way across my driveway, she collapsed. I raced down the driveway, shutting the door and grabbing my keys as I went. I lifted her into my car, with much effort, and drove to the hospital. I'd have to explain to Lyra later.

When I was sure this girl would be okay for now, I quickly drove home to leave Lyra a note and something for dinner. Afterwards, I went back to the hospital to wait.

"Mr. Stump?" a doctor asked. I stood up. "We've identified the girl as a Jessica Gaine. Does that man sound familiar?"

"Gaine," I whispered to myself. "That was my daughter's lay name before I adopted her. Do you know if there's any relation?"

"I'm afraid we don't know," he said.

"I'll see if I can find out who she is," I said, taking out my phone. "How is she?"

"She's stable," he said. "She's in room 127 if you want to see her when your finished." I nodded and chose a contact on my phone. I hit the call button as the doctor walked away.

"Hello?" came the voice of the person I'd called from the other end.

"Veronica? It's Patrick, Lyra's father," I said.

"Hey, Patrick, what's up?" she asked.

"Do you know anyone named Jessica Gaine?" I asked. She was silent for a moment or two.

"Why are you asking me about Jessica?" she asked finally.

"Can you tell me who she is?" I asked again.

"Jessica," she said. She repeated the name again. "She asked everyone to all her Jessie when she turned eight years old. She thought she was cool if people called her Jessie. When she was twelve years old, there was a tragic accident. She was so excited too, just before it all happened. The accident took her life, and left her sister alone." Then it clicked.

"Wait, Jessica Gaine is Jessie?" I asked in shock. "Like, Lyra's sister, Jessie?"

"Yes," she said impatiently. "What do you want to know about Jessie for?" She sounded a little angry.

"I'll explain later," I said. "I have to talk to Lyra first."

"Patrick, what's going on?" Veronica asked.

"I have to talk to Lyra first," I repeated. "I'll call you back. Thanks for the help, Veronica." I hung up before she could say any more and went to Jessie's hospital room. When I got in there, she was awake.

"Where's Lyra?" she demanded. "Where's my baby sister."

"I told you, she's at a friend's house," I said gently. "She'll be home soon, though. I'm going to stay here with you for a while and then go talk to her. I'm sure she'll want to see you."

"I want my baby sister," she demanded. "Go get her right now. I need my baby sister. She has to know what happened."

"I can't get her right now," I said gently. "But I'll go get her later and bring her here. I know you want to see her, Jessie, but you can't right now. I promise it won't be long. You should get some rest." She nodded, reluctantly, and laid down to sleep. I quietly stepped out of the room. I had to call the guys. This could change everything for us.

"What's up, Patrick?" Pete asked when he answered his phone.

"Listen to me, Pete, this is important," I said. 

"What's wrong? Is Lyra okay?" Pete asked in a worried voice.

"Remember how Lyra told us her parents and older sister died in that crash?" I asked.

"Yeah," Pete said slowly. "What's this about, Patrick?"

"Lyra's sister is alive," I said. "She showed up on my doorstep asking about Lyra and she collapsed as she walked across my driveway. I'm at the hospital with her now, but Lyra doesn't know yet. She's at Danni's, but I didn't want to call and tell her while she was having a good time with her friends."

"Okay, this is serious," Pete said. "What does she want Lyra for? What are we going to do if she wants Lyra back? We can't let her go back to that family, Patrick."

"I know, I know," I said. "That's why I called you. This could change everything for us. Lyra will probably want to be with her sister if she gets the choice. I don't want to be the one who stops Lyra from being with her biological family if she wants, but I don't want to lose her. What are we going to do?"

"We tell Lyra and let her make her own decisions," Pete sighed. "It's the only thing we can do. We just have to hope she makes the right decision for herself, whether that be staying with us or going with her sister. We can't stop her from leaving if she wants to be with her sister. Just don't do anything stupid and make her want to leave. I'll call Joe and Andy and update them on the situation. You just focus on Jessie and Lyra. We'll take care of everything else."

"Thanks, Pete," I sighed in relief. "I'll talk to you later." I got off the phone with Pete and checked the time. I walked back into the room and sat in one of the hospital chairs. When I was sure Lyra would be home, I got in my car and drove home.

~ Lyra ~

The door opened.

"I'm home!" Dad called. 

"I'm upstairs!" I called back.

"Lyra, can you come down here, please?" he called up the stairs. "We need to talk." What could he need to talk to me about? 

I walked down the stairs and met Dad in the living room. I sat on the couch next to him and turned to face him.

"What's going on, Dad? What's this about?" I asked. I was scared to death about what he would need to talk to me about. He looked so serious. More serious than I'd ever seen him, it seemed.

"Lyra, you know we love you, right?" he asked. "All of us. You know that, right?"

"Of course I know that, Dad," I said. "I love you, too. All of you. But what's going on? You're scaring me."

"Lyra," he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Jessica's alive."

"What?" I asked. "What do you mean Jessica's alive? Jessica, as in my sister?"

"Yes," he said. "She showed up here while you were at Danni's. She's at the hospital right now. She's been asking about you since she showed up on our doorstep."

"No, this can't be right," I said. "Jessie died. Jessie died in the car crash. She has a gravestone right next to my parents'. She can't possibly be alive."

"That's exactly what I thought," he said gently. "The doctors identified her as Jessica Gaine when I'd taken her to the hospital. I called your aunt, Veronica, and asked her about anyone named Jessica. She told me that Jessica was Jessie, and she'd died in an accident. I don't understand any of it myself, but she's been asking about you. I thought you should know."

"Can we go see her?" I asked carefully. I was still in shock of the news, and I had to see for myself. Dad nodded and got up. We got in the car and drove to the hospital where, supposedly, my sister was.

*Holy plot twist! You're welcome! :D Sorry if it isn't that great. Hopefully you enjoyed it. If not, I'm sorry it was crappy.