The Other Side | A Bratayley Mystery by Nova

Chapter 04

The Other Side 

Chapter 04

Date: 10/1/15

Jill Donnelly

"Hey girls, how was gymnastics?" I asked Annie and Katie. I got the same reply as always.

"Good."

"Okay, well we were thinking hamburgers for dinner. That okay Annie?"

She nodded and smiled.

"Okay. Mr. Donnelly is making them right now so by the time we get home, we can have dinner. Sound good?"

"Yep," said Katie.

"Okay." We got to the car and I started driving when my phone rang. It's Billy, Annie's dad.

"Hello?"

"Jill, Caleb's in the hospital." Billy's voice was quivering. "I'm at the hospital right now, in the waiting room. Caleb had a headache and he has chest pain and is extremely dizzy. He's not breathing very well too. I already called Katie. Ca—"

"We'll be right there." I hung up. I think Katie already suspected something. Annie was talking about Peanut doing a back aerial on a floor beam, but stopped when she notices my serious conversation.

"What happened Mom?" Asked Katie.

"Bad news. Caleb's in the hospital." As soon as I mentioned Caleb's name, Annie's face fell.

I continued. "His head and chest really hurt, and he's dizzy and not breathing well. We're going to the hospital. Annie's dad is already there, and we'll see him there, along with Hayley and Ms. Katie."

Annie started to cry. "Oh honey, I'm sure he'll be fine," I reassured her.

Annie sniffed and I think that made her feel a bit better. Katie hugged her the whole time as we were on our way to the hospital.

Billy

Katie and Hayley and Jill and the girls weren't here yet, and I was anxiously waiting. I was about to call the Herzes when a doctor came out. "Billy LeBlanc? Are you the father of Caleb Logan LeBlanc?

"Yes, that's me," I said.

"Okay, well before I tell you what's going on, I'm gonna tell you the results of the test we ran on him. He has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It's a heart condition where your heart muscle becomes abnormally thick.

"With the perfect treatment, he may have a chance of living. There's a reason I said 'perfect' not 'right'. This has gone undetected in his yearly checkups, and when this condition hits young children, sudden death may occur."

I buried my face in my hands. No. This couldn't be happening to my only son.

"That was the bad news and I have to tell you the other bad news. I honestly don't know which one is worse. Are you ready, Mr. LeBlanc?"

I really didn't know what was coming.

"Can we wait for the rest of my family? They'll be here any minute."

"Sure," he said. "I'm Jon by the way. Jon Parker." We shook hands.

Soon everyone got to the hospital and Dr. Parker filled them in on every exact thing he told me. Annie, Hayley, and Katie cried the most, and even Jill and her daughter Katie cried too. I cried as well.

"I just want to get the other bad news over with," said Annie.

"Yeah," said Hayley.

"Okay."

I told Dr. Parker and this is what he told us:

"Well, today at 7:08pm, I turned my back for one minute and Caleb was gone. And I mean like he wasn't there. He's missing."

Katie starts choking up and said, "Wait, so he was literally gone? He was just NOT THERE?!"

Dr. Parker nodded.

"My poor baby!" Exclaim Katie. "He has heart problems AND he's missing? Who knows where he is?? He could be—"

Hayley and Annie looked down, knowing what she was about to say.

She sighed.

"We're calling the police," I said.

Caleb

"I'll get your family soon, Caleb. Just hang on." He turned his back towards me and that's the last thing I remembered seeing.

It's black.

And now it's not.

I looked around. I saw two little girls, maybe 5 years old. Hard to tell since it looked like I was so far away from them, like I'm in the sky. They were bouncing on a small trampoline doing walkovers. I think that's what they're called.

Then I saw a house. It was very small, and I was wondering how they could afford a trampoline outside. Well, it was pretty small. But what difference does it make. A hundred dollars?

There was a couple inside of the house. They both had black hair. The mom had a buzz cut. They were looking at what looked like bills and they were tearing up over them. I felt sorry for them.

I suddenly couldn't see them anymore, and I saw a baseball field with players on it. I saw one in particular, number 17, but couldn't put my finger on how I recognized it. David? Nah, that wasn't his number. Luke? No, not his number either. I wondered if I would ever find out.

Suddenly I saw those little girls. They were moving closer and closer to me.

Did they see me?

They didn't.

Why was I getting closer to them?

That's when I realized I was falling.

Why was I falling?

Well, to be fair, I was in the sky.

Probably flying.

I must've been dreaming.

When I hit the ground I saw black.

And that's when I knew I was dreaming.