Memory in a Bottle

Jace

The doctors just hauled Lilah off to surgery. I'm stressing out. She told me everything that happened to her. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I told her that I love her but she's acting like I'm not supposed to love her. I went to her house to ask her about us, but when I got there her foster parents told me that she was going for a walk to clear her head and that she wasn't going to be home till later. I knew in that moment that she shouldn't be alone. So, I asked them which way she went, and they pointed towards the beach. I ran till I found her in the water walking further and further in. I saw a big wave coming so I sprinted towards her and grabbed her arm. As soon as she turned around her face looked like she died inside. My heart shattered as she told me to let her go. I couldn't let her go and she needed to know that. I told her that I loved her, and she looked at me like I was crazy. She told me that I couldn't, and I didn't love her. I tried to pull her towards me, and I was trying to explain it to her when a big wave took her away from me. I ran in the water to find her, but I couldn't. I look everywhere, until I heard her scream my name. I started towards her shouting her name when another wave brings her under. I swam as fast as I could, she was unconscious when I got to her. I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to the shore. As I got there someone already called 9-1-1 and people were racing to me. I told them what happened while looking around to see if I could find her foster parents. Much to my disappointment they weren't there. It was like they didn't ca-

"Sir?" A woman asked pulling me from the memory. I look up to see a nurse.

"Yes?"

"Are you a relative to Delilah Clark?" Clark? She took the last name from her foster parents. I stood up.

"Um... yes. Yes, I am. I'm Jace Clark. Is she alright?" I ask worriedly. The nurse looks at me like she doesn't believe me, but she doesn't say anything.

"Her broken rib punctured an organ and so she was drowning in her own blood. We had to take her up to surgery." My legs collapsed from under me.

"Is... Is she... okay?" I ask hesitantly.

"She's struggling but other than that she's fine." I breathe out a sigh of relief. "But..." I tense and look at her.

"But?" I prompt her.

"But there is a risk on doing the surgery."

"What risk?" I ask alarmed.

"Her rib might've punctured an important organ. We don't know for sure-"

"Then get in there and make sure she lives!!" I shout at her. The nurse and a few other people looked at me.

"Y-yes, sir." She whispers and walks away. I get up and sit down in a chair. I put my head in my hands. What am I going to do? Why can't she fight-

"Jace, I'm sorry we're late." Said Luran.

"How is she?" Asked Shaun.

"I don't know, she just went up to surgery." I replied defeated.

"Why? I thought she was fine." Questioned Shaun.

"If you thought she was fine then you were highly mistaken." I said angerly. "Whatever happened to you being there for your children?"

"We are!!" Shouted Luran. "We just couldn't come right away." I turn to say something, but Shaun cut me off and held up his hand.

"We were busy. She had a meeting, and I had a client who needed me." He said matter a factly.

"So?" I said irritated. "Families come first before anything else. She matters as well as your other kid. You should be able to drop a dime when it comes to her. You do it to all your other kids, why not her? She needs-"

"Don't tell us what she needs and what she doesn't need. We are her foster parents, and we know how she rolls. So, you don't need to parent us." Luran says with an attitude. I want to tell her where to shove her attitude, but I'm just too exhausted from everything to even deal with her crap. I got up and walked over to the café to get myself some more coffee. I want to stay awake until she is out of surgery. This time I ask for the strongest coffee that they had. The barista looked at me funny. She knows that this is my sixth cup of coffee.

"Long night?" she asks.

"Yes, ma'am." I reply as she grabs the cup of coffee.

"Well, I hope it gets better for you." she replies sincerely and walks off to help another customer. I walk away taking a sip of my coffee.

Sometimes when me and Lilah were little I would stay up and watch her sleep. I know it sounds weird, but I would make sure that she was safe. I've always had a crush on her, but I would cover it up and try to date other girls. Overtime I realize that it was only her that I wanted. I wanted to take care of her for the rest of our lives. I wanted to be the only one that she looks at. For a while I thought that she was starting to realize it but then she got kidnapped and after all that she changed. She didn't let me anywhere near her. She didn't want anything to do with me. It broke my heart into pieces. I want her to see that she's not alone. That I'm here for her. I want her to know that and understand it. I look up to see the doctor walking towards me. I stand up as he speaks.

"Mr. Clark?" He asks.

"Yes, please call me Jace."

"Okay, Jace, your sister made it through the surgery. We had some problems, but she fought through. She's currently heading in the ICU."

"Can... can I go see her?" I ask holding my breath as he smiles.

"Yes, you can. But she's still satiated." I release my breath and I run to the ICU. As I got there, I noticed that she's on the ventilator and I remembered what the doctor said.

'-Your sister made it through the surgery. We had few problems, but she fought through...'

So, what were the complications? I walked over to the side of her bed.

"Hey," I whisper. People say that the people who are in satiation can still hear you. I hope it's true. "I know you probably can't hear me... or maybe you can... I don't know. I just wanted to talk to you and tell you how much I love you. I want you to be my one and only." I clear my throat from the lump that was building up. I grab her hand and put my head on it.

"Have you ever thought on why I went through girl after girl?" I ask. "I know you haven't actually thought about it. But that reason would be because I love you. I'm in love with you. We've been through a lot, I know. I want you to look at me and realize that you actually love me. I want you to stay strong and hang in there for me. I want you Delilah Nichole Clark, and when the time comes, I want you to marry me and become that missing puzzle piece in my heart. I love you with all my heart. I wish that I know if you are listening." I look up at her and saw a tear glistening from her closed eye. I get up and wipe it off her face. She heard me. I can't believe it... usually people aren't able to show emotion... wow, I-I can't believe it. I sit back down and held her hand. I don't know how long it was till a doctor came in to check her vitals.

"Why can't she breathe without that machine?" I ask as he looks up.

"Oh, um... because during surgery her heart stopped and so with procedure, we had to put her on the ventilator."

"Can she come off it now?" I ask curiously. The doctor looked at his iPad then checked her vitals again. "Doctor?"

"Hmm? Uh.... yes, yes she's able to come off it." He walks out and comes back with a few nurses. They walk over to Lialah's bed. The doctor at the head, two nurses at her monitor and another two next to the doctor. The doctor starts pulling out the tube. "Ms. Clark you might feel a little discomfort, but it will only be a few seconds." He explained. He pulled the rest of the tube and Lilah started coughing. I quickly walked over to her only to be stopped by the nurses.

"She's okay." Said the blonde nurse.

"But... but she's coughing..." I say weakly. I sounded like a child.

"She's okay." Soothed the nurse and I looked over at Lilah.