Page 34 of Save You

The house that used to freak me out for years stands before me, slightly hazy through my tired eyes after driving for what felt like years to get here. I learned to like this house and saw it as a second home. When I became a teenager, its owner became as close as any other member of my immediate family. Stephen made it a safe place for me to go and vent, to ask questions, and to seek silence when Casey was having one of her get-togethers with her noisy friends. When I look up at it now, it scares me again. I don’t know what I’m going to find when I walk through those doors. Casey could be black and blue, beyond all recognition, a quivering wreck; a far cry from what she’s always been to me. She’s one of the most confident and self-assured girls I know, and even though she drives me crazy sometimes, I don’t want her to have changed. Selfishly, I’m already wishing I was back in the cabin with Beth, away from the reality of what I left behind, as well as all the Mayfield shit that ended up being attached to it.

My uncle was right when he said going to the hospital was a dangerous idea, so he had Casey discharged into his care. With my parents away, they remain oblivious to their daughter’s attack. As for me, they still think I’m overseas, travelling the world with Beth. A lie that still landed me in trouble, according to Stephen, especially as they’ve never even met the girl before. If only they knew how much more palatable this story is than the truth.

Stephen’s ninety-nine percent sure that his place is clean, but just to be on the safe side, he arranged for me to sneak in with a landscape gardener who’s been coming on a daily basis for a few weeks now.

Once I step inside of the echoey hallway, all covered in marble and feeling as cold as a mausoleum, I shuffle quietly along the floor and upstairs to where I’m guessing Casey will be re-cooperating. I even hold my breath to remain as silent as I can. It feels like I’m inside a public library where the cliché stern librarian is keeping watch and is just waiting for me to slip up so she can yell at me to get out. I exhale when I hear quiet talking from one of the guest rooms, signaling to where I will find both my sister and uncle.

“Xander?!” Casey shouts over to me, even before I’ve fully stepped inside of her room. “Is that really you?”

Her voice breaks at the end, and her weakness only makes me feel all the worse than I did before. Before today, I can’t remember the last time my sister cried; she was probably still in diapers. When I take in her appearance, my fists clench up, and I have to take a moment or two to calm myself, otherwise, I might go nuclear in front of them. Her eye is swollen, she has a cut lip, and her left arm is bandaged up; these are only the visible injuries. When I manage to look up at her again, my shoulders slump guiltily and I try my best to not let traitorous tears slip from my eyes.

“Oh my God,” she cries as she reaches her arms out for me, “come here!”

Too late! The tears are free-flowing and I’m running to her like she’s Mom and I’m a six-year-old kid who’s just fallen out of the tree again.

“I’m so sorry, Case,” I whimper, “this shouldn’t have happened to you. I’m so sorry!”

“I’m fine,” she laughs, albeit unconvincingly, “a little achy but I’m ok. Let me look at you…” She leans back to assess my appearance with a clear frown forming between her eyes, which are the very same shade of green as mine. “You are one hairy dude at the moment!”

“Jesus, Case! Trust you to get attacked and then pout over what I look like!” I huff before sitting on the bed beside her, but now smiling because she’s still the same girl, even after everything. I clasp hold of her hand and link my fingers between hers before bringing it up to offer a friendly kiss.

“Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Please shut up and be my brother for five minutes,” she says with a smirk, one that tells me how pleased she is to see me. “You’re supposed to annoy the hell out of me while I wind you up into a grump. How’s Beth?”

“She’s…she’s good,” I reply, even though she can see the doubt in my eyes. I have to tread carefully because Stephen is the only member of my family who knows about the baby, and we need it to stay that way. Not even Beth’s mum knows she’s about to become a grandmother.

“She’s still frightened most of the time, but otherwise, she’s ok.”

“After what happened to me, I can totally understand her fear,” she says, swallowing hard and looking at her bandaged hand. “Promise you won’t let them get her, Xander…or you for that matter.”

“It’s what I’m trying to do,” I reply, squeezing her hand again before looking back at her with what I hope is reassurance, “believe me. This will all be over one day…I hope.”

She smiles at me, but I can see the uncertainty still lurking behind her façade. Right now, no one knows how we’re going to make what I just said happen, but I have to believe it for everyone’s sake, especially now that I’m about to become a father.

After the intensity of my arrival and making promises that I don’t know if I can keep, we fall into more light-hearted conversation about mundane things. Things like our parents, school, Matt and Amelie’s epic break-up, even Kyle. We banter like we used to, leaving my uncle far behind as we bounce from one topic to another so quickly, he loses both track and interest. He keeps smiling though, enjoying the company of his niece and nephew, who, for the moment, are safely inside of his house and out of harm’s way.

It feels like a good few hours have passed before I hear my phone ringing, instantly reminding me that I’m yet to talk to Beth, and to let her know I got here ok. I had tried a few times on the way down, including when I snuck inside of the landscaper’s truck, but got no reply. Signal at the cabin is sketchy at best, and seeing as she is unable to waddle much further than the front door, I figured I’d have to wait until she called me.

“Hey, baby,” I smile goofily while Casey pretends to be sick in the background. I flip her the bird before getting up to wander out of earshot so I can whisper gushy sentiments over the phone.

“Xander?!” My heart stops dead because this voice doesn’t belong to Beth, neither does it sound cool, calm, or collected. In fact, the owner of said voice sounds like they’re about to deliver the worst type of news.

“Where’s Beth? What’s wrong?” My head becomes dizzy, and I can hear my heart thudding rapidly inside between my ears.

“You need to come back straight away…it’s not good, Xander. There was so much blood!”

Her words have me bolting for the paper bin where I begin retching up the entire contents of my stomach. They only intensify when I hear Carol begin to whimper down the phone.

“Xander, I had to do it; I had to phone an ambulance! She’s at the hospital now.”

“What?! No!” I shout before my uncle rushes to my side with confusion marring his face. All the while, my sister is screaming for someone to tell her what the hell is going on.

“I’m sorry, so sorry, Xander,” she cries, “he’s here!”

All the blood in my body feels like it’s running freely from my being, causing me to falter on my feet, and my brain to fall into a state whereby I’m not entirely sure if I’m going to pass out or not. Stephen catches the phone before I have a chance to register it slipping from my trembling hand. I sink to my knees, where I steady myself against the cold, marble flooring and listen to the muffled conversation going on between my uncle and Carol. It feels like the end of me.

My blood pressure drops to an all-time low before I’m suddenly hauled to my feet by Stephen, who is now shouting at me, telling me we have to go immediately. My body morphs into autopilot, finding strength from I have no idea where to get up and let him pull me through the house, with my mind stuck in a blur of lights and fog.

---