You Can't Be Too Careful [Star Trek/Leonard "Bones" McCoy Love Story]

[14.] No One Else Matters...

[14] No One Else Matters…

When I woke up the next morning, the sun was shining brightly through my window and casting bursts of warm light across the lavender walls. I could see the leaves of the trees in the front yard rustling peacefully, their green hue altering every few seconds due to the position of the sunlight that beat against them. I could already hear kids playing outside, their laughter floating on the air as if they were purposefully trying to share their happiness with me. But I couldn’t join in. The moment my eyes opened, I felt the temporary relief of sleep morph into the rock of worry that always found a way to settle in my chest.

Groaning, I sat up and stretched. My hair was a tangled mess, my arms were asleep from my awkward sleeping position, and my clothes were all twisted and tangled. Bleary eyed, I got to my feet, pulled some clothes out of my suitcase, and went to take a quick shower. It was already eight o’clock; much later than I had originally wanted to wake up. I silently scolded myself as I stepped into the steaming water. I’m running out of time, I thought. I shouldn’t have been so careless.

After quickly washing up, I pulled my hair into a French braid and put on an old pair of jeans, t-shirt, and a sweatshirt, also neglecting any use of makeup. I had no motivation to try to look nice. After all, I was going to a hospital with the possibility of having to say goodbye to my father. I took a moment to examine myself in the mirror. Without the usual mascara, my brown eyes looked bigger and sadder than they normally did. Small tendrils of wet hair stuck out around the frame of my face, already having fallen out of the braid. My already pale skin looked positively white. I took a shaky breath and tapped my fingers on my chin, never tearing my gaze away from the image of the frightened, wraith-like girl that stared back at me from the mirror. She was not the girl that I saw every day. The girl I saw every day was confident, took pride in her appearance, was always clean and prim and proper and ready to take life head on. But this girl that I saw now…she was not that girl. She was merely a ghost of the girl that used to be; a whisper of shattered happiness.

Sighing deeply, I broke eye contact with myself, flicked off the light, and exited the bathroom. I went back to my bedroom and gathered everything I needed into my purse. After locking the front door behind me, I walked to the nearest bus stop and waited. In the meantime, I listened to a voice mail that I had received from Astrid.

“Awight, lass. I’m so sorry ta hear about yer Da. My thoughts and prayers are with ya. Please give me a call when ya can. I’m worried about ya, Cat. Say hi to yer Da fer me, will ya? Love ya to pieces, dear. Call me back soon, ya?”

I smiled at the familiar sound of her voice. I shut my phone and slipped it back into my purse as the bus arrived. After climbing on, I took a seat and continued to wait for our arrival at Rosenthal’s. As much as I missed Astrid, my thoughts were occupied solely with my father. I would call her later.

The drive was about ten minutes long. The moment the double doors whooshed open, I scrambled out into the sunshine and practically barreled through the front doors. Pulling my hair over my shoulder and tugging on the end of my braid, I approached the receptionist.

“Excuse me,” I said, “would you happen to know where Collin Taylor would be?”

The woman looked up and smiled sadly at me. “You must be Catherine,” she replied. “I’ll take you to him.”

She stepped out from behind the desk. She was a round woman who waddled on her feet, but her weight didn’t seem to faze her. Her blue eyes were sparkly and full of optimism, and her tan spiraled curls bounced dramatically as she walked. Though she looked nothing like her, something about her reminded me of Astrid. A small weight on my shoulders lifted, though I still felt like there were bricks super glued to them.