When Winter Falls

xxiii. then who the hell was i

HER

"This is the world telling you that you can't win. But, you've got to forget about the world sometimes. What happened has happened. So, just drop it and keep going." Bryson leaned forward from his seat at the cafe.

"I can't just move on like that, Bry, it's not that easy." Lisa's cheeks were tear-stained. Her lips quivered, both at the cold and the sob shuddering in her bones.

"When has anything good ever been easy, Lisa? Here's some espresso, you drink it and you feel relaxed for a while. But, it keeps you awake, doesn't it? The caffeine. Haven't you ever been frustrated that drinking such a heavenly beverage in the evening keeps you restless for a long time? Because I have." Bryson stated, setting down his cup of espresso after sipping from it.

"Bry -"

"But, what can you do? It happened. You drank the espresso. Maybe you shouldn't have, but it felt right, so let's just find something else to do and let the mistake go. Learn from it, don't let it learn how to control you instead."

Pause. Dom paused the movie when his phone rang. "It's Lance. I think I have to take this. I told him to call me only if something important came up." He stood up and left the living room.

So far, Julia thought the movie was mocking past wounds, and that was good because it meant her brother's acting had been effective. Albeit a bit too effective because he'd started to cry at the same time when his character had started crying, which made her wonder how many times he'd had to shoot that single scene.

She heard exclaims and murmurs from the guest room where Dom was standing. She was curious to know what Lance, of all people, had to say to him but she stay put because Dom would tell her soon anyways. After five minutes of tensed and strained voices, Dom re-entered the hall.

"Soon, Lance." He demanded, then insisting. "Now."

"What happened?" She asked, setting down her can of soda, and moving to get up. He didn't respond, instead stared at the apartment door, tapping his foot restlessly. He only stopped when someone, presumably Lance, jiggled the doorknob from outside and she walked to open it. "What's going on, Lance?"

Even Lance didn't say anything. He just waited until she moved aside to let him in and glanced at Dom wordlessly. He suddenly blurted, "Dom has something to say to you. And he better say it fast. I don't think it should be kept from you."

"Wow, Lance. Put me on the spot, why don't you?" Dom scowled, but Lance stood his ground making Julia wonder about the seriousness of the topic in question. "Julia, promise us you won't get mad."

It was like the time he announced his departure to San Andreas all over again. Nervousness had dominated her brother's features and Lance was looking at her carefully, not as though she was so fragile she would break but as if she was so strong she'd break them both. Like he was afraid she'd be too strong, too strong to even allow herself to feel, she realized.

"You know I can't promise that when you say it that way, Dom." She said.

Lance stepped in, "Promise me you will allow yourself to feel, Jules? That you'll not storm out of here, not turn your emotions off, that you'll think about what's happening now?"

She was starting to hate the way he knew exactly how to say things to her. "I p-promise." She said, defeatedly. "But, only if Dom doesn't say it in his language of nervousness."

At this, Lance made his way to her, cupping her face and running his thumbs below her eyes. "Tell her, Dom. Please." And then he stepped away, just a little, so that she could see Dom in her vision of sight, but not too much that he wouldn't be able to embrace her in a second.

Dom's eyes looked away from her expectant gaze. Except the worst, prepare for the worst. There is no other way. She braced herself. "Dan," he began, and Lance held her hand. "He's alive."

Her knee-jerk reaction was to tackle Dom and yell at him to explain. Ask him why they'd been grieving over the death of someone who wasn't dead. But, she contained it when Lance wrapped his arms around her and began to talk. "What's happening now is that your twin brother is alive. He woke up from a coma this morning and he wants to see you, Jules. That's what's happening now. Forget about how -"

"How he's been in a coma for three years maybe? How they kept it from me because they probably thought I was too weak to handle it? How they thought that his death would be easier than this?" Her voice raised with each question. "Is that what I should forget, Lance?"

"Absolutely not, Jules. I was going to tell you to forget about how he left and remember now how he comes." He kissed the top of her head gently. And she relaxed at his reassurance, looking at his sincerity glint in his eyes..

"We should go visit him." She decided, shakily, after a while, pulling away from him. They nodded at her suggestion and she swept her phone off the sofa.

Before they could actually leave, Dom called out, "Oh, and Jules?"

"Yeah?" She pursed her lips, waiting for him to respond.

Dom glanced at her and then at Lance. He smiled, nodding his head at Lance, "Go for it."  

One down, seven to go.