t w e n t y - t h r e e ✺ is this it?
10:45 P.M.
Chris
I had just got back from celebrating at the gala and was getting undressed when I got a call.
(813)-XXX-XXXX
I groggily pick it up.
"Hello?"
A sniffle comes from the other line. "Um...yeah...Chris...this is Kiefer? Rease's friend?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"She...she got in a car accident."
"Rease did?" I began to pile my clothes back on.
"Yes." Kiefer's voice cracked. I felt extremely bad for the kid.
"Where is she?"
"St. Pete Memorial." Kiefer cries. "Get here as soon as you can, please."
"On my way. Keep your head up, kid." I them send him a goodbye and find myself rushing to be by Rease's side.
---
I rush to St. Pete Memorial and saw quite the string of people there.
There was Kiefer and Riley, Rease's coworkers.
Richie and two older people- those had to be her parents.
Mikie Mahtook, Logan Forsythe, Erasmo Ramirez, and Blake Snell were there too.
Everyone imaginable was here...except for one person.
Her boyfriend.
"Chris." Richie gave me a big hug. "This means so much. So much." He shook his head, breaking the hug crying.
I look straight at Kiefer. His hands were furiously shaking and his breaths were hitched.
I softly walk over to him.
"Wanna talk, kiddo?"
Kiefer quietly nodded, and we began to tread towards the little chapel that was nearby.
"Are you okay?" I asked as we walked into the small room.
Kiefer slumped onto a row and shook his head.
The kid looked terrible. His eyes were red and puffy from crying. As mentioned, he was shaking pretty badly.
"I...I can't." Kiefer sobbed.
"Take your time." I rub circles on his back.
Kiefer took several deep breaths, and sniffled.
"Ya know....this is my first panic attack in 3 years." He nods, feeling a bit more confident. "And I'm scared. I'm really, truly fucking scared."
I nodded.
"Rease...she's...she's been there when I honestly needed it." He wiped his tears on his sleeve. "I wasn't in a good place when she first appeared. I constantly got in arguments with my brother and practically slept in my car sometimes. It's scary."
I nod again.
"I swear to God she's....ugh. She's my best friend. And I can't lose her because some fucking asshole decided 'hey, let's swerve off the fucking road-" Kiefer began to get angry.
"Alright, alright." I grasp him by the arms.
Huffing, Kiefer collapses in my arms.
"God, don't take her away. Please. Please."
"God works in mysterious ways, kiddo. Don't give up." I whisper in his ear.
"I won't. I haven't." Kiefer sat up from my lap. "But Taylor already has."
"What?" I gave him a look. "What'd he say?"
"Okay. Let's start with the fact that he only broke his fucking collarbone."
"Kiefer." I point to the statue of Jesus. "Profanity."
"And after he got his fu-erm, stupid sling, he was allowed to see her. Before her brother and her parents could. You know what he told her? Huh, Chris?"
"What?" I was hooked on his every word.
"I hope you die so I can be on top again."
Now I was pissed.
"That fucking BASTARD!" I stand up. "I knew it! I KNEW-"
"CHRIS!" Kiefer yelled. "I know, man. I know. I'm mad. We all are. But I know...I know a way you can fix it."
"I can fix it?" I mutter. "I can't fix what Taylor did to Rease."
"No. You can't." Kiefer shook his head. "But you can fix what will happen to her."
I cock an eyebrow. "Explain."
Kiefer slightly laughed. "Arch...it's obvious you like her."
"Yeah, yeah, man. I do." I said.
"Do what Taylor can't do." Kiefer nods. "And show her what you can do. Show her what she missed. Because..." Kief trails off, thinking of what to say next.
"Because Rease has liked you this whole time, man."
---
After the chat, I had left Kiefer to pray as I went back out in hopes to see Rease.
Richie and Rease's mom gets up, introducing herself to me.
"Hi there. Pamela Shaffer."
"Chris Archer." We shake hands, respectively.
"Richard's told me about how much you care about my daughter."
"Uh-hem. Our daughter." Rease's dad clarifies.
"Steve." Pamela tells her husband. "Anyway. I appreciate your coming."
"Uh..Mrs. Shaffer,"
"Oh, please. Call me Pam."
"Pam. May I see Rease?"
"Yes, sir." She pointed to room 256. "Right in there."
I send her a thank you and gingerly walk in.
Rease was quietly laying down, hooked up to God knows how many tubes.
I take a seat besides her and hold her cold hand. A nurse that had been toying with her IV looks to me.
"She's in a coma. She may be silent, but believe me. She can hear everything you say. Sir...all I can tell you is to show her love, and I promise she'll show you love right back."
"That's beautiful." I place a hand to my heart. "You need to be a poet."
The nurse laughs. "You never know what situation someone's been in." She then smiles and makes her way to see another patient.
I look to Rease again, then fish out my phone.
"Rease. These last few months, you made me realize so much. I learned about living, I learned about love. I know, because you are love. Man, I am absolutely in love with you. Taylor, he didn't, and will never, realize how much of a gem you are."
I tap the screen of my phone, and sigh.
"There's this remarkable young woman I know. Little does she know that I know about her passion for writing. And there was something that she wrote that got to me.
"Love is patient, but it's not kind either. You know love when you can feel it. You can see it. Hell, you can taste it. You know love when he, or she, looks at you with this look, and how they act around you. See that? He, or she, is happy. And then you know."
"Rease...I know. I know because love is you. And if you wake up, I promise you that I'll show you what love truly is. I promise."
a.n.
all you gotta hope is that Rease wakes up. Tbh this, I felt, was one of the best chapters I've ever written.
I believe there will be five to seven more chapters of this story. I'm sorry I gotta speed things up, but this story being completed is one of my top priorities right now.
love to all.
- rease 🌐