Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple."
― Dr. Seuss
James drove me to the hospital.
The drive to the hospital was a blur. I don't remember much of it. All I remembered was that I was running out of the house, but was stopped when Matthew caught me. I think I was crying. I'm not sure. I think Matthew hugged me to him as he kept on asking me what was wrong. I don't know what I told him.
Because nothing was wrong. In fact, something was finally right.
When I first answered that call, I was not sure what I was going to hear from the person on the other end, but I sure as hell did not expect, Finn telling me what he told me.
"Hayley, get here right away. Hunter is awake."
I think I told James that I needed to see Hunter. He didn't ask me any questions as he ordered Matthew to bring me to the car. As he began to drive me to the hospital, I remembered not being able to wait to get there. I remembered losing my patience and yelling at James to go faster at some point of the time. James didn't say a word as he simply drove to the hospital, a little faster than before. He must have understood how important it was for me to be at the hospital soon – he didn't even ask me to not yell at him.
When we were about half way to the hospital, I began to hyperventilate. My brother was awake. What was I going to tell him? That our mom is dead and our sister is in a coma from which we are not sure if she is going to wake up or not? Yeah, that would go really well.
My little brother has been in coma for almost two years. He has been out of touch with the world. He would be very confused as to what was happening around him. He would want help in getting used to all the changes that were around him. It is all already going to be difficult for him, how do I tell him about mom and Alana.
"Take a deep breath, Hayley," James reached for my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, "I really don't know what I would do if you fainted."
"I cannot help it, James," my eyes teared up and I had to stop myself from crying out loud, "The day I have been waiting for has finally arrived. My little brother is awake. And I don't know what I am supposed to do! How am I going to tell him everything that happened in the time he was asleep?"
"Hayley..."
"I cannot just barge into his room and be like, 'Oh, hey, Hunter! You are awake. You have been in a stupid coma for about two years. Alana is still in coma though. Oh, and did you hear? Mom is dead!'? I don't think that will go very well."
"Baby steps, Hayley," he sighed, "Have you ever heard of that? Stop panicking first."
"I-"
"Look, your brother needs you right now. He needs your help to get a grip with everything around him that has changed in the past years that he was asleep."
I shook my head, a drop of tear trailing down my cheek, "I don't know what to tell him."
"Your brother is awake. Just remember that for now. You are going to go there and shower him with love that he has not felt for the past two years. You don't have to talk about anything else right now. We'll take things as they come."
I was exhausted. I had no more energy to argue with James. I had no energy to tell him what I felt at this moment and what I was exactly afraid of. He wouldn't understand anyways. It was not his brother; it was not mine – I was the one responsible to fill Hunter with all the gaps that would be missing in his brain.
I silently leaned back, not bothering to give my best friend a reply. I was in no mood for that. My mind was refusing to rest with all the 'what ifs' that it has been questioning me with. Even if I was to tell James about all that, I don't think he could possibly help me with this. These were my demons to chase and I have to do it on my own. There was no other go.
I was resting peacefully on my bed, thinking of what I should buy for Logan for his birthday next week. My thoughts were all a mess and I couldn't come up with anything worthy that I could gift my awesome boyfriend. I was on the verge of giving up when the stress of all this got to my head and I got a headache.
I was sulking, thinking of how much of a waste of space I was, when Alana barged into my looking all red and furious. I looked up at her and almost fell off the bed with shock.
"What the hell happened to you?!"
My otherwise beautiful sister's face was covered in graffiti – a poor handiwork really. I think it was glitter that was twinkling in her hair. She was a mess.
"Well, why don't you ask your beloved brother what the hell happened to me?!" she fumed.
Everything clicked in place and I let out a laugh, so loud that even Alana was caught off guard by the sound. I tried to swallow my laugh, but it only came out stronger than before. My sister rolled her eyes, her lips pulling down with annoyance.
"Laugh all you want, but when I kill that brat, I would be the only one laughing."
"Come on," I said, between my chuckles, "You have to admit. This is hilarious."
"You are my sister or his?"
"Um, both? Hello?"
"No," she crossed her arms over her chest, a look of defiance set across her face, "You have to choose sides now. This is war. You are either my sister or his. But remember, if you chose his side, we will forever be enemies."
Rolling my eyes at her, I got off the bed, "Before choosing sides, I have to know both sides of the story."
"So?"
I pulled my sister out of my room, in search of our little brother, "We are going on searching spree for Hunter."
Alana did protest a little on hearing my words, but I managed to drag her along with me. Finding my brother was not difficult. He was hiding in the attic, his usual hiding spot from when we were kids. He would always hide there, be it if we were playing a game or if he was hiding from mom after breaking another of her antic vase.
"Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have hidden here!"
"And still you were stupid enough to," Alana snipped at our brother.
Hunter smirked, "Nice face. Better than your old one."
"You little monster!" Alana screamed, trying to run around me to get to our brother, who let out a squeak, jumping back.
Lucky for him, I had caught her hand and pulled her back to me. Didn't want my sister to murder my brother. "Kids, kids! Stop this."
"You heard him taunting me!"
"I did and I'll take care of this," I assured her, before turning to our brother, "Why?"
Hunter pouted, his entire face falling as he crossed his hands over his chest. I had to supress a smile on noticing how similar he looked to Alana when he was annoyed. We all had the habit of crossing our arms over our chest when we were annoyed.
"What is this? An interrogation?"
I shrugged, "Pretty much."
"I'm not going to answer you, Hayley."
"You can either answer me, or answer mom. The difference is, she'll ground you."
He bit his bottom lip in thought, before begrudgingly spitting out a few words, "It was revenge."
"What?" Alana burst out, glaring at him, "What for? What did I do to you?"
"You know exactly what you did!" he glared back.
"What did she do?"
He huffed, letting his annoyance out, "I was talking to Candy at school yesterday. God knows, how long I have been trying to get enough courage to ask that girl out. Alana thought that would be the awesome time to call out to me from the other end of the hallway, to "remind" me that I forgot to wear my man diapers today."
No, she didn't!
I think I gave myself a whiplash when I turned so quickly to look at our sister. She chewed on her bottom lip, a look of guilt over taking her features as she averted her eyes to the floor in shame, "Don't look at me like that. I was just messing with him. I thought it was funny."
"To you," Hunter corrected, "It was funny to you. The same way your graffiti covered face and glitter covered hair is funny to me."
Alana stomped her feet, turning to look at me, "Hayley, he crossed a serious line when he did this to me."
I stayed silent as Hunter pinched our sister, "So did you. Cadence is never going to go out with me. Ever."
"Well, you-"
I clapped my hands, getting tired of their argument, "I was so right. You both are still kids," suddenly, I burst out laughing, "But God, you both are so funny!"
With that I turned around and walked out of the place, letting my siblings to deal with their mess themselves. I had a boyfriend whose birthday was coming up. I had to think of something good to buy him.
I don't know what happened between them after I left, but an hour later, when I went down to the kitchen to make myself something to eat, my brother and sister were both laughing and watching a movie together. They did a complete three-sixty, Lord!
A smile lit up my face when I looked them. I didn't know what I would do if I didn't have them with me. They may be weird, but I loved them with my life.
When I reached the hospital after that very long drive, I was more scared than before. The questions that my brother was going to have were haunting me. He had finally survived the accident that happened a long time ago, but I don't know if I will survive my brother's questions about everything that happened after that accident.
I speed walked my way through the hospital to the familiar room that I knew my brother was in. I didn't even stop to see if James was following me. I knew even if he was lost, he would find his way to the room. He had visited Hunter a few times with me, so he must know his way. Right now, Hunter was the only thing in my mind and I didn't care about anything else.
My heart was thudding in my chest as I reached his room. Taking in a deep breath, I pushed open the door that was the only thing separating me from my little brother. What awaited me into that room was something that I had not even thought about.
"I'm not really in the mood to talk to you right now," Hunter glared at the man that was standing a few feet away from his bed, "You know where the door is, Mr. Hastings. Just go."
Brandon shrugged, and even if his back was facing me, I knew his lips lifted up in a smirk as he heard the annoyance and frustration in my brother's words, "I was just trying to help, son."
"I don't need your help."
"I beg to differ, Hunter. You have been asleep for about two years."
Hunter scoffed, "So, I heard."
"Well, don't you want to know about all that has happened so far? I can fill you in."
"I'm there to do all that, Brandon. You can go now," I somehow found my voice as I stepped into the hospital room, my eyes gleaming fire as I figured why Brandon was here. He was not here to visit my brother and have a friendly chitchat. He was here to torment my brother. He was here to break him down.
"Hayley, it's a pleasant surprise to see you here."
"What is the surprise there?" I snapped, glaring at him, "This is my brother's room."
"Well, I thought you would be busy with your boyfriend. Heard you went to their beach house for a weekend away."
"The fact that you know so much about her whereabouts is really creepy," Hunter commented, shaking his head.
"It is not really difficult to know her whereabouts when she is dating a great business tycoon," Brandon chirped, a taunting smile placed on his lips.
"I will make sure to tell my son that you think so highly of him," James walked inside the room, his posture straight and confident. I envy that man for his ability to handle things with a calm mind. I should learn that.
"Isn't this wonderful!" Brandon clapped his hands, mocking us with his words, "You are all here!"
I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, yeah, it is. Now if you would excuse us, and get out of this room, that would be awesome. My brother needs rest."
"I will be on my way then. Of course, he would need a lot of rest," he smirked, "Mainly after he learns that his other sister is still in coma and his one and only mother is dead."
"Brandon!"
Brandon just smirked, ignoring mine and James' outburst as he winked at Hunter and walked out. I wished I could just run behind him and strangle him for what he had just done.
"What?" the words were merely a whisper, but I heard them straight and clear. The hurt in his voice was unbearable and my heart broke into a million pieces for my brother. I can't even imagine what he must be going through right now.
I looked at my brother's tear stained face, and my eyes tore up as I looked at his state. I wish I had done something about Brandon before he broke the news to my brother so suddenly. I should have just kicked him out of the room, but nothing was going to change right now. The damage was already done. And my brother was hurting.
Hunter sniffed, his head resting on my chest as he tried to wipe the snot off his nose. My heart broke for my brother as he spoke in a broken voice, "Hayley, I want to go home."
How will I tell him there was no home for us now?
I didn't say anything as I kissed the top of his head and looked at James, begging him to do something that would help. He just gave me a sad smile, nodding his head, his way of telling me that he got this.
That evening, I took my brother to our new home.