Winter, Year 1 Month 11
Olivia was passed out in the passenger seat. Dani would have smiled at the small snoring sounds that floated out of her nose every few minutes if she wasn't focused on getting them home safely.
The roads were empty. That was to be expected of a highway at three in the morning. But still, Dani checked her side view and rearview mirrors every three minutes like she was driving to pass her driver's license test.
When Olivia had promised her they'd soon be out on the road together again, this was not what Dani had in mind.
Nothing that had happened that night was anywhere close to what Dani had had in mind. She expected a quiet night closing up the record store, a quick stop at Hank's for a chat and a sandwich, and then home to bed as she had one last final exam the next morning at an ungodly hour.
She made it as far as Hank's. They chatted, caught up, and then he left Dani to her rear booth with her phone propped up against the salt shaker. She ate, barely aware of how the food tasted, wrapped up in her sister's performance, recorded only a few hours before, live from Madison Square Garden.
Her headphones blocked out the noise of a party of secretaries celebrating the holidays a few tables over and she didn't even notice the youth group that had made a trip into the city to see all the Christmas lights clogging up the bar stools. Olivia was crushing it on stage. Nothing else mattered.
Dani couldn't help but smile as her sister belted out the high note to her second to last song. She made it one verse into her duet with Jayden, her finale, before turning it off just as he was about to sing.
She carried her plate over to the counter and was in the middle of calling out to Hank 'Merry Christmas' when her phone rang. She answered it before it could ring a second time, smiling with a 'Congratulations' on her lips. But the person who spoke before she could was not her sister. And what they said froze her in her tracks for one long second. And then it sent her speeding out the cafe and down the highway, headed south.
Dani called her mom as soon as she regained conscious thought and could think of anything other than what she was speeding towards. Luckily the roads were clear for a Connecticut highway headed towards Manhattan at Christmas time. All the traffic was coming towards her, people heading home for the weekend.
"Get her home."
Those were Molly's only instructions. They were followed with promises that she would be waiting for them when they got back and she was sending her prayers with Dani, an unnecessary reminder for Dani to drive safe ending the call.
Dani swore when her gas light came on two hours in and at least another hour and a half to go. Anything that kept her from moving towards her sister felt like a personal insult.
There was a small TV mounted on the gas pump, playing a continuous reel of stock commercials mixed in with sporadic news updates. The bit that played while Dani stood at the pump almost made her overflow her gas tank.
"- causing the Manhattan speedway to back up all the way to Fifth Avenue. No causalities as of yet but the offending car sped away in the commotion. The police are asking for any information anyone on the highway at the time might have as to the make and model of the car. Two passengers were rushed to the hospital once an ambulance made it through the chaos. No report as of yet to their condition nor their identity but sources are already saying that the damage was sufficient enough to total the car."
Dani was racing away from the gas station before they could play more helicopter footage of the car wreckage on the Manhattan highway that ran along the city. She left just as close up photos of the passenger side were published and added to the circulation.
So many things about that night reeked of bad luck and yet Dani made it to the city with very little traffic and even found a parking spot right in front of the hospital uptown, far away from the tourist rush clogging up the city for the holidays.
She didn't stop for a breath. She didn't even stop to realize this was the first time she had driven down to the city alone. For a few years when they were younger, her parents took Dani and Olivia down every Christmas to see the lights and catch a Broadway show. After her dad left, the money became tighter and the trips less frequent. But once Olivia got her license, she had made a pack with Dani that they would make it down to New York at least once a year. They hadn't gone since she got signed. This was their first time fulfilling that pack in almost three years. What a way to keep a promise.
Dani rushed into the emergency room, the usual chaos expected for a New York City hospital all around her. She tried the front desk and was told to wait. She grabbed one of the passing nurses and was told to wait. She finally got hold of an administrator on her way to the bathroom, trying to get information as to where her sister was being treated. She was told no reporters were allowed past the main doors.
The woman slipped out of her grasp before Dani could yell at her that she wasn't a reporter, that Reeve Keller was her sister and she had been her emergency contact.
Finally, Hilda, Olivia's assistant, appeared from beyond the swinging doors. Security had called up to their floor to alert them that someone was trying desperately to see Reeve Keller. Dani signed at the familiar frown and would have wrapped her up in a hug if the short, stout, sour woman didn't immediately lock eyes with Dani and then turn on her heel to retreat the way she came with a terse "Come with me" as her only greeting.
Dani followed Oliva's unpleasant assistant up three floors, the air in the elevator tense. The floor they exited out onto was much quieter than the chaos they had left behind.
"Stay here."
The assistant barely paused to point to the empty waiting room before retreating down a long hall and disappearing into a room, presumably Olivia's room. Dani tried sitting but was pacing at the first sight of magazines over a year old.
A TV was mounted in the corner playing some rerun of a corny family game show. Nothing could distract her movement, the obsessive back and forth of her steps as she paced across the waiting room in every direction.
Five minutes was as long as she lasted. She couldn't take it anymore and walked up to the nurses' station, prepared to do whatever to get some information.
"Olivia Keller. What room is she in?"
"I'm sorry, ma'am but that's privileged information. Family and immediate associates only. No reporters."
The head nurse could have been the assistant's long lost soul sister. She didn't even bother looking up from her paperwork when Dani spoke. Dani reached into her pocket and pulled out her license, shoving it into the nurse's face.
"Danielle Florence Keller. I'm her freaking sister! Now! What room is Olivia Keller in?"
"Ma'am! Back up or I'm going to call security!"
"Let me see my sister!"
"Security!"
One of the other nurses appeared around the corner and stepped in just as the scene was about to erupt. She even waved down the security guard from his post at the elevator.
"I've got this, Ken. Candace, go take a break. I'll handle this."
The older nurse scowled at Dani and Dani scowled right back until she disappeared around a corner. The new nurse was younger, almost Dani's age and she was smiling sympathetically.
"Can I see that ID?"
Dani handed it to her.
"Looks legit."
"That's because it is."
"Your sister's in with the doctor now. They initially took her up to the ICU but they brought her down here, to the private wing, when they realized that her wounds were mainly superficial."
Dani's brain was having trouble understanding exactly what the nurse was saying.
"Is she okay? Can I see her?"
"Not right now. But soon. I promise. You just have to be patient. She's going to be okay. She's banged up but it's mainly cuts and bruises. She did suffer a minor head injury and has a concussion but with lots rest, she should make a speedy recovery."
"And Jayden? What about him? Is he here?"
Dani looked around as if Jayden would be sitting in the waiting room, as nervous and apprehensive as Dani was.
"I'm sorry but I can't tell you anything about another patient's condition."
"But is he here?"
The nurse swallowed before answering.
"No. He's not. He was discharged a few hours ago."
"He walked away without a scratch, didn't he?"
The nurse didn't say anything but her silence was enough. Dani whispered something not very nice under her breath as she rubbed her head, taking a deep breath for the first time since Jayden's voice had met her ear, calling her from Olivia's phone to tell her what had happened.
"You should be able to see your sister soon. Can I get you a coffee while you wait?"
Dani shook her head, thanked the nurse, and then immediately regretted her refusal when she caught sight of the time. She slumped into one of the waiting room chairs and dropped her head into her hands, her mind pleading, over and over again, a single prayer. She had cried it out on her way out of the city and she was praying it again, now only feet from her sister's hospital room.
"God, please let her be okay."
She only moved when she started to feel her eyes droop and stood to find the nurse again and take her up on that offer of coffee. As she approached the nurse's station a doctor appeared from one of the rooms down the hallway. She didn't even notice Dani as she handed the chart to one of the nurses.
"Room 27 is asking for early discharge. Please make sure the paperwork says 'against doctor's recommendation.' I don't want her high-priced Hollywood lawyers coming after me with a malpractice suit just because she refuses to stay overnight."
"You're Olivia's doctor?"
Dani forgot all about the coffee. She could see the doctor try to size Dani up before refusing to give any information.
"I'm her sister. I was called down here to pick her up. I just drove four hours from Boston. You have to tell me how she is."
The young nurse from before had reappeared and nodded when the doctor glanced in her direction, affirming that Dani was telling the truth.
"Your sister is going to be fine. She seriously banged up but with time and rest, she'll heal. She's got bruises all over her chest from the seat belt and her back and neck are stiff from the whiplash. But with some physical therapy, she's going to be just fine. There's a gash on her cheek but we stitched it up and it'll heal and eventually fade with time. She's dizzy and confused but that's natural with a concussion. We were planning on keeping her one night, maybe two, for observation but she's demanding we let her go."
"Can I see her?"
"Are you here to take her home?"
"Yes."
"You'll need a sedative. I doubt she'll get in a car willingly after what's just happened. Sara, can you get that ready."
The nurse nodded and moved down the hall and out of sight.
"She's been asking for you. And some guy named Jayden. I'm guessing that was the driver?"
Dani nodded.
"Seems like a real winner."
The doctor's serious manner had lessened enough that Dani could hear the disgust. Dani huffed in agreement.
"My sentiments exactly."
The doctor pointed down the hall to Olivia's room and Dani took off without another word, not worried or even aware that she hadn't said thank you.
She slid the glass door open slowly and pushed aside the curtains. Olivia was sitting on the edge of the large bed, her feet dangling over the sides. Hilda was sulking in the corner.
It took Olivia a minute to look up and see who had entered. She tried smiling then winced when she met Dani's eyes. The doctor hadn't been lying about the cut on her face.
It was long and narrow, barely missing her eye as it traced up her cheekbone to her temple. Dani tried to ignore it. She moved towards her sister and wrapped her in a soft, gentle hug, aware of how fragile her sister felt in her arms.
Olivia grabbed Dani's hands and Dani responded with an affectionate squeeze. Olivia winced again.
"Oh! I'm sorry!"
Dani looked down and found Olivia's hands wrapped in gauze.
"Don't worry about it. It's not bad. Just from the glass. Dan, you're here. Praise God. You can get me out of here."
"How are you feeling? How's your head?"
"Fine. I'm fine. Please. Tell the doctor I'm fine. I want to leave already. This is so stupid just sitting here when I could be back at my hotel. At least there I would be wearing pants."
Dani gave her a small smile in response to her joke.
"I'm here to take you home. Mom wants you back tonight."
Olivia was shaking her head before Dani could even finish the thought.
"No. I can't. Please. You can't make me."
Olivia was crying but seemed unaware of it as the tears fell without stopping.
"Hey. It's okay. You're gonna be okay. I'm here. The doctor's gonna give you something to help you sleep. You'll fall asleep and wait up at home, okay? You won't even know how you got there. Where are your things? Are they still at the hotel?"
"I brought them here."
Hilda spoke for the first time since Dani had entered the room. She pointed to a compact black suitcase standing near the door. She was unpleasant but efficient.
"Great. Can you take that down to the car? It's the red hatchback parked right outside."
Dani handed the assistant the keys and she disappeared with the suitcase.
"What about Jayden? Have you seen him? Is he okay? They said that only family could see me."
"He was the one who called me."
"Is he still here? Can I see him?"
"He's okay. They already let him go. Right now we need to focus on getting you home."
"Yeah. Okay. He'll probably check in later."
Sara brought in a small cup of water and a small cup of pills and handed them to Olivia to take.
"We have a wheelchair waiting outside for you."
Dani mouthed 'Thank you' as Sara shut the door on her way out. The assistant had left some sweatpants on the couch and Dani crossed the door to get them, helping Olivia stand and then find balance as she got off the hospital bed. Dani half looked away as she helped her sister change out of the hospital gown and into her own clothes.
Olivia held tight to both of Dani's hands with one of her own and reached out for the nearest wall with the other. The security guard Ken was standing waiting with the wheelchair and led them downstairs and out a back entrance.
"I told your assistant to meet you out here so you didn't have to exit through the lobby."
"Thank you," Dani said when Olivia didn't respond.
It took both Dani and Hilda to get Olivia from the wheelchair into the car, the sedative already taking effect as her protests were weak and unintelligible.
"She'll need to eat. I grabbed some food from the fast-food place down the street."
The smell of grease and salt hit Dani as she took her seat behind the wheel. She leaned past Olivia to meet Hilda's gaze.
"Thank you," she said with meaning. "Are you gonna be okay? Do you have a way to get back to LA?"
"The label got me a ticket for a red-eye that takes off in an hour."
She closed the door when she would have probably slammed it. Dani passed Olivia a burger from the bag of food and sat there in the back parking lot of the hospital to make sure she ate it, saving her food for the drive home.
They made it out of the city and hit clear highways the whole way home. Olivia was asleep before they had finally exited the hospital parking lot.
Dani only stopped once and it was when she finally couldn't fight the fact that she was close to falling asleep at the wheel and couldn't put Olivia through a second car wreck that night. The coffee place was dead, the term 'graveyard shift' never more relevant. There was a TV hanging in the corner behind the counter, tuned to a news station that half of the staff were watching while only one of them bothered to prepare Dani's coffee.
Dani stared at the counter as the reporter spoke, his words grating on her ears, contemplating whether or not she should forget the coffee and take her chances back out on the road.
" - finally identified. There were several eyewitnesses at the hospital when they arrived. We have our on-location reporter, Whitney, at the scene. Whitney?"
"Thanks, David. I'm here at Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital on 110th Avenue, where Reeve Keller was just discharged against doctor's wishes. A source inside the hospital claims that while most of her injuries are superficial, she did suffer a minor head injury and it is hospital policy to keep head injury patients overnight for observation. However, Reeve Keller was adamant and demanded she be let go. She was released only a few hours ago. JJ Jones, popular singer-songwriter, was confirmed as the driver of the vehicle when it crashed, many people catching sight of him being wheeled into the hospital after Keller. But as his side of the car was not the side hit, he was released after a routine check. That's all for now. Back to you guys in the studio."
Dani didn't hear what the guys back in the studio had to say. The distracted barista finally slid her latte across the counter, setting her racing once again for her car.
There was a single light on in the house when Dani finally pulled the car into the driveway. Molly was standing at the door before Dani even got out of the car and she was racing to Olivia's car door as Dani rounded the car to join her.
Between the two of them and Olivia's semi-conscious state, they managed to haul her up the front steps and down the hall to her bedroom. Molly already had the blankets pulled back and black-out curtains hung on the windows. The room was as dark as a tomb.
Dani left her mom to tuck Olivia in and returned to the car to grab her things. Her phone was ringing when Dani opened the car doors again and it took her minute of digging to find it in one of the front pockets of the suitcase. The screen readout "Jon B." Dani silenced the phone by turning off it all together.
Molly met her with a tight hug at the front door and Dani broke down crying for the first time all night. She had no thought for the time or her final exam only a few hours away. All she could think about was her sister, laying broken and unconscious down the hall.