What She Left Us (16 page)

“Jenna!
That’s none of your business!” Courtney scowled. “God, you’re so annoying.”

Mitch
remained quiet. Courtney figured he would tell her later. Instead, he said, “Should
we get the check and head over to the hospital?”

**

Jenna
and Courtney sat side by side at the hospital, on separate lounge-like chairs,
waiting for their first session. Courtney really wanted Mitch to come in with
them, but the nurses wouldn’t allow it, so he kissed her and sat in the waiting
room with the latest
Sports Illustrated.

“Good
luck girls,” he smiled at both of them when they left to go into the room.

Jenna
had the good sense to smile back and say thanks.

Now,
Jenna and Courtney had their sleeves rolled up and their veins checked. Their
arms were cleaned with iodine and the nurses chatted between themselves as if
Jenna and Courtney weren’t even there.

“What’s
your name?” Jenna asked the one rubbing vigorously at her arm.

“Oh
darlin’ I’m sorry, I’m Tish.”

“Thanks
Tish, I like to know who’s going to be stabbing me.”

“Oh
honey, it’s not going to be that bad! I promise you. And this here is Sadie. She’ll
be taking care of your sister.”

“Hi
Sadie,” Courtney smiled.

“Hi
sweetie,” Sadie said as she continued to rub at Courtney’s arm. “You girls plan
on donating this blood?”

“Sure,
yes,” Courtney answered.

“That’s
wonderful. You know one pint can save up to three lives, so you’ll be doing a
wonderful thing here. Taking care of yourselves and also helping save others in
the process!” Tish said.

“Are
we almost ready?” Jenna asked. “I’m not a big fan of needles.”

“Yep,
and once it’s in, it only takes about ten minutes,” Sadie said.

“That’s
all?” Courtney asked.

“That’s
all,” Tish said, and gave each girl a small squishy ball. “Both ya’ll, hold
these and squeeze your fist for a minute.” Tish and Sadie continued to prep the
girls by tying tourniquets around their forearms and finding their veins.
Needles slid into veins, and Jenna said, “Ouch” while Courtney closed her eyes
and mentally recited,
relax, relax, relax.

“There!”
Tish said. “That’s it. Loosen up your fist, and relax your breathing.”

“That’s
it?” Jenna asked. “That’s all we have to do?”

“Lie
back and look pretty, and we’ll take care of the rest. You’ll be done in about
seven minutes or so, by the looks on how fast your blood is flowing.”

“Where?”
Jenna sat up and attempted to look.

“No!”
Tish said. “You don’t want to look. It might make you woozy. Try to relax.”

“Okay.”

“Courtney,”
Sadie asked, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m
good.” Courtney lay back, her eyes closed, and she thought about Mitch and his
music, and imagined him playing the guitar for her, imagined she was lying in
bed with him, his body next to hers, warm and strong. She felt nothing but
relaxed.

“Okay
girls, we are almost done. A couple minutes more.” Tish said in a hushed tone.
Then, she noticed Jenna shivering. “Jenna, you cold?”

“A
little.”

“Let
me get you a warm blanket.”

Tish
covered Jenna with a blanket, and then Jenna began crying. It was just a
smattering of tears but she couldn’t stop them. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to,
it’s just… I can’t stop thinking about my mom. If only she… if we knew about
this for her… she might be alive right now.”

Courtney
wanted to reach out to Jenna, but her arm was strapped down and it had a needle
in it. She wished this was over with so she could go to her sister, and tears
sprung to her eyes too. “Are we almost done?”

Courtney
knew they had thrown Tish and Sadie for a loop with their tears but it had been
something so spur of the moment, something uncontrollable. Neither had thought
that this would bring up such emotions.

The
blood bags must have filled because just as quickly as their tears started,
Tish and Sadie unhooked the needles and bags, lifted their arms, and put bandages
on their vein sites. Jenna and Courtney reached for one another and hugged and
cried. No one would understand the emotion of what they were going through. The
fact that what they had just experienced would help keep them alive, and the
fact that had their mother known about it, it could have very well saved her
life too was an emotional drain they couldn't comprehend.

They
spent a few moments gathering themselves, thanked Tish and Sadie, and walked
out to the waiting room, where Mitch sat, a look of love and concern on his
face.

Courtney’s
heart flipped.

Courtney
and Mitch met up after classes and were walking in the quad when Mitch stopped
her and said, “So, you know I’m not very close with my family, right?”

“You
don’t really mention them all that much.”

“It’s
just, that’s part of the reason I transferred. Your sister was asking at
breakfast the other day. I wanted you to know.”

“You
don’t have to tell me, or her, anything.”

“I
want to. I’ve told you what it was like being the oldest of five, and the only
boy in the family. When my younger sister wanted to go to an expensive art
school, I told my parents I’d move closer to home, finish up school here, so my
sister could go where she wanted.”

“Wow,
that’s pretty incredible.”

“Yeah,
but, I also wanted to focus more on music, so while I was saving them money,
this school has a better music department. Plus, look what I got out of the
transfer.” He pulled her into a hug.

“I
get bitter sometimes, that it was always me making the sacrifices for all my
sisters growing up. Like, when was it going to be my turn, you know? But
whatever. It is what it is.”

“Families
are difficult, but they all love you, right?”

“Sometimes
I wonder. They’re a crazy bunch. My mom is so involved in everything the girls
do – dance, art, gymnastics, volleyball. Sometimes I think it’s really easy for
her to forget she even has a son. Especially now that I’m away. And Dad, he’s
always been a workaholic. I was never the sports guy, so yeah, it was easy to
be forgotten growing up.”

“I’m
sorry.”

“It
is what it is. But I wanted you to know. That’s kind of why I ended up here,
and that’s why my family’s a little whacked.”

“Thanks
for telling me,” Courtney said.

“You’re
welcome. Hey, I’m going to go practice with the guys from Music Theory. You
want to come?”

“Nah,
I’ve got to study for a sociology test. Boring.”

“See
you later?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He
leaned down to kiss her and then tapped her on the hip. “I’ll stop by your room
when I get back to the dorm.”

**

Courtney
was studying when there was a knock on her door. She wondered who was fighting
with whom, or who was burning what because if it was Mitch, he would have just
walked in. Besides, she knew he was still jamming with the guys from his Music
Theory class. It wasn’t Jenna because she was working. Courtney was thrilled
her sister managed to find a job and a cool apartment so quickly. This Clay guy
sounded great – he’d already done so much for her sister. 

“Yeah,
come on in!” Courtney yelled.

She
nearly fell off her chair when the door opened and Darren was in the doorway.

“Court,
hey,” Darren said.

“Oh
wow, not who I was expecting!” She got up and gave him an awkward hug.

“How’s
it going kiddo?” he asked. He always called her cute little names, but this
time it sounded too personal. Too much time had passed since they seemed like
family.

“Fine,
good,” Courtney said lightly. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m
looking for your sister, is she around?”

“Did
you talk to her, have you called her?” Courtney asked.

“No,
why? Is it bad that I came up? I just wanted to see her. When she left it was not
a really good scene.”

“She
said you have a girlfriend.”

“Oh
Christ,” he rubbed the stubble on his chin. “There’s no girlfriend. That woman
at my house, she's one of my shift partners. We work together.”

“Oh,”
Courtney said.

“So,
where can I find Jenna?”

“She’s
at work.”

“She
got a job already?”

“It’s
part-time, at a bar called Klippy’s. She’s waitressing, but I don’t think you
should go over there. It’ll totally freak her out. And she just started, so it
wouldn’t be cool for you to show up. You know?”

“Yeah,
I get it. But maybe I’ll go over and have a beer when her shift is about to
end.”

“Maybe,”
Courtney said.

“How
are you doing? How’s your health? Are you girls okay?” Darren asked. “That’s
part of why I came up. I want to make sure you’re both okay.”

“We’re
doing what we have to do,” Courtney offered.

“Good.
I’m glad,” Darren said.

“Wait,
so do you want to get back together with Jen?” Courtney asked.

“I
want to talk with her,” Darren said.

“Oh.
Well, then I guess you should do that.”

Jenna
hadn’t really expected Clay to call her but he had, two days after her first
blood ‘session.’ They met up at Klippy’s and he took her to see the apartment he
told her about. She could rent it on a monthly basis as long as she put down a
security deposit and passed a background check, which she did. It was a one-bedroom
with a loft, and it belonged to an English professor. He was teaching overseas
for the school year and the apartment was impeccably clean, English professor
clean. It was filled with interesting books and unique artwork, and because it
was already furnished, Jenna didn't have to have any of her furniture shipped. Jenna
couldn’t wait to live there. It was too good to be true.

As
Clay promised, he also set up an interview with Doug, the owner of Klippy’s.
She and Doug hit it off and she had a part-time job by the time the interview
was over.

Clay
had been great – taking Jenna around campus, getting groceries with her, and
helping her set up necessities for the apartment. There was definitely a spark
there, but beyond that, a friendship was blossoming, and that was exactly what
Jenna needed at the moment.

She
was near her sister, had a new apartment and a part-time job, and two
‘sessions’ under her belt. The second one was much less traumatic than the
first, but it still brought some emotions to the forefront. She and Courtney
both agreed each time would get easier.

Now
she was serving hamburgers and beer to college students, and she couldn’t be
more content. It was her third shift at Klippy’s and everyone had been so nice,
it was going so smooth. That’s why when Darren walked through the doors, she
didn’t realize it was him at first.

It
was four o’clock in the afternoon. When she was hired on, she and Doug agreed
that she would start with the lunch shift, to give her a chance to get familiar
with the menu, and also, the lunch shift was an easier crowd. No drunks, no boisterous
people, no beer splashing all over the place. So far she was doing great. Then,
Darren walked through the doors at the end of her shift and at first it didn't
register, because why would Darren be at Court’s school?

Then,
she locked eyes with him.

He
gave her a casual two-finger wave as if all was right in the world.

He
took a seat at the bar and watched her until her shift ended. She was a nervous
wreck.

When
she was done with her last table, she walked over to him. She had been thinking
of what she would say to him, wondered how he knew where she was, but figured
he must have driven up to school, went to Courtney’s and she had told him. Why
the hell hadn’t Courtney texted her to warn her? Maybe she had but her phone
was in the lockers in the back. Damn it.

Jenna
decided she wasn’t going to say anything and let him do all of the talking.
After all, she was the one who made a fool of herself at his place right before
she left. She couldn’t believe it had been only two weeks. It seemed like a
lifetime ago.

“You
work here now?” he asked.

“Did
you come here for a burger?”

“Not
exactly,” Darren said.

“Why
are you here?” Jenna demanded, her voice trembling. She was so very glad Clay’s
shift didn’t start until six. The two had become really good friends and he
knew enough about hers and Darren’s relationship that she didn’t want him to be
in the middle of any unfolding drama.

“I
wanted to see you.”

“Here
I am.” Jenna wanted to suck the words back inside. She didn’t know why she was
coming off so mean. She still loved Darren. She knew that. She really wanted to
hear what he had to say. Why was she acting this way?