Chapter 51: Chapter 51

“Dibs on the remote control!” I yelled out while racing Penny to the couch. I jumped over it and landed on my butt with both hands raised.

“Incoming!” Penny shouted behind me and I didn’t think twice before rolling over to the far end of the couch to give her room. She did a small flip and landed back first on the sofa, having the breath knocked out of her in a huff.

I grabbed the pillow and threw it at her before grabbing the remote from the coffee table. My parents were out on a dinner, dad’s been talking about it the whole day. I heard they were going on a candlelight dinner on a ship or something; oh well.

“Case, some help?” Adam’s voice came from the kitchen and I excused myself from Penny, hauling my ass off the comfy couch and made my way to the kitchen.

“Yo, what do you need help with?” I greeted him unceremoniously, leaning on the door. We were having a sleep over to celebrate the scholarship I received and Adam was in charge with the snacks since I didn’t know how to operate the kitchen yet.

Yes, yet. My sweet mother asked Adam to teach me the ways of cooking. I couldn’t even describe how offended I probably looked but so far, Adam had been nothing but patient with my nonexistent cooking skills. I almost succeeded in making eggs that morning but I flipped it too hard and almost broke the stove by spilling the eggs straight onto the fire, if that was even possible.

“I’ve got the snack prepared and I just need some help bringing it to the living room,” he said while arranging the cupcakes on the tray.

I came over and kissed his left cheek to show my gratitude to him for feeding my growling stomach.

“Have I mentioned just how much I love you?” I asked him jokingly and took the tray that was already full with all sorts of cookies beside him and picked one to toss it into my mouth.

“Yeah, yeah, I know you love me. Now let me finish this batch, woman!” He waved me off but I could hear the smile in his voice. A grin grew on my lips and when I reached the living room, Penny caught a glimpse at me and made a face.

“What are you so happy about?” She asked curiously, crossing her legs and leaning on the armrest.

I shrugged my shoulders whilst setting the tray down.

“I just have the most amazing boyfriend,” I dismissed with the shit eating grin still on my face.

Penny gave me that look she does when she just dipped her head in the gutter. I groaned when she started wiggling her eyebrows. She laughed when she saw my bitch face, looking back to the television. I looked away when I heard some shuffling.

“Case, I need to get some more milk, it won’t take me long. Try not to miss me so much, yeah?” He called from the door and I laughed.

“Love you too, you lil shit!” I shouted, not taking my eyes off the television as I heard his footsteps getting closer and closer before I felt him plant a soft kiss on my cheek.

“Don’t do anything stupid when I’m gone, you two!” He warned, earning an eye roll from me. Pfft, like I’d do any of that. I am more than capable of staying mature and still without any supervision.

Adam poked me on the head and I laughed but still angled my face to the side to give him a quick peck.

“Be back soon,” he whispered into the kiss and pulling away to fix his coat and exit the house.

“Be careful,” I shouted mindlessly before getting back to the movie. Hey, he knows how I was. I wasn’t a ‘best girlfriend’ award material but he signed up for this so he shouldn’t expect me to change for him.

Guys and girls alike should love their lover just the way they are. If your man wants to wear a shirt and neon pink colored shorts, you don’t question their preference in style. If your girl wants to wear baggy clothes, you shouldn’t be embarrassed to walk with them.

If you love them, you would understand and accept them just the way they are.

To all you people out there, if you have a crush, don’t be afraid to be who you are with them. If they’re going to be with you for a long time, make sure they know what they were signing up for.

If they don’t like you when you show them who you really are, they’re not worth your tears. It just means that you’re not meant to be.

If you’re trying to forget someone who rejected you, just remember my dad’s theory; ‘If they don’t like you, they’re gay.’

“I want to have what you have one day,” Penelope said out of the blue, making me peel my eyes off the TV and looked at her instead.

“You know; that kind of love. I know you don’t have the lightest baggage but to see you be loved like that, it gives me hope that one day, someone like Adam would come to my life,” she smiled despite her melancholic tone and my hand unconsciously landed on her shoulder.

“He’ll come around,” I tried reassuring her although it didn’t seem to be working. I didn’t want to promise something that I had no control over but I believed that we all have someone we’re supposed to hang to in our lives. Someone that’ll keep us rooted when the storms pass by.

“And when he comes, don’t be afraid to give him a hard time but don’t forget to love him too. It’s going to be scary at first but it’s all about trust in the end. If you can’t trust him, it’s not love,” I told her while still keeping my eyes on the bright screen and yet, I wasn’t paying attention to anything that Professor Snape was talking about.

I was there but my mind definitely wasn’t. I saw Penny nod at the end of my vision and the ends of my lips quirked playfully.

“But my advice is that you enjoy and take your time in being single, don’t rush it and worry too much,” I told her, trying to convince her that being single wasn’t that bad.

All of a sudden, the house telephone rang and I got off the sofa to get it. I brought the phone to my ear and greeted the person on the other line.

“Casey?” Cali’s voice sounded so frazzled that I immediately stood on alert.

“Cali, what is it, sweetheart?”

“Casey, you need to help us!” her sobs halted whatever she was about to tell me and I tried my best to keep my cool for the both of us.

“Hey, hey, Cali; Cali, listen to me, love; breathe. Okay? Come on, Cali, breathe. In, out, in, out. There you go, okay. I need you to calm down and tell me what happened so that I can help you, can you do that for me?” I asked her in a calm voice.

My fingers fidgeted the cord of the phone and my senses were heightened the second I heard her voice in that familiar urgent tone.

“It’s Adam,” she said in a breathless tone and at that moment, I could feel the world that I had successfully tried to build after Bryant’s death crumble down to dust.

***

“Where is he?” I demanded the nurses in the hospital but of course, they all looked at me like I was crazy. I looked around wildly, my hair whipping from left to right, trying to find the Jones. My nerves were going in a total frenzy and I could feel myself let go of every self-control I had left.

“Case, calm down; It’s going to be alright,” My mother’s hand landed on my shoulder and my dad came to squeeze my arms to offer some support. Penelope looked terrified but rubbed my back. I closed my eyes and tried to get some kind of reassurance from my mother’s words.

“Casey?” I heard a child’s voice call me meekly and I turned around to face the 4 year old boy, a pinch of relief filling my bones but it was not enough to soothe my conscience. I tried getting a grip on some self-control to make sure I didn’t pulverize the boy out of worry.

“Pio,” my hands shot out to embrace the little boy while squatting before holding him at arm’s length.

“Pio, where is your dad?” I ask him seriously, his eyes had tears in them and it broke me to see him like this. He pointed a trembling finger to a corner where I could see Jerry’s hunched back with his head in his hands. I hauled Pio into my arms and stood up to my feet once more. I jogged to where Jerry and Cali was seating with my parents. Penelope trailed behind me.

“Jerry, how is he?” I didn’t even want to beat around the bush right now. Jerry raised his head, peeling his hands of them and faced us with a hollow look.

“Casey,” he greeted me and his chin trembled with how much force he was trying to keep his tears in. He stood up and brought me into a hug that the others soon joined in.

“The doctors said he was going to be alright but I’m not sure, Case. He’s undergoing operation and I don’t know what to do. I’ve lost my wife and now my boys are both holed up in a hospital. I’ve failed at being a father,” he sobbed and I brought him into another hug.

Preston’s case was my fault, not Jerry’s. He’s not supposed to feel bad because he wasn’t a bad father. I got them into all of this mess. We all sat there, the silence enveloping us and even the kids understood that it was not the time to play.

“He was hit by a car,” Jerry’s voice suddenly cut through the silence, making me face him. “Adam, the police found him carrying a plastic bag that contained a carton of milk. He was already unconscious and the surveillance camera nearby showed that he was hit by a car.”

I had to cover my mouth to prevent the sobs from escaping as tears leaked out of my eyes. Suddenly, we heard a male’s voice call Jerry and we all rose to our feet simultaneously with Pio in my arms and Cali in Jerry’s arms.

“The operation was a success and the patient’s currently stable,” We all breathed a relieved sigh.

“There is, however, a big possibility that he suffers amnesia. When the accident happened, his head got a couple of hits, one by the impact of the crash and the other when he fell unconscious.” The doctor explained and my breath hitched in my throat.

The thought of Adam not recognizing me was too much and I couldn’t bear it. It was too painful. This was too much. I felt overwhelmed and my body swayed slightly, causing me to hold onto my parents for stability. They looked at me worriedly and I forced a smile to not worry them although it was obvious that I wasn’t alright.

“Can we see him, doc?” I turned the attention to the man in the white coat and he nodded.

“He’s unconscious and is still resting but you can see him,” he said his piece and turned away to tend to the other patients who needed his help.

Jerry and the kids were his family so they went first while the rest of us got back to our seats. I was fiddling with the hem of my shirt when I remembered a certain Jones was kept in that exact hospital. My hand flew to my forehead to face-palm myself and jumped to my feet only to be tugged back by my mother.

“Where are you going, Case?”

I gave at her with a pleading look. “I need to go talk to Preston, mom. Please call me if Jerry and the kids are back,” I told her and she had a solemn look on her face but she lets my hand go.

Before I could stand, her voice stopped me.

“Case...” She trailed off and I knew what she was about to say before she said it aloud for me.

“I know, mom, and it hurts to know that he could possibly not remember me. My heart hurts whenever I remember what the doc said but all we could do now is pray that God would help us,”

I didn’t know what else to say so I got to my feet and left my parents and Penny with worried looks on their faces. I walked to the administration to get some information on Preston’s whereabouts. I need someone to talk to and he was probably the only one who could help me; no matter how much of a dick he was to me, I knew he cared for his brother as much as I did.