As You Wish, Chapter 4 ~Arrivals and Hospital Visits~

Steph’s P.O.V.

As I was jogging back home I turned my I-Pod back on after about 5 minutes of jogging. What can I say? I loved music and I didn’t really want to think right now, although fate has a way of playing certain songs that make me think about things even more. It took me an hour to sprint all this way and 55 minutes of jogging/sprinting back without music was not something that I wanted to do. I decided that I was going to let whatever song came on just play, even if it made me cry. I needed to cry all my tears now, because starting as soon as I get home; I’m putting on a strong face. No more crying and wallowing in my pain. This was it! I’m tired of crying and being so emotional all the time. I really had lost some weight over these past two months and my brothers were starting to get worried. On top of all that I’ve been fainting lately, which is something that I thought I had grown out of a few years ago. I sighed and pushed play once again on my I-pod. The song “What happened to us?” by Hoobastank came on.

“I thought it was too good to be true,

I found somebody who understands me,

Someone who would help me to get through,

And fill an emptiness I had inside me,

And I just denied,

Some things that we should have both said,

I knew it was too good to be true,

‘Because I’m the only one who understands me.

What happened to us?

We used to be so perfect, now we’re lost and lonely,

What happened to us?

And deep inside I wonder, did I loose my only…

Remember, they thought we were too young,

To really know what it takes to make it,

But we had survived off of what we have done,

So we can show them all that their mistaken,

But who could have known,

The lies that would grow,

Until we could see right through them,

Remember, they knew we were too young,

We still don’t know what it takes to make it…

What happened to us?

We used to be so perfect, now we’re lost and lonely.

What happened to us?

And deep inside I wonder, did I loose my only…

We could’ve made it work,

We could’ve found a way,

We should have done our best,

To see another day,

But we kept it all inside,

Until it was too late,

And now were both alone,

A consequence we pay,

For throwing it all away…

What happened to us?

We used to be so perfect, now we’re lost and lonely,

What happened to us?

And deep inside I wonder, did I loose my only…

What happened to us?

What happened to us?

What happened to us?

What happened to us?”

The song faded out and I stopped running. I doubled over and lay down in the grass, pulling my hair out of the messy bun I had put it in before I started my run. Wow, that song really hit home, more so than the song I listened to earlier by Jordan Sparks. I looked at my I-pod; the song was only on for 4 minutes. It seemed like a lot longer than that. Maybe because I soaked up every single word sang. True, I knew this song by heart, but I haven’t listened to it for a while so I didn’t realize that it perfectly describes what has been going on in my head for the past 2 months! I brought my hand to my head and ran it through my hair, something that I had always done when I was frustrated or deep in thought. I guess I picked it up from my brothers and Adien, because they all do it too. I sighed thinking back to what I told myself earlier. Could I really just up and leave? Would my brothers let me leave? Would I even tell them I was leaving or would I just leave a note? Would my brothers ever forgive me? How would they know if something happened to me while I was gone? How would I know if something happened to THEM! I let out a frustrated growl and pulled on my hair. I sat up so that I had my arms on top of my knees folded lightly staring at the Ocean that was across the street and beach in front of me. Now more than ever I wish that Adien was here to help me through this. I laughed to myself. Do I really want my ex-boyfriend here helping me get over our break up? I sighed again….. Yes I really do want him here. I don’t want him to be an ex-boyfriend. I want him to be Adien, the guy who’s always been there for me, through thick and thin, for better and for worse. The guy who could always make me laugh no matter what! Who’s been there literally, through EVERYTHING! I don’t just want him here…I need him here. That was my last thought before everything started to go black. ‘SHIT!’ oops, I guess THAT was my last thought. I fell back onto the grass, once again having one of my fainting spells.

Back at Home

“Honey, I’m home!” Brandon sang cheerfully as he walked into the foyer of his home. Yupp, I was back already, but hey! Two months in another country can really make you feel home sick. If that’s what my dreams feel like then I don’t want those dreams anymore. I heard a big bang and someone curse. ‘Ha-ha! Sucker!’

“I little help would be nice!” my best friend said finally getting the door open. I wasn’t the only one that got home sick, or should I say girlfriend sick. Although they weren’t dating anymore, but it is only a matter of time I’m sure. “Are you just going to stand there or are you going to take these bags?” Adien asked glaring at me. Some best friend I have. I laughed at his pathetic attempt to carry all the bags in by himself… at once. He underestimated how many bags I had.

“I think I’ll just stand here, unless you want to loose your bet and pay me 50 dollars.” I said smirking at him. He was obviously going to give up, but I still wasn’t going to help just yet. I wanted to find my sister and brothers first. “HELLO!!!!!!” I yelled up the stairs. I heard someone running down the hallway yelling something.

“….Find her?..........called her friends……no clue…….running earlier…..fainting spells….. BRANDON?” Andy yelled as he rounded the corner to see me while he was obviously expecting Sean. I was confused, but could piece a little bit of what he was saying together.

“Andy, what the hell were you saying up there?” I asked not wanting to jump to any conclusions. Adien left the bags at the doorway and came to join the conversation.

“Where’s Steph?” Adien asked hopefully. Andy eyed him curiously. Everyone knew that Andy was the closest to his sister, since they had their whole twin bond thing; that kind of made Andy feel a little of what Steph has been feeling lately so he kind of is still angry with Adien. Not nearly as angry as Sean is, but its different since Andy doesn’t usually hold grudges, while that kind of behavior is normal for Sean.

“You guys didn’t tell Steph you were coming home did you?” Andy asked looking at them both intensely.

“No, we didn’t even tell you or Sean. We wanted it to be a surprise. Why do you ask?” I asked not liking where this was going.

Andy sighed before he continued. “Steph never came home from her morning jog… I think I know what happened though and that’s what I was yelling about. Sean has been out looking for her since 2pm and obviously its 7 now, so that’s not good.” Andy sat on the stairs and put his head in his hands.

“You said you think you know what happened! So tell us! Maybe that way we can find her!” Adien said starting to get worried. What if some guy raped her or something? NO! Must not think bad thoughts.

Adien lifted his head from his hands and looked at the two guys standing in the foyer. Behind them sat 6 bags tossed carelessly onto the floor. Stephenie was clearly the main issue right now. Nothing else mattered. “I jolted awake trying to catch my breath at about 7:15. For some reason the song “What happened to us” was stuck in my head, but I figured that’s just what she was listening too on her I-Pod.” Andy saw that both guys were giving him confused looks. “Ok, here’s what I think happened. In my dream the song “What happened to us” by Hoobastank was playing and I felt a wave of sadness and need wash over me, like never before. Then it just all faded out with my last thought being ‘SHIT!’ for some reason. Then I was jolted awake feeling dazed. I didn’t think anything of it until a few moments ago; before you walked in! I think she had one of her fainting spells when she was out on her morning run. She leaves every morning at 6 am and she runs as far as she wants to then she turns back around. The times usually vary, but yah…” Andy said finally taking a break from talking. There was silence for about 10 seconds before Adiens voice broke the silence.

“Shit! What if someone found her and…” He didn’t even want to finish his sentence. Brandon’s eyes turned cold but Andy remained the same.

“No, I do not believe she is hurt. I would know if she was. I have a natural instinct about this kind of thing. Like that time when we were eight and I told Steph that her arm was broken…” Andy was interrupted by Brandon.

“You were the one that jumped off the monkey bars and landed on her! You probably heard the crack!” Brandon said laughing at the memory. He stopped laughing immediately though. Now was not the time to laugh. Find Steph; Laugh later.

“Why don’t we call the hospitals?” I suggested, “If anyone found her, they might take her there.” They all nodded and Andy picked up the phone and pushed speed dial number 5. What? They called the hospital a lot. I chuckled to myself and pulled out my cell phone. I called Sean and told him our plan. He was kind of miffed that we didn’t tell him that we were coming home, but he said he was on his way all the same. Wow, I thought I could relax when I got home. Guess not, but what could you expect being the older brother of a girl like Stephenie. She always seemed to get herself in these types of situations.

At the Hospital

I felt bad for the nurse at the front desk. She looked scared to death. I don’t blame her though, I mean when you have 3 built guys and 1 extremely large built guy running your way you might get frightened.

“Stephenie Bukowski!” Sean’s voice boomed demandingly. The lady typed something into her computer, most likely Stephenie’s name. The look on her face told me that she was frightened at what our reactions were going to be.

“T-There’s no such p-pa-tient reg-is-stered h-here.” She squeaked. Poor thing, she was obviously new and didn’t have much experience with worried older siblings that have short tempers.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE’S NOT HERE? WE JUST CALLED!” Sean yelled angrily. The new young nurse looked like she pissed her pants. Again, I don’t blame her, I’ve been on the other side of Sean’s wrath before and it’s not pretty. A kind looking middle aged women walked over and put a reassuring hang on the young nurses shoulder.

“Are you the four that called earlier? You sure didn’t take long to get over here.” She said calmly. She nodded her head and excused the young nurse, who took off in a flash.

“Where is she? Can we see her? Is she alright? How’d she get here?” Sean rushed all these questions out not stopping for air. The lady smiled warmly at her and Sean gave us a ‘WTF?’ look.

“She’s fine. You can see her now if you’d like. I’ll show you to her room. A young man brought her in. He’s still in there if you’d like to meet him, very handsome I might add.” She said looking at me directly before smiling to herself. Did she know that that comment would piss me off? Is that why she looked directly at me?

“When will she be able to leave?” Sean asked choosing to ignore her previous comment. They quickly made their way down the hall before stopping outside room 101.

“Here she is. She will be able to leave in the morning if she’s awake by then…” The nurse’s smile faltered.

“What do you mean if she’s awake by then? I thought she said she was fine!” Brandon said through gritted teeth. I think this nurse was pissing us all off.

“I said she is going to be fine! And she will be! Just as soon as she wakes up. She was dehydrated and passed out. It also seems like she has not been getting enough sleep. If this was just dehydration, she should have been awake a few hours ago. She looks like she is in running attire. Maybe she pushed herself a little too hard. I don’t get why she would though. It’s not like she needs to loose weight or anything, the poor thing is under weight as it is. According to her file she’s lost 20 pounds since her last check up, 2 ½ months ago. With anyone else that would probably be good, but if you can do the math, that leaves her at 90 pounds now. Do you know if she has an eating disorder or something?” The nurse asked genuinely concerned. We all busted out laughing at this comment. “I really do not see what is so funny!”

“Sorry, it’s just…” I started.

“Steph eats like a PIG!” Brandon finished.

“Yah, she’s actually started eating like a normal human ever since the break up!” Andy laughed. Way to kill a mood.

“Ohh, I see!” the nurse said like it all made since now.

“What?” Sean asked frustrated.

“Nothing” She smiled and walked back down the hall, but not before looking directly at me one more time. ‘What the Hell?’

“That nurse creeps me out!” Brandon said reaching for the door knob.

“Same here,” I muttered soon to be followed by a chorus of yahs from Sean and Andy.