Becky Lee slid out of the car. She looked nervous, so Cal automatically took her hand in his, squeezed it, and led the way to the apartment door. He surprised himself with his spontaneous instinct to protect her and give her courage.
He had to admit, he was a bit apprehensive himself. He didn’t know if he was ready to go in the apartment again and see what he knew he’d see. He and Scotty had stayed there while they’d waited for TJ to awaken from her coma. Cal had been unable to pick up anything or change anything. His brother’s running shoes would still be in the corner. His jacket and a pair of running shorts would be on the chair in his and TJ’s bedroom. Loose coins would be in the jar on his brother’s dresser, a habit he’d picked up as a little kid. A book he’d been reading about the stock market would be open on the bed table. All the little signs of his life.
Cal took a deep breath and slid the key in the lock and pushed open the door. He stood aside for her to enter first.
She gasped and he bumped into her back as she came to an abrupt halt.
He looked over her shoulder and let out a low whistle. “It looks like someone was searching for something.”
The apartment was a mess of tumbled furniture, tossed pillows, and drawers tipped over. Becky Lee took one step into the room. “What do you think they were looking for?”
“Same thing we are? Well, not Scotty’s things, but the paper TJ signed giving me custody. I’m sure my father is responsible for this.”
Becky Lee crossed the room, picked up a pillow, and placed it back on the couch. She uprighted a lamp and picked up a scattered stack of mail. “I… we need to get this cleaned up.”
“We do. But not today. Let’s look for the document ourselves, then get some of Scotty’s things. We’ll come back another time and sort through all this and get it cleaned up for TJ.”
He knew they had to face the mess, face picking up his brother’s things, too. But he just didn’t have it in him to do it now.
Becky Lee nodded. “You go pack what Scotty needs and I’ll look for the document.”
Cal grabbed a couple of large garbage bags and went into Scotty’s room. He saw the torn up bed with the mattress flipped onto the floor and the drawers of the dresser dumped with clothes spilling everywhere. He grabbed some clothes off the floor. He randomly reached for jeans, shorts, socks, boxers, and t-shirts. The toys had mostly been left alone, so he filled a box with things he hoped Scotty would enjoy. He grabbed more of Scotty’s sports stuff. He didn’t really know what Scotty needed. Hoping he’d made some good choices, he hauled things out to the trunk of the car.
Two hours later they’d filled the car with clothes and toys for Scotty, but not a sign of the missing paper. Becky Lee rubbed the back of her neck. “We should go. We need to get your things and I want to see TJ.”
They swung by Cal’s apartment, and true to his word, he only brought out a few duffle bags and a box of books. “I travel light.”
“I can see that.”
They climbed in the car and he glanced over at her. Her eyes were etched with worry and she looked so tired. The last few days had been so… emotional. He reached over and touched her arm. She looked up at him with her luminous eyes shiny with unshed tears.
“I’ll take you to go see TJ now.”
~ * ~
Becky Lee stood at the side of Theresa Jean’s bed. The machines were still making their ominous noises. Cal went to go talk to the doctor.
Becky Lee brushed the hair away from her sister’s face. She was pale, but of course, she’d been in this bed for weeks. The room was chilly, and Becky Lee pulled a blanket up over her sister. Did her sister get cold but have no way to tell anyone? Did she have thoughts going on in her mind?
“Theresa Jean, it’s time for you to wake up. You can come home with me to Comfort Crossing while you get stronger and I’ll help with Scotty. He’s such a great kid. You’ve done such a good job with him. He’s got your smile, too. He misses you.”
She felt Cal come and stand behind her. “Doctor said not really much change. Thinks she might be a little less deep in the coma. I talked to the doctor about moving her to the hospital in Comfort Crossing, but to be honest, he said that most likely a small community hospital like Comfort Crossing would more than likely send a patient in this condition to New Orleans or Baton Rouge or another larger city with a better facility.”
“We could at least look into moving her to New Orleans. That would only be an hour away. We could see her more often.”
“I think that’s a good idea. We’ll check into it.”