6 Visitors

A short almost stocky woman walks into the room where Sandra lay still for over six months. Adelyn had fallen asleep with her head on Sandra's hand top her own hands. She looked like a child sound asleep upon their desk in school. The woman attempted to back out of the room when she bumped into a taller but just as stocky man. "Go on honey, she's your sister after all." the male voice said softly.

"But what ...what do I even do...and there's someone with her. We should come back another time." Suzanne pleased to her husband, afraid of what has become of her older sister.

"You've put this off long enough, you should see her before" he hesitated to finish his sentence "before you can't see her again."

"The doctor said it could take a year for her to wake, how about we come back then. You know when she's awake and talking?" she has been ignoring the idea that her sister could die, avoiding visits so she won't have to face the truth. Her husband Lukas finally convinced her to do this visit since they have decided to try for a baby. Adelyn wakes with a start no doubt bad dreams. She groggily blinks her eyes at the couple and clears her throat "Hello, are you here to see Sandy?"

"Yes, we are family um...." Lukas explains while wondering who this woman is 'Sandra never spoke of this woman before, though they seem close.'

"Oh, you must be her sister" her eyes directed at the woman across from her that looks as if she's seen a ghost. I'm Del, it's nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much." she's genuinely happy to meet Sandra's sibling and to be able to put a face to the name. She didn't look much like Sandra; her face was more circular, and her hair was dyed blonde. The eyebrows the only feature giving her natural color away as well as their relation. Their eyebrows are almost the same shape and color except Sandra's has a scar that cuts into the right eyebrow.

"Could we have a moment with Sandra please?" Lukas asked politely to Del as he flicked his eyes to the door and back.

"Ah yes, sorry" Adelyn made her way out of the room and closed the door behind her. Lukas pushed Suzanne gently toward Sandra urging her to accept the situation. Hoping if she can wrap her head around what happened to her sister then she will be able to handle things better if the worst-case scenario happens, death. He walks over to the other side of the bed where Adelyn was sitting and takes the chair offering it to his wife. She sits down staring at the woman who lay before her disconnecting the body from her image of her sister. She can't believe this woman is the same person she knew growing up. She won't let herself believe it. Awkwardly she sits in silence before Lukas starts talking to Sandra's sleeping body. "Hey, it's good to see you again. I know we don't visit as often as we should." he lets out a dry chuckle "Do you remember when I started dating your sister and you found out we had been sneaking around behind your back, I thought you were going to castrate me when you caught us, but what you did surprised us both" he lets out a small halfhearted laugh "I still can't believe you just walked up to us and handed us a pack of condoms, you must have known all along." he grabs Sandra's hand and continues "You were always on to everything we tried, even Christmas presents couldn't hide from you."

Suzanne listened to her husband's ramblings feeling embarrassed at the memory of that day. The words 'were' and 'was' repeat in her head as she looks at her husband and back to Sandra she begins to weep. "Shut up! That's not my sister!" she weeps into her hands as her husband walks over wrapping his arms around her shaking body, tears fall from his eyes as well. Adelyn waiting just outside the door hears the shouting and crying. Her heart restricts, she hates herself more than anything in the world for what she has done. Sliding down the door to the floor her hands follow up to her head, tears streamed down. The pain is agonizing but she stays, she put herself here in this position. A part of her feeling she deserves to endure the pain for her mistakes.

Five years ago,

"Hey Ben, I don't know how to tell you this but your music sucks" Adelyn laughs as she pushes the eject button on the car dashboard. "Hey! It's a work in progress, we just got a new bassist" Ben reaches his right hand over and messes Adelyn's hair keeping an eye on the road.

"Don't do that, I'm not a little kid anymore. I'm an adult now I'm eight-teen!" Adelyn sticks her tongue out at her brother.

"You will always be my little Deli sis, get used to it." he laughs a hearty laugh his voice deep and smooth.

"You're only seven years older than me that'll mean nothing when I'm twenty!" she plugs the buttons on the dash looking for some good music finally pausing when she hears "You're listening to bill and John with 90's at nine" the radio buzzed a bit with static but Adelyn wasn't budging. Driving through the mountains doesn't help the quality of radio transmissions. Beautiful color flowed across the landscape as fall sets in and the leaves scatter across the ground. Adelyn gazes out the window eyeing the drop off just a few feet from the road. Her eyes wide with enthusiasm as they dart around taking in the beauty of the scenery. The sun lazily setting giving off rays of red and orange projected against her face.

"Could you reach back there and grab me a soda? I'm parched!" he motions to the cooler in the floorboard of the back seat.

"Sure" Adelyn climbs into the back seat of the green sedan but her foot topples across the shifter sending the car into neutral causing the car to slow and rev loudly. "Woah slow down there speedster" he shifts back into drive and continues to climb the winding road.

"Sorry, I slipped. I'm hungry where did we pack the snacks?" she rummaged through several bags "Never mind I found them."

"We gotta makes those last, once we get to the campsite it'll be just what we can catch in the river." a smile creased his lips as he awaited the impending disappointment.

"Whaaaat!" Del exclaimed in a whiny tone. "But why can't we go to the store?"

"Because it'll be thirty minutes away and the campsite doesn't like visitors driving around at night, besides I brought the fishing poles." he reasoned.

"Can we stop at the store before we go to the campsite?" she pleaded.

"I guess that'll be ok" chuckling "But don't tell Dad, you know how he is old fashioned about everything. If he knew we bought more stuff instead of living off the land, we'd get an earful."

"Cross my heart" she motions her hands to make an X across her chest then digs into the pack of foods that were prepared before leaving the house. She grabs two cokes and a ham sandwich placing it between her teeth. Setting down the cold drinks in the holders she slides back into her seat at the front before opening her brother's Coke and handing it to him.

'Gulp gulp gulp' "haaa thanks" Ben chugged his soda with a loud belch making Adelyn giggle. She tries to chug hers, but the carbonation stops her "haa it burns!" she coughs with a slight burp.

"Ha-ha yeah that's what makes it so good" he pats her on the back lightly. 'Hic....hic.... hic' "Ugh ...hic'... now... hic'.... I've go'hic' got 'hic' cups" her body jolting with each hiccup.

"Hold your breath" doing as she's told she inhales deep and holds the air in, her cheeks puffed up like a blow fish. "muffled hiccups continue... it's 'hic' not wor'hic' ing"

"How about I give you a dollar to hiccup again?" he glanced over at her smiling.

"You're on.....dang it they went away!" she looks at him surprised and slightly disappointed she won't get the dollar. He just laughs heartily his deep voice thundering.

"So, what's your bands name now? It keeps changing I can't keep up."

"Thunder heads" he nods his in approval, his brown hair swaying past his shoulders.

"What was that? Thunder Nerds? Suits you." she teased.

"You just wait, my music will be everywhere by the time I'm thirty. I'll be a rock star." he glanced into the rear-view mirror at his guitar.

"Can you teach me?" Adelyn now serious.

"Of course, I could teach you, you know after I'm a big star" he teases playfully.

"Well you better get a lot better than" laughing at her own joke he joins in.

They arrive at the last store before the camp site, a gas station with a rusty roof and seedy people hanging out by the pumps. Adelyn jumps out to stretch her legs as Ben follows her lead. They walk into the store to search for a bathroom and extra provisions for their trip. Adelyn browses the halls for goodies, she picks up a couple cinnamon rolls and peanut butter cups then all over to the icy machine. Ben makes his way over to her with his hands full of practical foods such as bread, peanut butter and jelly. He follows her gaze to the icy machine and says, "hmm sure looks tasty." Adelyn looks up at her brother who towers over her "Can we?"

"Heck why not." he grabs the snacks from her and says "Get me the cherry one" before he walks their prizes to the counter. Adelyn pulls two of the largest cups from the bin and begins filling one full of cherry ice and the other a mixture of cherry blueberry and cola. Balancing the large drinks in her arms she walked them slowly to the counter.

"And these too." he gestured to the drinks speaking to the cashier, a large bearded man who looked like he should be riding a motorcycle cross country rather than sitting on a tiny stool behind a counter at a gas station.

Adelyn drank down the whole icy and passed out from exhaustion by the time they reached the camp site. It was nearly 2 am and Ben had gotten more than a few angry glances for driving through at night. Finally, they park at the site they reserved; Adelyn stirred but didn't wake up. Ben popped the trunk and pulled out the camping equipment and set up the tent before waking Adelyn "Deli" he whispered she opened her eyes and with a moan "I don't feel so good" Ben glanced around her seat to find wrappers of all the snacks they had gotten from the gas station scattered about. Her stomach groaning in discomfort when she moves off the seat to standing position.

"Come on deli let's go find the main bathrooms, I'm sure you'll feel better once you get it out." he grabs a flashlight from the car and her hand, and they make their way down the dirt path.

"I know I seen a building nearby on my way to the site" he shines the light down to not disturb the other campers when Adelyn lurches forward spilling forward a mixture with a foul stench. "Well it can't be helped." Ben whispers after seeing her retch. She heaves a few more times until she's empty. Ben kicks dirt over the vomit in hopes to mask the smell before they head back towards camp. The dirt road has a lot of sharp turns hidden by trees and bushes. "You feeling better Deli?" Ben asks looking over at Adelyn who looked deathly.

"Yeah, I'm ok." her body felt weak as it trembled from its exertion she swayed into the middle of the road after tripping on a branch. At that moment all Adelyn saw was white, she felt her body being pushed hard before she landed against a tree with a thud and everything was dark.

Young Adelyn opened her eyes to a blinding bright light and the smell of antiseptic surrounding her, she felt around as her eyes adjusted slowly feeling the sheets and give of a bed placed atop a plastic base. Her throat felt dry as she tried to swallow.

"I see your awake" an unfamiliar voice seemed to each in her head.

"What, who..." her voice low and raspy she's handed a glass of water and gulping it down fiercely she looked around with a gasp of breath before going back for more water. Here head pounding from dehydration subsided slightly with the last of the water in the cup.

"Why am here?" confused "Where's my brother?"

"Take a moment I need to do an examination then I'll answer your questions." he flashes a handheld light into her eyes checking for brain damage "response looks good." he puts away his tiny flash light and takes off his stethoscope placing the buds into his ears "breath in deep and hold...release. And hold...release, breath normally....ok." he replaces his stethoscope to his shoulders and begins "You've had a mild concussion, nothing's broken but take it easy getting up." he starts to walk out when she calls to him "Where's my brother!" the doctor kept walking at the same time a solemn couple walks into the room. "Mom, Daddy what are you doing here it's an eight-hour drive!" her mother walks over and hugs her firmly tears rolling down onto Adelyn's gown "I'm fine mom" a hint of embarrassment in her tone. She looks to her father, she's never seen her father cry before, that sight scared her more than anything.

"Sweetie, we have something to tell you" her mother leans back with a shaky voice her body trembling. "Your brother...he ...he's not ok."

"Mom, what are you saying? Did something happen to us? Where is he? I want to see him!" she tried getting out of bed and almost passed out the blood rushing to her head.

"It's no use" her father snapped still standing in the doorway not making eye contact. "It was a hit and run... the driver was said to be drinking." he lets out a loud sad sigh "You're brother died this morning....you were both out for two days." he turned and walked out not being able to stand there any longer.

Adelyn's thoughts slowly drift back to the present, feeling the guilt of what she's done her face flushes and tears stream down her cheeks. The loss of her brother and of the accident she carelessly caused at the top of her mind, her emotions twisted her insides and once again the weight of a life presses down on her shoulders.