I looked up just as someone walked into the room.......... the doctor.
"Zachary? How are you feeling?" He asked coming toward me. I cringed farther into Isaac's chest and hugged him as tight as I could. I didn't want him to let go of me.
"Doc, what's wrong with him? Is he going to be ok?" Isaac asked quietly as he put his arm around me. He was rubbing my back soothingly and I cried against his chest more. I had never felt so childish in my life, but my oldest brother was my support, and I needed him.
"He has drugs in his system. It appears that his body doesn't tolerate drugs well, whatever was injected into him is what caused him to pass out. Have you ever done Heroin before?" He asked me.
I looked up at his face for the first time. He was an older man, slightly plump and looked like Santa. I smiled at him, what the fuck was going on? Then I looked at his face again, as little horns started to pop out of his head.
"AHHHHHHHHHH! Ssss...Satan!" I screamed at the top of my lungs! Satan was in my room, oh GOD, please help me!
"Zac, calm down buddy. It's ok." Isaac said grabbing me again and tucking my face into his chest. I closed my eyes tightly and grabbed his shirt.
"It'll pass. He's hallucinating. The drugs tend to do that, but he was injected with a large amount of it. That's why he passed out. He's lucky to be alive. He's never had that sort of thing before, am I correct?" The doctor asked Ike.
"No, of course not. He's never touched that sort of thing. So, will he be alright? Things will get better, right?"
"Yes sir, your brother will be fine. He just has to calm down and let it pass. It will get worse before it gets better. He'll see things that really aren't there, but that's to be expected. If you can get him to sleep, that would be best, so he won't see anything out of the ordinary in this room with him. Just in his dreams. He might see things in his dreams that will scare him, or possibly even make him more at ease. So if he can fall asleep, that might be best."
"Where's my other brother? He came in with us, the other dumb blond." Isaac laughed.
"He's out in the hallway, would you like me to get him?"
"Yes please. Thank you." Isaac turned his face down to me. His face was normal, as I'd always seen him. No horns, nothing out of place.
"Ike, please..... I'm so scared! Get this stuff out of me." I cried.
"I know you're scared buddy, I know. Just remember, it will go away. Just give it some time, ok? I love you Zac, and I won't leave you." he whispered. The door opened again and I was afraid to look.
"Zac?" a voice questioned.
I looked up to see Taylor and Kim standing there. Kim looked just like I had remembered her...... but Taylor, wasn't Taylor. Taylor looked like.........that girl, the one from the airport!
"Ike, it's her! Get her out of here, please! Don't let her touch me again.......GET OUT!" I shouted at her.
"But Zac, it's me.......Taylor."
"No, you're not Taylor.......LEAVE!" I screamed again.
I could see the hurt look appear on the face, but it didn't look like Taylor. I felt someone grab my shoulder, I rolled over and looked.
"Grandma...Oh Grammy, help me. I can't do this, I'm so scared!" I whimpered as she hugged me in her arms.
"Zachary, listen to me." She whispered soothingly against my ear. "I'm here, but you need to calm down and listen to your brothers'. Just listen to them, and go to sleep. You'll be ok, it's not time for you to be with me yet, not for a long time. You have a long life ahead of you, and Kim is going to help take care of you now. You just listen to them, they'll put you on the right path. I love you Zachary, and you give my love to Jordan and Isaac. Everything is going to be fine." She disappeared again and I looked back up at Isaac.
"Zac, go to sleep now. We'll be here when you wake up again. I promise you." He smiled down at me.
"I love you Ike, I love you so much." I cried and put my head back onto his lap. I could feel my eyes grow heavy........ and I slept.
I don't know how long I slept, but I woke up to someone holding my hand again. I glanced over and saw Taylor with his head down and tears running down his cheeks.
"Tay?" I choked.
"Zac..... How are you feeling?" He asked wiping his tears away.
"I..... ok I guess. Where is everyone?" I asked sitting up, but not letting go of his hand.
"They went to get some coffee. I'm so sorry that this happened to you, if there's anything I can do, you just tell me." He cried. Taylor was never one to cry about anything, and seeing him cry was breaking my heart.
"Taylor, I'm sorry about earlier. I really didn't see you there........"
"Don't apologize Zac, you had no control over any of that. I love you Zac, and I thought I was going to lose you!" He said standing up and sitting back down on the bed next to me. I hugged him close to me and cried against his chest.
"I love you too Taylor, and it wasn't my time to go yet. I have something to tell you......."
"What's that?" He asked running his hand over my hair. "Grandma gave me a message for you and Ike." I whispered.
"She.........what?"
"She came to me...... and told me it wasn't my time to leave you guys, and that she loves you both." I cried harder, tugging Taylor's shirt against my face.
"Oh Zac...... it wasn't your time. You have to stay with all of us, because we're not ready to give you up yet." He smiled down at me.
"I'm sorry if I've been a pain your ass, but it's because I love you." I smiled as good as I could. My head was pounding and I felt like I had to puke.
"You're not a pain in my ass, and I know you love me."
"Tay, I need to throw up." I said glancing around the room...... anything I could puke in, I just needed a bucket or something. "Oh God...."
Taylor stood up and grabbed the trash can next to him and thrust it at me. I held it up to my face and threw up everything I had in my stomach. Taylor rubbed my back as I held the trash can up to my face. My stomach did a few more flops and settled down.
"Jesus dude, what did you eat?" Taylor laughed.
"Oh man, that sucked."
"No shit man, that's nasty." He said grabbing the can away from me and holding it front of him as he walked it to the other side of the room.
"You're such a puss." I laughed.
"Do you need anything else?" He asked smiling at me.
"Some tylenol would be good........and maybe a toothbrush." I smiled again as Kim and Ike walked through the door.
"You're awake." Kim smiled.
"Yeah, but don't kiss him. He just barfed." Taylor smiled and walked out into the hallway.
"Are you ok? Feeling any better?" Ike asked.
"Yeah man, I need some tylenol though. I got a headache, bad." I said grabbing my head.
Kim sat down next to me and grabbed my hand into hers. I looked up at her and saw tears in her eyes.
"Zac, I thought I was going to lose you." She cried and grabbed me into her arms. I wrapped my arms around her and rubbed her back.
"You're stuck with me, you didn't think it would be that easy to get rid of me did ya?" I whispered to her.
"Oh Zac, don't joke. You could have seriously died, and I don't know what I would have done. Nothing can prepare me for losing you, ever." She cried harder as Ike came around the bed and sat down in the chair next to the bed.
"I'm not joking....... you're never gonna lose me. Not for a long time anyway. I know this, because someone came to me and told me........." I whispered.
"What are you talking about?" Isaac asked, leaning toward the bed.
"Grandma came to me Ike...... you can think I'm crazy or whatever, but I know what I saw. She was here as bright as day, and was as real as you or me, and she told me that it wasn't my time yet, and that she loved us all."
"Zac, are you sure it wasn't just the drugs talking?" Isaac asked grabbing my hand again.
"No Ike, it was her.... I could even smell her! That soap she used to use all the time, that rose scented stuff, I could smell it! And she touched me, and held me. She is watching over me obviously, cause she told me that I had to stay with you and Tay. And that Kim was going to take care of me now......." I sighed heavily and held onto Kim tightly.
Taylor walked back into the room and looked at the scene in front of him. Isaac sitting in the chair with his jaw open slightly and tears streaming down his face, me holding Kim and us both sobbing..... he dropped the toothbrush and tylenol and ran to the side of the bed and hugged me from behind. Isaac stood up and wrapped his arms around all of us..... and right there, that very day, our never ending bond was made. A promise unspoken, yet so clear to all of us, that we would never leave each other....... until the day we died.
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