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Post by Andrew Jamie Grant on Mar 10, 2012 14:35:09 GMT -5
Andrew felt terrible. He knew how Ember was when it came to her heart and pills and taking care of herself; she rebelled against it. He should've stayed and forced her into taking her meds for the day. Maybe she would've been okay then, instead of almost dying in a hospital bed and scaring the shit out of every person she'd ever met. If she did die because of this, he'd feel guilty for the rest of his life. The doctors had said she was doing remarkable, but that didn't help him any nor did it comfort him in the slightest. Until she was up talking and being her typical bitchy self toward him, he would not sleep easy; Andrew wouldn't rest until his little sister was okay again.
He'd been pacing outside Ember's hospital room since the moment he'd gotten there, only popping in once or twice while she was still knocked out. Forgiving and forgetting weren't things they did as siblings, at least not without a lot of apologizing, but he couldn't bare just leaving her there. Even if she was pissed at him, he'd be outside the door, waiting until the doctors drugged her enough again so that she'd sleep and he could sneak in undetected. If anything happened or changed, he wanted to be right there, ready to say goodbye or to welcome her back; whichever one arose first.
Finally, the nurses had convinced him to go and grab some clothes for the "poor girl," explaining how hers hand been destroyed for saving-her-life purposes. Reluctantly, Andrew agreed, telling them to call the moment anything changed and handing the pretty blonde girl his number. She seemed to take it as a different meaning than he'd intended, but, for now, he didn't care; all that he was concerned about was Ember. He sped home, saying hello to his sister's dog before creeping quietly into her room and undigging some of her favorite pj's. Cringing, he tossed a few pairs of underwear and a bra into a bag with the pajamas, grabbing some of her comfier-looking clothes and putting those in, too. If she needed more, he'd come back and get them, but he figured this would be enough for now. He tucked her toothbrush and some toothpaste into a front pocket on the cheap backpack, finding a brush and shoving that in on top of the clothes. Andrew had no idea what she'd want, and he knew he was already going to get screamed at for being in her bedroom. One thing he did remember to pack, though, was her locket, something he carefully zipped into a pocket for safe-keeping. If he lost that, there was a chance it'd be him in the hospital next.
Not even thinking twice about clothes, a shower, or food for himself, he took off for the hospital again, ringing the one person who he knew Ember would talk to, and who'd also help take care of her. Zoe answered after a few rings, sounding very occupied with the brash, loud voice in the background when she said her usual "Hey, Andrew! How ya been?" He explained the situation to her in a few short sentences, practically able to hear the seriousness and worry crossing her face. She promised she'd be there as soon as possible, hanging up and no doubt going to frantically find her car keys. At least someone would be there for his sister if she wasn't going to talk to him.
He parked his car in the hospital's garage, walking as calmly as was possible back up to Ember's room, the backpack slung over his shoulder. The nurses gave him a small nod to go in, accompanied by what he was assuming to be a "flirty" smile, and he knocked twice on the door, entering the room where his sister lay. This hadn't been the exact same one as last time, but, nonetheless, it felt more familiar than it should've, sending shivers down his spine as he dropped the bag on a chair next to her bed.
Andrew refused to look closely at her yet, knowing exactly what he'd find; pale face, tubes and wires everywhere, his sister as defiant as always about all of it. Instead, he chose to watch the monitors surrounding her, checking to make sure her heart beat was at least there. "I brought you clothes and a toothbrush. Figured you'd like your own better than the hospital's," he said, not evening asking how she was or if she was okay. He knew better than that. Like he'd said, he'd been in this position before, only now it was ten times more frightening. What if no one had stepped in to save her? He could've been saying goodbye to her instead of talking about toothbrushes.
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Post by Ember Thistle Grant on Mar 10, 2012 17:00:22 GMT -5
  She wanted him to feel terrible. It was probably an awful thing for her to want, but Ember never declared herself to be selfless. She couldn’t blame Andrew for her ending up in a hospital bed, but she could certainly stay pissed at him. His final words to her before her brush with death had been what had drove her to go out again and party harder than ever, just so she could forget what he had implied when he had struck her with the lowest blow imaginable for the young gunslinger. This time, she didn’t know if she could forgive him so easily for what he had said. Andrew had torn open a wound that had not yet healed and by doing so had brought back the pain and the recklessness that had overcome her the first time, when she had lost Robert.
She knew her brother was at the hospital and she knew that he kept creeping in and out of her room, but she was in no state to be dealing with him now. She didn’t want to hear any of his lectures and since coming around she had wanted anyone but him in the room with her. The pain was still too raw from their fight and she didn’t think that she could handle facing him again now. No, she would make him wait until she was ready for him before she allowed Andrew to rant and rave at her like he always did. There would be an ‘I told you so’ in there somewhere and it would push Ember further away from her brother. He may have meant well, he may have been pissed off with her, but Ember didn’t need him preaching to her as though he was some superior guy. He was probably already going to blow a fuse once the doctors informed him of what was going to happen to Ember. However, when he had finally left to get some of her things and the doctor had slipped in to check on her, Ember had told him to only inform Andrew of the basics. She didn’t want anyone telling him about surgeries or more drugs or anything like that until she said so. She was going to control this, even if it infuriated her brother to be kept in the dark about the details for a little longer.
Ember was still feeling weak when Andrew returned, but she was definitely feeling better than she was when her blue eyes first opened a few hours earlier. Doctors were still encouraging her to rest, sleep a little more, but Ember couldn’t. She had never been a heavy sleeper, or the kind of girl who enjoyed lazing around for long and even after the Reaper’s hand had touched her own, she couldn’t bring herself to change the habit of a lifetime.
Besides, Brandon had visited her in the absence of her brother and he had cheered her up a little. She still felt bad about what she had put the twenty nine year old through, but he had forgiven her quicker than she ever could and when she explained things to him, he took them with a small nod and a smile, continuously just telling her that he was happy she was going to be alright and not to scare him like that again. It was weird, but in all of this, Brandon had been the island in the ocean she was drowning in, but the thought of what that might mean scared her too much to think about; the heart monitors had sped up once or twice when she had panicked about it and nurses had raised in, expecting the worst, but were instead greeted by a tired Ember and a promise that she was alright, to which they reminded her not to stress herself out too much.
When Andrew came in, she wasn’t surprised that he didn’t look at her. After their last encounter, she couldn’t blame him. Despite still being pissed at him, she was grateful that he had brought her things from home. It would make this whole thing a little more bearable if she didn’t have to worry about her gown falling open and her ass being exposed to some creepy guy. It didn’t change things between them though and the bitchy tone with which she replied quickly reiterated that. “Yeah, because being brought back from the dead makes me worry about my dental.”
[/color] There was a bitter tone in her tired voice, but she wasn’t about to let her brother off for what he had said, despite everything that had happened to her. She had lost a lot in her life and she didn’t need him to remind her of that, especially when he couldn’t even bring himself to look at her. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify] • • •
TAGGED! Andrew <3
WORDS! 804
OUTFIT! Walking Tragedy
LYRICS! Perfect - - - Simple Plan
NOTES! <3 <3 <3
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Post by Andrew Jamie Grant on Mar 10, 2012 18:24:04 GMT -5
Andrew regretted using the one name he knew he shouldn't have, but it was his last option. Ember wouldn't listen to him, or to simple reason, which left him with no other choice. If she wouldn't listen to anyone alive, maybe the memory of someone dead would be enough to get through her thick head. Apparently, though, that plan had backfired. If it'd done anything, it seemed to have been more fuel for this thickening, raging fire that now involved doctors and near-death experiences.
He was ninety-nine percent positive that Ember would still be pissed at him, even after she'd spent the last night in a hospital bed. Maybe bringing her clothes would get him an inch closer to being forgiven, but he still hadn't forgiven her for being so careless about all of this. When she ended up in so much danger, it was as hard on everyone else who cared about her as it was for her. She never seemed to understand that from behind her "It's all about me!" blinders. True, his parents coming to visit her made even him cringe and their lecture was even worse than the one he'd been planning, but they were as concerned as he was about their daughter. To them, that was what Ember was, though she was a far cry from the princess they'd imagined. They loved her, though, and seeing her like this broke their hearts; but she didn't even seem to care about that. Andrew only saw her caring about how soon she'd be out of their, and which person she could bitch at next. In his eyes, it was her who should be apologizing for being such an idiot, not him for trying to save her from this in the first place.
"You don't want it, I'll take it home," he snapped, no emotion in his voice now. Andrew snatched up the bag once again, still refusing to meet her eyes. "Make a damn list and I'll get it for you. Don't bitch because I grabbed the wrong thing." This was going to result in another fight; he could feel it. The doctors had warned to keep her calm, though, something he was absolutely terrible at lately. Between her temper and his tongue, the pair of them rarely were "calm" around each other lately.
Taking a deep breath to calm the anger welling inside his chest, Andrew finally turned his eyes to his sister, wincing only a bit when the picture he met was even worse than he'd imagined. His eyes skiddered away again, unzipping the pocket where he'd hidden her locket. Trying his best not to whip it at her, he tossed it into her lap. "You want that? Or should I take it home, too?"
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Post by Ember Thistle Grant on Mar 10, 2012 19:04:17 GMT -5
Stubbornness was definitely a Grant trait and it was times like this that it didn’t do anyone any favours. However, Andrew had hurt her more than anyone else had ever done and Ember wasn’t the kind of girl to take it lying down. She would fight him and argue with him until he damn well got the message and found some way to make it up to her. One thing was for certain; Ember didn’t trust him anymore. It took the count back down to zero and for a short time she wondered if that was probably for the best. Maybe she could move out into a place of her own and sever all ties with the Grants. Maybe then she wouldn’t have to deal with this on a daily basis or live in fear that her brother would always bring up Robert just to win a fight they were having.
He tried to act like he cared, but if he did then he never would have taken that path to knock some sense into his sister. There were ways that would have worked, but he was too busy going in for the kill to care about finding them. She was tired of him and their dad trying to make her into something she wasn’t. She was a competent businesswoman for the company, but her methods were not like Andrew’s and she made more of an effort to informally greet the clients rather than keep it all in some stuffy office. She hated people like that and had done since she was younger and had people looking down their nose at her because she was some urchin running around the streets in the rain. It had been better than home though, but she wasn’t the kind of girl who gave explanations or went running about to make someone else happy. She wasn’t about to do it for Andrew either. He knew what she was like and if he didn’t like it then he had the money to move out long ago. They hadn’t known about each other for seventeen years, so if they vanished again it wasn’t like they wouldn’t be able to cope.
She rolled her eyes at his snappy attitude and then shook her head in disbelief. “All it takes is one line for you to go jumping to conclusions now?!”
[/color] She asked, scoffing at her supposedly ‘perfect’ older brother. Like he didn’t have his flaws too. Their dad only ever saw him though as the angel and Ember still believed that he saw her as the child who wasn’t supposed to exist. She looked down at the locket and bit her lip, narrowing her eyes at Andrew. “Don’t even go there.”[/color] She snarled, shooting him a warning glance as she shook her head. “After what you said, you have no fucking right.”[/color] Her fingers curled around the locket, but her glare remained fixed on Andrew. The machines beeped louder, her heart rate increasing slightly as her anger built up and the dull ache appeared in her chest, exhausting her again, but she wasn’t about to let Andrew walk free from all of this. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify] • • •
TAGGED! Andrew <3
WORDS! 529
OUTFIT! Walking Tragedy
LYRICS! Perfect - - - Simple Plan
NOTES! <3 <3 <3
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Post by Andrew Jamie Grant on Mar 10, 2012 21:37:15 GMT -5
Andrew didn't even know why he'd come. It was obvious by her tone that she didn't want him here and, honestly, he didn't want to be here either. He wanted to scream "I told you so!" at the top of his lungs every time the monitor beeped at him. This time around, he didn't want to have to deal with all of her shit and drama. He had enough in his life without adding all of hers on top of it; not that Ember ever seemed to care what she did to others. Andrew didn't want to be her pawn any more though, especially not if all she was going to do was scream. True, he had stooped low with that last blow, but she'd gone even lower by acting so childishly about her heart. "I don't want to" isn't a valid excuse unless you're a king or queen, and Ember didn't happen to be either one of those. If she just would've taken care of herself like an adult, they could've been spared fighting, hospitals, and a hell of a lot more.
He did care about her, despite what she thought and how much he screwed up when trying to show her. She didn't exactly make it any easier, though, especially not when one misplaced word could send her off onto a rant about whatever struck her temper's fancy. Andrew had been putting up with her long enough now; she was, afterall, not his full sister. She was his father's carelessness, one he now had to pay for, but it was only by choice. When he found out about her, he could've easily said "No, I don't want to see her." Stupid him for saying yes.
Andrew bit down sharply on his lip, holding in the words that wanted so badly to scream past his lips. "Fine, Ember, I'm sorry. Is that what you want to hear? I'm sorry for pushing you to take care of yourself, and I'm sorry for bringing up Robert. I'm sorry for butting into your life, and for you thinking that nobody cares about what you do to yourself. I'm sorry. Are you happy now?" He shook his head, running a hand through his hair and slamming her bag back down onto the ground. "From now on, do whatever the hell you want. If it'll keep you from winding back up here again, then it's fine with me. I just don't want to be planning your funeral in the next year." Andrew met Ember's eyes again, no anger on his face now. All he wanted was for her to be happy and alive and not here. If he had to step back, as painful as it was, he'd do it. If it'd only keep her safe, he'd do anything she wanted.
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Post by Ember Thistle Grant on Mar 10, 2012 22:37:14 GMT -5
She didn’t know what had brought them this far apart. Sure, her reckless and rebellious attitude hadn’t been the greatest of help, but there was more to it than that, she was sure of it. She had fought with him before and some of those had been nasty arguments but they almost always had them resolved within a day or so and now it was like they didn’t even know each other. Andrew knew what mentioning Robert did to her and yet he’d unleashed that furious blow and sent her spiralling far beyond the reach of anyone else. There was no saving her after that and it was without even thinking of consequences that she had acted the way she did. Andrew knew that she blamed herself for his death and he been the one to hold back her hair when she threw up after a night of drowning her sorrows. It had been him who had held her when she cried the day they told her the news and he was the one who tried to make her see that she could have done nothing to save him, that it was an accident on an icy road. For him to turn it all on her in anger like he did was unforgivable, at least now when everything was far too raw for him to deal with.
Her eyes were watery when he made his attempt at an apology. “It doesn’t matter what I want to hear. You know what that remark would do and yet you said it anyway. Intentions of the purest kind or not, you know I can’t forgive you using him like that.”
[/color] She said, meeting his gaze and shaking her head. Her fingers closed tighter around the locket and then she moved to fasten it around her neck, feeling a million times better once the cool gold hung over her chest. She listened to what he had to say and then sighed in relief. That was all she had wanted all along; for him to back off and be her brother rather than a preacher. She didn’t need lectures and screaming matches or fights and judgemental comments. She had them her whole life, but Andrew had only been in it for a few years and she expected better from him when the times got tough, but now she wasn’t so sure. “I’m going to be okay, but I need time before we can get back to the way things were. I trusted you never to use that night against me, and you did, so now I don’t know how to fix this, because I can’t let you back in in case you use something else against me.”[/color] She explained wearily, still exhausted from everything that had happened and the medication pumping through her body. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify] • • •
TAGGED! Andrew <3
WORDS! 471
OUTFIT! Walking Tragedy
LYRICS! Perfect - - - Simple Plan
NOTES! <3 <3 <3
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