I Rize (17 page)

T
HE NURSE saw the EKG machine beep, which indicated a present and sound heart. She phoned Doctor Andrews to tell him the good news. Her family and friends waited for what seemed like hours when Dr. Andrews called to tell them Adny’s body accepted the new heart. No one could contain their excitement on their way back to the hospital.

Michelle initially stepped into the room, with her eyes focused directly on the clock on the wall. She blinked—the time was the same. She blinked repeatedly, falling to her knees in tears. Adny leaned her head against the backboard. “Mom, you don’t have to cry anymore.”

Michelle ran fingers through her hair as Adny smiled; becoming a moment neither of them would ever take for granted again “Baby, you wouldn’t understand, but I’m happy to have you in my arms again.”

The doctor told everyone she would be released within days or weeks, depending on the recovery. Everyone stood in the room in awe of Adny’s presence. Jace constantly crossed her mind. Junior stepped in after everyone left. He lifted the bag of Jace’s letters.”

“Junior, what is this?”

“Open it and find out.”

She unraveled the duffle bag, picking up the handful of letters. “These all are from Jace, aren’t they?”

Junior nodded. Adny looked over at the stand and saw the white rose and bucket of Reese’s from Jace. She grabbed the rose, never wanting to let it go.

“Junior, I’m confused. He told me to die in the text.”

“It was Madison. She made up the whole thing.”

“I should have known because,” Junior joined in with her, “once a psycho, always a psycho.”

Mickey walked in and, for the first time in weeks, tears of joy and not of sorrow flowed from his eyes. “I’m sorry for not helping you.”

“Just promise me if I ever decide to play Russian roulette again, admit me to a mental ward.”

While they hugged and laughed with one another, Junior grabbed the t-shirt with the cross on it and placed it on Adny’s lap. “Adny, you remember on Christmas when I gave you this shirt and you asked me, did I think God punishes people who get tired of living on the earth he created?”

Adny placed the shirt on under her hospital gown. “Yes, I remember.”

“I couldn’t answer you before, but Grams’s knowledge surpasses my own.”

Adny’s grandmother walked in and placed Junior’s hands over Adny’s in her lap. “Children, this represents our dreams for ourselves.” She brought both of their arms higher, forming a circle above Adny’s head. “God’s dream for us is so much greater.” She leaned in closer to hug them both and could hear the sniffles of tears forming. “When you reach a point where you feel like you are unable to keep going, don’t ever give up.”

Neither of them could contain the tears—an endless flow of built up emotions from the past weeks.

“Children, always remember to always surrender yourself wholly to God.”

They all connected in silence when Darla and Piper walked in. Darla asked, “Adny, is that dark haired boy your boyfriend?”

Adny pulled her in closer. “I think he will be soon … hopefully.”

Darla gave her a snug hug and whispered, “I’m sure glad I got my sissy back.”

Adny whispered back, “Glad mine is back, too.”

Piper yelled as loud as her tiny voice could strain above everyone else’s. “Adnyyy! I missed you this much.” Her tiny munchkin arms were spread wide, as far as they would reach.

“Piper! I missed you this much more.” She spread her arms even wider than Piper could.

Piper jumped on top of the bed. “Umm … Adny did you see the sandpaper? You were sleeping.”

She reached behind her pillow to pull out the sandpaper. For the first time in a long time, pure happiness came upon her.

Junior walked back in. “Hey, Bangs, we are going to talk to the doctor and see if we can get you released early. First mission, get those bangs destroyed.”

Junior grabbed the plastic knife from her food tray and pretended to cut her hair when she grabbed the plastic fork. “Cut it, and this means war.”

They both laughed until their stomachs began to hurt, as if they were five all over again. Junior pulled out a bag of Pop Rock candy, and Adny couldn’t contain her excitement. “Adny, when you are out of this hell hole, I want to beat you at a game of Pop Rocks.”

A pillow flew in his direction, missing his face.

When Junior walked back toward the bed, she said, “I love you forever.”

He reached in for a hug, while responding, “And always.”

She looked down at the sandpaper again, thinking about the time Piper wrote on it. It was obvious that Piper was peering through the crack in the slightly open door. Piper slid her way in and yelled, “I will rise forever and ever and more forever, until never.”

Adny raised her eyebrows, puzzled, while chuckling heavily under her breath to Piper’s humming of the repetition of the phrase down the hall.

W
hen Andy thought everyone had left, she saw a face she’d thought she wouldn’t see again—Terri’s. Adny eyeballed her every move. The constant deadly stare caused Terri to move back and forth in her seat. She finally stood and asked, “My boyfriend got arrested on a five thousand dollar bond. Do you have any money I could borrow? I will pay you back.”

Adny looked at her for a moment, partially smiling. One part of the smile represented joy in watching Terri beg. The other part represented power over Terri for the first time.

Terri reached down in her purse and pulled out dollar bills. “Here is ten dollars for now.”

Adny ripped up the ten dollars, throwing it at her. “You wanted a stranger, so you got one. Didn’t your dad ever teach you not to talk to strangers?”

Terri stomped her foot down hard onto the ground as she placed her hand on the doorknob. “All I asked for was a simple thing, and you can’t even do that, sister.”

Adny leaned up from her bedside, laughing out loud at her lies. She picked up her paper cup of water, took a sip, and threw the rest at the door. Terri sucked her teeth in, wiping away some of the water from her jacket.

As the nurse checked Adny’s vitals, she said, “I’m not afraid of anything you plan to do to me, because I have God on my side. Besides, he only gave me one sister. Sorry, but you weren’t the chosen to be her.”

Terri slammed the door for the final time, causing the nurse to drop the needle about to be injected into Adny’s arm.

A
COUPLE days passed. Every time Adny woke up, all she could think about was Jace Rivers. Lying in the hospital bed, she reread—numerous times—all the letters he wrote. The nurses walked in every forty-five minutes to an hour to check her vitals. Her recovery rate was much faster than most transplant patients. She begged and pleaded, and Dr. Andrews finally gave in. She was required to follow his directions closely for a pristine recovery.

Her mother and Junior wheeled her out of the hospital. As they loaded her up into the car, her mind raced crazily, thinking about Jace.

“Junior, have you heard from Jace?”

“He said he was going to go visit his grandma in Georgia for a few days.”

“What? When is his flight supposed to leave?”

“I think around two o’clock.”

Adny looked down at her phone. The time was 1:45. Her mother dropped her off at the airport. She quickly ran into the airport not knowing which receptionist to talk to first. She looked up at the screen and saw the flight from Wilmington to Atlanta was cancelled.

She stood in the center of the airport and remembered the moment she first saw him. Shouting, “Seat 49,” everyone gave her an odd look of suspicion. She asked her mother to drop her off at the school, and Junior was dropped off at Gracie’s Julliard audition along the way.

W
hile Adny searched for Jace, Gracie prepared for her Juilliard audition at Thalian Hall. She sat in the audition room an hour before show time, thinking about her spiritual journey through dance. For once, no one was there to stop her.

She stepped foot on stage and could see quite a few people in the audience. Her parents sat near the front, beginning to chant her name. Everyone else joined in. The representatives from Juilliard gave a series of signals.

Lights.

Camera.

Action.

The music began to play. It was her moment to shine.

W
hen Adny walked through the front doors of Valley High School, it was the same as she remembered. The faded silver and blue lining on the floor led her to the gym. On her way, she looked through the window of the principal’s office. He was packing his belongings. She didn’t understand where he was going until two police officers walked in and handcuffed him without an ounce of resistance.

She recognized the detective rummaging through Principal Cooper’s notebooks, but couldn’t quite remember his name.

“Excuse me, detective?”

When Detective Miller turned around, his mouthed dropped open. “Adny Storm? I am Detective Miller. I have been the lead detective on your case since the beginning.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt, sir, but the case never existed.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to press charges. They didn’t physically place the gun in my hands, nor did they pull the trigger.” She stepped in closer, words becoming a whisper. “It is her turn to do the work.”

Detective Miller lowered his eyebrows. “Who are you talking about?”

Adny motioned for the detective to stoop lower so she could whisper in his ear. “
She
is karma.”

As Detective Miller joined the rest of the arresting officers outside, Adny found her way to the gym. She walked up to the gym doors, peering through to see if anyone was in there. She couldn’t see a soul, so she took a chance by walking in. She walked passed seat forty-nine, and the smell of Jace’s familiar body spray sent tingled through her body.

A familiar voice asked, “Adny, can I finally have your number?”

She jokingly replied, “What if I say no?”

He embraced her, placing a finger up to her mouth. He gently grabbed her hand to place it on his heart. She could feel it beat against his chest at if it were going to jump out at her. “This is how you make me feel every time I see you.”

She smiled as he ran his fingers through the back of her long black hair; a smile lost until that moment. As he reached in to kiss her, she hesitated for a moment, looking at his eyes. His blue-green eyes illuminated against the blinking ceiling lights. Both of his hands were placed around her, comforting her, pulling her against his body. On her tiptoes, she rubbed her fingers through his rough chin hair. Heavy breaths lingered in her ear and made her yearn for more of him.

They came in closer.

She could smell his chocolate scent even more, while he kissed the upper part of her neck. His fingers trickled down her spine as her entire body flinched from pure pleasure. His lips led up from her neck toward her lips.

Their eyes closed instantly.

Their lips touched as if they were magnets, surrendering to the forces of love between them, each unable to relinquish control. She felt his lips soften with each instance of her touch.

When the kiss ended, she backed away as the thought of awkward first kisses from movies entered her mind. She didn’t have to ask whether it was good or bad when Jace chuckled while pushing her gently up against the exit door for an even more passionate kiss she wasn’t expecting.

As they both stood to catch their breaths Jace said, “Nothing to worry about; it was perfect. Since I have finally achieved two things I’ve been wanting to do for the past three years, I think its only fair if we have an equally amazing first date, too.”

She couldn’t stop grinning from cheek to cheek while they gathered their things to go to Gracie’s audition for Juilliard.

W
hen Jace and Adny arrived at the audition, the routine was nearly over. The entire auditorium was silent until the very end. Her movement, her words, had every eye glued upon her talent. When the routine ended, everyone stood to congratulate Gracie. A few of the judges were close to tears when the routine ended. They talked amongst themselves for a while. One of the representatives grabbed the microphone and had nothing but compliments to bestow upon her greatness witnessed by everyone in the room. They couldn’t give her an answer at that very moment regarding her acceptance, but everyone in the room had the same feeling she would be starting there in the fall semester. Everyone rushed on stage to congratulate her.

Adny approached with a bouquet of flowers. “Gracie, you’re an inspiration to me. You make me want to get up there and dance with these two left clunkers I was cursed with.”

While they hugged, Gracie said, “Adny, you have no idea how long your own kind words have inspired me to keep going.”

They both stepped off stage. Gracie pulled her to the side and asked, “Did you hear what happened to Miss Nora?”

“No, I haven’t. What happened?

“People are saying she died from breast cancer. She was an organ donor who I’m sure saved so many lives. She will be one of the greatest teachers ever because it’s hard to find those who do it out of the love for us, the students.”

In that moment, Adny broke down into tears.

Mickey walked up. “Adny, you okay?”

She wiped the onslaught of tears away with her shirt. “I will be fine. How are you and Junior doing?”

“I’d rather not talk about it here. What about you and Jace?”

She turned around toward Jace, smiling in his direction. He smiled back. “I think he might be a keeper. I’m just ready to graduate and get away from this crazy school.”

“I’m with you. This place is like Disneyland dipped in the ghetto. The school is beautiful and rich on the outside, but on the inside, lunatic bitches be out in the halls roaming everywhere.”

Adny chuckled, giving him a strange look like she always did when he made weird jokes.

She mumbled under her breath, “I still can’t say your silly ‘B’ word.”

Mickey placed his hand up to his ear and said, “I need to hear this again. Say it loud and proud.”