Breath of Life (8 page)

“I had a loving family. Then I broke it up,” Paxton corrected Dr. Keeler.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning? When Jack came in he said you two were set up by your friends Ella and Duke.”

“Yeah, we were. Ella was my very best friend. She knew me better than anyone else. We had been through so much together. Our parents were best friends before we came along. Then they naturally put us together and we had always been friends.” Paxton smiled at those memories. The carefree days.

“So you and Ella grew up together?”

“Yeah, we were next door neighbors. We went to the same school, only once or twice we weren’t in the same class until middle school. Then we had more separate schedules but we always found each other during lunch periods and after school. We were inseparable, we were like sisters.  I think it was 8
grade when we decided what our lives would be like.” Paxton paused and looked at her hands. She knotted her hands together again. She was talking too much. It was like someone opened the flood gates but she was ready to start telling someone her story.

“I take it you were going to be a doctor but what did Ella want to be?”

Paxton let out a small chuckle. “No, our plans were much better.  Ella was going to be a famous artist and I would be her manager. I would book her art shows and we would travel around the world. We were going to grow old together. We wanted to be the two old crazy ladies in the nursing home reminiscing about all our adventures.”

“Sounds like you two had a pretty special relationship.”

“Yeah. We finished each other’s thoughts and sentences. We looked out for each other.”

“So when did that change?”

Paxton grew silent. She decided to steer the conversation back to their closeness. “I didn’t realize how much Ella meant to me until the summer before our senior year in high school. Our parents went on a double date and that night everything changed.”

“Did you guys fight that night?”

“No that night brought us closer together. You see, Ella and I planned to go out with friends that night. There was a house party and the boys we liked at the time were going to be there. Our parents however volunteered us to babysit the neighbor’s kid. Ella ended up going out that night as I stayed in and watched Jackson. His parents went out with ours to a dinner party.”

“So she got in trouble that night.”

Paxton looked out the window nervously. She watched the people walk by for a few moments.

“Not exactly.” Paxton continued to stare out the window as if she were replaying the night’s events on the glass.

***

“Ella come home quickly. Our parents found out you weren’t here because Mrs. Brant down the street saw you. They are coming home now and they seem mad,” Paxton said with worry. “You have to beat them home.”

“Thanks for the heads up. On my way now. Should be there in about five,” she said. Paxton could hear her starting to gather her things and she heard a few comments from people asking where she was going. Then the line went dead.

Paxton looked at the clock. Ella should be back in the house with plenty of time. Her parents were about twenty minutes away if they were lucky. They had to face the highway traffic so possibly thirty minutes away. She gripped the cordless phone and paced. Jackson was already down for the night. He tuckered out pretty quickly after his parents left.  She heard a car door and keys come out.
Please be Ella, please be Ella
she chanted to herself. The door was opening and she focused on the shape.

“Made it!” Ella exclaimed laughing. “I better go change into something other than this. My parents will freak!”

She headed down the stairs to Paxton’s room. She changed into her skimpy outfit after their parents left. She had a hot date with a boy she was crushing on. They went to a house party. Paxton breathed a sigh of relief. Now she had to calm herself before her parents got home.

Ella came up dressed in the same clothes she wore over here. She kept her outfit in Paxton’s closet to keep suspicions low. Paxton settled in on the couch and flipped to a movie channel as Ella rejoined her.
Hope Floats
came back from the commercial break. It was about a quarter way into the movie. Just in far enough to make it convincing for when their parents walked in.  

They were almost finished with the movie when they noticed their parents hadn’t come.
Maybe they were only threatening
, Paxton thought.

“I wonder where they are,” Ella said as if she sensed what Paxton was thinking.

“You think they were bluffing?” Paxton answered.

“No. I don’t think they would, would they?”

“I don’t know they sounded pretty pissed when they called,” Paxton admitted as she stared at the phone.

“I totally could have stayed at the party,” Ella pouted. “They would have been home by now if they were coming.”

“How was it? If we didn’t have to watch Jackson I totally would have gone!” she said distracting herself from her parents and the situation that could have unfolded if they came home.

“Amazing!” gushed Ella. “Alex was adorable tonight. He held my hand as he walked me to my car.”

Alex was Ella’s new boy toy. She had a crush on him and he finally asked her out. Paxton was excited for her friend.

“Was Sage there?” Paxton wanted to go just to see Sage, her own latest crush.

“Yeah, he even asked where you were. He seemed disappointed you couldn’t make it.”

They kept talking about the boys. Time slowly went by and soon Paxton no longer worried about their parents coming home. They were so wrapped up in conversation they didn’t hear the doorbell. Paxton jumped as she heard a loud banging on the door. She got up to go see who was at the door.

“Police! Anyone there?” a booming voice came as she got to the door. She opened the door slightly and faced two officers.

“Paxton Andrews?” the officer asked.

“Yes that’s me.” Her voice was shaky. She wasn’t sure why the police were asking for her. “May I help you?”

“I’m Officer Anderson and this is Officer Santiago.” They both held up their badges. Paxton nodded her head knowing they were leaving them up for her to inspect to validate their identity. Paxton heard a gasp come from behind her. Ella appeared in the hallway frozen in place at the sight of the officers.

Officer Santiago nudged Anderson as he saw sight of Ella. “Are you Ella Jameson?” Santiago asked over Anderson’s shoulder.

“Did my parents call you? I swear I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. Please don’t arrest me, I will go home and face them. Please, I don’t want to be in trouble,” Ella started babbling. Paxton turned to stare at her best friend who just lost her composure in front of the officers.

“Miss, we are not here to arrest you,” Officer Anderson advised.

“What’s this all about?” Paxton asked. She was still confused as to why the officers were asking for them.

“Yes I would like to know the same thing.” A familiar voice behind the officers rang out. It was Mrs. Hanson. Paxton saw her when peered around the officers. She must be coming to collect Jackson. Paxton quickly thought her parents would be home any moment then. Their parents and the Hansons went to a dinner party together. The Hanson’s drove separately.

Both officers excused themselves as they went to identify and speak to Mrs. Hanson. Paxton watched as the officers pulled her aside. Almost out of hearing range. Paxton strained to hear the conversation but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Ella was trying to do the same.

“I can’t hear them,” she whispered in Paxton’s ear.

“Me neither,” she said.

Both girls were not sure what was going on. They both gasped as they saw Mrs. Hanson cover her mouth in shock and almost fall to the ground. Now the girls were worried. Mrs. Hanson looked over to them tears in her eyes. Paxton knew something awful was going on. Now all three of them were heading back to the door.

“Girls, let’s go inside and sit down for a moment,” Mrs. Hanson said as she was climbing the steps to the front door.

Paxton turned and led them into the house. She wanted to know what was going on. Paxton went into the living room and watched everyone else walk in. She and Ella sat down. The officers remained standing but Mrs. Hanson sat in the chair right by the sofa.  Paxton never looked away from Mrs. Hanson.

“Officers I think I can handle it from here,”  Mrs. Hanson turned to the officers and was politely dismissing them.

“Please let us know if you need any help. We’re on the case now,” Officer Anderson handed Mrs. Hanson his business card.

Paxton’s eyes widened.
Case?! What case?
 She thought to herself. “What’s going on Mrs. Hanson?” Paxton couldn’t take the suspense anymore. She wanted to know what the hell was going on.

“I’m sorry girls, but your parents were in an accident.” Paxton felt Ella grab her hand. She squeezed it tightly.

“What happened to them?” Ella asked. Paxton heard the panic in her voice.

“They were on their way home when they were car jacked.” Mrs. Hanson wiped away a tear. Ella gasped and Paxton just continued to stare. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. 

“They put up a fight and the assailants shot them. All of them were rushed to the hospital after several witnesses saw it occur. One of the dinner guests witnessed and told the officers that you girls should be at the house and that’s all they knew for emergency contacts.”

“We need to get to the hospital,” Paxton finally said.

She felt herself take a breath. She must have been holding it while listening and waiting for Mrs. Hanson to tell her what happened.

“I’ll take Jackson home to Mr. Hanson and then I’ll take you both to the hospital.” Mrs. Hanson stood and walked out of the room.

Paxton grabbed her mom’s address book as Mrs. Hanson went to collect Jackson. Ella was on the phone with her only uncle. It was the only relative that was still living. Ella was in tears as she was talking to her Uncle Ryan. Paxton made the call to her aunts and grandparents but none of them answered.

Mrs. Hanson quickly drove to her own house a few blocks away. Ella and Paxton sat in the backseat together. Mrs. Hanson went inside with Jackson. Paxton stared out of the window. Now that Jackson was out of his booster seat, Paxton intertwined her pinky with Ella’s. It was comforting to know they both still had each other. They had no idea what shape their parents were in but they needed to get there quickly. Mrs. Hanson came back into the car and they quickly departed heading for Mercy Hospital. It was twenty minutes away from Mrs. Hanson’s house. Paxton wished that this trip did not take too long.

Mrs. Hanson dropped them off in the Emergency Room entrance. She told them she would wait in the car. It made Paxton worry even more that she felt the need to keep the car running as if they came to the wrong hospital. The girls rushed inside and looked for the receptionist

“Our parents were brought in from a shooting earlier tonight. Jenny and Jared Andrews and Susan and Greg Jameson,” Paxton informed the receptionist as they reached her.

The receptionist typed away at her computer.

“I’m sorry they have been life-flighted to Topeka, St. Francis. All four.”

Ella gasped and started sobbing. Paxton didn’t know where her calmness was coming from. Maybe it was because she refused to believe what was going on. They went back to the car. Mrs. Hanson turned in worry.

“They were transferred to St. Francis in Topeka. Could you please take us?” Panic crept into her voice.

She knew that if they were life-flighted there, they were in bad shape. She refused to let tears fall until she got to the hospital and saw the doctors.  She quickly called her aunts and uncle to give them the update. Ella borrowed her cell phone to call her uncle. Ella still had tears streaming down her face.

She grabbed Paxton’s pinky again. Paxton looked over at her best friend. She could see the hell that Ella was going through at the moment. Paxton knew she was probably blaming herself for what’s going on. It was because of her, that their parents left the dinner party earlier. Paxton stared at her best friend wishing she could say something to make things better but she knew she couldn’t even convince herself. She took a deep breath in and looked out her window into the darkness. Mrs. Hanson just turned on to I-70 and they would have a long, quiet drive ahead of them.

When they got to the hospital Mrs. Hanson found a relatively close parking spot in the parking garage. The three of them walked in together this time. They went to the information booth in front of the doorway. The girls were told that their parents were in surgery at the moment. They headed up to the surgical floor. They sat in the waiting room.

Paxton felt her world around her stop. She barely register her two aunts coming in the room and hugging her. They lived about an hour and half away from Topeka. They made good timing.

“Have you heard anything sweetheart?” Aunt Stacy asked.

“No. Nothing yet,” she answered not recognizing her quiet, unsure voice. Her aunts surrounded her. They were on her sides trying to comfort her but Paxton just went into her own world.

“Ella?” a voice broke into the room. Paxton looked up and saw a man striding towards Ella. It must be her Uncle Ryan. Ella ran and wrapped her arms around him. Paxton knew that she loved her uncle. They had an awesome relationship but Mr. Jameson and Ryan did not get along well. So his visits were few and far between but Ella always talked about him.

They started catching up and they were lost in conversation when Paxton saw a doctor enter the room.

“Jameson family?” The doctor looked around seeing who it was that he was needing to speak to.

“That’s us,” Ryan answered as he and Ella stood up. The doctor approached them.  Paxton and her aunts fell silent waiting for the news.

“I am Dr. Davtyan. I’m working on both Susan and Greg’s cases. I’m so sorry, but they didn’t make it. I pronounced your Susan deceased upon arrival. She flat lined in the helicopter and they couldn’t revive her back. Greg passed when he went into surgery. We did everything we could to save him but there was too much damage. We recovered three bullets from his abdomen and two from him torso. He just lost too much blood and one of the bullets nicked a major artery that we couldn’t get to in time. I am so sorry for your loss.”