Chapter Five
It’s been a long-ass day in the garage. And I’m ready to go home and hear nothing but silence.
I swing my leg over my mustang-style seat.
Once I’m seated, I start my bike, and my phone automatically connects to my CarPlay.
As I scroll for a song, a chill runs through me.
I think it’s time to put the bike away for the rest of the year, unfortunately.
It’s cold as fuck, but I'm a stubborn ass. I settled on “Hereditary” by Wind Walkers. It’s one of my favorite songs to listen to while I ride a little recklessly.
What can I say? I’m safe for the most part when I ride, but I like to have fun too.
Traffic isn’t too bad for this Thursday evening.
Since it’s pretty much winter, I’m just taking a chill ride.
I’m not zipping in between cars like I normally do.
Technically, lane splitting is illegal in Oklahoma.
However, I don’t give a fuck. As I pull into my development, I start to slow down; a few of my neighbors have pretty young kids, and I would hate for a freak accident to happen.
I un-fucking-forunately know life could change in the blink of an eye.
I hit my garage door button and pulled into the left bay.
I kill the engine, lower the kickstand, and dismount the bike.
I walk over to my utility sink, which I purposely had installed in my garage so it would be easier to clean up after work.
I turn on the hot water and start pumping soap into my hands.
I hate the feeling of Fast Orange on my skin.
It feels like I’m washing my hands with fucking cat litter, but it works and smells like citrus.
Bare ass naked, I walk into my main bathroom and turn on the shower.
The double rain showerheads are coming to life as I turn them on.
Steam starts to fill my bathroom, and I keep my door cracked a little because I love the steam.
I tilt my head back and let the water run down my face.
I grab my shampoo and start scrubbing it into my hair.
Once I think it’s good enough, I grab my conditioner.
Yes, I’m a dude who uses conditioners. Have you seen these curls? I need to take care of them.
As I let the conditioner sit, I grab my sandalwood Tombstone bar of soap and start working it into my exfoliating pad.
Once I’m happy with the amount of suds, I start scrubbing the day away.
The hot water feels so good. I rinse out the conditioner and shut off the showerheads.
I step out of the shower and start to dry off.
I dry my body and then my hair. Hanging up my towel, I walk over to my double vanity, and I start to clear the steam from the mirror as I stand there butt ass naked.
I grab my curling cream and start applying it to the hair on top of my head.
I reach for my tattoo moisturizing balm.
Scooping out a decent amount, I start rubbing it in on the sides and back of my head.
I go back once more and scoop out enough for both of my arms and my chest.
Finishing my nightly routine, I head into my bedroom.
Grab a pair of crew cut socks, basketball shorts, and a cut-off T-shirt.
As I leave the room, Charlie follows me as always.
He’s ready for his dinner, and so am I. Once we make it downstairs, I fill Charlie’s bowl so he can start eating.
I opened the fridge to remember I need to go to the grocery store after work tomorrow, so guess what: it's truck day tomorrow. But for tonight, I guess I’ll order an XL cheesesteak and some mozzarella sticks from my favorite pizzeria down the block.
Placing the order on the pizzeria’s app, I toss my phone on the couch and head to the kitchen to start washing my dishes for tomorrow.
Grabbing the multi cleaner from the cabinet, I start scrubbing the counters and cleaning the sink.
Hearing my phone notify me that food is arriving, I head to the front door and grab the food from the delivery driver.
Scarfing down half and placing the leftovers in a container for lunch.
With the day catching up to me, I decide it’s time for bed.
I let Charlie out to do his nightly bathroom break before we head upstairs.
Once upstairs, I take a piss and brush my teeth.
Turning off the lights and heading to bed.
I slide into my 2,000-thread-count sheets. Closing my eyes, sleep carries me away.
“Gavin! Do you want to go on a hike with me after school? I found this really nice trail that leads to a trail looking over a cliff,” Juni asks when she sits down next to me at lunch.
“I think I know the one you're talking about.. Lock 44, right? I’ve looked it up before. The view looks gorgeous.”
“That's the one.. so what do you think? Do you want to go with me?” Juni asks me, batting her eyes.
“Hell yeah, let’s do it! I’ll meet you there if that’s cool. I need to run home and grab some stuff,” I say, looking at her from across the table
“Absolutely, I’ll see you there, Petrov,” she sings as she gets up and walks away.
The rest of the day goes by pretty fast. Before I know it, it’s 14:45. We're dismissed, and everyone heads either to their vehicles or to the buses that the school provides. I’m opening my car door, and my phone rings. It’s my little brother Isaiah.
“Hey Gavin, question,” comes across the line before I can even say hello.
“Hey, Isaiah, answer,” I say with a laugh.
“Can you come pick me up so I don’t have to ride my bike home? I just really don’t feel like riding my bike today.”
“I’m sorry, bud. I don’t have time, I have plans with Juni today. If I didn’t already have plans, you know I would.” Isaiah mumbles okay and hangs up.
Racing home, I quickly change out of my class uniform into black basketball shorts and a T-shirt with the sleeves cut off. Summer is starting, and it’s hot as fuck. Why did I agree to go hiking again?
I pull up to Lock 44 parking lot and already see Juni here leaning against her car waiting for me.
Once parked, I get out and meet her by her car. Walking up and kissing her on the cheek like I always do. “Hey, Любовь, are you ready?” I say, looking down at her with a smirk.
She grabs my hand with a big smile on her face. “Absolutely! Let’s go.” We head to the artificial staircase they built from the surrounding rocks.
The climb takes us roughly 45 minutes to reach the top.
Once we finally get there and both catch our breath, I notice that now that we've stopped moving, my phone won’t stop going off.
Feeling puzzled, I pull out my phone and see 15 missed calls.
A few are from numbers I don’t know, and over half are from my mom.
“What the fuck? I wonder what happened?” As I call my mother back.
The phone doesn’t ring long before the other end is picked up.
“Jesus Christ, Gavin Dimitri Petrov. Where the hell are you and why haven’t you answered your fucking phone?” She barks at me angrily.
“Whoa, Mom…calm down. What’s going on? I can hear it in your voice. Something is wrong…” I pause, waiting for her to respond.
“It’s… It's Isaiah. I don't know much. He got hit by a car on the way home from school today. The car has extensive damage. And they wouldn’t say anything about Isaiah's condition. My GPS says I’ll be at the hospital in an hour.”
I’m hit with so much confusion and guilt as her words start to sink in.
Isaiah is hurt.. really hurt, but we don’t know how bad it is…
“I’m on my way home. I’ll meet you there.
I love you, okay? Everything is going to be okay.
I promise.” I hang up the phone and look at Juni, who’s been standing there silently waiting for me to get off the phone to find out what happened.
I try to speak, but my voice gets stuck in my throat.
“Uh, Любовь . I need to go… I need to go right now. Isaiah is hurt. That’s my eleven-year-old brother…
and it’s bad. He got hit by a car on his way home from school.
” I pause as my gaze becomes distant. My voice cracks.
“They wouldn’t say what kind of condition he is in… I need to meet my mom at the hospital…”
“Gavin... look at me for a second. Please...” Her hand softly touches my face and bends my head so our eyes can lock.
“Oh… oh… okay, I’m so sorry, Juni.. Fuck. He needs to be okay… he just needs to be okay.” We take off down the stone stairs and make it down the mountain in thirty minutes.
“Gavin, you're in no shape to drive… just get in my car. I’m driving you,” she looks at me pleadingly.
“You're right. Okay, you're right. We need to get there. My mom needs me.” Emotions are taking the rest of my voice. Pulling into the ER parking lot, I spotted my mother almost to the entrance. Juni stops the car to let me out.
“I’m going to park. I’ll catch up. Don’t wait for me,” she says as she heads to the parking garage.
As I reach my mother, my size fully envelops her. She’s been crying, and you can tell she’s so scared. “Shh, it’s going to be okay, he’s gonna be fine, come on, let’s get inside.”
As we enter the ER, we walk to the check-in desk. “Hi! What can I do for you?” The young girl at the desk asks, looking up from her computer.
My mother’s voice breaks, “My…my son. He was brought in by ambulance,” she shudders.
“Okay, no problem, ma’am. Can I have the patient’s name, please?”
“Isaiah Petrov… his name is Isaiah Petrov,” I answered for my mother. She couldn’t find her words.
As she types his name into her computer, she looks up. “Ah, yes, he is being seen as a patient. If you could please go through these doors and go to the first door on the left, please,” she says without her eyes leaving her screen.
Just as we are about to start in that direction, Juni appears by my side.
The three of us walked through the doors the receptionist told us to use.
Confusion crosses my face as I see the name on the door.
“Family room? Why the fuck are they sending us to a family room and not an ER room? What the fuck?” I ask as concern really starts to creep in.
We open the door, and find three chairs in the corner and a couch.
A few tables with tissue boxes upon them.
Juni takes my hand and my mother’s and leads us to a seat. My mother and I take a seat on the couch, and Juni sits to our left. A few minutes have passed, and there is a knock on the door. We all share a look of confusion.
“Hello, to confirm this is the family of Isaiah Petrov, correct?”
“Yes, I’m his mother… Where is my son, and why are we in this room?” My mother asks nervously.
“Ma’am. I’m very sorry. I have to tell you, Isaiah has died from his injuries…”
An ear-piercing wail erupts from my mother's throat.
She starts slamming both of her hands down on the couch, hitting me in the process.
“No, No, No, not my baby… not my poor baby,” she starts wailing again.
She runs up to the door and starts pounding on it with all of her might, continuing to scream.
“A mother is never supposed to bury her child!” She screams again, and I can feel it in my bones.
Gasping awake, feeling like I’m choking on the last of my mother's screams. My heart is pounding in my ears, so loud I can’t shake the drowsiness surrounding me.
Like a weight sitting on my chest, taking my breath away, I need to focus.
I know this isn’t real. This happens every single time I have this nightmare.
My body is completely consumed, to the point that all I can do is stare at my ceiling fan as it circles.
Looking at the alarm clock to my left, I see the time 02:48 am.
Every time I have this god-forsaken nightmare, it’s always around this time.
The only thing that seems to calm me about this night terror is Juni.
I wish I could call her. Embrace her. Inhale her lavender shampoo & conditioner scent.
Instead, I’m the crazy guy who broke up with her and am still obsessing over her.
I need her. My therapist once said I look at her like she’s my trauma bond, which makes sense.
She was there. Until I pushed her way, and right now I wish I could just pull her close.
Sleep won’t find me again for the rest of the day.
I grab my phone off my nightstand. I went to Facebook and clicked the search bar.
And start typing Juniper Monroe. Her beautiful face fills my screen.
My tight chest starts to loosen, and I can finally take a deep breath just looking into her hazel-green eyes.
I whisper into the dark. “I miss you, Любовь. So much.”