Post by HburgEagle44 on Aug 26, 2011 16:29:35 GMT -5
This is really a story about Rebecca, but I thought I'd put it in here comment please!!
“Cause when you feel out of touch, like it all seems too much, just close your eyes and I’ll be there when I can, just close your eyes and I’ll be there when I can, cause you’ve got a friend.”
Rebecca took a deep breath from her piano and looked out of her window. The sun was setting slowly and it was a beautiful sight.
Her phone started buzzing and she picked it up. “Hello?”
“Hey, Becca…I need your help.” Keith sounded worried.
“What’s wrong?” Rebecca asked. She started putting sheet music away and listened to Keith’s heavy breathing. “Are you okay?”
“No.”
The one word answer gave her all she needed. “I’ll be right there.” She started to hang up but remembered something. “Oh, yeah, where are you?”
Keith sighed. “I’m at the pub. You know the one.”
She groaned. “Yeah, I do. I’ll be right over.”
“Becca!”
“What?” she asked, getting her bag and putting on her shoes.
“Please…bring Emmet.” He sounded worried. “Please.”
“Ohhhkay…” she said. “I’ll be right there, Keith. Please…don’t hurt yourself. Be careful.” She hung up the phone and immediately called Emmet.
“Hey, Bec,” he said. She could tell he was tired, but she talked quickly.
“Emmet! Please! I need your help. It sounds like Keith is in horrible trouble again.” She rolled her eyes. “I said I’d come help him, but he said to bring you, so it could be dangerous...I don’t know. It is Keith. Anyway, could you be ready in a few minutes? I’ll pick you up.” She took a deep breath.
“Bec, Bec, Bec…settle down. It’s Keith. I’m sure he’ll be all right for the few minutes it takes to get…where is he?”
“The pub.”
He was silent for a few minutes. “The pub?!” he asked. “Oh, dear. Come get me. I’ll be ready.”
Rebecca threw her phone in her bag and rushed outside. She got in her car and started driving quickly. She reached Emmet in record time, who had left his apartment and had started walking towards Rebecca. He opened the passenger door nervously and got in without a word. Then they were off to the pub.
When they got to the pub, Emmet touched Rebecca’s arm. “Let me go in first, eh?” He looked worried and looked in the windows without a word. Silently, he pushed open the doors.
He walked in with Rebecca right behind him. It was dark in the pub. Emmet surveyed the room and declared, “Well, there’s nobody here.”
Rebecca hit his arm. “No! Thank you for announcing that!”
He glared at her. “Where’s your fool brother?”
“How should I know?” he demanded.
They were in the middle of a raging argument when someone stuck his head in from the back room. “Oy! What are you fighting about? Come and see this poor lad. He says he recognizes his sister’s voice.” He squinted in the dark. “That would be you, missy?”
Rebecca nodded. “What happened to him?”
He sighed. “I suppose you’ll see for yourself. He says to brace yourself, though. Methinks he’s in…really, really bad shape.” He sighed again. “Well, come on. What are you waiting for?”
Rebecca hesitated. She looked to Emmet for reassurance. When he nodded, she smiled slightly and walked towards the door to the back room. The man led the way. He pointed. “Right there.
Look at him, lass. What has he been doing to himself?” He shook his head and sighed.
Rebecca poked her head in the door. Keith was lying on what looked like a cot. He was completely out of it. She gasped. “His face!”
Keith’s face was completely bruised and cut. He looked very peaceful lying there, but Rebecca knew something had happened.
She rushed to kneel beside him. “Oh, Keith!” she said quietly. She looked up, her face distressed. Tears were forming in her eyes.
“What happened to him?” she whispered.
Emmet came over to kneel beside her and put his hand in hers. “It’ll be okay,” he said quietly. He turned to the man for explanation.
The man cleared his throat. “He was…well, I’m not sure what he was doing. He was hanging around this really weird looking bug…I suppose you’ve seen it around? It has horses on the side. What kind of person does that?” He chuckled lightly. “Anyway, all of a sudden, it was like someone gave a command and he was jumped. By about six guys in masks. One of them demanded in a gruff voice for him to give him his money, another demanded his keys. One guy looked in the trunk and found a really, really nice guitar and another guitar that (in my opinion) is kinda lame.”
Rebecca bit back a bittersweet smile at that remark. “Then…then what happened?”
“He refused.” The man paused and looked toward Heaven for a moment. “Not sure why. It was safest to give them what they wanted. But he refused anyway.”
Rebecca sniffed and couldn’t seem to ask the next question.
Emmet took over. “Yes, that sounds like Keith. He’d rather give up his life than his babies. What happened after that?” he sounded cool, collected.
The man bit his lip, as if this was paining him. “He got attacked, of course. He put up a good fight. I’ve never seen anyone try so hard.”
Rebecca choked. “How badly did they hurt him?”
“Just look at his face.”
Emmet and Rebecca silently stared at Keith’s peaceful expression, underneath a face full of signs of suffering. They looked back at the man. “Did they get his stuff?” Rebecca asked.
“No, they didn’t. That was the curious thing. Here was this brave young man, beaten and bruised, and all of a sudden, he looked up and declared that they were going to get seriously hurt if they didn’t leave.” He paused. “And then the group was jumped.”
“By?” Emmet asked when Rebecca didn’t ask.
“By a bald man, a young lad, and a woman that seemed to shoot fire from her eyes. They were joined by another man in a few minutes. The gang put up a good fight, but this young lad here suddenly seemed refreshed and helped his friends save his own life. Then he called you--” he motioned to Rebecca—“Then he passed out. And rightfully so.”
Emmet laughed quietly. “A woman that seemed to shoot fire from her eyes. That’s a good description.”
“You…you know them?” the man asked. “Cause they’re all in another room. I can get them if you want me to.”
“Really?” Rebecca’s eyes lit up. “Please. May we see them?”
“I’ll be right back.” The man disappeared and came back with the lads and Sharon in a moment. Sharon was looking very angry.
“Becca,” George said, coming up and giving her a hug. “How are you?”
Rebecca couldn’t help it. The one or two tears that had been going down her face turned into a deluge. She cried her eyes out while George made soothing sounds and everyone else stood there awkwardly.
Except Sharon. Sharon was standing over Keith’s bed, staring at him. “I can’t get over the fact that someone did this to him,” she said angrily.
“None of us can,” Neil said, placing a hand on her arm. “But he’ll be all right.”
Rebecca nodded and George let her go. Tears were still going down her face. “He’ll be all right. He’s a Harkin.”
Damian came in just then. “Sorry, didn’t realize everyone left.” He looked around. “Hey, Becca. Hey, Emmet. Why are you here?”
“Keith called Bec, Bec called me,” Emmet said shortly.
“Oh.”
“Why didn’t you realize we had gone, Damian?” George looked at him like he was crazy. “We all just…got up and left. Didn’t you see us?”
Damian shrugged. “I’m really tired. I have jet lag from coming back from Los Angelos, okay?!”
Sharon held up her hand. “Okay, so Damian’s tired, he didn’t see, we’re all worried about Keith, I realize that. Let’s not even think about arguing, okay?”
A groan made everybody turn their heads. Keith was sitting up.
“No, no, no, no, no!” Sharon exclaimed. She pushed him back down. “Don’t sit up.”
Keith put his hand to his head. “What happened?” he whispered.
“I was sure I was going to die, but then my guardian angel came or something.” He looked up at Sharon. “Darlene? I was sure you’d come back for me!”
Damian snickered softly while Neil just held his hand to his mouth.
Sharon laughed. “Glad to see you can’t see. I’m Sharon.”
Keith grinned. “Well, I can dream, can’t I?” He looked around. “What are you all doing here?”
“We saved you,” George said, smiling softly. “How do ye feel, lad?”
“Not so good.” He turned his head and his expression softened.
“Becca. Emmet. You came.”
Rebecca nodded violently. “Of course we came! You asked us to!”
Keith smiled. “I know. But…I don’t know, don’t listen to me.” He looked at Neil. “Hey, you can really punch!”
Neil laughed. “I suppose. I’ve had lots of practice with me mate, John. We’ve had some interesting rows, to say the least.”
Keith smiled at everyone. “You know what? You are all my family. You saved my life,” he said, indicating George, Sharon, Damian, and Neil, “and you came for me.” He looked straight at Rebecca, then his eyes flickered to Emmet. “And you protected me little sis.” He looked like he was about to cry. “Thank you. Everyone. Thank you so much.”
Rebecca thought of the song she had been singing before all this had happened. “Rosario,” she whispered. “Just close your eyes, cause you’ve got a friend.” Her eyes filled with tears again and she swept them away.
Emmet was standing near the doorway, watching everything unfold, when he saw the strange man try to slip by him. He held out his hand. “Wait.”
The man stopped and looked at him. “What is it?” he asked. “I should leave you to your reunion.”
“But first…you have done so much for Keith today. What’s your name?” Emmet’s eyes pleaded with him. “Please.”
The man smiled. “My name is Kyle.” Then he was gone.
Emmet smiled. “Kyle.” He then joined in the chatter with Keith and everyone.
Rebecca was at home, playing her piano mindlessly, when she realized that she was playing Rosario again. Her mind went back to the last time she had played Rosario and she sighed, half in happiness, the other in bitterness. They had never caught the people who had almost killed her brother, just for his car and his guitars. But Keith was fine and his face was on the mend. The fan mail was ridiculous.
She smiled and started singing Rosario happily. A bird landed on her window and she smiled at it. “But when it feels out of touch, like it’s all been too much, just close your eyes…” she trailed off.
She stood up from her piano and cocked her head. Yes, that was the doorbell. She went into the other room and opened the door to find Emmet and Keith there. “You two don’t have to knock!” she laughed.
Keith grinned. “Hey, Becca.” His face was looking a lot better. “How are you?”
She smiled back. “I’m good. Hi, Emmet. What’s the craic, you two?”
“Nothing, really.” Emmet smiled. “Just wanted to see you.”
Rebecca grinned and invited them in. As they sat and talked, she couldn’t help but think of one sentence. And it was beautiful.
Just close your eyes and I’ll be there when I can, cause you’ve got a friend.
“Cause when you feel out of touch, like it all seems too much, just close your eyes and I’ll be there when I can, just close your eyes and I’ll be there when I can, cause you’ve got a friend.”
Rebecca took a deep breath from her piano and looked out of her window. The sun was setting slowly and it was a beautiful sight.
Her phone started buzzing and she picked it up. “Hello?”
“Hey, Becca…I need your help.” Keith sounded worried.
“What’s wrong?” Rebecca asked. She started putting sheet music away and listened to Keith’s heavy breathing. “Are you okay?”
“No.”
The one word answer gave her all she needed. “I’ll be right there.” She started to hang up but remembered something. “Oh, yeah, where are you?”
Keith sighed. “I’m at the pub. You know the one.”
She groaned. “Yeah, I do. I’ll be right over.”
“Becca!”
“What?” she asked, getting her bag and putting on her shoes.
“Please…bring Emmet.” He sounded worried. “Please.”
“Ohhhkay…” she said. “I’ll be right there, Keith. Please…don’t hurt yourself. Be careful.” She hung up the phone and immediately called Emmet.
“Hey, Bec,” he said. She could tell he was tired, but she talked quickly.
“Emmet! Please! I need your help. It sounds like Keith is in horrible trouble again.” She rolled her eyes. “I said I’d come help him, but he said to bring you, so it could be dangerous...I don’t know. It is Keith. Anyway, could you be ready in a few minutes? I’ll pick you up.” She took a deep breath.
“Bec, Bec, Bec…settle down. It’s Keith. I’m sure he’ll be all right for the few minutes it takes to get…where is he?”
“The pub.”
He was silent for a few minutes. “The pub?!” he asked. “Oh, dear. Come get me. I’ll be ready.”
Rebecca threw her phone in her bag and rushed outside. She got in her car and started driving quickly. She reached Emmet in record time, who had left his apartment and had started walking towards Rebecca. He opened the passenger door nervously and got in without a word. Then they were off to the pub.
When they got to the pub, Emmet touched Rebecca’s arm. “Let me go in first, eh?” He looked worried and looked in the windows without a word. Silently, he pushed open the doors.
He walked in with Rebecca right behind him. It was dark in the pub. Emmet surveyed the room and declared, “Well, there’s nobody here.”
Rebecca hit his arm. “No! Thank you for announcing that!”
He glared at her. “Where’s your fool brother?”
“How should I know?” he demanded.
They were in the middle of a raging argument when someone stuck his head in from the back room. “Oy! What are you fighting about? Come and see this poor lad. He says he recognizes his sister’s voice.” He squinted in the dark. “That would be you, missy?”
Rebecca nodded. “What happened to him?”
He sighed. “I suppose you’ll see for yourself. He says to brace yourself, though. Methinks he’s in…really, really bad shape.” He sighed again. “Well, come on. What are you waiting for?”
Rebecca hesitated. She looked to Emmet for reassurance. When he nodded, she smiled slightly and walked towards the door to the back room. The man led the way. He pointed. “Right there.
Look at him, lass. What has he been doing to himself?” He shook his head and sighed.
Rebecca poked her head in the door. Keith was lying on what looked like a cot. He was completely out of it. She gasped. “His face!”
Keith’s face was completely bruised and cut. He looked very peaceful lying there, but Rebecca knew something had happened.
She rushed to kneel beside him. “Oh, Keith!” she said quietly. She looked up, her face distressed. Tears were forming in her eyes.
“What happened to him?” she whispered.
Emmet came over to kneel beside her and put his hand in hers. “It’ll be okay,” he said quietly. He turned to the man for explanation.
The man cleared his throat. “He was…well, I’m not sure what he was doing. He was hanging around this really weird looking bug…I suppose you’ve seen it around? It has horses on the side. What kind of person does that?” He chuckled lightly. “Anyway, all of a sudden, it was like someone gave a command and he was jumped. By about six guys in masks. One of them demanded in a gruff voice for him to give him his money, another demanded his keys. One guy looked in the trunk and found a really, really nice guitar and another guitar that (in my opinion) is kinda lame.”
Rebecca bit back a bittersweet smile at that remark. “Then…then what happened?”
“He refused.” The man paused and looked toward Heaven for a moment. “Not sure why. It was safest to give them what they wanted. But he refused anyway.”
Rebecca sniffed and couldn’t seem to ask the next question.
Emmet took over. “Yes, that sounds like Keith. He’d rather give up his life than his babies. What happened after that?” he sounded cool, collected.
The man bit his lip, as if this was paining him. “He got attacked, of course. He put up a good fight. I’ve never seen anyone try so hard.”
Rebecca choked. “How badly did they hurt him?”
“Just look at his face.”
Emmet and Rebecca silently stared at Keith’s peaceful expression, underneath a face full of signs of suffering. They looked back at the man. “Did they get his stuff?” Rebecca asked.
“No, they didn’t. That was the curious thing. Here was this brave young man, beaten and bruised, and all of a sudden, he looked up and declared that they were going to get seriously hurt if they didn’t leave.” He paused. “And then the group was jumped.”
“By?” Emmet asked when Rebecca didn’t ask.
“By a bald man, a young lad, and a woman that seemed to shoot fire from her eyes. They were joined by another man in a few minutes. The gang put up a good fight, but this young lad here suddenly seemed refreshed and helped his friends save his own life. Then he called you--” he motioned to Rebecca—“Then he passed out. And rightfully so.”
Emmet laughed quietly. “A woman that seemed to shoot fire from her eyes. That’s a good description.”
“You…you know them?” the man asked. “Cause they’re all in another room. I can get them if you want me to.”
“Really?” Rebecca’s eyes lit up. “Please. May we see them?”
“I’ll be right back.” The man disappeared and came back with the lads and Sharon in a moment. Sharon was looking very angry.
“Becca,” George said, coming up and giving her a hug. “How are you?”
Rebecca couldn’t help it. The one or two tears that had been going down her face turned into a deluge. She cried her eyes out while George made soothing sounds and everyone else stood there awkwardly.
Except Sharon. Sharon was standing over Keith’s bed, staring at him. “I can’t get over the fact that someone did this to him,” she said angrily.
“None of us can,” Neil said, placing a hand on her arm. “But he’ll be all right.”
Rebecca nodded and George let her go. Tears were still going down her face. “He’ll be all right. He’s a Harkin.”
Damian came in just then. “Sorry, didn’t realize everyone left.” He looked around. “Hey, Becca. Hey, Emmet. Why are you here?”
“Keith called Bec, Bec called me,” Emmet said shortly.
“Oh.”
“Why didn’t you realize we had gone, Damian?” George looked at him like he was crazy. “We all just…got up and left. Didn’t you see us?”
Damian shrugged. “I’m really tired. I have jet lag from coming back from Los Angelos, okay?!”
Sharon held up her hand. “Okay, so Damian’s tired, he didn’t see, we’re all worried about Keith, I realize that. Let’s not even think about arguing, okay?”
A groan made everybody turn their heads. Keith was sitting up.
“No, no, no, no, no!” Sharon exclaimed. She pushed him back down. “Don’t sit up.”
Keith put his hand to his head. “What happened?” he whispered.
“I was sure I was going to die, but then my guardian angel came or something.” He looked up at Sharon. “Darlene? I was sure you’d come back for me!”
Damian snickered softly while Neil just held his hand to his mouth.
Sharon laughed. “Glad to see you can’t see. I’m Sharon.”
Keith grinned. “Well, I can dream, can’t I?” He looked around. “What are you all doing here?”
“We saved you,” George said, smiling softly. “How do ye feel, lad?”
“Not so good.” He turned his head and his expression softened.
“Becca. Emmet. You came.”
Rebecca nodded violently. “Of course we came! You asked us to!”
Keith smiled. “I know. But…I don’t know, don’t listen to me.” He looked at Neil. “Hey, you can really punch!”
Neil laughed. “I suppose. I’ve had lots of practice with me mate, John. We’ve had some interesting rows, to say the least.”
Keith smiled at everyone. “You know what? You are all my family. You saved my life,” he said, indicating George, Sharon, Damian, and Neil, “and you came for me.” He looked straight at Rebecca, then his eyes flickered to Emmet. “And you protected me little sis.” He looked like he was about to cry. “Thank you. Everyone. Thank you so much.”
Rebecca thought of the song she had been singing before all this had happened. “Rosario,” she whispered. “Just close your eyes, cause you’ve got a friend.” Her eyes filled with tears again and she swept them away.
Emmet was standing near the doorway, watching everything unfold, when he saw the strange man try to slip by him. He held out his hand. “Wait.”
The man stopped and looked at him. “What is it?” he asked. “I should leave you to your reunion.”
“But first…you have done so much for Keith today. What’s your name?” Emmet’s eyes pleaded with him. “Please.”
The man smiled. “My name is Kyle.” Then he was gone.
Emmet smiled. “Kyle.” He then joined in the chatter with Keith and everyone.
Rebecca was at home, playing her piano mindlessly, when she realized that she was playing Rosario again. Her mind went back to the last time she had played Rosario and she sighed, half in happiness, the other in bitterness. They had never caught the people who had almost killed her brother, just for his car and his guitars. But Keith was fine and his face was on the mend. The fan mail was ridiculous.
She smiled and started singing Rosario happily. A bird landed on her window and she smiled at it. “But when it feels out of touch, like it’s all been too much, just close your eyes…” she trailed off.
She stood up from her piano and cocked her head. Yes, that was the doorbell. She went into the other room and opened the door to find Emmet and Keith there. “You two don’t have to knock!” she laughed.
Keith grinned. “Hey, Becca.” His face was looking a lot better. “How are you?”
She smiled back. “I’m good. Hi, Emmet. What’s the craic, you two?”
“Nothing, really.” Emmet smiled. “Just wanted to see you.”
Rebecca grinned and invited them in. As they sat and talked, she couldn’t help but think of one sentence. And it was beautiful.
Just close your eyes and I’ll be there when I can, cause you’ve got a friend.