Gen Three- Chapter Thirty

For the first time in several weeks, Apple and I arrived at my house on time. It'd never been so hard as it had been this past semester to be punctual. The difficulty of my college courses meant I had to wait long amounts of time after class in order to be able to ask my professors questions while my classmates also tried to do the same, and Apple, as dad's apprentice at the bookstore, had a never-ending list of things to do. Since we almost always carpooled nowadays, that meant the severity of our lateness increased even more. One would think the arrival of winter break would make the whole thing easier. However, I naturally took what classes I could during the holiday season as well. I'd gotten some rest around Christmas, but now that it was the new year I was right back at it.

     "Ah, looks like your mom and dad got around to taking down the Christmas lights." Apple easily noticed while we trudged towards the front door.

     "Yeah, but it also looks like Merlot once again couldn't be bothered to shovel the walkways like he was told. That boy has gotten so unmotivated as of late." I sighed.

     "Teenagers, huh?" Apple chuckled.

     "I was never like that when I was his age."

     "But you're you, Dia. No one can match that."

     "Well, he can at least try."

Apple shrugged in amusement and grandly opened the door for me in order to make up for my brother's lack.

Extra voices rang out from the living room. Uncle Midas, Swirl, and Mandarin were over for a visit, and the three of them sat together with my parents having a lively conversation. However, the topic of conversation had Apple and I glancing at each other with raised brows.

     "Okay, so I won't kill Swirl. I'll maim him. Just a little bit. Promise." dad bargained with Uncle Midas.
     "Hmm, it's better, but I think a tad too extreme."
     "I don't think so."
     "What in the world are you guys on about?" I questioned, walking further into the room.

Swirl scooted forward on the couch with a impish grin.

     "Uncle Coal is upset that I pointed out an incredibly unpleasant fact for him." he explained with mischievous glee.
     "Which was?" Apple wondered.
     "No, don't have him say it again!" dad complained, covering his ears.
     "That Tangerine will be turning thirty on her next birthday." Swirl loudly announced.

Dad let out a most hilarious despondent cry while flopping dramatically over to the side.

     "She was just a little baby. There's no way she can be almost thirty now..." he mumbled in over-exaggerated despair.
     "Oh, okay. You're upset that she's all grown up. I thought you were upset because her being older reminded you that you're almost fifty." I said.

Dad released another anguished groan and curled up further.

     "Why must you all make me suffer so?" he whined.
     "Oh my god, Vivid," mom rolled her eyes, "You are getting so dramatic in your old age."
     "I'm not old!"
     "Sure, sure." Uncle Midas smiled widely as he patted dad's shoulder.
     "Still, let's not make him have a heart attack. Why don't we talk about something else?" Mandarin suggested, but her grin was deviously merry, "Once this semester is over, Gilly and Dia will be leaving with Confetti for Tinseltown, huh? Your baby girls are spreading their wings, taking off, and leaving the nest. Merlot will be the only one left."
     "Midas, I despise your children." dad grumbled, sitting back up.
     "I think they're being appropriately adorable today."
     "Anyway..." I chuckled softly, "As amusing as this is, do you guys know where Gilly and Confetti are? They said they'd be ready and waiting to head out once Apple and I got back."
     "I think they're still downstairs in the gym." mom replied.
     "Of course they are."

Unlike me, my twin and her girlfriend were having the time of their lives post high school. They'd opted to take the fancier and more in-depth masseuse classes, but the workload was nothing compared to mine or Apple's responsibilities. Since they were technically going to school, mom and dad weren't forcing them to get jobs. That meant the massive amount of free time they had went to going on endless dates, having fun, and, most recently, working out. They'd gone on a health kick back around October, and it'd gotten worse since Divi sent them, myself, and Apple Zenith Peak sweatpants from the college as Christmas presents. They were comfortable beyond all belief, and had thus given Gilly and Confetti more of a reason to buff up.

     "Ha, we're not the ones who are late today." I remarked as I did find the two of them in the gym.
     "It's not our fault we've gotten used to a schedule of having to wait," Gilly instantly replied as she huffed in time with her rapid footfalls on the treadmill, "We'd tried waiting for you in the past, and all that led to was a bunch of sitting around doing nothing."
     "Yeah, but you two are going to insist on going through your cool down routine as well like always. That would put you late past even the time when we would have shown up if we were late." I pointed out with a smile.
     "The thing is though...we kinda cheated last night and had way too many bread sticks. We're making up for that as there's no way we can lose to you." Confetti smirked.

Apple shrugged when I glanced her way in confusion.

     "What in the world are you talking about? I had no idea we were in some sort of competition." I asked.
     "Gil, come here for a second." Confetti requested of my sister.

Gilly slowed down the treadmill and smoothly hopped off as Confetti stood to lure her in close as soon as she could. Confetti's actions spread curiosity across Gilly's expression, but she went along with the embrace offered.

     "There's always been a bit of competition. At least, there's been one in my head." Confetti attempted to explain.
     "What kind of competition would that be?" Apple prodded.
     "Who's the better looking couple, of course. Gil and I had that firmly locked down until Arbor came along."
     "I think you two still have that firmly locked down." I said, my mouth going dry.
     "Have you really been quietly pitting us against each other in your head all this time?" Gilly wondered at her girlfriend.
     "Yup. It kept things fun, and it made me motivated," Confetti nodded playfully as Gilly rolled her eyes amusedly, "And the challenge is about to seriously start up again tomorrow. It's been too long since we've seen Arbor in person, but he's gotten even hotter if his pictures are accurate."
     "It...like I said, it doesn't matter." I failed to speak properly.
     "C'mon, Dia, you have to be at least a little excited about him coming home."
     "Just do your cool down or whatever. Apple and I want to get going. We've been really looking forward to this." I dismissed her with a hint of bitterness.

Apple dutifully followed me as I wasted no time in returning upstairs.

I could have handled that better. I knew I could have, but the fact that the raw emotions that took control overpowered my logic was the very reason why tomorrow's arrival filled me with a sense of utter dread. Honestly, I almost decided to tell the others to go to the winter festival without me. Apple, being her stubborn father's stubborn daughter, refused to let such a suggestion come out of my mouth. She forced me to interact with my sister and her girlfriend again even though I balked and resisted. Confetti apologized for bringing up a topic she knew was sensitive, and that allowed me to apologize in return. From there, we all silently agreed to forget the whole matter and focus on the fun in store. Or so I thought. Apple scurried to the ice skating rink the instant we stepped foot into the park. Confetti went off at some point to get her second cup of caramel hot chocolate. Gilly and I stood watching Apple spin like a madwoman. That was when I noticed how my twin gave me furtive glances while fiddling with the ice stuck to the fencing before us.

     "Gil, please don't." I pleaded with a large sigh.
     "I don't want to, but I'm pretty sure I have to. Arbor's coming home tomorrow. There's no way you can avoid this any longer, and besides mom or dad I'm the only one allowed to be pushy about it with you."
     "What's there to be pushy about? There's no more relationship anymore, and whether's Arbor across the sea or down the street that isn't going to change."

Gilly patted my shoulder and subtly forced me stay faced in my current direction as I'd started to turn away.

     "You called the relationship off, sure, but it wasn't like it was a normal breakup."

I blinked hard and fought back the memories. Things, as I'd expected, had gone well for a while. Keeping in contact with Arbor hadn't been a problem. Then more time passed. It wasn't that we slowly stopped talking. It was that we did keep talking. Three years of a busy high school schedule that left little time for relaxation leading into an even more stressful college schedule that never stopped as I continued to take as many classes as I could during each break definitely didn't do wonders for my mental health. It was right before spring finals last year when the accumulation finally struck me down with a vengeance. One night, mom asked me to put all the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I had too much work already, and the simple request of hers for me to do more tipped me past my breaking point into a full blown panic attack. I'd ended up sobbing in the corner by the fridge.

Mom and dad forced me to drop out of all my summer classes save for one I refused to cancel. They also brought up how staying in contact with Arbor drained my already pitiful sleep schedule as the time difference meant I got up far too early in the morning or stayed up far too late in the night to catch him when I was free. Arbor understood when I told him it was crippling me to maintain decent communication while he was overseas. He was fine with us taking a step away from the relationship for a time. However, it was I who wasn't as fine with it as I said. Humiliation over the failure I'd caused for the two of us stopped me from answering back to calls and texts I could send without sacrificing my rest. Slower and slower I jammed our communication until I ignored everything completely. No matter how much I did actually want to talk to Arbor, my weakness and stubbornness caused a wall to develop. Gilly assured me Arbor still didn't blame or fault me, but the thought of his return to face fully my mistakes sent me rigid and terrified.

     "I am aware that you feel everything is ruined, but it's not. The imaginings of how awful the situation is between you two will go away in an instant if you just call him. Hell, I'm sure you'll feel a lot less stressed with a mere text. Once you hear it from him that he's not upset, your resistance will fade." Gilly encouraged.
     "It's not just him being mad that I'm worried about." I huffed.
     "What else are you worried about?"

I couldn't say anything. The words I had to speak could only be properly answered by Arbor, and, naturally, communicating with him wasn't viable at that point in time. Not that Gilly didn't try to get it out of me though. She was indeed pushy. In the end, a tension rose up that prompted me to wander to a section of the park where she wasn't at. The festival included a bonfire, and as no one else bothered with it at the moment besides a worker off farther to the side keeping a gentle watch to make sure people weren't being stupid around the fire I took a moment to let its quiet warmth calm me down. Gilly did mean well, and I understood that. I also understood that most of her words were true. I believed that Arbor remained genuinely calm about me ignoring him. He, more than anyone, had experience dealing with mental stress and its challenging repercussions. It was also likely the struggle to type a text and send it his way would no longer remain a problem if I simply took a leap and jumped into the water.

     "Are you trying to burn your eyes out, Dia?"

A lighthearted laugh came to knock me out of my stupor.

I hadn't realized how intensely my gaze had been stuck on the flames until I blinked back the dryness to face those who'd come. Familiar people I hadn't expected to see anymore this day prompted a smile to my face.

     "Oh, hey, guys. Looks like we all had the good idea to come to the festival." I replied.
     "There's supposed to be another bad storm arriving either tomorrow night or the morning after that, so we decided to take our chance while we could." Cherry, in the middle of the three, said.
     "What? Really?" I pouted, "I thought we were finally clear for a few days."
     "I checked several different stations. That's what they all say now." Branch, on my right, shrugged.
     "At least the timing of the storms will finally hit at the right points to potentially cancel classes. I know I'm sure as not ready for Frosted's test." Rich, on my left, smiled worriedly.
     "Me neither." I chuckled.

Rich Coin, Cherry Waft, and Branch Joy all took classes at the Twilight North campus with me. Rich and Cherry were also in the medical route while Branch was going for teaching. He and I had a lot of our general courses together while Rich, Cherry, and I had planned it out so we were with at least one of the others if not all together in our medical classes. It made the strain of the work more bearable having others suffering by our sides.

     "Is that why it looked like you were trying to blind yourself?" Cherry teased, "So Frosted might give you consideration for getting some extra time?"
     "Nah. That'd never work. He would say losing my eyes wouldn't affect the knowledge in my head. He'd just have someone write out my answers for me." I laughed.
     "True, true." Rich nodded amusedly.

My college friends were a most welcome distraction. We were close, but not close enough that they really knew the details of Arbor and me. Thus, they weren't prone to prod me about the matter- leaving my mind free to focus just on the fun. While Rich and Branch were dating, Cherry and Branch had known each other since they were babies. The two were more like siblings, and like siblings they wandered off merrily bickering over whose turn it was to pay for snacks. Rich and I took off until we could no longer hear their voices. Our hands dug into the fluffy flakes to build up a snowman. Rich, even more of a perfectionist than me, spent the majority of his time smoothing the bulges I piled up into perfectly stacked spheres.

     "It's lopsided." Apple noted upon coming over.
     "No, it's not." Rich challenged.
     "Yes, it is." Apple insisted.

Rich's brows furrowed in worry as he took a step closer towards her to inspect our work before giving her a playful punch on the arm.

     "No, it's not." he laughed the confirmation.
     "But I got you to look even though you should know by now not to trust me." Apple smirked.
     "And you should know," Rich started suspiciously, bending over, "That I'm one to always retaliate!"

He chucked a snowball at her chest. It hit with a resounding 'poof' against her coat where Apple turned away with a squeal to lunge for ammunition of her own. Needless to say with the start of a war, the snowman went unfinished.

Confetti and Branch joined in, but my sister remained sour enough about our conversation that she wasn't overly eager to let me off the hook of continuing to ignore her advice. Her persistent disapproving stare weakened my excitement. It proved successful enough that others caught on. Cherry and Branch at least noticed the tension while Rich was the one closest to me out of the three to address it.

      "You and your sister fighting?" he asked as nonchalantly as possible while we waited for the stand worker to come back from a break to get some drinks.
     "Not really fighting, but there's an issue we don't see eye to eye on. Normally Gilly will let me get away with ignoring what she tells me, but now there's much more of a time constraint." I sighed the explanation.
     "What's the issue?"
     "I really don't want to talk too much about it. Remember when I mentioned Arbor to you before?"
     "He's your ex-boyfriend, right?"
     "Yeah. He's coming home tomorrow from overseas. We split because the mental fatigue of a long-distance relationship was too much for me what with all the schoolwork I've been juggling. I have a feeling he'll want to talk about getting back together now that he'll be in the neighborhood again, but I don't know what I want."
     "Well, I would say if you're conflicted that talking to him is probably the best way to find an answer. Your feelings should be more apparent when he's right there in front of you. That's what makes sense to me, anyway."
     "I'm sure you're right." I nodded.

My heart sunk. Somehow, I'd expected Rich to say it was better to just let the past be. However, if even him with his limited knowledge joined Gilly's side then it was safe to say I was out of luck.

Gilly gave me peace when Rich and I joined the others with cups for everyone. Proper merriment returned, and the afternoon wore on until a bitter breeze chilled our cores. No amount of hot chocolate or steaming cider could combat the threat of unpleasant weather. Rich, Cherry, and Branch left while Apple and Gilly went with Confetti to her house. I, however, had received a text, so I wandered not overly far from the park in order to meet up with Timber at one of our favorite cafes.

     "I'm glad they're not having you come down tomorrow. I worry what the roads will be like." I leaned back in my chair after we shared the last of my brownie.

I'd thought I'd get it down no problem, but after all the sugary drinks at the park I was done with sweetness for now.

     "Me too. We had a bad turnout even today. There's no way anyone would come even for the indoor climbs we have when it's supposed to storm as badly as the reports say it will. It was better for the boss to close the center for a day."
     "I'm sure he also doesn't want his most favorite employee to get hurt either." I teased in a cooing voice.
     "What can I say? I know how to charm people." Timber laughed.
     "Ir probably doesn't hurt that you have the same name as his asshole grandson who never comes around."
     "Probably." Timber shrugged with a smile.

He leaned back in his seat for a moment too. He stretched his arms, let out a long exhale, and then glanced my way with a different kind of smile. It set me a little on guard.

     "You know, Dia..." he began.
     "What?" I questioned tentatively.
     "I'm thinking about moving closer to where I work."

That wasn't the kind of news I expected him to drop. It was hardly the terrible revelation my mind thought it would be. Still, my chest ached with a hollow emptiness.

     "Yeah?" I questioned, trying not to sound heartbroken.
     "Yeah. The commute didn't seem bad starting out, but it's such a pain now. Especially during the winter months. I've been given a better pay than I anticipated, so if I save up what I can dad said he would boost me the rest of what I need to make the shift by fall."
     "I can't imagine how much of a relief that would be for you. It's great that you could be getting out on your own. It does makes me somewhat sad thinking you'd be farther away th..."

My words trailed off. Feeling stupid, I shook my head and chuckled at myself.

     "What am I saying? Gilly, Confetti, and I are taking off to the other end of the country at the end of summer. They plan to put down roots there, and I'm still up in the air about where I want to live. There's no reason for me to get upset at you moving half an hour away from here."
     "It's okay if you do feel upset. It just means you like this pretty face," Timber teased, squeezing my hand, "It's an honor."
     "I think the whole thing unnerves me. Growing up, that is. Making difficult choices and facing things you'd rather run from." I mused.
     "Since you say that...how do you feel about tomorrow?"
     "Please, let's not talk about Arbor." I spoke quickly.
     "Of course," Timber grinned, squeezing my hand tighter before giving it a pat and withdrawing, "I didn't want to talk about him either, but I thought I can always tough it out if you need a willing ear."
     "Thanks, bud. I think for right now I just want proper food."
     "Same. Wanna get some pasta bowls and head to my house?"
     "Yeah!"

Although I contemplated staying late forgetting all my worries of the upcoming hours with the one person who certainly had no desire to bring up my ex-boyfriend, I couldn't come up with a logical enough excuse to remain at Timber's house longer than it took us to eat and watch a few episodes of a television show we enjoyed. Homework and projects remained on my to-do list. Mom and dad did retain a list of chores for me to complete. I'd had my time off, but now I had to get back to work. My feet took the slower path home, and that path brought me past the graveyard. It certainly wouldn't hurt to take a moment to make a visit.

     "There. That should be better." I spoke into the quiet.

I'd gone down the row to clean off as best I could the headstones with familiar names. Great-Grandma Rose's I'd done first. Then came Uncle Eden's before Aunt Deny's. She'd been the most recent addition to the collection of our family's plots. Further down the way were the ones belonging to Great-Grandpa Coal and Great-Grandma Desire. I went for grandma's last.

     "It's been a long time, huh? Since we got to talk for real..." my voice went softer as I opened and closed my fingers- my hand had gotten so big, "It seriously hurts to think it, but I don't really remember you. I remember the day you died. I remember how much you loved me. But...I don't remember the moments. No matter how much I try to force them back, my memories are too far faded. It's like that even though I think about you a lot now. Mom and dad are getting up there in years. They're growing close to the age you were when you died. You seemed so old then, but you weren't old at all. I know that now. I fear the day I'll say goodbye to grandpa, although he has many years left to go too if he's anything like Blaze. I'm sorry for being selfish and being glad grandpa
s still here. He suffers quietly missing you no matter how much he tries to hide it. Life was cruel ripping you two apart."

My throat stuck. Too many thoughts crowded my mind, but one forced its way to the forefront as I placed my quivering palm against grandma's etched named. The stone felt strangely warm even though it had no reason to be so.

     "I always adored the kind of love you and he had. For the longest time, I never thought to include finding it for myself in my plans though. It was an afterthought for the majority of my life. Now there could be a person to help me grab it, but I worry it would force me to make a choice. A choice I spoke so easily about making in the past. It's anything but easy..."

An extra bitter wind raged across the lot. It creaked the trees and tore my breath from my chest. The warmth I thought I felt from the stone vanished instantly. I stood with sigh. A huge storm was to come tomorrow, but a smaller one was clearly coming now. I had to stop talking to inanimate objects and get home before it hit.

I didn't bother rolling my eyes upon returning home a second time to see nothing had been done in terms of the walkways being shoveled. If Merlot could get away with doing something, he most definitely would. He was growing incredibly good at tip-toeing that line between being so stubborn that this stubbornness got him trouble and being stubborn enough that others got so frustrated they went ahead and did his work themselves. I, however, never relented in that way.

     "Merlot." I spoke sternly as I walked into his room without knocking.
     "What?" he questioned back as if nothing was off.

Unfortunately for me, he was playing darts. I didn't dare attempt to stand over him physically lest I risk an accidental jab as I knew he would try to continue his game around me.

     "You were supposed to have shoveled the walkways as soon as you got home from school."
     "I'll do them later. It's about to snow again."
     "That's not-"
     "Why waste time doing them now when I can just do it tomorrow and get it all done at once?"
     "Because the snow will be higher and it'll be harder. Because you'll complain like a baby if mom and dad force you out of bed early to shovel so they can get their cars out of the garage. Because you'll just try to use this same excuse again when tomorrow's storm comes in. Shall I go on?"
     "You can, but I'm not going to agree with you. You're not mom and dad, and they haven't said anything about me not doing it yet. You're clearly the only one who cares."
     "You're being a brat, Merl."
     "Uh-huh." he brushed me off indifferently.
     "Have you even done your homework?"
     "Nope."
     "Well, don't come knocking on my door late at night again when you finally choose to do it and have no idea what you're doing."
     "I'm good, thanks."

Holding back a more biting response, I swung his door wide open as I stomped down the hallway to my room. Merlot couldn't stand to have it open anymore. I heard him hurriedly rush to close it the second I let him be. Honestly, I hated his stupid hormones. Mom said his back-and-forth attitude was much more reminiscent of how she'd been at his age than how dad had been. Some days he was like this. Some days he was as adorable as he'd been when he took me on that date. Those days I cherished in order to tide me over on these days. It wasn't like Merlot was being all that bad today, but because of that particular circumstance I was dealing with my tolerance wasn't as high as normal. Lots of things were driving me wild.

Like the weather. I turned on my computer and managed to get the majority of my work done with haste. Most of it was simply studying for the upcoming test. However, the continually darkening sky constantly pulled my gaze towards the windows. Flying, daggering flakes smashed upon the glass, and their arrival was what first prompted me to pull open the forecast as well as the flight details for a certain airline I knew Arbor was using. This storm would be fierce but brief. Berrybrook was catching the edges of it. It would strike within the next fifteen minutes and be over before the hour was done. I sighed with relief as the flight information mentioned no delays or warnings for when Arbor's plane got in. If only my mind could actually accept that truth.

My body was a brick by the time my work was done. The storm came rapidly and left rapidly exactly as predicted while nothing about the forecast changed. Why, then, did my mind continue to play me horrid scenes of a thrashing storm of ice and snow bringing down a plane? Why did the ridiculous idea of Arbor being unable to make his flight due to delays convince him to stay overseas forever instead pop into remembrance over and over no matter how many times I banished it? Why could I only picture his angry expressions? Why?

I did my best to remedy my brain stabbing a knife into itself repeatedly by way of a good bath. Gilly was still out, and if Merlot had to use the restroom he would simply have to go downstairs. I took dominion over the upstairs bathroom by filling the tub to bursting with hot water and a sufficient topping of bubbles. My small portable radio set off to the side played away with delightful tunes as my body soaked until the bubbles were a misty layer of foam on tepid water. The aching pull of my toes and fingers wrinkling to the extreme was what dragged me out even as I wondered how truly bad it would be if I fell asleep where I was. Gilly said I slept like a rock- unmoving and dead to the world. There's no way I'd slump so far down as to drown.

But, of course, I got out. The water began to bog me down while the overwhelming scent of soap and dead bubbles stuck uncomfortably in my nostrils. I dried in relief with a towel before slathering myself in citrus scented lotion. I contemplated jumping into my pajamas and curling up on my bed with a book, but I did have other things to do. There were always other things to do. Like the remainder of my chores I hadn't finished that morning, or cleaning up my room, or getting a head start on more of my schoolwork. Or calling Arbor. I worked on my room first. The slight mess was easily remedied. When a text buzzed my phone upon my task's completion I jumped fearing the universe was forcing my hand in dealing with my ex. Arbor hadn't bothered attempting to contact me in weeks. It made sense he would try once again now that he was so close to coming home. However, the text was from Blaze. It was a weird one as he requested I come see him in his room.

     "What's up?" I questioned when I found him lying in his bed.

His breathing was shallow, and his expression was strained. His hand was over his chest while he had to blink back a fog covering his eyes in order to connect them with mine properly. I scurried over faster.

     "I took a long nap as my head was really beginning to hurt. Maybe I rested too long as it hurts like hell now," he joked weakly, "My chest too. I thought I would give it a few minutes to see if it would pass, but it's beginning to get harder to breathe. That sounded like a good enough warning to get an expert opinion."
     "You said your doctor told you your blood pressure was getting higher, right?" I asked calmly, my fingers finding a quickened pulse and sweaty forehead.
     "Yeah. You think it's that? I've been taking my medicine like a good boy though, promise. I even asked Amaranth to double-check everything." Blaze spoke softly.

He was trying incredibly hard to not let the pain show in his voice, but we both knew it was there.

I tilted his head to let the light from the lamp reflect in his cloudy eyes that struggled to follow the finger I slowly waved in front of him. I switched one hand to his wrist so I could continually monitor how hard his heart beat.

     "It could be something else. I can't say for sure without proper testing, but high blood pressure is most likely what's causing the problems now. You've got the headache, chest pain, decreased response, and shortness of breath. Are you feeling nauseated at all?"
     "Now that you mention it, mind getting the wastebasket?" Blaze requested with a strained smile.

He began to sit up, leaving me scrambling to force him back.

     "You should stay-"

But even by that point it was too late. With a thickly staggered inhale, Blaze tensed up as dropped forward as he swung his feet over the edge of the bed. There was nothing I could do to keep him up, so I lowered him as best I could to the ground instead. His muscles relaxed and whatever wave caught him rushed away for the moment, although I darted to the corner to get the wastebasket when Blaze's eyes didn't move from it. He heaved into it as soon as it was below him. He spat bile into it more than he did vomit. The smell still left a sour, acrid scent in the air though.

     "Your pulse is quickening. I can't see this getting any better, so let me get grandpa and we'll get you to the hospital. Okay?" I explained gently, "Just wait here. Don't try to move again."
     "Don't worry. Can't go much lower than the ground." Blaze croaked.

He grimaced more than he grinned, but the fact that he could move enough to squeeze my arm with his own reassurance and retain enough of his witty personality to keep joking signaled the situation wasn't dire yet. It could be worse, but no way was I going to let it go that far.

Mom and dad had gone out with Uncle Midas and his wife, so that did leave grandpa as the one I had to get. Thankfully, he wasn't far. He stood arguing with Merlot in the front entrance. Grandpa apparently shared my sentiment on Merlot not doing his chores.

     "Why am I the one who always does the shoveling? Make Gil or Dia do instead for once." Merlot grumbled.
     "You said the same thing when we had you set doing the dishes, or taking out the trash, or mopping, or any other chore. Coal and Holly told you to do this, and now I'm telling you to do this. If I keep hearing your excuses and complaints, I'll have you go over to Al's and then Frost's place to shovel for them too."
     "That's-"
     "Hey!"

I interrupted their argument. As much as I would have loved to watch my brother be reprimanded earlier, I couldn't care less now.

     "Blaze isn't feeling too good. I think he's having an urgent hypertensive crisis."

Grandpa's face instantly went a shade paler while Merlot's fighting stubbornness vanished.

     "Do I need to call an ambulance?" grandpa asked, his phone already out of his pocket.
     "Sorry, that sounded scarier than it is. His blood pressure's getting a little high, but he's not in the true danger zone yet. He might not even be heading towards it. I can't say anything for certain as I don't have anything here to test it, but those symptoms makes the most sense with what his doctor told him."
     "So do I need to call an ambulance, Dianthus?" grandpa prompted again with light frustration.
     "Sorry," I apologized again, "No, he's not bad enough for an ambulance. We'll just need to help him into the car and make sure he takes the wastebasket with him."
     "Alright. Let's get him ready to go," grandpa decided before turning to my brother, "Merlot, go hurry and shovel the driveway already so we can get out."

With a guilty nod, Merlot dashed out the door.