Broken Past, Good Path

Time could not be kept at bay

    Morgan Dylan turned back to Bradley, sizing him up and wondering what on Earth could be so important at such an early time in the morning. Her eyes made a loop from the disheveled man in front of her to the rest of the room and back again. The more she looked at him the more she felt sorry for him. It was as though his demeanor was getting more ragged by the second. She waited patiently, recognizing the internal struggle within him that she herself had been through more times than one.

                “Well…I-… I don’t… seven days ago…” Bradley’s mouth opened and closed involuntarily. He averted his eyes to the floor, closing his lids for a brief moment, shutting his grey eyes out of her sight. He let out a shuddering breath, opened his mouth again to attempt to speak for a second time. “The thing is-.”

                “I am starving! What is for breakfast? Oh, hey Morgan! Bradley! You are both up early,” Ryland bounced into the room with a cheerful expression, Jax following after him with sleep still evident on his face and a yawn gracing his lips.

                “Hey, Ryland! Good morning Jax,” Morgan greeted them, turning away from Bradley. The three of them took seats on the bench, talking about their own breakfast wish list. Morgan’s mouth watered at the mention of pancakes and scrambled eggs. Her appetite had finally returned.

                “Are you going to join us?” Jax questioned with an irritated voice. Morgan glanced back to Bradley who remained unmoved from where she had left him standing, a pained expression evident on his face. He twitched a few times.

                “I have to go,” Bradley said as he turned away from the table. Morgan watched as he stiffly walked out of the room. Following his absence, the room became silent once more leaving Morgan to ponder what it was that he had wanted to say. She turned back to Jax and Ryland, finding their expressions somber and quiet, which was unlike them.

                “What was that about?” Morgan asked slowly. The silence remained. What was going on? Morgan though. Have I been too absorbed in my own grief or was this how every breakfast was for the past week?

                “Good morning!” Alexandra’s chipper voice cut through the silent room. Platters of breakfast meats, pancakes, and eggs appeared on the table in front of them. Morgan turned to give Alexandra a smile, forgetting all about her previous questions. She ate two full plates of food, ignoring the look that Ryland and Jax were giving her and for once she couldn’t care less about the silence. When she finished, she leaned back, patted her stomach, and gave the two in front of her a big smile.

                “You must be feeling better,” Ryland said, a smile replacing his previous somber expression. Morgan nodded, although her attention was grabbed by a swift, dark shadow that had reentered the room and stopped an inch from the table.

                “We need to talk,” Bradley stated darkly. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jax and Ryland trying to signal to Bradley, quietly gesturing for him to go away.

                “What is going on?” Morgan questioned, her eyes darting between the three.

                “Ignore him. He is just… lack of sleep is getting to him…” Ryland waved his hand in a way that told her that she let the matter go. But she could not.

                “How about we have our discussion on books now?” Jax offered, his voice strained. The offer was one that Morgan was interested in but it wasn’t enough to deter her from Bradley’s curious behavior or the thing that he so badly had to tell her. She also did not want to have a private conversation with Bradley of all people however. She nodded in response to Jax’s offer when she was suddenly grabbed by the hand and pulled harshly away from the table, nearly tripping over the bench in the process.

                “What is this about?” Morgan protested as they flew down the hall, past the glass cubicles, down the Hall of Letters and into the room that she had been told belonged to Bradley. “Why are we in here?” Morgan asked, looking around the interior of the room she had never been in before. Black out curtains hung over the windows leaving the space barely lit. Bradley dropped her hand, paced across the room to turn on a light and remained hovering by its side, his chest rising and falling visibly.

                “Morgan.” Bradley turned, his gray eyes finding her own blue ones. Even across the room his eyes shone with uncertainty. “I really don’t know how to tell you this… I can’t sleep… eat… knowing that you will hate me. But still, it is better for me to tell you rather than you to find out on your own.” Morgan furrowed her brows, getting the feeling that Bradley was convincing himself to tell her something instead of actually telling her.

                “What is it?” She asked coldly, holding her breath.

                “Seven nights ago, Olivia and Noah…”

                “What happened to Noah?”

                “They were targeted. Their car was forced off of the road, where it flipped several times…” Bradley explained. Morgan whimpered, unsure if she wanted to hear the rest. “Noah shielded Olivia through the worst of the crash which caused him to suffer the more severe injuries.” He continued. Morgan held a hand over her mouth, a mixture of dizziness and nauseousness washing over her. “Noah is currently in a coma. He has some inflammation in his brain and the doctor is unsure if he will wake up.” The news hit Morgan, sucking away the feelings and replacing them with a numbness. Her unsteady feet forced her to tumble backwards. Before she could fall, Bradley caught her in his arms like a safety net. “I’m so sorry Morgan,” Bradley’s breath wisped across her ear, but to her the sound was from very far away and muffled. She clawed at her clothing, her breathing becoming restrictive. She tried to let out her endless emotions but they stuck firmly in her chest, refusing to be released. Bradley held her even tighter to his chest as her entire body shook and collapsed.

                “Noah!” Morgan yelled pitifully into the dark room as Bradley continued to whisper his apologies against her temple. “No!” She lashed out at Bradley, her hands slapping his chest. “You said he would heal! You said he would be safe!” Morgan yelled while Bradley continued to crush their bodies together. “Why did you let him go? You should have said no!” Morgan accused him, realizing that the words she spoke were pointed at her own mistakes.

                “I’m sorry!” Bradley gasped, his voice rasping with sincerity. The more Morgan struggled to let out her emotions the closer they seemed to entangle together and in each other. “I’m sorry! Please don’t be angry,” Bradley’s words brushed against her cheek just before his lips were on her own.

                Taken aback, Morgan relaxed slightly, going completely still. The room was quiet beyond their excited breathing. His lips on hers felt dry and the taste was salty as her tears continued to trickle down her face and onto their connected lips. For a moment the world slowed to build up the affects of the crashing down of the wall that Morgan had built up around and inside of her. Morgan shoved Bradley away roughly, scrambling to her own feet.

                “I will never forgive you if he dies!” Morgan seethed, turned and ran. On the other side of Bradley’s bedroom door, she ran into Jax and Ryland. “Take me to him!” She demanded and without any hesitation they left to find Noah leaving Bradley far behind.

                Bradley Thomas curled himself into a corner of his room. It was dark enough for him to dwell on his worst thoughts as he sunk further from reality. How had he been so blind? Why had it taken him so long to admit to himself the true feelings he had for Morgan? Why was it only when he saw her in the worst possible agony that he came to realize why his protectiveness and everything was different when it considered her? He knew the real answer but time would not fly backwards. There was no way he could change his opinions or events of the past. That was the worst knowledge to have and as time passed his memory flew backward to ten years ago. The vision of a little girl with naïve happiness tormented him. The moment he had walked in on a frail Morgan in the room with her Mother’s body traveled past his vision like a distant mirage, tormenting him. The vision twisted again to his younger self hugging a younger Morgan feebly, so she wouldn’t have to look at the body on the floor any longer, why he himself could not rip his own eyes away from the dreadful scene. His body shook feebly. The mistake he made in bullying an already wretched person when he could have been her friend and ally ripped the insides of his chest and still time went by.

                “Morgan is with Noah now,” Jax had materialized in front of him. Bradley made no notion that he had saw or heard him, continuing to grovel inside of his head, asking for forgiveness.

                “She hates me. She will hate me forever,” Bradley spoke but the room had already vaporized the image of Jax, leaving it just as empty and cold. There was only blackness left. Time continued on, leaving Bradley unsure of the time or date when he exited his room again. He slowly crept through the halls, his lifeless form hardly making a sound. He stopped at a hidden corner in front of the medical cube, lifting his empty gray eyes to the hospital bed with Noah’s still form connected to several machines by different wires. Morgan was bent over him, her body rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

                Bradley turned away again, shuffling in another direction until he came to the dead end of another hallway. He opened a door on his left. The room was filled with work out equipment. Boxing bags hung from the ceiling. Ellipticals sat in a row in one corner of the room. Dumbbells and weights had been left in a disorganized manner on the floor in he middle of the room. With flashes of Morgan’s last words towards him and the looks of hatred he had received from her, he crossed the room, removing his shirt in one swift motion and planted his feet in front of one of the boxing bags. Here he presently paused, letting his eyes drip closed as he let his feelings bubble to the surface, tensing the muscles in his upper body. When he opened his eyes again, he attacked the bag relentlessly for a prolonged period of time until his body was too tired. He fell onto the floor of the gym, sleep overtaking for the first time since he had let Morgan know about Noah and his own true feelings.

                Noah Walstead stood in the center of an alley, tall buildings towering over him and shining their lights onto the street below. The light casted shadows around him no matter if he walked to the left or to the right which he thought was strange. He could make out bright patches of light a few feet around him but no matter how far he moved he could not walk into the light. Forgetting about the light, he turned his attention to the large buildings on either side of him. They were in the typical style of the condos downtown. Downtown? Why am I downtown? Hadn’t I left with Olivia for training? Maybe I am in a simulator…? Should I be looking out for a possible enemy? Noah swiftly moved his eyes up and down the alley, crouching into a lower position to make it easier for him to run if he would have to. However, no one appeared in the alley and it was suspicious that he didn’t remember arriving downtown.

                “Noah,” A voice boomed from every direction, surrounding him. He crouched even lower to the ground, surprised that the voice was so close and yet it sounded like it had come from somewhere so far above him. Could they be on the roof? He glimpsed upwards but the bright light blinded him from even seeing the tops of the buildings. “Noah,” The voice called again, this time sounding vaguely familiar. It was a woman’s voice. Where have I heard this voice before? Who am I forgetting?

                “Goodbye Noah,” The voice floated over him with a finality that frightened him to the core. The voice was so familiar. He stood straighter, digging through his memories about who it could belong to. When he finally remembered his eyes shot open.

                “Morgan,” Noah whispered the name, turning his head from left to right, trying to find the owner of the voice. He shot away down the endless alley, looking down every street that he passed. Each one looking just as empty as the last. What had she meant when she had said goodbye? Noah thought frantically as he came to the end of the alley. This part of the alley was swallowed in darkness. The shadows were so deep that he felt it was suffocating him, choking the oxygen out of the air. When Noah turned back, the alley had disappeared and had been replaced by the same inky blanket.

                “Goodbye Noah,” Morgan’s voice cut through the blackness. A shape began to materialize in a pinpoint of light that formed into Morgan herself. Noah reached out for her, relaxing for a fleeting second. Suddenly the ground beneath him started crumbling with a roar of falling bricks, falling down into a bigger hole of permanent darkness. Noah trembled at the possibility of being dropped into that hole. He looked back to Morgan, holding out a hand towards her. With pleading eyes, he begged her to pull him to safety even as the floor beneath him continued to crumble. “Goodbye Noah,” Morgan turned away back through the inky shadows she had come through. Filled with shock, Noah tried to call out to Morgan but his voice was lost in the rumble of bricks directly beneath him. Without any hesitation, Noah felt himself being pulled downwards, consumed by the deep shadows that overtook him.

                Morgan Dylan remained by Noah’s side for several days after finding out about his coma. She only left to shower or eat. The medical cube was often empty except for the doctor, Noah, Olivia and herself. Morgan would busy herself by reading to Noah or tending to him. Sometimes, Alexandra would come to her and they would talk. Or Olivia, who often needed to relieve herself of boredom by talking when she was awake, would chat with her.

                Then there were other times when the doctor was out, Olivia was asleep and there was no one else around. It was getting late and Morgan suspected that everyone had already gone to bed. This was the time of night where her mind began to wander. She remembered the past. A time when Noah remained by her side and made her laugh. The times that he would stick up for her. Then came the painful memories. Not listening to anyone which had gotten Noah hurt in the first place. Rejecting Noah’s love… allowing him to leave in order to learn how to protect her. The regret was over empowering, leaving her heart shredded in frustrated tatters.

                Morgan bowed her head over the gurney, letting a few irritated sobs to escape past her lips. The medical cube was silent except for the beeps and chirps of the machine and her frustrated sighs. She should return to her own room as it was getting super late and she could feel her own body begin to shut down. However, she couldn’t force herself to move. Even though the room was silent, she felt sure that someone was watching her, as she had felt on several occasions before.

                Morgan shook her head, getting rid of the thought. She let her mind go blank for a short time, letting her eyes roam across the hi-tech gadgets inside of the medical cube and then beyond, scanning the hallways. But not for too long. If there was someone watching she didn’t want them to know that she knew. It’s probably just Bradley coming in to check on me, she thought with a sneer. Just the thought of it made her angry. Yet, she was curious. She hadn’t seen or heard from Bradley for days. Ryland and Jax would pop in from time to time but never Bradley. Perhaps my words were too harsh? But whose wouldn’t be after hearing such news? Then there was that kiss…

                Morgan reddened at having remembered it. She brought her fingers up to touch her lips. Why had he kissed me? Why do I care anyway? She shook this thought away like the last. Morgan looked back at Noah, scooping one of his large, warm hands into her own.

                “Noah… you have to get better soon! Once you do, we will have another snowball fight. I’ll let you win, ok?” Morgan said, resting her head on their joined hands. Time continued to tick by until Morgan gave one final sigh and dropped their connected hands to the bed. “See you later… Noah,” Morgan turned to leave just as Noah’s hand clamped down on hers shakily. Morgan paused in surprise, whipping back to look at Noah. His eyes were open wide, the amber orbs coming through even in the dim lighting. “Noah?” Morgan leaned over him, looking into his eyes with a shimmer of tears. “Noah, I’m here.”

                “Morgan,” Noah whispered her name as his lids slid closed once more and a lone tear raced down the side of his face. Morgan called out to him, begging him to open his eyes once more over the sound of the sirens from the machines beeping and chirping with unstopping madness.