***Melanie***
The news anchor looked serious as she said, "We just received word that Jim Steel died on the operating table from his internal injuries... but was brought back by the surgeon and operating room staff. He's out of surgery, but still in critical condition. Let's go to our local affiliate and Amy Slater for an update."
"Thank you, Jane. Jim Steel is out of surgery and is in critical condition. A hospital source says the actor did die on the table but was brought back by the surgical team. It's unclear if the star actor is going to make it, but he is out of surgery and still under a medically induced coma due to his brain swelling. The hospital will have a press conference at noon local time with an update. Wait! It looks like Jim Steel's wife is coming this way. Mrs. Steel! Mrs. Steel!"
I watched as the camera spun around to see Abby approach in a sprint. As she neared the reporter and camera, I saw her face turn from concern to anger and her fists balled up. She must've pushed the camera operator because the camera was suddenly pointed at the sky then nothing as the screen went black.
"Well, we seem to be having some technical difficulties," the anchor said when the feed went back to the studio.
"Technical difficulties, my ass. More like Abby gave them some physical difficulties," I said. "Joe, get a bag packed right away. We'll get you in a few minutes. I don't want you driving anywhere right now."
He looked like he was in shock. I wasn't sure if he heard a word I said. "Joe!" I shouted.
He turned to me and said, "Get packed. Got it." He turned and ran out of the house.
"Keri," I shouted. I hoped she found a flight that wasn't too long of a wait. It was at least a five-hour drive, and I didn't want to do that if we didn't have to. We had to get Joe to Hollywood as fast as we could in case, God forbid, Jim didn't make it.
Keri came out and said, "I found a flight that leaves in an hour. We have three seats, but I need Joe's info to book it."
"Text him to send you a picture of his license."
"Duh! Can't believe I didn't think of that. I'm just so worried about Jim."
I hugged her and my tears fell again. "Me, too. He's out of surgery, but he's still in critical condition and in a medically induced coma."
"Oh, no!"
"No, that's just because of brain swelling. It's not like he's going to be out for a year or anything. Abby just got there and I'm not sure if we'll beat Ken and Lainey or not, so let's get going. Mush!"
She ran off to get the seats booked as I started packing a bag. My tears were constant as I worried about Jim. He was such a great guy, and such a family man. He didn't deserve what happened to him. I thought about how much he loved Abby and his kids. That big time action hero and heartthrob had no time for anyone but his family and closest friends. His idea of a great lunch was having a fried bologna sandwich with potato chips crushed up inside it that his daughters helped make.
I felt like I knew him, as he was always interested in our lives and what we had going on. Whenever he was at Ken and Lainey's, he brought something for me and made me fill him in on everything that happened since the last time I saw him. He always said it was because I said he was my favorite actor. I think it was just to remind Ken that he was.
I finished packing and went to help Keri. She was already packing and said, "The flight is booked. We have to hurry but we should make it if the TSA doesn't hold us up."
"Okay. I'm ready. Do you need any help?"
"No," she said. "I'm just about done. I just have to grab my toiletries."
"Hello!" We heard Joe shout from downstairs. "Are you girls ready?"
"Yeah, hang on," Keri shouted and elbowed me in the ribs. "Go to him! Be there for him."
She pushed me out of her room, and I almost fell down the stairs dragging my heavy bag behind me. He rushed over and grabbed the bag before I broke my neck.
"Thanks," I said as he set the bag by the door. "Got everything you need?"
"I hope so. I'm feeling kind of scatter-brained right now."
I touched his cheek and said, "It's going to be all right. Jim is going to be fine."
I turned on the television to see if there were any updates. The story wasn't about Jim, it was about Abby and her punching the reporter as she ran into the hospital. That made us laugh as there was footage from another camera crew that showed the entire incident from a better angle.
"Okay, let's go," Keri said as she hustled down the stairs. "Check your email, you should have gotten your itineraries."
Just as I was turning off the television, they showed a leaked photo of Jim in his hospital bed hooked up to monitors and machines. Abby was holding his hand and her head lay on his chest. As much as we wanted to kick their ass for leaking the picture, it was a perfect encapsulation of Abby's love for her husband. I had no doubt in my mind that he would have done the same if it were her that was hurt. I hoped to have that kind of love someday.
***
Once we boarded the plane, and Joe could finally sit and think, he got incredibly sad. I saw him look out the window and I knew he was worried about Jim, but it turned out to be much more.
I took his hand and said, "He's gonna be okay, Joe. You have to believe that."
He looked at me and smiled. "I love your optimism, Melanie. It's not that I don't think he'll be okay, it's that we don't really get along and it's my fault."
I asked, "Why? What happened between you two?"
"Nothing specific happened. It's just everything rolled up into a giant ball. He's been a megastar for over a decade, and I've had to live with being Jim Steel's little brother. You saw what I looked like a couple of years ago. I wasn't a jock, or an acting talent. I was a bookworm. I loved to read, to play role playing games. I hated sports. I hated the theater. I hated being asked why I wasn't more like Jim. I despised being asked if I was adopted, and yes, I was asked that all the time. You have no idea what it's like living in the shadow of the great Jim Steel."
I patted his hand and said, "I'm sure that was hard for you, but he loves you. He was always talking about a science award you got or that you made National Honor Society. I was at Lainey's house when he called Ken to brag about you being Valedictorian."
"I know, but it's...well, it's like the college thing. He had to buy me a house. He had to show me that he was the big Hollywood hunk that was a multi-millionaire before he was twenty-five years old. I can't compete with that. I'll never be what everyone expects me to be."
"Does anyone really expect you to be him? Or just the best Joe you can be?" I asked.
He ignored that and said, "The last time we talked, I went off on him. I yelled at him to stop interfering in my life. I saw the look in his eyes, he was heartbroken, but he didn't try to argue. He nodded his head and patted my shoulder. The last thing he said to me was, 'whether I understood his actions or not, he loved me and only wanted the best for me.' He said that he would always be there for me whether I liked hated him or not."
I watched a tear fall from his eye as he turned his head back to look at the clouds.
"I didn't tell him I loved him too. I didn't thank him for the car he bought me that caused the argument. I just watched him sadly walk out of the house. That was just before school started. I haven't talked to him since. He thinks I hate him."
I felt horrible for him. He was putting so much pain on his own shoulders over that last conversation. I couldn't do anything to ease his suffering, so I didn't do anything except hold his hand and lean my head on his shoulder.
***
The plane ride was just a bit over an hour. They could hardly contain us as we waited for them to open the door and let us get to the hospital to see Jim. We knew Keri and I would not get to go in and visit Jim's room, but we were going to be there for him anyway we could, and we'd support Abby, Ken, and Lainey.
We ran through the airport terminal like we were late for a plane. But we were running the opposite direction from the gates, so we got some crazy looks along the way. When we got to the pickup area, we had a few minutes wait for our UBER so I pulled up the news to see if I could find any update. I hoped nothing bad happened in the hour or so I wasn't able to get online.
"Oh, boy!" I said as I read the latest story.
"What happened?" Joe asked in a panic.
"Oh! Nothing with Jim. There's a video going viral of Abby yelling at the nurses. I pressed play and we all watched Abby unsheathe her claws and go all mama bear at the nurse's station for someone leaking the photo of her and Jim.
The last thing she said was, "If the piece of shit that did it doesn't come clean by three o'clock, I will have every one of you fired. If one's guilty, you're all guilty." She looked at one of the nurses who started to complain, and said, "If anything comes out of your mouth other than 'it was me' I'm going to knock your bony ass out. Hear me, bitch?"
Joe was laughing hysterically. "That's our Abby."
We laughed along, as we knew all to well Abby had a nasty temper if anyone messed with her family. At Ken and Lainey's annual 4th of July party, Jim and Abby brought their family. My parents and Keri were there, Ken's mom was there, the Millers and their girls were there, and the paparazzi was there.
No one knew that of course, but the bastard snuck onto Ken's property and was taking pictures from the woods behind the house. It was a fluke that Abby even saw him. She just happened to glance that way and saw that the gate was open, and someone was standing there. Before we knew what was happening, she took off running towards him. The gate was about a hundred yards away and he would probably be gone by the time she got anywhere near him, but she didn't care.
Jim and Ken were inside, and Lainey started yelling for them. They were out of the house in a flash and were sprinting towards Abby, who was still running towards the fence. My mom and Ken's mom ushered the kids into the house and my dad and Mr. Miller got into Ken's golf cart and were about to chase after everyone, when we heard rustling next to the privacy fence at the side of the yard.
"Dad!," I shouted. "He's headed towards the front."
My dad took off in the cart and went to the front gate to cut him off. I looked at the back gate and didn't see anyone, so I wondered which direction they ran. It didn't take long to hear them all at the side fence yelling at the man to stop.
Keri and I ran to the front of the house and saw that they caught the guy and my dad had him pinned to the golf cart. Abby stood and watched Ken take the guy's camera and break it into pieces. When Jim told my dad to call the police, Abby walked up to the guy and slapped the shit out of him.
She yelled, "No one takes pictures of my kids except me and my family. Do you understand me, shithead?"
He nodded.
Abby turned and stormed back towards the house. I swear steam was coming out of her ears she was so mad. I knew then, Abby was a bad bitch and I'd never get on her bad side.
***
We got to the hospital and saw the crowd of reporters off to the side. Joe saw the look on my face and said, "Don't worry about them. They don't know us."
The UBER stopped in front of the main entrance, and we walked past the crowd of reporters. What I hadn't seen from the car was the group of fans that were standing behind the reporters. There was about twenty people with signs, and some dressed as Jim's character from the Patriot Squad films. It was kind of creepy, but nice of them to be worried about him too.
We made it up to the waiting room outside of the Intensive Care Unit and found several police officers and a guy that Joe recognized.
"Hey, Joe," the tall older man called out.
