Time Warp: The Darkest Hour (Chloe)

[Brendan James]

May 2010

Brendan’s life had been turned upside down. With a simple phone call, he left his life crumbling around him. His breath came in gasps. His body trembled. He felt wetness on his face and assumed he was crying. How had his life only a moment ago, seemed fine and sometimes even wonderful, yet now he felt… broken? Horrified? Destroyed? In a matter of seconds it had changed, just long enough for his dad to utter that one sentences. Long enough for Brendan to realize that his father wasn’t playing some kind of twisted joke on him. Long enough for Brendan to realize that his dad was crying over the phone to him, hiccupping through the tears.

‘How?’ would’ve been a normal reaction to have. But Brendan so rarely did the ‘normal’ thing. He uttered a simple ‘I’m coming home’ and hung up. He couldn’t bear to hear his father cry anymore. He couldn’t add to the older man’s pain by letting him hear his only son cry. So he hung up.

And then he fell apart. Slid against the wall ‘til he was on the floor, staring blankly at the opposite wall. She was gone. Just like that, gone. The tender, loving woman who had raised him, he’d never see her again. He felt his entire body shake at the thought of never having his mother comfort him or stroke his hair. He’d never come home to the sounds of her baking and playing music in the kitchen. He’d never hear her teasingly pester him about why he couldn’t have been born a girl because he and Chloe would be perfect together.

Chloe.

He wouldn’t blame his father for not thinking to call her. But she had to know. Deserved to know. From them. From him.

Grabbing his phone off the floor beside him, he dialed her number, his stomach churning in ways that made him believe he might actually vomit. Oh how he didn’t want to call her and tell her this. How he wished it was just one of the many times he called her during the week to talk. But no, it wasn’t.

When she answered, Brendan let out a shaky breath. “Chloe?” His voice cracked and he squeezed his eyes shut, pushing more tears over the edge.

[Chloe Singleton]

There was nothing about the morning that told Chloe that she would soon receive heart-wrenching news, nothing that seemed out of the ordinary at all. And so, when she woke a little past nine, she went about her business as usual. Breakfast, groceries, laundry, and cleaning all went off without a hitch.

With free time on her hands, she decided to start a batch of cookies baking and so she turned on the little radio and danced while she mixed the batter, happily chatting with both her beloved birds about nothing of importance. It was an absolutely average day in every way possible.

Until her phone rang.

At first, she thought nothing of it, tapping the screen to answer and then once again to turn on speaker while she retrieved a tray of cookies from the oven. "Hiiii Brendan!" She chirped, eager to hear what her best friend had to say.

But the way his voice cracked from the other end of the line made Chloe's heart skip a beat. Without thinking, her grip on the tray faltered and it clattered to the ground, sending cookies flying and the birds squawking at the sudden noise. Chloe didn't even seem to notice as she lunged for her phone and pulled it towards her. "Brendan what's wrong, sweetie?"

[Brendan James]

Another time, Brendan would’ve heard the clatter and said something. But he didn’t hear it. He didn’t hear the pan hit the ground over the blood rushing in his ears. His head pounding. His ragged breathing. All these things made it difficult to hear at all, let alone background noise.

But he did hear the concern in Chloe’s voice. He knew that she could tell something was the matter. “Hi.” He said, swiping his sleeve across his cheek as tears continued to escape. “I… I have bad news.”

How was he supposed to tell her? And over the phone? But she would be so upset with him if he came home and then told her. Besides, she was family. She needed to know immediately. “It’s mom, Chlo.” His best friend of years had taken up the habit of calling his parents mom and dad too. With how much time she was at their house and how many family vacations she’d gone on with them, it only seemed natural.

“She…” Brendan took a deep breath, trying to steady his voice. He didn’t want to have to repeat himself and he knew his voice was shaking quite a bit. “My dad called a bit ago.” Bren’s grasp on the phone tightened as he forced himself to say the words that made his stomach churn. “She died.” He choked as a cry made it’s way out. Quickly, he clamped a hand over his mouth to quiet the sob. “I’m sorry.” He uttered after only gaining better control of his voce, not even sure what he was apologizing for.