Chapter 2

 I opened my eyes to see a bunch of people around Danny’s bed and the frantic beeping of one of his machines. There were tears falling from my eyes. What a dream

            “Quickly, let’s get him out of here and into ICU!” someone in the crowd said.

            I wiped the tears from my eyes to see about eight people surrounding Danny’s bed. They were trying to move his shaking body from the bed to a stretcher, but every time they tried, he shook even harder. It got so bad that a couple nurses that were in the halls came in to try and help.

            “Okay, everyone take a part of his body and someone support his head so this will be easier.” one of the men said.

            Everyone shifted around the bed so that there were four people on each side, one at the end, and one waiting to support Danny’s head. At the same time, they lifted his body with a steady grip. Then they slowly lowered his body onto the stretcher. Two people put restraints around his arms and legs, so that if he shook again, Danny wouldn’t fall off the stretcher. After all of this was done, the mob of people quickly left the room, Danny somewhere in the middle.

            Alone once again, I looked down at my hands; they were shaking. What just happened? Did I really just see someone have a seizure? Danny had been fine minutes ago, or at least I think minutes ago. How long had I been asleep? I took my cell phone out of my pocket and slid the screen up; it read 8:34. Had I really been sleeping for half an hour? Where was my mom? Why wasn’t she back yet?

            I started to panic. Did something serious happen to my mom? She was only going for x-rays. Could something go wrong during an x-ray? What would happen if something serious actually had happened? How would my life change? My mom’s? Brandon’s?

            Dr. Tilst walked in with my mom; they both had concerned looks on their faces.

            “What happened?” I asked. I looked at my mom and my eyes were immediately drawn to the white cast that took up almost half of her left arm. It’s weird because in that moment, despite all I knew about broken bones and casts, I had no idea how to react.

            “There is no need for concern; it was a clean break.” Dr. Tilst said.

            “What does that mean?” I asked.

            “It means that your mother’s arm will take less time to heal; I’d say about six months. However, she will not be able to work until the cast comes off.”

            “Okay. Is there anything else I should know?”

            “Well since the broken arm is the one she writes with and is most use to using, you and your family will have to help her with some ordinary, everyday tasks.”

            “That’s fine. Thank you for your help Dr. Tilst.”

            “Your welcome. If anything else happens or if you have any questions, feel free to come back or just call the hospital and ask for me.”

            “Okay, I will. Mom, are you ready?” I said.

            We walked out of the chaos, through the Barney flashback room, and out to the parking lot. I opened the passenger door for my mom and helped her into the seat. Then I walked around the car, got into the driver’s seat, started the car, and drove home.

            Brandon was sitting on the couch nervously flipping through channels when we walked through the front door. He turned around at the sound of the door closing. I watched as he looked at both of us. As soon as his eyes saw the cast, they widened, like there wasn’t light in the room.

            “Don’t worry. The doctor said it was a clean break and she will have to wear the cast for six months tops.” I said before Brandon bombarded us with questions.

            “Mom, is this true?”

            “Yes. But I will be fine; I just need a little help on some things while I have the cast on.” she answered in the softest, kindest tone that it was hard to be worried. “We will talk more about this tomorrow. It’s getting late and you two have school in the morning, plus I am tired.”

            My brother and I walked upstairs, weary about leaving our mother alone downstairs. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. When I came out, my brother went in, already dressed for bed.  We exchanged a worried glance because despite how fine our mom made it seem, we knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. I kept walking down the hall and into my room. I pulled a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt out of my dresser, quickly got changed, grabbed my laptop off my desk, and slipped under the covers of my day bed.

            I turned on my laptop and logged onto Twitter. This night has been so crazy it deserved a status update. So I typed: What a night…now is a time when I wish you hadn’t left :( …but you did.

            I laid back against my pillows and closed my eyes. I tried to relax, but too much was on my mind. So I turned iTunes on shuffle and tried to let the music take over. I started to feel my body slowly relax and drift into a sleep.

            Suddenly there was loud music playing. I jumped up, heart racing, only to find out that my phone was ringing. I started to search for my phone, flinging things around the room. I finally found it underneath one of my pillows. I quickly slid it open and raised it to my ear.

            “Hello?”

            “Hey! Where have you been? I have been trying to get in touch with you. I started to get worried when you stopped answering my texts.”

            It was Eliot. I could tell by the deepness of the voice coming from the other end. But he was talking so fast that I had no idea what he had just said.

            “What?”

            “Where have you been?” he said slower this time.

            “The hospital—“

            “What? Why?”

            “If you let me finish my sentence, you would know that it was because of my mom; she broke her arm.”

            “Oh. Is she okay?”

            “Yeah, she has to wear a cast for six months though.”

            “Won’t that make waitressing difficult?”

            “Yeah, so she will probably end up taking the six months off. Which means things are going to start getting tough around here.”

            “I am so sorry.”

            “It’s okay; s**t happens right?”

            “I guess you could say that. But if there is anything you need me to do let me know.”

            “Thanks, I will.” I said holding back tears. “But I really should get to bed. I am tired from all of today’s events.”

            “Alright. One more thing though.”

            “What?”

            “I am starting school with you tomorrow.”

            “What are you talking about?”

            “My mom said I could transfer to your school. So I start tomorrow.” Eliot explained.

            “Really?!”

            “Really really.”

            “I am so excited! Now school will be easier to get through after all of this.”

            “I know, but go to bed so you will be well rested for tomorrow.”

            “Fine.” I laughed.

            “Good night and sweet dreams beautiful.”

            “You too.” Click.

            I went to bed in a better mood and thinking about how amazing tomorrow would be. I fell asleep with the biggest smile on my face that I had had in the longest time.

            I woke up half an hour early so I could make sure that I looked good for the first time I would see Eliot in person, plus today was the one day this month that we all got to wear “normal clothes.” This was a crucial point in the friendship that we had created over the past two weeks. I was able to make sure I looked good in pictures and on the phone. But in person was another story; in person means that I had to have the complete package in one moment and not in the separate moments I had already. So I took a shower and spent about ten minutes on my hair. I stood in front of my closet and stared at my clothes; none of them seemed to be right. They were either “too old”, “out of style”, or “just didn’t make the right statement.” Finally I settled on my newest pair of jeans with the hole in the right knee, from when I tripped up my front porch steps, and my Green Day shirt.

            When I walked downstairs and into the kitchen, I found Brandon attempting to make a ham and cheese omelet and pancakes. The sight of my brother cooking made me burst out laughing so loud that he jumped and ended up with pancake batter ‘all over himself, which made me laugh even harder.

            “Jesus Christ!” Brandon yelled. “Did you have to scare me like that?”

            “Excuse me young man, but that language was uncalled for and yes it was necessary.”

            “Ha ha very funny, smart a*s.” he said with a smirk. “What if something has happened to me? Like I jumped, slipped, and cracked my head open?”

            “Yeah like that happens on a regular basis.”

            “I’m not saying it happens on a regular basis. I’m saying what would you do if this was that one in whatever time when something like that happens?”

            Then I would do this…” As I said it, I threw myself to the hardwood floor and pretended like there was a body lying in front of me. “No! God please not him! He has so much to live for!” I yelled with my hands raised to the sky.

            “Oh aren’t we Miss Drama Queen this morning.”

            “Excuse me?”

            “You heard me. I said that you are being a Drama Queen.” Brandon said with a little too much emphasis on the drama.

            “I am not a Drama Queen.”

            “Yeah, you kinda are to be honest.”

            “Well gee thanks for the honesty Little Bro.” I said as I lurked toward him slowly.

            “No problem Big Sis.” Brandon said as he slouched down and put his hands up as if he were in a lame Chinese movie fight scene.

            We began a fake battle in the middle of the kitchen. We were flailing our arms around and making our own sound effects, while picking up spoons, whisks, and spatulas. I maneuvered around the island so that we were on opposite sides. We shifted back and forth, trying to fake the other out.

            “Hey what’s that?” I said, pointing at nothing behind Brandon.

            I quickly ran around the counter and jumped on his back because he is taller than me even though he is younger. I got him in the best headlock that I could.

            “Say ‘Even though you are smaller, you are stronger’” I said into his ear.

            “Never!” Brandon answered, gasping for air.

            I tightened my grip in his throat. “Say it.”

            “Fine! Even though you are smaller, you are stronger!”

            “Thank you.” I said. Letting go and landing on the floor.

            Brandon fell onto the floor, choking. “That…wasn’t…funny,” he said in between breaths.

            “I think it was.”

            “Well I don’t,” my mother said, suddenly in the room.

            “Holy s**t Mom. How long have you been standing there?” I said.

            “Long enough to see you pounce on your brother and almost choke him to death.”

            “Oh Mom don’t be so dramatic. I wasn’t going to kill him.”

            “You don’t know that, Amy! You could have held on for one second too long without knowing it. And what for, some dumb joke?”

            “Mom, I think you are blowing this out of proportion.”

             “You do? I don’t think I am Young Lady!”

            “Mom, chill!”

            “Don’t talk back to me.”

            “You yelled at me first!”

            “It doesn’t matter. I’m the mother. I shouldn’t be yelled at.”

            “Oh that is the worst excuse I have ever heard.” I said as I grabbed my backpack and stormed out of the house.

            I thought I would hear her yelling after me, but I was so mad that I didn’t notice anything but the road ahead of me. I got to the end of the street where everyone from the public school was standing. I stood on the opposite side of the road from them because I have never gotten along with them; plus, I wasn’t supposed to be there for another ten minutes. They just glanced over at me as I pulled my iPod out in a fit and pushed my headphones into my ears. I let the music play and take over me; let it calm me down because I couldn’t go to school in this kind of mood.

            My brother came sprinting down the street, either after me or so he wouldn’t miss his bus. He came running up next to me, out of breath.

            “What was all that about?” he asked.

            “Nothing.”

            That wasn’t nothing. What’s going on Amy?”

            “Fine. I am just sick of her using this ‘I’m a single mom’ excuse for everything.”

            “I know how you feel; it is getting a little out of hand. But you know you can’t keep fighting back like this. It will only make things worse.”

            Brandon, I can’t just sit there and act like nothing is wrong, like we are a happy family even though Dad left us.”

            “Can’t you please just do it for me? I am not saying it’s going to be easy. But I can’t handle all this tension in the house and I don’t think Grandma can either.”

            “I’ll think about it.” I said as his bus pulled up toward us.

            “Thanks, Sis, you are the best!” Brandon said as he gave me a hug and then ran to the bus.

            As the bus pulled away, I couldn’t help but simile. Brandon had a way with words that made it so you couldn’t say no. He was going to be trouble when he got a little older. It will be interesting to see how the world deals with a guy like him. I couldn’t help but want to do what he asked me to, but I was getting so sick and tired of excuses and being blamed. Just thinking about it made the anger return, so I put the music back on and closed my eyes.

            After a little while, I opened my eyes to see my bus coming from the opposite direction my brother’s had. I waited for it to stop, got on, went straight to the back seat, and went to sleep.