Chapter Four

Mira woke up earlier than she had the day before. She'd only gotten seven hours of sleep, but that was plenty. She yawned and stretched as she dragged herself into the bathroom. The first thing she did was look at herself in the mirror. A hand-shaped bruise marked her tanned face. For a minute, she completely forgot how she obtained the black and blue mark, but it all came back to her in a sudden rush. Arthur had slapped her. What did she do that made him hate her so much? She was just speaking truthfully. Should she lie from now on and pretend that she believed him? He lied about everything. Everybody lies.

The thought of suicide once again plagued her mind. Why didn't anybody love her? Mira felt a sudden urge to hit something. She felt the livid knot in the middle of her stomach turn. Mira raced from the bathroom. She wore only her long, black basketball shorts and a dark purple tank top. She had no shoes on her feet, but she didn't need them. She sprinted away from the house. She ran as quickly as possible. It was the only thing that kept her from getting into trouble. She just had to run. But sometimes, even that didn't work.

Mira ran harder, she ran faster. Cars honked at her, but she paid them no attention. She didn't want to get in trouble, not here. This was supposed to be her chance for a clean slate. She couldn't afford to ruin that. She felt the urge to stop, but she made herself run even faster. Sweat dripped down her forehead, but she had to keep going. She had to! Mira heard a horn honk loudly, but she heard too late. She barely felt the impact of the vehicle as it slammed into her. She glanced briefly at the familiar driver, but she didn't really care who it was. She tried to stand up, she got to her wobbly feet and tried to run once again, but her legs buckled beneath her. 'I have to keep running,' was her last thought before slipping into unconsciousness.

***

Mira woke up suddenly, glancing around frantically. She didn't even register where she was for a second. She tried to move, but everything felt stiff, as if she hadn't moved in awhile. Her throat was dry, which made it difficult to call for somebody. She recognized where she was after a few minutes. She was in a hospital. A nurse passed by her door briskly, but stopped suddenly. Her eyes became wide when she saw the girl. Mira was about to call to her, but she hurried away.

Moments later, a doctor rushed into her room. He appeared to be frozen in shock as he stared at the girl in front of him. She waved weakly at him before pointing to her throat. The young doctor nodded and hurried to get her a glass of water. He handed it to her, watching as she sucked it down.

"Hey," Mira greeted casually before she lay back against her pillow. "What's up?" The doctor finally snapped out of his frozen state, but his astonished expression turned to that of surprise.

"What's up?" he asked incredulously. "You've been in a coma for three weeks. We still haven't been able to locate any of your family."

"Three weeks?" Mira asked irritably. "Damn." The doctor stared at her curiously.

"Can you tell me your name?" he asked rolling his eyes. The girl wore no expression as she thought about his question.

"Mira," she answered after a few minutes. The doctor waited for her to say more, but she remained silent.

"What's your last name? Who are your parents?" he prompted, waiting.

"Mira Beketov. My parents are dead. I live with my step-mom, Kimmy River." The doctor nodded and hurried away.

***

"I'm telling you Papa, she didn't run away!" Niko yelled again during dinner. Kacey ate in silence. He saw his step-sister running. He'd seen what happened to her, but he preferred to keep his mouth shut. This was Niko and Arthur's argument.

"Well it sure looks that way to me. She's not here is she? She hasn't been here for three goddamn weeks, Niko!" Arthur shouted back. In truth, he'd been relieved when she never came back.

"But her guitar and all her stuff is still here. Do you really think she would have left all of that? What if something really bad happened to her? What if she was kidnapped? What if she's dead?" Niko couldn't help the despair that seeped into his voice. He'd just met his sister and then she had to go off and disappear. He'd been so disappointed when she never came home. He really wanted to finally get to know his trouble-making sister. His dad didn't even care either, that's what angered him the most. Niko and Kimmy had wanted to file a missing person's report, but Arthur had refused.

"Niko, I really don't want to have this discussion right now. She probably went back to New York to live with Luka," Arthur replied as the phone rang.

"I'll get it!" Kacey exclaimed, glad to have an excuse to get out of the room. Niko glared at his father. Ever since Mira had entered their unsuspecting lives, his family had changed. Niko and Kacey were no longer as close to Arthur as they once were. And Niko found himself in the basement toying with Mira's things more than anything else. What happened to her? Why had she just vanished into thin air?

"Um... Mom? The phone's for you. It's about Mira." Kacey's face was pale as he handed the phone to his mother. Maybe she remembered. Maybe he'd be thrown in jail for the rest of his life... F**k.

"Hello?" Kimmy took the phone from the room. Niko glanced over at his dad. Arthur threw his fork down onto his plate, thanks to his stupid children, his appetite was completely gone.

"Why are they calling to talk to Kimmy instead of me?" Arthur muttered under his breath.

"Because Kimmy was a hell of a lot more hospitable than you were," Niko grumbled. Kacey looked back and forth between his step-dad and brother. Why couldn't it be how it used to be?

"Come on boys, we're going to the hospital," Kimmy said quickly as she rushed into the dining room. She already had her coat on and her keys dangled from her fingers. "Arthur, you don't have to come if you don't want to," she added as an after thought. Arthur grumbled something under his breath that she couldn't hear, but stood up anyway.

"What happened?" Niko asked as he followed Kimmy outside.

"She was hit by a car three weeks ago. Hit and run. She's been in a coma since it happened," Kimmy answered. Kacey gulped guiltily.

When they arrived at the hospital, they found Mira sitting up and laughing with a nurse. As soon as the nurse saw them, she whispered something to Mira and left the room.

"Mia! Are you okay?" Niko asked gently as he hurried to her bedside.

"Just dandy Nik," Mira replied with a smile. She had cuts and bruises scattered across her body. But the one that stood out the most was the large, nearly faded bruise that still marked her cheek. Niko smiled at his sister. She was alive. And he was right. She hadn't runaway. Worse in fact, she'd been laying in a hospital bed. With no visitors. No one to care for her. Niko glared behind him at his father. What if she had died? They never would have known.

"How did this happen?" Kimmy asked with tears in her clear blue eyes. "Did you see the person who did this to you?" Mira's eyes flickered to Kacey for a brief, knowing second before she shrugged.

"I have no idea. I can't remember," she answered, much to Kacey's relief. He hadn't been very nice to her when he first met her, but he would be kinder. Maybe then, when she remembered what happened, she wouldn't tell anyone. "When can I come home?"

"I'll go ask the doctor," Arthur said, speaking for the first time since they'd arrived.

"Hey Mira, when you come home, maybe we can all go out to dinner," Kacey suggested. Mira smiled at her step-brother as Kimmy followed Arthur out of the room.

"Sounds good. But the first thing I want to do is play my guitar," Mira said wistfully. "So what do you guys do around here in the summer time?" Mira asked trying to fill the silence that followed. Kacey and Niko glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Usually we just hang out with girlfriends and other friends," Niko answered. "Oh, and we try to get a head start on our studies for school in the fall."

"And we can't forget baseball. That's the most important part," Kacey added as he pushed his dirty blond hair out of his eyes. Kacey stood about an inch shorter than Niko. He had tan skin and light, sea foam green eyes. He had a small distinct scar just above his right eyebrow. Mira stared at them with a horrified expression.

"That's all you do?" she asked. Both boys shrugged and nodded. "That's it? You don't sneak out? You don't egg people's houses and graffiti s**t? You don't go on joy rides or raid people's yards? Have either of you ever even seen the inside of a cop car?"

"No to everything you just said. And I don't think you should be proud you've been in a cop car," Niko answered sporting an amused expression.

"Well then, we're definitely going to have fun this summer." Mira already started the planning in her head.

"What do you mean by that?" Kacey questioned skeptically.

"I mean... you boys are gonna have to man up and do something you've never done before," Mira responded with a sly smile.

"No way! I am NOT going to get arrested the summer before senior year! Dad would be - you know what? Screw it. I'm tired of hiding under a rock. Alright, I'll go along with you," Niko relented. He was sick and tired of always listening to everything his parents told him to do. "Just, don't let me get arrested or killed," he added. Mira nodded, her smiled widening.

"Can do. The rest of this summer will be the best one you've EVER had. I can promise you that!" Mira's smile widened even more. Crap! What had they gotten themselves into?

"The doctor said you aren't allowed to leave until tomorrow. They need to keep you for observation tonight," Arthur informed his daughter as he entered the room.

Reviews

[DepthWriter]

Very interesting story thus far... I really like that you've ended it with a question.... (a cliff-hanger). It spoke of the trials, and tribulations of a life situation, that many find themselves in... from one time or the other. Keep writing... this is suspenseful