Matt is 21 and still living at home, Mary is 17, Lucy is 16, Simon is
13, and Ruthie is 9
Mary sat at the kitchen table of the Camden house, doing her homework, when Matt walked through the backdoor, followed by two other guys. Immediately, without looking up to see whom Matt was with, Mary announced to her older brother that their mother wouldn't be home until 6:00 and she wanted him to help pick up around the house. Matt sighed and explained that he had company and would get to it as soon as he could. When Mary finally looked up to object to his procrastination she was immediately drawn to one of his friends. She stopped in mid-sentence and stared at him. When Matt realized that he hadn't introduced them he said "Oh, Mary, these are some guys from my psych class, Joe and Brian; we're doing a project together. And, guys, this is my sister, Mary". Mary quickly stood following this introduction and shook Joe's hand, grinning and completely shunning Brian. Matt noticed this and jumped in; "Um. we have work a lot of work to get done before tomorrow's class," he said, shoving Joe forward. Brian looked uncomfortable and followed after them. Mary watched as they strolled off towards the stairs and Joe glanced back at her as well. She sat back down and couldn't concentrate on her homework anymore; she had to think of a way to see Joe without Matt knowing. Matt was one of those really, overprotective big brother's that always got into Mary's personal life and it made her angry that she could never go on a date with a guy she liked just because there was always something Matt didn't like about him. And when Matt didn't like someone that one of his sisters was dating he would do everything he could to stop them from dating.
Matt, Joe, and Brian had just barely set foot into the attic room when Joe began asking questions about Mary. "Hey, dude, is your sister seein' anyone?" Matt knew what was coming next so he was quick to respond, "Ok, listen! My sister is 17-years old and you are 21.a junior in college! Don't look at her, don't talk to her, don't even think about her!" he said in an attempt to sound threatening, "Just stay away from her!" Joe shot Matt a look as if to let him know how pathetic him trying to threaten someone sounded. Brian glanced from Matt to Joe and back to Matt, who looked even more irritated with Joe than he usually did. Matt didn't like Joe at all; Joe was the type of guy that dated any girl who was willing to go with him. He would get what he wanted from them and then move on to the next. He was irresponsible and was sailing through college on a full football scholarship. Yet, he was a good-looking guy and had a way with ladies and Matt knew that, if given the chance, Mary would go for him in a second. Brian was small and shy and therefore incredibly uncomfortable in any situation regarding any kind of confrontation. So, there he sat, in between the two angry college guys. "Um. look, I've got to get home pretty soon so could we just get as much of this done as we possibly can without killing each other? At least until I leave?" Matt snapped out of his angry glare and look down at the book he held in his lap. The rest of the study time was very awkward and there was little talking of anything other than this psychology paper they had been assigned to write together.
Annie arrived home an hour later, at 6:00, and rested some bags on the kitchen counter. "Hello? Is anyone home?" she shouted, turning on the stove to begin dinner. Ruthie and Simon bolted into the kitchen in response to their mother's call. "Himommy," Ruthie blurted, slurring her words together as she ran through the kitchen and out the back door. Simon chased after her, "Hi mom," he said, running by her with Happy on his heel. Annie stood for a minute, trying to piece together the scene, when Mary came in with a big grin. "Hey mom, need any help with dinner?" she asked helpfully. Annie was beginning to think she had entered the twilight zone, until Eric walked through the door. "Hey dad," Mary exclaimed, "Uh, hi. what's up with Simon and Ruthie?" he said, also confused. Mary shrugged and walked away, leaving her offer to help with dinner just hanging in the air. Eric gave Annie a kiss and there they stood in the middle of the kitchen after a long day.
Mary sat up in her room, listening for the attic door to open so she could bolt out into the hall, exclaiming that she needed to use the bathroom to anyone who asked where she was headed. She waited about 20 minutes at the door before she heard Matt's voice. She opened her bedroom door and ran straight into Joe. "Oh, uh. sorry, just going to the uh. bathroom," she stated, completely surprised by this pleasant, yet unplanned, collision. Joe smiled and apologized, also asking if she was ok. Mary, right away, began to think that he was a great guy; he cared enough to ask if she was all right after all. Matt rolled his eyes, "Well?" he said, waiting for Mary to continue on to the bathroom and for Joe, who was at the head of the line, to continue on down the stairs. "Oh, yeah. right" Mary mumbled, still staring at Joe, who stared right back. She slowly walked by him, as his eyes followed her to the bathroom, where she nearly walked into the doorframe due to lack of paying attention.
The three college guys continued on down the stairs and ran into Eric at the bottom. "Oh, guys, this is my dad. Dad, this is Joe and Eric," Matt said, introducing them to yet another family member. Just as he was leaving, Joe turned to ask Matt a question, stopping just outside. "So, about your sister," he started, as Matt slammed the door in his face. Matt continued on to the kitchen, where he could smell dinner cooking, "Hey mom". "Oh, Matt, I thought I told Mary to tell you to help clean up around here". He stopped in front of the refrigerator, "Oh, I know mom, but I had some people over to finish up a psych paper that's due tomorrow and they just left". Annie though for a minute before replying, "Well, as long as it was for school."
After dinner, Matt and Mary were told to clean the dishes. As they stood side-by-side in silence, Matt thought of what exactly he would say to her to make her believe that Joe was not all he was cracked up to be. She stood, rinsing the dishes, in a daze, obviously daydreaming about Joe. After a minute of hesitation Matt finally spoke, "You can't go out with him! I forbid you to go with him!" he blurted. Mary stopped rinsing the dishes and looked up at him, very surprised, "Uh. what?" she said, confused by this outburst. Matt took a deep breath and thought about where he was going with this, "Joe. You can't go out with Joe." Mary shifted her weight, "Excuse me? You can't tell me whom I can and can't date! You're NOT my father and you better just stay out of my business!" she shouted at him, dropping a plate back into the soapy water and storming out of the kitchen.
Matt stood at the sink and let out a sigh; he had expected this reaction but had to let it known that he completely disapproved of his little sister dating anyone remotely like Joe.
Mary fell forward onto her bed and buried her face in her pillows. She thought to herself how exactly she would go about contacting Joe; she didn't have his number and Matt sure wasn't going to give it to her. Maybe she could show up at one of his classes? No, that wouldn't work because the only class she knew he took was psychology and Matt was in that class. She fell asleep still having reached no conclusion to the agonizing question of how she would ever get a date with, quite possibly the man of her dreams, without knowing where or when she could reach him. The next morning she was awakened to the sound of Lucy's music playing from her alarm clock. She turned over with heavy eyes, not completely awake yet, and tossed a pillow at Lucy, yelling for her to wake up and turn that off. An hour later they were both up and ready for the days events, whatever they may be. No sooner had she hit the landing at the bottom of the stairway than Annie handed her the keys to the car and asked her, in quite a rush herself, to stop by the store and pick up some things on a list taped to the refrigerator. Mary took the keys and gladly ran the little shopping errand, having nothing better to do on this bright Saturday morning. Once at the store she took a look at the list, which read: Eggs Bread Milk Orange juice Tissues Butter
She headed for the refrigerated isle and ran right into none other than Joe! "Oh! Hey!" she exclaimed, extremely shocked by this very pleasant surprise. "Hey!" he replied, "You're Matt's sister, um." he waited for her name, which hadn't caught the day before. "Mary," she said, "and you're Joe". They both smiled for a second, waiting for the next move. "So, um. what are you doing here?" she asked, thinking it odd for a college guy to be shopping on a Saturday morning. "Well," he began, "my fraternity brother's and I are having a party tonight and I was chosen to stock up on food". He hesitated for a minute, as she nodded, "Do you. would you like to. come tonight?" he finally managed to ask. Mary thought for a minute, "To a frat party?" she replied, not knowing what to say. She knew it wasn't the best idea; there would be drugs and alcohol and she wasn't into that stuff. However, the thought of taunting Matt with this was very appealing to her and she was temped to jump at the chance to get to know Joe better. "Sure!" she finally blurted; "Great," he responded, "I'll pick you up at 8:00". She thought about this a minute and knew that her parents wouldn't like the idea of her going to a frat party. She also knew that Matt, even though only her brother, would also not allow this. "Um. actually," she started, "Could you make it 7:00?" she asked, knowing that Matt had a late class tonight and wouldn't be home until at least 7:30.
When she arrived home with the groceries she immediately began her speech she had been preparing. She told her mother that she had met a nice guy, named Joe, at the supermarket and that she wanted to go to dinner and a movie with him later on. He mother saw no harm in this, so long as met this 'Joe' before Mary went anywhere with him. Mary was ecstatic and ran upstairs, screaming with joy on the inside. She jumped in the shower and then took and hour to pick out the perfect outfit. When 7:30 rolled around she waited impatiently by the front door. She hoped to God that Matt wouldn't come home early and see her getting into car with Joe. If her parents heard what Matt had to say about him they would never trust him enough o let her go out with him. When he pulled up in his black convertible, Mary yelled to her mom that Joe had arrived and she was leaving. Annie hurried to the front door to meet him before Mary went anywhere. As he approached the door, Mary flung it open and quickly introduced them, "Mom, this is Joe. Joe, this is my mom". Joe looked in a hurry as well (no doubt also nervous that Matt would show up at anytime), "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Camden". They spoke for a minute as Annie explained that she expected Mary home by her 11:30 curfew. They quickly got into the car and drove off, free form any worry they may have had about being caught. Joe knew, as well as Mary, that Matt would not react nicely to knowing where his little sister was spending her Saturday night. They arrived at the frat party and Mary was nervous, knowing that she had to refrain from drinking, no matter how many people were doing it. They stepped inside the door and the loud music greeted them. After about ten minutes Joe disappeared to the backyard, where there were two kegs and whole grain alcohol punch. Mary strolled around, trying to mingle but found it difficult with these people because, not only were they all older than her, but they were all either drunk, high, or both.
Matt didn't arrive home until 8:30 and then he grabbed his dinner, which had been warming in the microwave for him. He didn't immediately notice that Mary wasn't around. After he ate his dinner he decided to stop by her room on his way to the attic. He knocked and there came a reply from Lucy, "Come in" she said. Matt entered the room and looked around for Mary, who was nowhere to be seen, "Is Mary around?" he asked, not thinking anything of it at first. Lucy thought for a second before replying, "No, she went out with some guy she met at the store this morning. I think his name was Joe". Matt felt his heart skip a beat and double-checked what he had heard, "Did you say Joe?" he asked, almost shouting. Lucy looked startled by this sudden change in behavior and hesitated before answering, "Um. y.yeah". Matt bolted out of the room and down the stairs. He slammed the front door on his way out. Jumping into his car, he tried, with no success, to remember where Joe lived. When he failed at this recollection attempt, he headed for John's apartment, exceeding the speed limit a wee bit.
Meanwhile, back at the party, Mary was having trouble socializing still. She didn't want to drink and no one would talk to her. She wanted to leave this party and head home but had no ride. She couldn't call her parents and let them know that she had lied about where she was going, and she couldn't call Matt because that would be proving him right about Joe. When Joe finally turned up, he was drunk and couldn't even stand straight. Mary told him that she wasn't having a good time and she wanted to go home. Joe, slurring his words and mumbling in a drunken voice, told her to relax and just have some fun. He pulled her into a small nook by the front door and leaned in close. She shoved him away, "What are you doing?!" she shouted, not loud enough to hear over the booming music. Joe smiled and pulled her into him, "Come on, baby, it'll help you relax," he said, trying to kiss her. Again, she pushed him away and stepped out, back into the party, "I want to go home and now!" she yelled, now loud enough for a few people near by to hear. Joe put down a beer he had been holding, "Fine! Fine. You wanna go home? I'll take ya home!"
Matt finally reached John's apartment and ran to the door, banging profusely until he answered. "Man, what the heck are you doing? It's." he looked at his watch, "it's 9:30 at night. Why are you trying to kick in my door?" Matt pushed himself inside the apartment, "I need Joe Gallagher's address!" he said, in a great hurry. John looked at him for minute, "Now!" Matt shouted. "Alright, alright!" John replied, getting a notebook out of a kitchen drawer. "He lives a 147 Irving Rd, a fraternity house". Matt froze, realizing that Mary was at a frat party. He ran out of the apartment, without so much as a 'thank you', as John shut the door and wondered what the was all about.
Mary grabbed her jacket as she and Joe headed out the door to the car. They climbed in and started down Irving Rd. Mary was uncomfortable and looked out the window, rather than at Joe. He swerved on the road until she offered to drive. Joe replied that he could handle the driving and she just needed to relax. He placed his hand on her thigh and she rolled her eyes, pulling away from him. "Hey! You are the one who wanted to come tonight, I didn't make you!" he shouted at her, not watching the road. Mary didn't say anything and Joe stopped talking and continued to drive recklessly. As they approached an intersection, Joe didn't hit the brake. Mary noticed and yelled for him to brake at the light! He didn't listen, now beginning to nod off at the wheel and the car continued to go 45 miles per hour through this light. It was all in slow motion to Mary as the rolled into the middle, right under the lights. A navy blue pickup truck, which had the right of way, slammed into the passenger side of the small convertible, crushing and pushing it 100 feet into a telephone pole.
The whole way to the frat party Matt hoped that Mary hadn't done anything stupid. He told himself that she was smart and only doing this to spite him but he didn't think she would ever do anything really dumb. When he got to the house it was a mess; trash and beer cans all over the front lawn. There were people passed out everywhere and the stereo's volume had been reduced so that people could now hear their conversations. Matt spotted someone he knew from class and walked toward his, stepping over unconscious bodies. "Hey, Ethan. Have um, you seen Joe or my sister around?" he asked, without waiting for a return greeting. Ethan thought for a second and then remembered that Joe had left to drive Mary home but said he would be back. "When was that?" Matt asked, anxiously. Again, Ethan though before replying, "I don't know. must have been about a half hour ago". Matt knew that it would only take about 20 minutes to get to and from the Camden house from Irving Rd. He went out to his car and called home right away. When Ruthie answered the phone he spoke quickly asking if Mary had gotten home yet. Ruthie said no, that she hadn't been home in hours. Matt froze and then hung up the phone without saying 'goodbye' to Ruthie. He decided to drive home and hope that they had just stopped somewhere for a few minutes.
By the time Matt reached the intersection there were three ambulances and four police cars gathered in a huddle around a telephone pole. He pulled over, his heart in his throat and approached the wreck. Sergeant Michaels emerged form the huddle and spotted Matt right away. "Matt? What are you doing here? How did you know. I mean, I was just going to call your house". Matt almost passed out when he heard those words because then he knew that it was Mary lying in that mangled wreck. His legs gave out and he fell to his knees on the pavement. Sergeant Michael tried to stop him from falling and hitting something, "Matt? Matt, are you ok?" but he wasn't ok, he was speechless and couldn't breathe. Sergeant Michaels helped him up and sat him down in the passenger side of his police car. Matt still couldn't find any words and sat there, staring at the wreck. Finally he spoke, "Is she in there? Is Mary in that wreck?" but he already knew the answer. Sergeant Michaels began explaining what they were trying to do. "Her door is jammed shut and they have to pry it open to get her out. Now, they almost have it but I still have to call your house and let your parents know that they're taking her to the emergency room". Matt nodded but then stopped him from dialing the number. is she ok. I mean is she." he couldn't finish the sentence. Sergeant Michaels knew what Matt was trying to say, "For now". He replied and went back to dialing.
Matt couldn't drive to the hospital because he was shaken up and worried so he got a ride in the police car. When he arrived at the ER his parents were already there. They had left Lucy at home to keep and eye on the kids because the twins were asleep. Annie was frantic when Matt walked in a she ran from Eric into Matt's arms. He hugged her and tried to assure her that everything was going to be fine, but he knew it wasn't. It had been a bad accident and, if Mary did come out alive, she would be in bad shape.
After hours of waiting, a doctor came out to address the Camdens who had been waiting to hear news of Mary's condition. He said that she suffered a blunt head trauma, a broken ankle, a dislocated shoulder, and multiple scrapes and bruises. She had also received five stitches for a cut that ran from the corner of her eye and curved down about an inch to her cheekbone. Matt was scared and furious; he knew that Mary had been irresponsible and made a bad judgment call but he was so much more angry at Joe for almost killing his sister. He just had to ask, "What about Joe?" The doctor looked down at a clipboard he help in his hand and notified the three family members that Joe received seven stitches in his forehead and suffered a broken wrist. Matt couldn't believe that his little sister was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to monitors, tubes, and other machines and Joe, the cause of the accident, was up and walking around. He felt a hate inside of him that he had never felt before and hope that he came face to face with Joe really soon.
Eric and Annie were allowed in to see Mary and they asked Matt to wait in chairs while they went in first. Matt would get to see her when they came out. He waited about twenty minutes and his parents came out of the exam room. Eric had his arm around Annie and she was crying. Eric told Matt that he could go in and see her for a few minutes but that she was unconscious. When he entered the room he hadn't prepared himself for what he saw in front of him. There lay his little sister, in a hospital bed with tubes and machines everywhere. She wasn't a baby anymore. she was seventeen years old. But this just proved how much growing up she had to do. Matt stared, in absolute shock, at the sight of Mary lying there, not moving. She was pale and didn't' even look real. Matt hadn't been much of a crier at anytime in his life. He usually held his feelings in, especially if they were feelings of guilt or sadness. But here, in this hospital room, looking at someone he loved that could have very well died that night, he just began to cry. He couldn't stop it, even though he tried. When he felt the tears welling up his eyes, he turned away from Mary until he could regain his composure. After about five minutes of facing the wall, wiping away his tears, matt turned back to his sister and slowly stepped toward her bed. He raised his hand slightly and took hers. There was an IV coming from the back of her hand and he was careful not to touch it. He stood there, holding her hand and looked into her bruised and cut face, which looked so lifeless. He felt the tears again but did not turn away this time. Matt leaned in, over his sister, and kissed her forehead, and preyed that she would be all right.
When Matt was convinced that he had done everything he could to prevent something like this from happening he left the room, being very quiet. There was a chair outside the door and he had to sit down and gather his thoughts. Letting his head fall against the back of the chair, Matt saw his father hugging his mother, assuring her that everything would be fine. When he lifted his head from the chair he noticed a man standing at the front desk of the emergency room. He was leaning forward, filling out forms. It was Joe and Matt knew this immediately. He stood up slowly and stepped toward Joe, with hate and anger filling every pore in his body. As he stepped closer, Joe glanced up from the forms and looked around, not realizing right away who was walking toward him. When he looked back down at the papers in front of him he finally got it and his head snapped back up as he backed away from the desk. Matt ran at him, knocking him over and throwing punch after punch at his pathetic, bruised, excuse for a body. Joe yelled out in pain for help and two security guards came over, pulling Matt off of Joe. Eric and Annie ran to their son's side to see what was going on and Annie recognized Joe right away, lunging forward at him. Eric grabbed her and restrained her before she could reach him and she began screaming for his arrest. The security guards assured her that he was being taken to jail right after he finished filling out his insurance forms. She stared at his as he reached for the clipboard and she threatened the life of this man who almost killed her daughter. "I hope you're proud of what you have done, you little street delinquent!" she said in a low and very threatening voice that none of them had ever heard her use before, "You just better be glad that Mary wasn't killed tonight because you would be suffering a slow and painful ordeal yourself you." Eric pulled her away before she could finish. Matt wasn't released from the second security guard's grip until Joe was taken from the hospital and placed into a squad car outside. The three of them stayed at the hospital all night and Matt was the only one who couldn't sleep. He sat awake, in 'chairs', just thinking about his life and his sibling's lives and what they would all do when he left Glenoak someday. He was their older brother and it was his job to protect them and make sure they didn't do anything stupid. Tonight he felt that he had failed at that and, because of it, Mary was almost killed. At about 3:00 a.m. the doctor came out in the waiting area to announce to the family that Mary was awake. He didn't want to wake Annie and Eric so he told Matt. Matt jumped up and took a deep breath before entering the exam room again. He walked in and not much light shown through the windows because the sun wouldn't begin to rise for another two hours. The only light in the room was the dim lamp at Mary's bedside. Matt slowly walked toward her and she let out a slight groan of pain before opening her eyes the slightest bit to see who had come to see her. When she saw that it was Matt a tear streamed down her cheek and tried to speak but he stopped her, "Shhh" he said, sitting in a cushioned chair beside her bed. "I'm so sorry that I didn't get to you before this happened. I'm your big brother and it's my duty to make sure that you're always safe and tonight I messed up," he whispered to her, with tears in his eyes. She moved her hand over the slightest bit and lifted it to cover his, "This is my fault," she whispered back, in a tired and hoarse voice. She apologized for not listening to him and he leaned forward to hug her as she wrapped her arms around him, returning the gesture. They cried together over what could have been a great tragedy and he Mary finally felt safe. with her big brother there to protect her. (
This is my first story that I have posted publicly and I would appreciate feedback to let me know what you all think of it. Thanks.
Mary sat at the kitchen table of the Camden house, doing her homework, when Matt walked through the backdoor, followed by two other guys. Immediately, without looking up to see whom Matt was with, Mary announced to her older brother that their mother wouldn't be home until 6:00 and she wanted him to help pick up around the house. Matt sighed and explained that he had company and would get to it as soon as he could. When Mary finally looked up to object to his procrastination she was immediately drawn to one of his friends. She stopped in mid-sentence and stared at him. When Matt realized that he hadn't introduced them he said "Oh, Mary, these are some guys from my psych class, Joe and Brian; we're doing a project together. And, guys, this is my sister, Mary". Mary quickly stood following this introduction and shook Joe's hand, grinning and completely shunning Brian. Matt noticed this and jumped in; "Um. we have work a lot of work to get done before tomorrow's class," he said, shoving Joe forward. Brian looked uncomfortable and followed after them. Mary watched as they strolled off towards the stairs and Joe glanced back at her as well. She sat back down and couldn't concentrate on her homework anymore; she had to think of a way to see Joe without Matt knowing. Matt was one of those really, overprotective big brother's that always got into Mary's personal life and it made her angry that she could never go on a date with a guy she liked just because there was always something Matt didn't like about him. And when Matt didn't like someone that one of his sisters was dating he would do everything he could to stop them from dating.
Matt, Joe, and Brian had just barely set foot into the attic room when Joe began asking questions about Mary. "Hey, dude, is your sister seein' anyone?" Matt knew what was coming next so he was quick to respond, "Ok, listen! My sister is 17-years old and you are 21.a junior in college! Don't look at her, don't talk to her, don't even think about her!" he said in an attempt to sound threatening, "Just stay away from her!" Joe shot Matt a look as if to let him know how pathetic him trying to threaten someone sounded. Brian glanced from Matt to Joe and back to Matt, who looked even more irritated with Joe than he usually did. Matt didn't like Joe at all; Joe was the type of guy that dated any girl who was willing to go with him. He would get what he wanted from them and then move on to the next. He was irresponsible and was sailing through college on a full football scholarship. Yet, he was a good-looking guy and had a way with ladies and Matt knew that, if given the chance, Mary would go for him in a second. Brian was small and shy and therefore incredibly uncomfortable in any situation regarding any kind of confrontation. So, there he sat, in between the two angry college guys. "Um. look, I've got to get home pretty soon so could we just get as much of this done as we possibly can without killing each other? At least until I leave?" Matt snapped out of his angry glare and look down at the book he held in his lap. The rest of the study time was very awkward and there was little talking of anything other than this psychology paper they had been assigned to write together.
Annie arrived home an hour later, at 6:00, and rested some bags on the kitchen counter. "Hello? Is anyone home?" she shouted, turning on the stove to begin dinner. Ruthie and Simon bolted into the kitchen in response to their mother's call. "Himommy," Ruthie blurted, slurring her words together as she ran through the kitchen and out the back door. Simon chased after her, "Hi mom," he said, running by her with Happy on his heel. Annie stood for a minute, trying to piece together the scene, when Mary came in with a big grin. "Hey mom, need any help with dinner?" she asked helpfully. Annie was beginning to think she had entered the twilight zone, until Eric walked through the door. "Hey dad," Mary exclaimed, "Uh, hi. what's up with Simon and Ruthie?" he said, also confused. Mary shrugged and walked away, leaving her offer to help with dinner just hanging in the air. Eric gave Annie a kiss and there they stood in the middle of the kitchen after a long day.
Mary sat up in her room, listening for the attic door to open so she could bolt out into the hall, exclaiming that she needed to use the bathroom to anyone who asked where she was headed. She waited about 20 minutes at the door before she heard Matt's voice. She opened her bedroom door and ran straight into Joe. "Oh, uh. sorry, just going to the uh. bathroom," she stated, completely surprised by this pleasant, yet unplanned, collision. Joe smiled and apologized, also asking if she was ok. Mary, right away, began to think that he was a great guy; he cared enough to ask if she was all right after all. Matt rolled his eyes, "Well?" he said, waiting for Mary to continue on to the bathroom and for Joe, who was at the head of the line, to continue on down the stairs. "Oh, yeah. right" Mary mumbled, still staring at Joe, who stared right back. She slowly walked by him, as his eyes followed her to the bathroom, where she nearly walked into the doorframe due to lack of paying attention.
The three college guys continued on down the stairs and ran into Eric at the bottom. "Oh, guys, this is my dad. Dad, this is Joe and Eric," Matt said, introducing them to yet another family member. Just as he was leaving, Joe turned to ask Matt a question, stopping just outside. "So, about your sister," he started, as Matt slammed the door in his face. Matt continued on to the kitchen, where he could smell dinner cooking, "Hey mom". "Oh, Matt, I thought I told Mary to tell you to help clean up around here". He stopped in front of the refrigerator, "Oh, I know mom, but I had some people over to finish up a psych paper that's due tomorrow and they just left". Annie though for a minute before replying, "Well, as long as it was for school."
After dinner, Matt and Mary were told to clean the dishes. As they stood side-by-side in silence, Matt thought of what exactly he would say to her to make her believe that Joe was not all he was cracked up to be. She stood, rinsing the dishes, in a daze, obviously daydreaming about Joe. After a minute of hesitation Matt finally spoke, "You can't go out with him! I forbid you to go with him!" he blurted. Mary stopped rinsing the dishes and looked up at him, very surprised, "Uh. what?" she said, confused by this outburst. Matt took a deep breath and thought about where he was going with this, "Joe. You can't go out with Joe." Mary shifted her weight, "Excuse me? You can't tell me whom I can and can't date! You're NOT my father and you better just stay out of my business!" she shouted at him, dropping a plate back into the soapy water and storming out of the kitchen.
Matt stood at the sink and let out a sigh; he had expected this reaction but had to let it known that he completely disapproved of his little sister dating anyone remotely like Joe.
Mary fell forward onto her bed and buried her face in her pillows. She thought to herself how exactly she would go about contacting Joe; she didn't have his number and Matt sure wasn't going to give it to her. Maybe she could show up at one of his classes? No, that wouldn't work because the only class she knew he took was psychology and Matt was in that class. She fell asleep still having reached no conclusion to the agonizing question of how she would ever get a date with, quite possibly the man of her dreams, without knowing where or when she could reach him. The next morning she was awakened to the sound of Lucy's music playing from her alarm clock. She turned over with heavy eyes, not completely awake yet, and tossed a pillow at Lucy, yelling for her to wake up and turn that off. An hour later they were both up and ready for the days events, whatever they may be. No sooner had she hit the landing at the bottom of the stairway than Annie handed her the keys to the car and asked her, in quite a rush herself, to stop by the store and pick up some things on a list taped to the refrigerator. Mary took the keys and gladly ran the little shopping errand, having nothing better to do on this bright Saturday morning. Once at the store she took a look at the list, which read: Eggs Bread Milk Orange juice Tissues Butter
She headed for the refrigerated isle and ran right into none other than Joe! "Oh! Hey!" she exclaimed, extremely shocked by this very pleasant surprise. "Hey!" he replied, "You're Matt's sister, um." he waited for her name, which hadn't caught the day before. "Mary," she said, "and you're Joe". They both smiled for a second, waiting for the next move. "So, um. what are you doing here?" she asked, thinking it odd for a college guy to be shopping on a Saturday morning. "Well," he began, "my fraternity brother's and I are having a party tonight and I was chosen to stock up on food". He hesitated for a minute, as she nodded, "Do you. would you like to. come tonight?" he finally managed to ask. Mary thought for a minute, "To a frat party?" she replied, not knowing what to say. She knew it wasn't the best idea; there would be drugs and alcohol and she wasn't into that stuff. However, the thought of taunting Matt with this was very appealing to her and she was temped to jump at the chance to get to know Joe better. "Sure!" she finally blurted; "Great," he responded, "I'll pick you up at 8:00". She thought about this a minute and knew that her parents wouldn't like the idea of her going to a frat party. She also knew that Matt, even though only her brother, would also not allow this. "Um. actually," she started, "Could you make it 7:00?" she asked, knowing that Matt had a late class tonight and wouldn't be home until at least 7:30.
When she arrived home with the groceries she immediately began her speech she had been preparing. She told her mother that she had met a nice guy, named Joe, at the supermarket and that she wanted to go to dinner and a movie with him later on. He mother saw no harm in this, so long as met this 'Joe' before Mary went anywhere with him. Mary was ecstatic and ran upstairs, screaming with joy on the inside. She jumped in the shower and then took and hour to pick out the perfect outfit. When 7:30 rolled around she waited impatiently by the front door. She hoped to God that Matt wouldn't come home early and see her getting into car with Joe. If her parents heard what Matt had to say about him they would never trust him enough o let her go out with him. When he pulled up in his black convertible, Mary yelled to her mom that Joe had arrived and she was leaving. Annie hurried to the front door to meet him before Mary went anywhere. As he approached the door, Mary flung it open and quickly introduced them, "Mom, this is Joe. Joe, this is my mom". Joe looked in a hurry as well (no doubt also nervous that Matt would show up at anytime), "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Camden". They spoke for a minute as Annie explained that she expected Mary home by her 11:30 curfew. They quickly got into the car and drove off, free form any worry they may have had about being caught. Joe knew, as well as Mary, that Matt would not react nicely to knowing where his little sister was spending her Saturday night. They arrived at the frat party and Mary was nervous, knowing that she had to refrain from drinking, no matter how many people were doing it. They stepped inside the door and the loud music greeted them. After about ten minutes Joe disappeared to the backyard, where there were two kegs and whole grain alcohol punch. Mary strolled around, trying to mingle but found it difficult with these people because, not only were they all older than her, but they were all either drunk, high, or both.
Matt didn't arrive home until 8:30 and then he grabbed his dinner, which had been warming in the microwave for him. He didn't immediately notice that Mary wasn't around. After he ate his dinner he decided to stop by her room on his way to the attic. He knocked and there came a reply from Lucy, "Come in" she said. Matt entered the room and looked around for Mary, who was nowhere to be seen, "Is Mary around?" he asked, not thinking anything of it at first. Lucy thought for a second before replying, "No, she went out with some guy she met at the store this morning. I think his name was Joe". Matt felt his heart skip a beat and double-checked what he had heard, "Did you say Joe?" he asked, almost shouting. Lucy looked startled by this sudden change in behavior and hesitated before answering, "Um. y.yeah". Matt bolted out of the room and down the stairs. He slammed the front door on his way out. Jumping into his car, he tried, with no success, to remember where Joe lived. When he failed at this recollection attempt, he headed for John's apartment, exceeding the speed limit a wee bit.
Meanwhile, back at the party, Mary was having trouble socializing still. She didn't want to drink and no one would talk to her. She wanted to leave this party and head home but had no ride. She couldn't call her parents and let them know that she had lied about where she was going, and she couldn't call Matt because that would be proving him right about Joe. When Joe finally turned up, he was drunk and couldn't even stand straight. Mary told him that she wasn't having a good time and she wanted to go home. Joe, slurring his words and mumbling in a drunken voice, told her to relax and just have some fun. He pulled her into a small nook by the front door and leaned in close. She shoved him away, "What are you doing?!" she shouted, not loud enough to hear over the booming music. Joe smiled and pulled her into him, "Come on, baby, it'll help you relax," he said, trying to kiss her. Again, she pushed him away and stepped out, back into the party, "I want to go home and now!" she yelled, now loud enough for a few people near by to hear. Joe put down a beer he had been holding, "Fine! Fine. You wanna go home? I'll take ya home!"
Matt finally reached John's apartment and ran to the door, banging profusely until he answered. "Man, what the heck are you doing? It's." he looked at his watch, "it's 9:30 at night. Why are you trying to kick in my door?" Matt pushed himself inside the apartment, "I need Joe Gallagher's address!" he said, in a great hurry. John looked at him for minute, "Now!" Matt shouted. "Alright, alright!" John replied, getting a notebook out of a kitchen drawer. "He lives a 147 Irving Rd, a fraternity house". Matt froze, realizing that Mary was at a frat party. He ran out of the apartment, without so much as a 'thank you', as John shut the door and wondered what the was all about.
Mary grabbed her jacket as she and Joe headed out the door to the car. They climbed in and started down Irving Rd. Mary was uncomfortable and looked out the window, rather than at Joe. He swerved on the road until she offered to drive. Joe replied that he could handle the driving and she just needed to relax. He placed his hand on her thigh and she rolled her eyes, pulling away from him. "Hey! You are the one who wanted to come tonight, I didn't make you!" he shouted at her, not watching the road. Mary didn't say anything and Joe stopped talking and continued to drive recklessly. As they approached an intersection, Joe didn't hit the brake. Mary noticed and yelled for him to brake at the light! He didn't listen, now beginning to nod off at the wheel and the car continued to go 45 miles per hour through this light. It was all in slow motion to Mary as the rolled into the middle, right under the lights. A navy blue pickup truck, which had the right of way, slammed into the passenger side of the small convertible, crushing and pushing it 100 feet into a telephone pole.
The whole way to the frat party Matt hoped that Mary hadn't done anything stupid. He told himself that she was smart and only doing this to spite him but he didn't think she would ever do anything really dumb. When he got to the house it was a mess; trash and beer cans all over the front lawn. There were people passed out everywhere and the stereo's volume had been reduced so that people could now hear their conversations. Matt spotted someone he knew from class and walked toward his, stepping over unconscious bodies. "Hey, Ethan. Have um, you seen Joe or my sister around?" he asked, without waiting for a return greeting. Ethan thought for a second and then remembered that Joe had left to drive Mary home but said he would be back. "When was that?" Matt asked, anxiously. Again, Ethan though before replying, "I don't know. must have been about a half hour ago". Matt knew that it would only take about 20 minutes to get to and from the Camden house from Irving Rd. He went out to his car and called home right away. When Ruthie answered the phone he spoke quickly asking if Mary had gotten home yet. Ruthie said no, that she hadn't been home in hours. Matt froze and then hung up the phone without saying 'goodbye' to Ruthie. He decided to drive home and hope that they had just stopped somewhere for a few minutes.
By the time Matt reached the intersection there were three ambulances and four police cars gathered in a huddle around a telephone pole. He pulled over, his heart in his throat and approached the wreck. Sergeant Michaels emerged form the huddle and spotted Matt right away. "Matt? What are you doing here? How did you know. I mean, I was just going to call your house". Matt almost passed out when he heard those words because then he knew that it was Mary lying in that mangled wreck. His legs gave out and he fell to his knees on the pavement. Sergeant Michael tried to stop him from falling and hitting something, "Matt? Matt, are you ok?" but he wasn't ok, he was speechless and couldn't breathe. Sergeant Michaels helped him up and sat him down in the passenger side of his police car. Matt still couldn't find any words and sat there, staring at the wreck. Finally he spoke, "Is she in there? Is Mary in that wreck?" but he already knew the answer. Sergeant Michaels began explaining what they were trying to do. "Her door is jammed shut and they have to pry it open to get her out. Now, they almost have it but I still have to call your house and let your parents know that they're taking her to the emergency room". Matt nodded but then stopped him from dialing the number. is she ok. I mean is she." he couldn't finish the sentence. Sergeant Michaels knew what Matt was trying to say, "For now". He replied and went back to dialing.
Matt couldn't drive to the hospital because he was shaken up and worried so he got a ride in the police car. When he arrived at the ER his parents were already there. They had left Lucy at home to keep and eye on the kids because the twins were asleep. Annie was frantic when Matt walked in a she ran from Eric into Matt's arms. He hugged her and tried to assure her that everything was going to be fine, but he knew it wasn't. It had been a bad accident and, if Mary did come out alive, she would be in bad shape.
After hours of waiting, a doctor came out to address the Camdens who had been waiting to hear news of Mary's condition. He said that she suffered a blunt head trauma, a broken ankle, a dislocated shoulder, and multiple scrapes and bruises. She had also received five stitches for a cut that ran from the corner of her eye and curved down about an inch to her cheekbone. Matt was scared and furious; he knew that Mary had been irresponsible and made a bad judgment call but he was so much more angry at Joe for almost killing his sister. He just had to ask, "What about Joe?" The doctor looked down at a clipboard he help in his hand and notified the three family members that Joe received seven stitches in his forehead and suffered a broken wrist. Matt couldn't believe that his little sister was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to monitors, tubes, and other machines and Joe, the cause of the accident, was up and walking around. He felt a hate inside of him that he had never felt before and hope that he came face to face with Joe really soon.
Eric and Annie were allowed in to see Mary and they asked Matt to wait in chairs while they went in first. Matt would get to see her when they came out. He waited about twenty minutes and his parents came out of the exam room. Eric had his arm around Annie and she was crying. Eric told Matt that he could go in and see her for a few minutes but that she was unconscious. When he entered the room he hadn't prepared himself for what he saw in front of him. There lay his little sister, in a hospital bed with tubes and machines everywhere. She wasn't a baby anymore. she was seventeen years old. But this just proved how much growing up she had to do. Matt stared, in absolute shock, at the sight of Mary lying there, not moving. She was pale and didn't' even look real. Matt hadn't been much of a crier at anytime in his life. He usually held his feelings in, especially if they were feelings of guilt or sadness. But here, in this hospital room, looking at someone he loved that could have very well died that night, he just began to cry. He couldn't stop it, even though he tried. When he felt the tears welling up his eyes, he turned away from Mary until he could regain his composure. After about five minutes of facing the wall, wiping away his tears, matt turned back to his sister and slowly stepped toward her bed. He raised his hand slightly and took hers. There was an IV coming from the back of her hand and he was careful not to touch it. He stood there, holding her hand and looked into her bruised and cut face, which looked so lifeless. He felt the tears again but did not turn away this time. Matt leaned in, over his sister, and kissed her forehead, and preyed that she would be all right.
When Matt was convinced that he had done everything he could to prevent something like this from happening he left the room, being very quiet. There was a chair outside the door and he had to sit down and gather his thoughts. Letting his head fall against the back of the chair, Matt saw his father hugging his mother, assuring her that everything would be fine. When he lifted his head from the chair he noticed a man standing at the front desk of the emergency room. He was leaning forward, filling out forms. It was Joe and Matt knew this immediately. He stood up slowly and stepped toward Joe, with hate and anger filling every pore in his body. As he stepped closer, Joe glanced up from the forms and looked around, not realizing right away who was walking toward him. When he looked back down at the papers in front of him he finally got it and his head snapped back up as he backed away from the desk. Matt ran at him, knocking him over and throwing punch after punch at his pathetic, bruised, excuse for a body. Joe yelled out in pain for help and two security guards came over, pulling Matt off of Joe. Eric and Annie ran to their son's side to see what was going on and Annie recognized Joe right away, lunging forward at him. Eric grabbed her and restrained her before she could reach him and she began screaming for his arrest. The security guards assured her that he was being taken to jail right after he finished filling out his insurance forms. She stared at his as he reached for the clipboard and she threatened the life of this man who almost killed her daughter. "I hope you're proud of what you have done, you little street delinquent!" she said in a low and very threatening voice that none of them had ever heard her use before, "You just better be glad that Mary wasn't killed tonight because you would be suffering a slow and painful ordeal yourself you." Eric pulled her away before she could finish. Matt wasn't released from the second security guard's grip until Joe was taken from the hospital and placed into a squad car outside. The three of them stayed at the hospital all night and Matt was the only one who couldn't sleep. He sat awake, in 'chairs', just thinking about his life and his sibling's lives and what they would all do when he left Glenoak someday. He was their older brother and it was his job to protect them and make sure they didn't do anything stupid. Tonight he felt that he had failed at that and, because of it, Mary was almost killed. At about 3:00 a.m. the doctor came out in the waiting area to announce to the family that Mary was awake. He didn't want to wake Annie and Eric so he told Matt. Matt jumped up and took a deep breath before entering the exam room again. He walked in and not much light shown through the windows because the sun wouldn't begin to rise for another two hours. The only light in the room was the dim lamp at Mary's bedside. Matt slowly walked toward her and she let out a slight groan of pain before opening her eyes the slightest bit to see who had come to see her. When she saw that it was Matt a tear streamed down her cheek and tried to speak but he stopped her, "Shhh" he said, sitting in a cushioned chair beside her bed. "I'm so sorry that I didn't get to you before this happened. I'm your big brother and it's my duty to make sure that you're always safe and tonight I messed up," he whispered to her, with tears in his eyes. She moved her hand over the slightest bit and lifted it to cover his, "This is my fault," she whispered back, in a tired and hoarse voice. She apologized for not listening to him and he leaned forward to hug her as she wrapped her arms around him, returning the gesture. They cried together over what could have been a great tragedy and he Mary finally felt safe. with her big brother there to protect her. (
This is my first story that I have posted publicly and I would appreciate feedback to let me know what you all think of it. Thanks.