Ch 1

It was a peaceful summer night for the small town of Zionsville, Pennsylvania. There was a slight breeze in the air and the sky was clear showing every star and constilation imaginable. Seventeen year old Samantha McCall layed on a blanket in the middle of a field, lost in her own thoughts.

"Sam" she heard him say her name but the tone of his voice was desperate, frantic. Sam quickly sat up and looked at her brother as he ran towards her. Once he reached her she saw his face was pale and his eyes were filled with tears. He struggled to gain his composure. "There was...there" he managed to stutter out. Sam slowly reached out placed her arm on his. "What happened Lucas" she asked as she could sense that something wasnt right. "There was an accident, Mom and Dad...Sam it's bad." Sam shook her head and step back "No, Lucas...you are lying!" Lucas walked up to his sister and embraced her, finally letting his tears go.

The two arrived at the hospital and found their oldest brother sitting in the chairs in the waiting room. "Dom!" he lifted his head when he heard his name being called. He saw his younger brother Lucas holding up their baby sister. He quickly ran over to them and swooped her up into his arms and carried her over to the chairs. "Sammy" he whispered. Sam slowly raised her head and stared at her brother barely able to see him due to the tears in her eyes obstructing her vision. Dominic embraced his sister and Lucas followed suite on the other side. After a few minutes, Sam slowly pulled away and layed her head in her brothers lap before falling asleep.

About an hour later a doctor came through the ER doors and spoke with a nurse at the desk. The nurse pointed over to the group and he nodded his head. "Sam, wake up, the doctor is here" Lucas said as he gently shook his sister. Sam sat up and gave her brothers a small smile and grabbed their hands as she saw the doctor making his way. "I take it you are waiting for news on the McCalls, correct?" he asked them. "Yes, we are her children" Dominic replied. He was always the brave one out of the three of them. He was six foot one with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. He always faced anything in life head on and Sam admired that about him. And then you had Lucas who was six foot even with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. He was physically strong and he relied on it to get him what he wanted or needed or to protect the ones he loved like he had many times with Sam. "My name is Dr. Matthews. I was the physician who saw your parents when they arrived. It seems they were hit by a drunk driver this evening. From what we are told the car had extensive damage. Your mother arrived at the ER in asystole. The impact of the collision caused her to have an aortic rupture and she bled out fast. I'm sorry but we were not able to save her." Lucas and Dom paled at the news but Sam quickly stood up and ran to the waste basket as she vomited. Sam returned to sit next to her brothers and nodded for him to continue. "I dont know how to say this, but your father was unable to hold a steady blood pressure resulting in him going into cardiac arrest. We tried everthing but were unable to save him. I am so sorry for your loss's. Someone will be down to talk to you about arrangements in a bit" he finished as he turned and walked away.

Dom looked to his brother and could see him crumbling and then he looked to his sister and saw that she had already fallen. She couldnt form any words so instead she just kept shaking her head no, not wanting to believe what was happening. "Sammy, look at me" Dom said with a soft tone. Sam looked up and the tears started falling heavily. "I love you little one" he said as he pulled her head to his chest and stroke her back with his free hand.

Two woman slowly approached them. "Excuse me, I am Ms. Carp from Social Services and this is Mr. Farkas from Admissions. We need you two gentlemen to follow him and I will need you Samantha to follow me" she said with a sad smile. "She needs to stay with us" Lucas quickly said, knowing how desperate he felt so he could only imagine what she was feeling. "I understand that but the sooner we deal with this than the sooner you all can be on your way" Ms. Carp said. "Sam, are you ok to go with her?" Lucas asked. Sam just nodded her head yes as she hugged her brothers and followed the woman to her office.

"Please come in and have a seat" Ms. Carp said, trying to make this simple. "Ms. McCall, you are a minor, correct?" She asked. "Yes, I turned 17 in May" Sam whispered. "We will need to place you in foster care until your 18th birthday. Your parents did not have a will and we cant let you roam the streets" Ms. Carp continued. "No. I want to stay with my brothers. They are adults, they have taken care of me my whole life. I need to stay with them" Sam said adamant that this women understood what was going to happen. "I cant do that, I am sorry" She replied. The two woman were interrupted by a knock on the door. Ms. Carp walked up to the door and stepped outside of it to speak with whoever decided to interrupt her during her meeting. "Excuse me sir, but you will have to make an appointment. I am in the middle of something important" she said as she went to turn to go back to her office. The man simply replied "I assure you that what I have to say is of the utmost importance. It involves that young woman in there and I am not leaving with out her" he said with a firm tone that left no room for argument.