Chapter One

Carey Richards was one of those guys who could always be found under the hood of a car or playing music. Ever since he was twelve, he hadn't been able to put down his acoustic guitar. He played like he had been playing since before he was born. And on that cool summer day, that was exactly what he had been doing.

"Carey, whatcha doin', bro?" his sister, Tyler, had come into the garage, friend in tow.

"Oh, God," she had rolled her eyes, seeing his fingers resting on the strings, him sitting on the work bench.

His eyes had wandered behind his slightly younger sister to her friend, who still hadn't spoken.

Tyler's gaze had followed his.

"Oh!" she had exclaimed. "Where are my manners? Quinn, this is my brother, Carey. Carey, meet Quinn Stevens. She's new in town and I thought I'd show her around."

"Uh-huh," Carey managed, his eyes never leaving Quinn.

"Hell—ooo!" Tyler had snapped her fingers and waved her hand in front of his face before he refocused.

Standing up, he placed his guitar gently down on the bench, then turned back to the girls, extending his hand to Quinn.

"Pleasure to meet you," he had said softly, when she shook it, still saying nothing,

Tyler had remained standing, looking between the two of them.

After a few minutes had passed, she cleared her throat and grabbed Quinn's other arm, dragging her away.

"We'll see you later, Carey. Have fun with your guitar," Tyler had said, dryly, before leaving the garage with Quinn, slamming the door behind her.


That had been seven years ago, and they had been fifteen, he had been seventeen. Now, Tyler and Quinn were both twenty-two, and he twenty-four. Not much had changed.

Quinn and he had started dating when she and Tyler were juniors…shortly after his graduation. Tyler and Quinn were inseparable unless they were eating or sleeping, so it was nice to be able to have her around.

Things had quickly gotten serious after Quinn and Tyler's graduation, and Carey had proposed a year ago this coming Christmas.

Now, here it was, two weeks before Thanksgiving, and they were holding each other's hand, sitting beside an unconscious Tyler's bed.

There was a slight knock on the door to the room and Quinn jumped.

"Come in," Carey said, loud enough to be heard, but not too loud.

The door slowly opened and a nurse stepped in.

"Mr. Richards, Miss Stevens," she began in a soft voice. "I'm sorry for what has happened to your sister and friend. Dr. Matthews, our neurosurgeon, has asked if he could have a word with you."

Carey nodded and squeezed Quinn's hand. Her eyes still hadn't left Tyler's unconscious body.

"Quinn, honey," Carey tried to snap her out of her trance.

"Wha—huh?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, looking now at Carey.

"The doctor. He—wants to talk to us," Carey answered.

"Uh-huh. Okay. Yeah," Quinn responded, getting to her feet and walking over to Tyler's bedside. She picked up her best friend's hand and kissed it, then laid it gently back down and followed Carey out the door.

The nurse showed them to a set of chairs over in a corner, tucked away from all the busyness of a hospital, in order to allow them privacy.

A salt-and-pepper hair-colored man who looked to be in his mid-forties came out to see them. As he approached, Carey stood, but Quinn couldn't bring herself to do the same.

"Mr. Richards? Miss Stevens?" he asked and Carey nodded.

"I understand you're going through a lot right now. I do, however, need to ask you a few questions, if you're up to it."

"Sure, Doc, whatever we can do to help. How is she doing? Can you tell us?" Carey asked, once again clasping Quinn's hand and bracing himself for the worst.

"Your sister sustained a lot of injuries, Mr. Richards. It's not going to be an easy recovery. But I want you both to know that all of our doctors here will ensure that she is taken care of properly and we are doing everything we can to get her better," Dr. Matthews answered honestly.

Carey looked at Quinn who was looking at the floor. He felt so bad for her and wished he knew how to comfort her.

"I do have a sensitive question to ask and I hope I don't upset or offend you with it, but I must have an honest answer," he ventured, continuing only after Carey nodded.

"Is there any reason, ANY reason at all, that your sister would have methamphetamines in her system?" he paused, waiting for the explosion.

"Wha—what? Meth? No—no…"Carey repeated, trying to wrap his head around it, but Quinn interrupted him.

"What! Tyler would NEVER do meth! NEVER!! You've got it wrong! Carey, tell him! Tell him he's got it wrong! Tell him!" Quinn had started screaming at the doctor and was now in hysterics.

"Quinn, baby, you've got to calm—" it was no use.

"NO! Carey, tell him! Tyler wouldn't—she wouldn't—NO! Tyler was clean! She NEVER did drugs! She DIDN'T! I SWEAR, she didn't! She—" Quinn broke and hit the floor, sobbing. Carey dropped to the floor with her, cradling her head in his arms.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Matthews said, apologetically. "I had to ask."

"Well, now you know," Quinn answered, her voice only a whisper.

Carey looked up from his fiancée to the doctor, who nodded and walked away.

No one had noticed the figure that had both stepped in as well as out of the room when they were speaking with the doctor.