Chapter 1: Ignorance

Nat Wolff sat next to his younger brother Alex.

"It's not your fault, Alex" Nat told Alex. "The Timmerman Brothers could have taken any cab".

"It is my fault Nat. If I hadn't given them that cab and me and Qaasim took it, none of this would have happened" Alex cried

"Alex, it could have happened to anyone. Stop blaming yourself" Nat soothed his younger brother. Ever since that horrible day, last week, Alex had been blaming himself for the death of the Timmerman brothers. He and Qaasim had been heading to band practise, only Alex gave the cab he hailed to the Timmerman brothers, who were off on a date. Alex would have thrown himself in front of a car, just to get the Timmerman Brothers to date someone besides the beautiful Jessie.

"But Nat, if I hadn't been so selfish then maybe it wouldn't have happened. If I had just let them date Jessie, none of this would have ever happened" Alex yelled, jumping off the couch, running to their room and slamming the door.

"I get it Alex. You feel guilty for giving them the cab ,don't you?" Nat followed his brother.

"No. You don't get it Nat. I mean, have you ever killed anyone" Alex sobbed, letting the tears fall freely. Nat hugged his brother, sorry that this had all happened.

"Hey, you want a glass of milk?" Nat asked, hoping that a glass of milk would cheer his depressed brother up.

"Thanks" Alex said, sniffling.

In the kitchen, Nat stood next to phone. Finally, he picked it up and dialled Jessies number.

"Jessie?" he whispered.

"Hey Nat. What's wrong?" Jessie's surprised voice replied.

"Jess, you have got to get over here. I've never seen Alex so depressed" he whispered.

"I'm on my way" Jessie replied, and the next thing Nat heard was the dial tone. He poured the glass of milk and hurried back to his brother.

"Here" he said, and handed the glass to his brother.

"Nat?" Alex asked

"Yeah?" Nat replied, wrapped in his thoughts.

"Why is everyone so afraid of me?" Alex enquired.

"Huh?" the question threw Nat off. He hadn't expected this.

"The band. Why are they so afraid of me?"

"I guess…I guess they just want to give you time to get over the shock" Nat racked his brain for a suitable answer and that was the best he could come up with.

DING-DONG. Nat was relieved. He jumped up and hurried to answer the door.

"Hey Jessie" he said, letting her in.

"Where is he?" she asked immediately. She followed him to the bedroom Nat and Alex shared.

"Oh, Hi Jessie, I wasn't expecting you" Alex stuttered, having trouble finding the right words to say. He didn't really want to see her right now. Little did he know what Nat was doing whilst he was talking to Jessie.

"Qaasim, can you come over?" Nat said into the telephone kept in his fathers room.

"Ahh, sorry Nat. Me and Cooper are kind of busy doing stuff" Qaasim replied.

"Please come over for Alex's sake. I've never, in all my 14 years on this Earth seen a guy look as depressed as Alex" Nat begged.

"Sorry Nat. Maybe some other time" Qaasim said, and with that, put down the phone.

The next number Nat dialled was Rosalina. She was a girl so she was bound to understand.

"Hello. Is Rosalina home?" Nat said, when her father answered.

"No, I'm afraid not, Nat. I think she said she went out with David" Rosalina's father replied.

So Nat dialled David's number and it was answered on the first ring.

"David? Is Rosalina there?" Nat demanded.

"Uh, yes but why?" David replied.

"Can you guys come over please? For Alex. In all my years on this Earth I have never seen a guy look as depressed as Alex" Nat said, in a rush

"Sorry Nat. Me and Rosalina are going to the movies" David said, before hanging up.

As much as it stung, knowing that David, of all people, was out on a date with Rosalina, Nat forced himself to keep going, for Alex's sake.

He dialled his last hope, Thomas. The phone rang out.

"Ahh, Thomas, its Nat. Umm, can you please ring me back as soon as you can? It's about Alex. He's kind of depressed after what happened to the Timmerman Brothers. Ahh, I better go. Ring me back please. Bye" was the message Nat left on the machine. Even though he hadn't yet reached Thomas, Nat was feeling pretty confident that his last hope was not even worth relying on. He left the room and entered the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of soda. He poured himself a glass.

"You don't get, Jessie, you don't understand. Just leave me alone" the sound of his brothers aggravated voice surprised Nat, nearly making him drop his glass. Jessie came out of the room, near tears.

"Sorry Jess" Nat said, apologising for Alex's behaviour. Jessie flopped down on the couch.

"It's okay Nat" she replied, even though Nat knew by the sound of her voice that it wasn't okay.

"Hey Alex" Nat murmured to his brothers. Alex lay on the bad, facedown trembling.

"Why doesn't anyone get it?" Alex's tearful voice cried.

"You probably feel the same way I did when I found out that Rosalina and David are going out on a date tonight. Do you feel like you've lost a special part of you? A part that can't be replaced all that easily?" Nat asked, trying to help his brother.

"No. I feel like it's my fault. None of the band will talk to me. Jessie hates me. If I hadn't given up that cab, the Timmerman Brothers would be here right now" Alex replied.

"Not necessarily. They could have been hit by a truck. It doesn't make a difference. They're gone. By the way, the band have no reason to ignore you. Qaasim's just as much to blame here" Nat went on.

"But they weren't hit by a truck. They were in a cab accident. It's all my fault. And Qaasim's" Alex yelled, pulling a blanket over his head. Nat sighed. It was no use. The best thing to do would be just leave him alone.