PART ONE
*********************************************************************
"Come on Matt! You promised!" Simon said, trying to get his older
brother to stay.
"I know I promised. I *will* be back later, but I have a date now."
A bit dissappointed, Simon walked away. He could see Matt didn't want
to help him right now with his latest school project. He sighed and
went off in the direction of the kitchen.
Just when he left, Lucy entered the room. She also had a question for
Matt, she was hoping he could drive her to a friend's house so she
could hang out there. Mary may have her driver's license, she was
studying for a test. Dad was still in church and mom was taking
care of the twins, so she couldn't ask her to drive. That left her
oldest brother.
"Could you-"
"No."
A bit taken aback by his harsh reaction, she looked at him. Matt
picked up his jacket and saw her looking at him.
"Look, I have a date right now, and if I don't hurry, I'll be
late. I'm sorry."
"That's okay. I'll just phone Liz and tell her that I'm not coming."
Without replying to Lucy, Matt walked down the stairs in a quick
pace and left the house soon enough.
"Must be a hot date," Mary said to no-one in particular.
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PART TWO
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"Hey Matt." Callie said as she entered the car. She gave her date a
warm smile and closed the door.
"Hey. I hope I wasn't too late, my family kept me busy."
"You know, that's a pretty lame excuse Matt."
"Just wait untill you meet Simon and Lucy. You're lucky you're the
only child."
"I wish I had a brother... Only child can be pretty boring."
"You're right. Having brothers and sisters can be very annoying from
time to time. But you learn to live with it."
He gave her a smile and she knew this evening was going to be perfect.
Matt was so sweet... the total opposite of Paul, her ex-boyfriend. He
had been such a jerk. In the beginning he was nice, really friendly.
A real gentleman. At least, until Callie found out he had been dating
a whole bunch of other girls. Not just one, no, Paul had to have more.
Luckily she found out in time, and dumped him. But this time, although
she liked Matt a lot, she would be more careful.
**********************************************************************
Lucy was still on the phone. She had been on the phone for hours! Simon
was tempted to tell dad, but then remembered it was getting close to
bedtime for him. Dad would never let him call Deena now. With a sigh, he
got back to his other homework. His project would have to wait until
Matt was back. He didn't want to do it with anyone else.
Simon was in the middle of doing his maths, when Ruthie sneaked into his
room.
"Have you seen my babies?"
"If you mean your two stupid dolls, no. Isn't is past your bedtime?"
Knowing her brother wasn't in the mood to help her find her dolls, Ruthie
retreated to her own room.
**********************************************************************
PART THREE
**********************************************************************
"Thanks Matt. For the perfect evening."
When she looked at him that way, Matt knew he was in love with her.
He moved forward to her and gave her a slight kiss on the cheek. When
he moved back, to start to car and drive her home, she stopped him.
With her hand she cupped his face and gently kissed him.
**********************************************************************
Finally Simon decided he would go to sleep. He had been waiting to hear
Matt coming home. He knew mom and dad were still downstairs and wanted
to hear what Matt would say about his date. But know he felt sleepy and
his eyes closed.
In the girls' room Lucy was already catching some z's, but Mary was also
still awake. She couldn't get to sleep. Something that usually never
bothered Mary, she could fall asleep any minute. But not tonight. She
sighed and rolled over again, and looked at the clock. Anytime now Matt
would probably come home and go to his room, right above theirs. He would
make lots of sounds and keep her awake even longer.
Tomorrow she had an important school test and she needed be alert. But
she couldn't force herself to go to sleep. Why can't I just close my eyes
and drift away? What's keeping me awake?
Suddenly a knot formed in her stomach and she knew something bad was
going to happen. It was like a sixth sense, warning her. Great, now she
could forget about the test tomorrow. The feeling probably warned her
that she was going to fail that test.
**********************************************************************
PART FOUR
**********************************************************************
"Next street's my house, number 527," Matt said as he rounded the corner.
He fumbled with his belt, which Callie had unleashed so they had no 'distractions'.
Another car came in sight, right in front of him. The light shone directly in his eyes.
"What the he..."
His response was cut off when the two cars collided with a loud crash. The fronts
of the cars were melted together. Smoke poured out of both of the cars.
A audible click was heard when Callie opened her door. She stumbled out, still dazed.
Blinking with her eyes, she forced herself to think straight. Matt! She shot a look
sidewards and saw him lying in the car. He appeared to be unconcious. But there was
so much blood... His head... Oh God...
Her head whipped up and she took a look at the other driver. Although the front window
was broken, she could see it was a boy, clearly too young to be driving. He was unconcious
too.
Without hestitation Callie started running, looking at the houses. She knew number 527
*had* to be close and she hoped she would find help by Matt's family. When she found the
right house, she ran toward the door and started banging on it, not bothering to use
the doorbell.
**********************************************************************
PART FIVE
**********************************************************************
Eric hurried towards the door, wondering who would be coming over this late, knocking
on their door like crazy. Annie was right behind him when he opened the door.
"You gotta help.... He... The cars crashed and now he's hurt and I don't know what to
do. His belt... I... I'm sorry... This is all my fault..."
The unknown girl in their doorway stopped talking and started crying. She used her long
sleeves to brush away the tears.
Annie put her hand over the girl's shoulders and ushered her in the house, while using her
other to touch Eric's hand to get his attention. But Eric was staring outside, his face
gone white. Suddenly he started running away. Annie took a step forward to see where her
husband was going and her face also went pale.
"Oh God..."
She left the girl sitting on a chair and ran after her husband. Not too far away from their
house were two cars. One was obviously Matt's car, the other an unknown. And by the looks of
it, both of the drivers were still in their automobiles.
Getting a good look at Matt's car, Annie's heart started beating even faster. The front window
was smashed, no glass left except in the corners. The bumpers of both cars were crashed into
each other. A quick look at the other driver told her it was a boy, looking very young and very
fragile. He's too young to be driving...
Carefully Eric opened the door of Matt's car, and found his son unconcious behind the steering
wheel. His belt was loose and his head was resting on the wheel. His hair covered most of his
head, but it was visible that a piece of glass had made a long gash on his forehead.
"Annie, call for an ambulance. Now!"
**********************************************************************
PART SIX
**********************************************************************
It had all gone so quick. Annie had ran back to the house, called 911 and the ambulance had
come within ten minutes. When she ran back to Eric, she found him checking the other driver.
He appeared to be returning to conciousness.
Her husband shot her a look and quickly went through the options.
"Wake Mary and Lucy, tell them to watch the others. Try to keep it quiet, we don't need to
wake the other children just yet."
Annie nodded and went back the house afer shooting a concerned look in Matt's direction. She
went upstairs and found out Mary was slightly awake, on the brink of falling asleep. She quickly
informed her daughter about what happened and then remembered the girl.
"Mary, could wake Lucy, but please keep quiet. Don't wake Simon, Ruthie or the twins. I have to
go downstairs now."
Mary simply nodded, still not fully realizing what was happening. She woke Lucy up by softly
nudging her and calling her name. After a few snorts she finally got a reaction.
Lucy's first action when she was awake was checking the clock. She blinked twice to make sure
her eyes weren't deceiving her.
"Why are you waking me up at half past twelve am?"
"Matt had a car accident, we need to watch the others." Mary grabbed some clothes and got
dressed while the explained the situation to her sister. "I'm going down, to see what exactly
is going on."
"I'll go with you," was the whispered answer from Lucy.
**********************************************************************
PART SEVEN
**********************************************************************
Things had gone so quick. Eric stayed with Matt, waiting for the ambulance. Mary and Lucy,
also went over to the car, both of them scared of what to find. Together they helped Matt
out of the car, placing him on the ground as carefully as possible. He didn't even stir,
his stark white face marked by a wound made by a piece of glass.
**********************************************************************
Inside the house, Annie was talking to the girl. Matt had talked about having a date, but
she'd never met this girl before.
"What's your name?"
Callie looked at Annie with a blank look. She didn't answer immediate, it took her a few
seconds to get her voice to work.
"Callie Shanks..."
Her voice trailed off as she looked out of the window. Tears were beginning to form in her
eyes and in a small voice she started talking again.
"I'm so sorry... I never wanted this to happen! It's my fault..."
Frowning, Annie wondered what she meant with that. It was the second time Callie said it was
her fault. But she didn't had time for this now.
"What's the phone number of your parents?"
**********************************************************************
The ambulance came and Annie and Eric left in it, with their son on the brancard. Before
the medics arrived, Callie's parents were already around. They took their daugther in the
car and followed the ambulance.
Watching everybody leave, Mary and Lucy stood by the front door. They waited until the cars
were out of sight. Together they entered their home again, closing the door and settled
themselves on the couch by the phone. They just sat down when Simon and Ruthie entered the
room, both in pyjamas with sleepy eyes.
Seeing concern clearly written on Mary's face Simon asked what was going on.
**********************************************************************
PART EIGHT
**********************************************************************
In the hospital Eric started pacing, a habit he did sometimes while waiting. Trying to force himself to relax he sat down on the chair next to his wife. Annie was still sitting exactly the same when the nurse had told her they could wait here.
Eric blinked, looking at the wall. So white. So pure. Overwhelming him. Closing in on him. He blinked again, and the walls were on the same place they'd been a second ago.
This waiting was getting to him. He closed his eyes and fold his hands, doing a little prayer.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a doctor walking in their direction. The man was not running, but not walking either. Something in between. Was that supposed to be good or bad?
As one, Annie and he rose, looking expectantly at the male doctor.
**********************************************************************
Mary glanced at the clock and than at the phone. What was taking so long? They should have called by now. What if there were complications? Quickly she turned her attention towards her little sister, the reason she was still here. Someone had to watch the other kids and Mary had taken that responsibility. Matt usually did this kind of stuff.
Mary had only let mom and dad go after they promised her they'd call when there was news about Matt.
Simon was asleep on the couch now, but wasn't resting. He stirred now and then and Mary thought his lips formed the word 'Matt'. It wouldn't surprise her, Simon was concerned about his older brother. They'd always been close. Simon saw Matt as his example. When Eric had found pot in the house and they thought it was Matt's (and it had been, but not in the wrong way) he'd been so upset. She'd tried talking to him, but he wouldn't ler her in.
She remembered his reaction when he learned about the accident. She made a little prayer that Matt would get well again, not only for herself but also for Lucy, Simon and the sleeping Ruthie. And the twins although they weren't even aware of what was happening.
She noticed Lucy was observing her, biting her lip and nervously fidgetting with her hands. She jumped up when the phone rang. She moved over to her sister when Lucy picked up the phone, straining her ears.
**********************************************************************
PART NINE
**********************************************************************
*********************************************************************
"Come on Matt! You promised!" Simon said, trying to get his older
brother to stay.
"I know I promised. I *will* be back later, but I have a date now."
A bit dissappointed, Simon walked away. He could see Matt didn't want
to help him right now with his latest school project. He sighed and
went off in the direction of the kitchen.
Just when he left, Lucy entered the room. She also had a question for
Matt, she was hoping he could drive her to a friend's house so she
could hang out there. Mary may have her driver's license, she was
studying for a test. Dad was still in church and mom was taking
care of the twins, so she couldn't ask her to drive. That left her
oldest brother.
"Could you-"
"No."
A bit taken aback by his harsh reaction, she looked at him. Matt
picked up his jacket and saw her looking at him.
"Look, I have a date right now, and if I don't hurry, I'll be
late. I'm sorry."
"That's okay. I'll just phone Liz and tell her that I'm not coming."
Without replying to Lucy, Matt walked down the stairs in a quick
pace and left the house soon enough.
"Must be a hot date," Mary said to no-one in particular.
*********************************************************************
PART TWO
*********************************************************************
"Hey Matt." Callie said as she entered the car. She gave her date a
warm smile and closed the door.
"Hey. I hope I wasn't too late, my family kept me busy."
"You know, that's a pretty lame excuse Matt."
"Just wait untill you meet Simon and Lucy. You're lucky you're the
only child."
"I wish I had a brother... Only child can be pretty boring."
"You're right. Having brothers and sisters can be very annoying from
time to time. But you learn to live with it."
He gave her a smile and she knew this evening was going to be perfect.
Matt was so sweet... the total opposite of Paul, her ex-boyfriend. He
had been such a jerk. In the beginning he was nice, really friendly.
A real gentleman. At least, until Callie found out he had been dating
a whole bunch of other girls. Not just one, no, Paul had to have more.
Luckily she found out in time, and dumped him. But this time, although
she liked Matt a lot, she would be more careful.
**********************************************************************
Lucy was still on the phone. She had been on the phone for hours! Simon
was tempted to tell dad, but then remembered it was getting close to
bedtime for him. Dad would never let him call Deena now. With a sigh, he
got back to his other homework. His project would have to wait until
Matt was back. He didn't want to do it with anyone else.
Simon was in the middle of doing his maths, when Ruthie sneaked into his
room.
"Have you seen my babies?"
"If you mean your two stupid dolls, no. Isn't is past your bedtime?"
Knowing her brother wasn't in the mood to help her find her dolls, Ruthie
retreated to her own room.
**********************************************************************
PART THREE
**********************************************************************
"Thanks Matt. For the perfect evening."
When she looked at him that way, Matt knew he was in love with her.
He moved forward to her and gave her a slight kiss on the cheek. When
he moved back, to start to car and drive her home, she stopped him.
With her hand she cupped his face and gently kissed him.
**********************************************************************
Finally Simon decided he would go to sleep. He had been waiting to hear
Matt coming home. He knew mom and dad were still downstairs and wanted
to hear what Matt would say about his date. But know he felt sleepy and
his eyes closed.
In the girls' room Lucy was already catching some z's, but Mary was also
still awake. She couldn't get to sleep. Something that usually never
bothered Mary, she could fall asleep any minute. But not tonight. She
sighed and rolled over again, and looked at the clock. Anytime now Matt
would probably come home and go to his room, right above theirs. He would
make lots of sounds and keep her awake even longer.
Tomorrow she had an important school test and she needed be alert. But
she couldn't force herself to go to sleep. Why can't I just close my eyes
and drift away? What's keeping me awake?
Suddenly a knot formed in her stomach and she knew something bad was
going to happen. It was like a sixth sense, warning her. Great, now she
could forget about the test tomorrow. The feeling probably warned her
that she was going to fail that test.
**********************************************************************
PART FOUR
**********************************************************************
"Next street's my house, number 527," Matt said as he rounded the corner.
He fumbled with his belt, which Callie had unleashed so they had no 'distractions'.
Another car came in sight, right in front of him. The light shone directly in his eyes.
"What the he..."
His response was cut off when the two cars collided with a loud crash. The fronts
of the cars were melted together. Smoke poured out of both of the cars.
A audible click was heard when Callie opened her door. She stumbled out, still dazed.
Blinking with her eyes, she forced herself to think straight. Matt! She shot a look
sidewards and saw him lying in the car. He appeared to be unconcious. But there was
so much blood... His head... Oh God...
Her head whipped up and she took a look at the other driver. Although the front window
was broken, she could see it was a boy, clearly too young to be driving. He was unconcious
too.
Without hestitation Callie started running, looking at the houses. She knew number 527
*had* to be close and she hoped she would find help by Matt's family. When she found the
right house, she ran toward the door and started banging on it, not bothering to use
the doorbell.
**********************************************************************
PART FIVE
**********************************************************************
Eric hurried towards the door, wondering who would be coming over this late, knocking
on their door like crazy. Annie was right behind him when he opened the door.
"You gotta help.... He... The cars crashed and now he's hurt and I don't know what to
do. His belt... I... I'm sorry... This is all my fault..."
The unknown girl in their doorway stopped talking and started crying. She used her long
sleeves to brush away the tears.
Annie put her hand over the girl's shoulders and ushered her in the house, while using her
other to touch Eric's hand to get his attention. But Eric was staring outside, his face
gone white. Suddenly he started running away. Annie took a step forward to see where her
husband was going and her face also went pale.
"Oh God..."
She left the girl sitting on a chair and ran after her husband. Not too far away from their
house were two cars. One was obviously Matt's car, the other an unknown. And by the looks of
it, both of the drivers were still in their automobiles.
Getting a good look at Matt's car, Annie's heart started beating even faster. The front window
was smashed, no glass left except in the corners. The bumpers of both cars were crashed into
each other. A quick look at the other driver told her it was a boy, looking very young and very
fragile. He's too young to be driving...
Carefully Eric opened the door of Matt's car, and found his son unconcious behind the steering
wheel. His belt was loose and his head was resting on the wheel. His hair covered most of his
head, but it was visible that a piece of glass had made a long gash on his forehead.
"Annie, call for an ambulance. Now!"
**********************************************************************
PART SIX
**********************************************************************
It had all gone so quick. Annie had ran back to the house, called 911 and the ambulance had
come within ten minutes. When she ran back to Eric, she found him checking the other driver.
He appeared to be returning to conciousness.
Her husband shot her a look and quickly went through the options.
"Wake Mary and Lucy, tell them to watch the others. Try to keep it quiet, we don't need to
wake the other children just yet."
Annie nodded and went back the house afer shooting a concerned look in Matt's direction. She
went upstairs and found out Mary was slightly awake, on the brink of falling asleep. She quickly
informed her daughter about what happened and then remembered the girl.
"Mary, could wake Lucy, but please keep quiet. Don't wake Simon, Ruthie or the twins. I have to
go downstairs now."
Mary simply nodded, still not fully realizing what was happening. She woke Lucy up by softly
nudging her and calling her name. After a few snorts she finally got a reaction.
Lucy's first action when she was awake was checking the clock. She blinked twice to make sure
her eyes weren't deceiving her.
"Why are you waking me up at half past twelve am?"
"Matt had a car accident, we need to watch the others." Mary grabbed some clothes and got
dressed while the explained the situation to her sister. "I'm going down, to see what exactly
is going on."
"I'll go with you," was the whispered answer from Lucy.
**********************************************************************
PART SEVEN
**********************************************************************
Things had gone so quick. Eric stayed with Matt, waiting for the ambulance. Mary and Lucy,
also went over to the car, both of them scared of what to find. Together they helped Matt
out of the car, placing him on the ground as carefully as possible. He didn't even stir,
his stark white face marked by a wound made by a piece of glass.
**********************************************************************
Inside the house, Annie was talking to the girl. Matt had talked about having a date, but
she'd never met this girl before.
"What's your name?"
Callie looked at Annie with a blank look. She didn't answer immediate, it took her a few
seconds to get her voice to work.
"Callie Shanks..."
Her voice trailed off as she looked out of the window. Tears were beginning to form in her
eyes and in a small voice she started talking again.
"I'm so sorry... I never wanted this to happen! It's my fault..."
Frowning, Annie wondered what she meant with that. It was the second time Callie said it was
her fault. But she didn't had time for this now.
"What's the phone number of your parents?"
**********************************************************************
The ambulance came and Annie and Eric left in it, with their son on the brancard. Before
the medics arrived, Callie's parents were already around. They took their daugther in the
car and followed the ambulance.
Watching everybody leave, Mary and Lucy stood by the front door. They waited until the cars
were out of sight. Together they entered their home again, closing the door and settled
themselves on the couch by the phone. They just sat down when Simon and Ruthie entered the
room, both in pyjamas with sleepy eyes.
Seeing concern clearly written on Mary's face Simon asked what was going on.
**********************************************************************
PART EIGHT
**********************************************************************
In the hospital Eric started pacing, a habit he did sometimes while waiting. Trying to force himself to relax he sat down on the chair next to his wife. Annie was still sitting exactly the same when the nurse had told her they could wait here.
Eric blinked, looking at the wall. So white. So pure. Overwhelming him. Closing in on him. He blinked again, and the walls were on the same place they'd been a second ago.
This waiting was getting to him. He closed his eyes and fold his hands, doing a little prayer.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a doctor walking in their direction. The man was not running, but not walking either. Something in between. Was that supposed to be good or bad?
As one, Annie and he rose, looking expectantly at the male doctor.
**********************************************************************
Mary glanced at the clock and than at the phone. What was taking so long? They should have called by now. What if there were complications? Quickly she turned her attention towards her little sister, the reason she was still here. Someone had to watch the other kids and Mary had taken that responsibility. Matt usually did this kind of stuff.
Mary had only let mom and dad go after they promised her they'd call when there was news about Matt.
Simon was asleep on the couch now, but wasn't resting. He stirred now and then and Mary thought his lips formed the word 'Matt'. It wouldn't surprise her, Simon was concerned about his older brother. They'd always been close. Simon saw Matt as his example. When Eric had found pot in the house and they thought it was Matt's (and it had been, but not in the wrong way) he'd been so upset. She'd tried talking to him, but he wouldn't ler her in.
She remembered his reaction when he learned about the accident. She made a little prayer that Matt would get well again, not only for herself but also for Lucy, Simon and the sleeping Ruthie. And the twins although they weren't even aware of what was happening.
She noticed Lucy was observing her, biting her lip and nervously fidgetting with her hands. She jumped up when the phone rang. She moved over to her sister when Lucy picked up the phone, straining her ears.
**********************************************************************
PART NINE
**********************************************************************