Hearing a knock on the door was always something that set me on edge. And this one time, it set me further on edge knowing that I had just moved here.
I hadn't even lived in my new apartment for a week until someone came knocking on my door. Taking a deep breath, I answered the door and there stood a police officer. "Good evening, Ma'am. Are you Eria Lewis?" he asked. I felt my entire body go tense. Why was there a police officer at my door? Why was he asking for me? "Um.. Yes, I am. Do you need something, sir?" "Do you happen to know a man by the name of Ethan Lewis?"
Ethan was my older brother. He and I had always been close. In fact, he was the reason I moved out here to Hurricane, Utah in the first place. I came out here so that I could get closer with his fiance, Dani, and be in attendance for their wedding. But.. What had he done to warrant a police officer to come to my door? "Uh. Yes, I know him. He's my older brother." Suddenly, the police officer gave me a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Ma'am.. But your brother was involved with an accident and he's currently in the hospital."
..I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Ethan? An accident? Hospitalized? "What.. What do you mean? What happened?!" I asked, panic and worry filling my voice. The officer only shook his head, "It's better if you head to the hospital yourself. All I can tell you is that the culprit is still at large. Have a good evening, Ms. Lewis." Then, he left. But I couldn't even fully focus on the situation at hand. Did he say culprit? So.. Someone did this to my brother? But who?
I knew I wasn't going to get the answers I sought for by standing blankly in my doorway. So I ran back into my apartment and shut the door behind me, walking into my bedroom to get changed. I put on a simple wavy tank top with a white skirt and denim jacket with tennis shoes and next thing I knew, I was headed out the door. I had to discern the truth. I had to learn why this happened to my brother out of all people and who did this to him.
After about 20 minutes of walking, I arrived at Hurricane's Hospital. I quickly entered and approached the front desk, "Hello. I'm here to visit Ethan Lewis. I'm his younger sister, Eria Lewis." The receptionist gave me a solemn look as she met my gaze, "I apologize, ma'am, but Mr. Lewis is not open to visitors yet. You may go sit over there with that other young lady here to see him, and the doctor will be out shortly to talk with you both." Glancing in the direction she had pointed me in, I saw Dani, Ethan's fiance, sitting there.
"Okay, thank you." I nodded and walked over to Dani, sitting next to her. The moment I sat down, Dani looked at me, her hazel eyes widening. "Eria? I had no idea you'd be here so soon.." "Ethan's my brother. Of course I'd be here as soon as I heard. Now, Dani, what on Earth happened?" Dani averted her gaze, staring down at the ring on her finger. "..They say that Ethan was walking home from work when someone came out of a nearby alleyway and stabbed him repeatedly in the chest.. We have no idea who it was and all we can do is wait until Ethan's conscious to tell us."
Neither of us spoke again after Dani told me that. I had no idea what to even say. So many emotions welled up inside me. I was concerned for Ethan but also enraged at how someone had randomly attacked him. For no reason whatsoever?! There's no way this person could've had a grudge against Ethan, he was the kindest guy I've ever known. He was even kind to those who wronged him. So why.. Why would someone do this? Why would someone hurt him? I couldn't understand..
But soon, the suffocating silence was interrupted. "Excuse me, are you two young ladies Eria Lewis and Dani Schuyler?"