"So you'll be back at what time?" Andy asked Adina over a very early
breakfast.
"Midnight?" Adina asked hopefully.
"Try again," Andy laughed, sipping his coffee.
"Fine, 11:30, no earlier!" Adina replied, happy even if she had to give up a half hour.
"And you've got a cell phone, first aid kit, road flairs..." He listed off.
"Yeah, dad, you want us to take a whole disaster relief crew with?" Adina mocked, putting her cereal bowl in the sink, "Well, I'm off, see you at midnight."
"11:30!" Andy yelled back, as she grinned deviously, and headed out the door.
*@*
"Ok, so do we want to listen to speed-metal or light jazz?" Laynie asked, flipping through her CDs.
"Uh...let's just go with the radio," Adina suggested, trying to stifle a laugh.
"Amy, you doing alright?" Laynie asked Amy, who was sitting on the other side of Adina. The three of them were piled in to the cab of Laynie's dad's old ford. Even though Laynie only had a learner's permit, she figured she could get away with driving to Aspen and back.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Amy nodded, "Remember how much Colin used to love Aspen?"
"Yeah I do," Laynie replied, instantly changing the subject, "D, you remember the trip we took with Eastland to Chrysler building?"
"Oh yeah, and we all got in that fight about whether or not if dropping a penny from up there could really kill someone below," Adina remembered, feeling a sudden ache for her friends back at her boarding school, Eastland Prepatory School of Manhattan.
"So how many miles we got left?" Amy asked, eager to get out of the car.
"Not too many, we've got maybe, 15 at the most," Laynie answered, speeding up a bit, "So when we get there, I just have to stop in and see a friend of mine for a few minutes, and then, the town is ours."
*@*
Adina sighed and slumped against the car, Amy at her side. The few minutes Laynie had mentioned had turned into a few hours, and the friend's house, was just some huge house party.
"It's getting late, you think we should go look for her?" Adina asked, glancing at her watch.
"Maybe," Amy shrugged, "Maybe we should just leave without her." Just as Adina was actually thinking over what Amy suggested, Laynie appeared, quickly running over to join them.
"Laynie, where the hell were you?" Adina snapped, her face reddening from anger and the Aspen cold.
"Having fun," Laynie said, raising an eyebrow, "Since when have you been such a stick in the mud?"
"C'mon Laynie, can we just go home?" Amy pleaded, "It's cold, and we're tired, and you may have had a wonderful time, but we haven't. So let's just go."
"Fine, if you guys want to be like that," Laynie said heatedly, forcing the car door open. Amy and Adina shared a quick glance, before getting into the car themselves.
As soon as Laynie started the car, and began to drive towards the main road, Adina noticed something poking out Laynie's coat pocket. As she looked closer, she noticed it was nothing other than a halfway empty beer bottle.
"Laynie, were you drinking at the party?" Adina questioned, grabbing the bottle.
"Maybe I had a couple of drinks? SO what?" Laynie shrugged, snatching the bottle back.
"Laynie, let me drive," Amy pleaded, "You shouldn't be driving when you're like this."
"Like what?" Laynie asked, "I'm so not drunk, just because you guys don't know how to have a good time.."
"Laynie just stop the car," Adina instructed as calmly as she could.
"No, this is my car, I'll do the driving," Laynie announced, pressing down harder on the gas. The car shot forward, pushing 75mph.
"Laynie! Slow down!" Amy shouted, noticing the long patch of ice in front of them two minutes too late.
*@*
Andy paced the living room, glancing at the clock every few minutes. It was almost midnight, and still there was no sign of his eldest daughter. Every bad thought a father could have raced through his mind, and knowing he had almost lost Adina once, didn't help things.
"Jeez Dad, relax, they probably just got caught in traffic," Ephram said, trying to calm his father. Just as he finished his sentence the phone began to ring, "See that's probably her right now calling to explain." Ephram hurried to the kitchen and picked up the phone, truly hoping it was his sister.
"Hello, is the parent guardian of Adina Brown at home?" The voice asked. Ephram handed the phone to Andy, as he was beginning to have terrible thoughts of his own.
*@*
Adina's eyes flickered open, a bright fluorescent light looming over her. She glanced around, the scene painfully familiar, except she wasn't in the ICU this time, just the regular ER. As she tried to sit up, a sharp pain rushed through her left arm. Looking down, she realized that her arm was placed in a rock hard cast. A nurse passed by, and seeing that she was awake, poked her head in.
"How are you feeling Miss Brown?" The nurse asked a little too cheerfully.
"Good, thanks," Adina said with a half smile.
"Well, your family is here, they're just talking to the doctor, they should be here in a moment," The nurse announced, before returning to her rounds. Adina nodded, leaning to the side, to see the nurse was correct. She saw a doctor talking to her father, probably discussing her current 'condition'. Ephram waited a few feet behind, holding a half-asleep Delia.
"Hey sweetie," Andy greeted, after he had finally finished talking with the doctor. He gave Adina a quick hug before inquiring about how she was feeling.
"I'm alright," Adina nodded, "I just don't really know what happened."
"Well, you were in an accident, the car hit a patch of ice, and the car swerved into a ditch," Andy explained, "Apparently they found Laynie intoxicated."
"Oh my god, are Amy and Laynie alright?" Adina asked, sitting up straight.
"Amy has a few cuts and bruises, but nothing serious, and Laynie ended up with a mild concussion," He explained, "What I want to know, is why did you get into that car when you knew Laynie was drunk? You should have called, I would have picked you up."
"We didn't know she had anything to drink until after we got in the car to go home," Adina tried to explain, "And when we found out, we tried to get her to pull over, but she wouldn't."
"I just." Andy began, "I don't know, maybe it'd be best if you didn't spend any more time with Laynie Hart. She's going through a rough time, and knowing how her father is, it's probably a good idea if you distanced yourself from her as much as possible." Now, Adina wasn't the goody two shoes type to listen to everything she was told, but her father's suggestion didn't sound like a bad idea.
"Can we go home now?" Adina asked, feeling a strong headache coming on.
"Yeah, sure, let's get out of here," Andy nodded. Adina glanced at Laynie's family as they passed them on their way out, "Hey, you guys up for pancakes? There's this great 24-hour diner not to far from here." Delia shot awake, agreeing to the plan. Adina and Ephram also agreed, but as they were about to leave, Adina spotted Laynie.
"Hey Adina," Laynie greeted, Adina hung back for a moment, telling Ephram she's catch up in a minute.
"Hi," Adina nodded.
"Listen, I'm sorry-" Laynie began, before Adina interrupted her.
"Save it Laynie," Adina replied, "Everyone thinks that this is just your way of coping, but I know you better. This is an old habit, not a way to deal with your brother's death. I know that at one time, I would have probably looked the other way, but not anymore. You can ruin your life, but I'm not going to stick around and watch." And with that, Adina left, leaving behind a confused and miserable Laynie Hart.
"Midnight?" Adina asked hopefully.
"Try again," Andy laughed, sipping his coffee.
"Fine, 11:30, no earlier!" Adina replied, happy even if she had to give up a half hour.
"And you've got a cell phone, first aid kit, road flairs..." He listed off.
"Yeah, dad, you want us to take a whole disaster relief crew with?" Adina mocked, putting her cereal bowl in the sink, "Well, I'm off, see you at midnight."
"11:30!" Andy yelled back, as she grinned deviously, and headed out the door.
*@*
"Ok, so do we want to listen to speed-metal or light jazz?" Laynie asked, flipping through her CDs.
"Uh...let's just go with the radio," Adina suggested, trying to stifle a laugh.
"Amy, you doing alright?" Laynie asked Amy, who was sitting on the other side of Adina. The three of them were piled in to the cab of Laynie's dad's old ford. Even though Laynie only had a learner's permit, she figured she could get away with driving to Aspen and back.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Amy nodded, "Remember how much Colin used to love Aspen?"
"Yeah I do," Laynie replied, instantly changing the subject, "D, you remember the trip we took with Eastland to Chrysler building?"
"Oh yeah, and we all got in that fight about whether or not if dropping a penny from up there could really kill someone below," Adina remembered, feeling a sudden ache for her friends back at her boarding school, Eastland Prepatory School of Manhattan.
"So how many miles we got left?" Amy asked, eager to get out of the car.
"Not too many, we've got maybe, 15 at the most," Laynie answered, speeding up a bit, "So when we get there, I just have to stop in and see a friend of mine for a few minutes, and then, the town is ours."
*@*
Adina sighed and slumped against the car, Amy at her side. The few minutes Laynie had mentioned had turned into a few hours, and the friend's house, was just some huge house party.
"It's getting late, you think we should go look for her?" Adina asked, glancing at her watch.
"Maybe," Amy shrugged, "Maybe we should just leave without her." Just as Adina was actually thinking over what Amy suggested, Laynie appeared, quickly running over to join them.
"Laynie, where the hell were you?" Adina snapped, her face reddening from anger and the Aspen cold.
"Having fun," Laynie said, raising an eyebrow, "Since when have you been such a stick in the mud?"
"C'mon Laynie, can we just go home?" Amy pleaded, "It's cold, and we're tired, and you may have had a wonderful time, but we haven't. So let's just go."
"Fine, if you guys want to be like that," Laynie said heatedly, forcing the car door open. Amy and Adina shared a quick glance, before getting into the car themselves.
As soon as Laynie started the car, and began to drive towards the main road, Adina noticed something poking out Laynie's coat pocket. As she looked closer, she noticed it was nothing other than a halfway empty beer bottle.
"Laynie, were you drinking at the party?" Adina questioned, grabbing the bottle.
"Maybe I had a couple of drinks? SO what?" Laynie shrugged, snatching the bottle back.
"Laynie, let me drive," Amy pleaded, "You shouldn't be driving when you're like this."
"Like what?" Laynie asked, "I'm so not drunk, just because you guys don't know how to have a good time.."
"Laynie just stop the car," Adina instructed as calmly as she could.
"No, this is my car, I'll do the driving," Laynie announced, pressing down harder on the gas. The car shot forward, pushing 75mph.
"Laynie! Slow down!" Amy shouted, noticing the long patch of ice in front of them two minutes too late.
*@*
Andy paced the living room, glancing at the clock every few minutes. It was almost midnight, and still there was no sign of his eldest daughter. Every bad thought a father could have raced through his mind, and knowing he had almost lost Adina once, didn't help things.
"Jeez Dad, relax, they probably just got caught in traffic," Ephram said, trying to calm his father. Just as he finished his sentence the phone began to ring, "See that's probably her right now calling to explain." Ephram hurried to the kitchen and picked up the phone, truly hoping it was his sister.
"Hello, is the parent guardian of Adina Brown at home?" The voice asked. Ephram handed the phone to Andy, as he was beginning to have terrible thoughts of his own.
*@*
Adina's eyes flickered open, a bright fluorescent light looming over her. She glanced around, the scene painfully familiar, except she wasn't in the ICU this time, just the regular ER. As she tried to sit up, a sharp pain rushed through her left arm. Looking down, she realized that her arm was placed in a rock hard cast. A nurse passed by, and seeing that she was awake, poked her head in.
"How are you feeling Miss Brown?" The nurse asked a little too cheerfully.
"Good, thanks," Adina said with a half smile.
"Well, your family is here, they're just talking to the doctor, they should be here in a moment," The nurse announced, before returning to her rounds. Adina nodded, leaning to the side, to see the nurse was correct. She saw a doctor talking to her father, probably discussing her current 'condition'. Ephram waited a few feet behind, holding a half-asleep Delia.
"Hey sweetie," Andy greeted, after he had finally finished talking with the doctor. He gave Adina a quick hug before inquiring about how she was feeling.
"I'm alright," Adina nodded, "I just don't really know what happened."
"Well, you were in an accident, the car hit a patch of ice, and the car swerved into a ditch," Andy explained, "Apparently they found Laynie intoxicated."
"Oh my god, are Amy and Laynie alright?" Adina asked, sitting up straight.
"Amy has a few cuts and bruises, but nothing serious, and Laynie ended up with a mild concussion," He explained, "What I want to know, is why did you get into that car when you knew Laynie was drunk? You should have called, I would have picked you up."
"We didn't know she had anything to drink until after we got in the car to go home," Adina tried to explain, "And when we found out, we tried to get her to pull over, but she wouldn't."
"I just." Andy began, "I don't know, maybe it'd be best if you didn't spend any more time with Laynie Hart. She's going through a rough time, and knowing how her father is, it's probably a good idea if you distanced yourself from her as much as possible." Now, Adina wasn't the goody two shoes type to listen to everything she was told, but her father's suggestion didn't sound like a bad idea.
"Can we go home now?" Adina asked, feeling a strong headache coming on.
"Yeah, sure, let's get out of here," Andy nodded. Adina glanced at Laynie's family as they passed them on their way out, "Hey, you guys up for pancakes? There's this great 24-hour diner not to far from here." Delia shot awake, agreeing to the plan. Adina and Ephram also agreed, but as they were about to leave, Adina spotted Laynie.
"Hey Adina," Laynie greeted, Adina hung back for a moment, telling Ephram she's catch up in a minute.
"Hi," Adina nodded.
"Listen, I'm sorry-" Laynie began, before Adina interrupted her.
"Save it Laynie," Adina replied, "Everyone thinks that this is just your way of coping, but I know you better. This is an old habit, not a way to deal with your brother's death. I know that at one time, I would have probably looked the other way, but not anymore. You can ruin your life, but I'm not going to stick around and watch." And with that, Adina left, leaving behind a confused and miserable Laynie Hart.