Chapter 17: Admission of guilt

Ren awakened to the dizzying motion of the ship.

Or at least she thought she did. Everything around her seemed to be bobbing up and down. Funny, she doesn't remember ever boarding a ship, not that she has a reason to. And everything looked too real for this to be a dream.

She blinked hard a few times, waiting for her eyes to focus. It took a moment before she finally realized that she was lying in her bed, in her own room. She tried to sit up but fell back down, wincing. Blood was furiously pounding in her ears. It felt like a jackhammer was stuck inside her head. She tried again, this time supporting her weight with both her arms.

A small knock sounded on her door. She turned around to see Louis standing outside with a tray on hand.

"How you feeling?" He placed the tray on her table.

Ren groaned in response. "Terrible," she said in a raspy voice. "Feels like someone's drilling a hole in my head."

"Yeah, well that's called a hangover. Too much alcohol can do that to you." He turned to look at her. "I brought you your breakfast."

"Thanks Louis," she answered weakly. "What time is it, anyway?"

"A couple of minutes passed nine." Louis took the bottle of aspirin from the tray, along with a bottle of water. "Here, I'm sure you're going to need this more." He handed it both to her.

She gratefully took it and quickly swallowed one. "Uh, where are mom and dad?"

"Mom had a meeting early this morning, and dad went out to finish something at his office. I think they have a big case going on. I told them not to bother you because you were really tired last night." He turned back to the tray and took the ice pack. "By the way, here's something for that head lump of yours."

She looked at him quizzically. "What lump?" Ren's hand automatically went up to feel her head. "Ow!"

"That lump." Louis immediately placed it on top of her head.

She looked at him, rather confused. "How did I get here, anyway? And where did I get this lump? I don't remember bumping my head last night." She held the ice pack firmly on top of her head. Truth be told, she doesn't remember anything that happened at all, period.

"Actually, that was my fault. I accidentally bumped your head on my way to your room." He looked at her grimly. "You know, while Monique and I were moving you up the stairs, because you were out, drunk."

She heaved a sigh. "Listen, Lou, about last night. I-"

"No, listen here, Ren." Louis stared at her, dead serious. He could barely contain his emotions. Without realizing it, everything just seemed to spill out of his mouth.  "I don't want to do this any more. Whatever your next plans are, please leave me out if it. Another party, or a piercing, or a tattoo, or whatever, I don't care. Just leave me out, okay? I can't cover for you any longer." He looked angrily at her. "I don't want to be part of something that I know will cause nothing but trouble for my sister. I'm not going to lie to mom and dad the next time they ask."

She looked at her, dumbfounded. "Louis, what are you so upset about? It's not liked I forced you to help me."

His voice gradually rose. "What I'm upset about is you coming home last night reeking from alcohol. You were flat out unconscious from all that drinking! Ruby and Monique had to practically drag you to their car to get you home." Louis was crossed his arms across his chest. "What's happened to you, Ren? You've never drink alcohol before. What's changed now, huh? Tell me, what's changed now?! What happened to that smart and sensible sister I had? 'Coz quite frankly, I liked her more. I like her a hundred times more than the wild and reckless one I have right now!" Louis stared straight at her, his eyes piercing. "I want my old sister back."

Ren just sat there silently, appalled at his sudden outburst.

He breathed heavily as he tried to calm himself down. "Better eat your breakfast before it gets cold." He stormed out and left without further saying a word.

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"Louis, what are you doing here?" Tawny asked. She was surprised to see him standing by her front door.

"Hey Tawny, can I come in?" Without waiting for her answer, he barged inside.

She looked at him curiously. "Uh-yeah, sure," she replied as she watch her Louis let himself in. "I thought we weren't supposed to work on that chemistry project until this afternoon?"

"I just told Ren that I hate her." He suddenly blurted out. Louis headed straight for the sofa and took a seat.

"What?" She took a seat directly across him.

"This morning, we had a fight, and I basically told her that I hated her."  He corrected himself. "It wasn't a fight, really. It was more of me shouting at her."

"Okay Louis, stop." She held up her hand. "Slow down and start from the beginning."

"Last night, Ren came home, dead drunk, from Will Coulson's party. Ruby and Monique brought her home, and we all had to carry her up the stairs to get her to her room." He took a deep breath. "I had to make all sorts of lies to cover her from mom and dad."

"Ren came home, drunk?" She repeated in disbelief. Was she hearing him correctly?

"Yeah, and this morning when I came to bring her breakfast, I just snapped and I started shouting at her." He sighed. "I didn't actually tell her I hate her, but I did told her some things that… well, practically means the same thing."

"How did she react?" Tawny asked tentatively.

"I think she was still pretty much out of it to react; definitely from the hangover. But I'm not sure. I walked off before she could answer me." Louis rubbed his head in frustration. "Of course, I really don't hate her; she's my sister. It's just that, I don't understand her. She's been acting weird these past few days. Ever since that car accident." He dropped his voice when he spoke the last statement.

"Louis, to tell you the truth, she wasn't the only one." Tawny thought for a moment before continuing. "Ever since that incident, you've been acting… differently yourself. And it doesn't take a genius to know that something is definitely up." She took up the courage and ask him the question she's been meaning to ask for a long time. "What really happened that day, Louis?"

Louis looked at her hesitantly. He never told anyone exactly what happened. That's because he wasn't sure he was ready to admit his guilt. He looked at Tawny's reassuring eyes, and finally decided that it's time to tell the whole story.

"It was me driving that day," he started weakly. "We were supposed to go home, but instead I decided to pass by the beach. We were cruising on the highway, and she kept on insisting that we turn back. I was too busy goofing around to pay attention to her. I just kept on speeding down the road. It was almost too late when I realized what she was telling me." He cleared his throat. "A truck suddenly appeared in front of us as we approached a sharp curve. I barely avoided it, which sent the car spinning around. When I came to, the car had apparently hit this huge tree." His voice started to quiver. "And then I saw Ren beside me, covered in blood. Everywhere I looked, there was blood. She wasn't moving, and I-I just thought she wasn't going to make it." Tears were starting to form in his eyes. "When I saw them trying to revive her in the hospital, I kept telling myself that this wouldn't have happened if I just took her seriously."

Tawny just sat there, unsure on how to react. This wasn't the story she was expecting to hear. She hasn't seen him this emotional before.

"I almost killed my sister because I never took things seriously, and I don't want to commit the same mistake twice." Louis smiled at her wryly, still misty eyed. "I swore to myself I would never let it happen again." He took a deep breath. A long time has passed since the accident, but he has still been holding everything inside. Now that he'd gotten it off his chest, he seemed to feel a lot better now.

Tawny didn't say a word. Instead, she gave him a big huge as she finally understood everything. It was a hug that meant more than a thousand words of comfort.

"Louis," she finally said, "I think you should talk to your sister about this." Tawny let him go. He wiped his eyes, flushing pink with embarrassment.

He gave her a dry laugh. "Yeah, that's a great idea," he replied in a sarcastic tone. "Like she would really want to talk to me after everything that I told her. She probably hates me right now."

"Hey, I understand what you're going through." She gave him a meaningful look. "That car accident was traumatizing for you, that's why you changed. But have you ever thought about how that accident affected Ren?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" He was looking at her as if she has just grown another head. "Tawny, she had broken bones all over. That's how it affected her."

"No Louis," she tried to explain patiently. "You said it yourself, Ren had almost died. Don't you think that would affect her, emotionally?" She paused to let the gravity of the situation sink in. "Ren was probably traumatized by the accident, just like you. Maybe even more so."

"But it didn't," he reasoned out, "I mean she never showed it." He tried hard to recall the past few weeks. Nope, she never showed anything at all. In fact, she seemed to have bounced right back from it.

"People react differently, Louis." Tawny stood up and took a seat beside him. "There's a pretty good chance that's the reason why she's been acting… strange lately. And that's why you need to talk to her. You need to sort this thing out between the two of you. You know, bring some closure."

Louis pondered on Tawny's words for a few seconds. He nodded slowly. "I guess you're right," he finally conceded. I should apologize to her." He covered his face in shame and, leaning back on the sofa. "God, I don't believe what a total jerk I've been."

"That's okay, Louis. We're allowed to act like jerks every once in a while."

Louis glanced at her. "What would I do without you, Tawny?"

Tawny smiled at him. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"I guess I better get going." Louis stood up. "I need to talk to Ren. That is, if she'd still be willing to talk to me."

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As Wes entered a diner, he saw his friend sitting at one corner, alone at his booth. He quickly approached him. "Alright man, put it up here!" Wes raised his hand to Will for a high five.

Will ignored him and stared furiously at his coke.

His smile slightly faltered as he lowered his hand. "What's wrong, man? You look like you've just lost a million dollars." He slid on the seat across him. Wes grinned widely at him and lowered his voice. "Hell, I wouldn't look like that after I nailed – "

"That's the problem," he angrily interrupted. "I didn't."

Wes gave him a skeptical look. "What do you mean you didn't?" He laughed in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

Will just stared blankly at him.

"Tell me you're kidding."

Still no response. Will looked as if he's ready to pounce on him anytime.

"I saw you two last night, and it looked to me like you were pretty much headed for that direction."

"Yeah, if only her meddlesome friends hadn't seen us. That stupid Kyle," he muttered. Will glanced up and slammed his fist on the table. "All I asked him was to keep her friend busy the whole night. How hard could that be, huh?"

"Apparently, hard enough for him," Wes replied with a chuckle.

Will turned to scowl at him. "How about I knock that smile off your face?"

"Right, I'm sorry. I was just trying to lighten up the mood."  Wes leaned closer, suddenly growing serious. "Look, I don't mean to put pressure on you, but both of us have something on the line here." He lowered his voice. "I joined that bet with you because I had great confidence on your abilities, man. Now, tomorrow's the deadline, and I don't know about you, but I don't want to lose my car to Gary."

"And do you think I want to lose my car to that jerk too?!" He retorted.

Wes looked at him expectantly. "So what are you going to do about it?"

Will grew quiet as he thought of a plan. "Well, I still have the whole day, don't I?" He gave his friend a devilish grin. "You'll see. Will Coulson doesn't back down on a bet. We'll win that bet, no matter what it takes."

Unbeknownst to them, Alan Twitty was just in the next booth, with a plate of half eaten burger and fries on the table. Isn't this the guy I've been seeing with Ren these past few days?!

Trying to avoid detection, he slightly cowered in his seat. Twitty swallowed hard. Something about their conversation made his skin crawl. Whatever it was, it just didn't felt right. He's got to tell this to Louis. 

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