Chapter Eleven!

Ronnie ran as fast as she could the whole way to Oakdale Drive. She ran with tears running down her face and so many thoughts racing through her head. Am I too late? What have I done? I should have done something to stop this from happening. What kind of a person am I? What kind of a Christian am I? I made my dad try to kill me. I made him angry. If I had never gone to church that morning, none of this would be happening. Bitter tears streamed down her pale face as she ran, with a cold breeze blowing in her face. Her lips were trembling from the cold, but she didn't care. She had to see her mom and dad. She had to know they weren't going to die.

She soon saw flashing lights in the distance and she could feel the realization of the situation setting in. As Ronnie drew nearer to her old house, she saw her front lawn had been taped off with yellow police tape. She ran closer and could make out ambulances and police cars parked all along the street.

Then she saw her parents.

They were lying limp on the front lawn, with a group of paramedics tending to them quickly. Ronnie could see blood soaking the grass and the paramedics were covered in blood as well. She could hear the paramedics yelling things back and forth; mostly medical vocabulary Ronnie didn't understand. There was a young policewoman standing in front of the tape but Ronnie didn't care. She jumped over the yellow tape and tried to get through all the paramedics to get to her parents.

"Mom! Dad! Don't die! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! This is all my fault! I'm sorry, don't die! I never wanted you to die!" She started screaming as she tried shaking the unconscious bodies in front of her. The paramedics were trying to push Ronnie out of the way and still attend to their victims, but Ronnie wouldn't leave.

"Kid, you're going to have to leave." One paramedic shouted as he stared hard at Ronnie, who had tears running down her face.

"No, I'm not leaving! They have to be alright! This is my fault! I have to help them!" She screamed, still desperately trying to revive her parents. She felt arms wrap around her waist and pull her back. The policewoman was trying to get Ronnie away from the paramedics.

"Let me go! I need to save them!" Ronnie yelled, struggling desperately.

"Sweetie, you can't help. You have to let the professionals do their jobs." The policewoman said calmly as she pulled the sobbing girl back. Ronnie just cried, trying to struggle out of the woman's grasp, but felt too tired to try anymore. She just cried and watched the paramedics work as hard as they could to save her parents.

"I'm Officer Grace. Are you here by yourself?" The policewoman finally asked after a moment. Ronnie slowly nodded her head, sniffling quietly.

"No she's not." A voice said. Officer Grace turned her head and saw two figures standing there. It was Matt and Mary; they had just arrived.

"Who are you?" Officer Grace asked as she kept a hold on Ronnie, in case she tried to disrupt the paramedics again.

"We're her family. Well, her adopted family. We figured she would be here. She must have heard the news on the radio. She left without telling us. Is she okay?" Matt asked. Officer Grace sighed and turned back to Ronnie.

"Somebody's here for you." She said but Ronnie looked up. She just continued to stare at the pool of blood in front of her, as she shivered slightly.

"Come on Ronnie; let's go." Matt said as he reached out and took hold of Ronnie's arm gently as Officer Grace let go. Ronnie pulled away.

"I'm not going anywhere Matt." She said very quietly, her eyes never leaving the scene in front of her.

"Ronnie, you have to get out of the way. If they have to rush them to the hospital, you're going to be in the way. You have to move." Matt said and he took Ronnie's arm again.

"Let me go Matt!" She started screaming, but Matt wouldn't let go. He pulled her away from the house, backing up far enough to allow the professionals the room they needed to do their work. Ronnie screamed at Matt as he dragged her away from her parents. Mary followed close behind.

"Let go Matt! I have to save them! Let me go!" She yelled as she struggled from Matt's grasp, but he wouldn't let go. She was crying hysterically now, punching Matt's chest. Matt grabbed both of her arms tightly and stared at her strongly.

"Ronnie! You cannot save them! It's not your job." He said sternly. Ronnie pushed him away and fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I have to! It's my fault they're over there!" She managed to say between sobs. Mary knelt down quickly and grabbed Ronnie's shoulders.

"This is not your fault! You have to stop thinking that. You have done nothing wrong. Your parents were the ones who were wrong. They had no right to treat you like they did and they had no right to try to kill you!" Mary said as she held Ronnie at arms length. Ronnie stared at Mary, shivering from the cold and from all of the emotion built up inside of her. Everything was a blur to her; everything seemed distorted. The last time she had seen her parents, her father was holding a gun over her and her mother stood back and watched. Now, they were the ones fighting for their lives. She blamed herself for what was in front of her, just as she had blamed herself for their behaviour from the time she had just been a little girl. It was all too much for her to handle, and the emotions overwhelmed her.

She began crying uncontrollably and fell into Mary's arms, and Mary held her tightly as Ronnie cried and cried. Matt bent down and wrapped his arms around the two girls, hugging them tightly.

"I never should have been born." Ronnie choked out between sobs. Mary closed her eyes sadly and then looked to Matt who rubbed Ronnie's back.

"Ronnie, don't say that. Of course you should have been born." He said quietly, but Ronnie only shook her head.

"You don't understand. I'm the reason they're always angry. It's my fault they never loved me. It's my fault they hit me. It's my fault my dad tried to kill me. And now it's my fault they're dying! If I had never been born, things wouldn't be like this." Ronnie cried.

"You are not the reason your parents are like this. They have problems but none of them have to do with you. You were the one they could release all their anger on, but it wasn't your fault. You didn't deserve any of it and God wanted you in this world for a reason. If you should never have been born, you wouldn't have been, but you were. Everything that happens is for a reason, and I can't tell you what the reason is but you'll know one day. But you have to stop blaming yourself. Your parents may have hurt you, but they can't anymore. We love you and we won't hurt you. We'll help you get through this." Mary said as she embraced the sobbing girl. Ronnie had nothing more to say; she was too choked up. She just cried into Mary's shoulder for what seemed like hours, but was only moments.