Ellie muttered furiously under her breath as she once again fiddled with the heater on the car. It would figure that she rented a car with a faulty heater in the dead of Detroit winter. Neal reached over andtook her hand, rubbing it in a comforting manner. Ellie glanced over at Neal and gave him a weak smile. She let her body relax slightly and sat back as she continued to drive towards the church where her mother's funeral was to take place. They were now passing through her old stomping grounds. Ellie chuckled as she drove past an old hockey rink.
"What's so funny?"Neal asked with a curious glance.
"Oh I was just remembering how I broke my arm playing hockey there once. Last time I ever played hockey with my brothers." Ellie replied with a smile.
"And that is a funny memory?" Neal asked confused.
"Well it wasn't at the time."
It was just days after Ellie's fifteenth birthday and she and her brothers were engaged in a pick up game of hockey, a favorite past time of theirs. Ellie was quite athletic and more agile than most guys so she loved to skate circles around them. Only problem was her tendency to trash talk. She had just scored on Dave, a guy about twice her size, when she went a little too far. "Hey fat ass, could you at least try to play a little defense? This game is going to get pretty boring if you let me and my brothers score on you all day long." Dave was absolutely seething after that comment and Ellie thought he was going to come after her until he glanced over at her brothers and knew he was outmatched. Ellie just smirked and skated off down the rink. She didn't know what the big deal was. It wasn't like she had insulted his manhood, this time. A few minutes later Jack passed Ellie the puck and she tore off down the rink on another fast break. Unfortunately the aforementioned fat ass Dave was ready for her this time and violently body checked her. Ellie went flying through the air and landed in a heap of pain. She may have been faster than most guys but she was definitely no match when it came to a pound for pound body check. Ellie was quickly surrounded by her brothers. She went to push herself up but gasped in pain when she put weight on her arm. She tenderly cradled it to her body as Jack and Jeremiah lifted her up. Bobby took one look at his battered sister and saw red. He quickly turned and skated after Dave who was chuckling in the corner with his team. Dave's eyes widened in fear "Hey man, it's just part of the game." He quickly tried to placate him. Bobby threw off his gloves and knocked Dave down. "You fucking pansy assed faggot! Don't you ever touch my sister again!" Bobby began yelling as knocked Dave down and began beating him mercilessly. "Oh shit" Jerry and Angel said in unison as they went to go pull Bobby off. Jack helped Ellie to the edge of the rink. After a few more punches and kicks to the ribs Angel and Jerry were finally able to subdue Bobby and they joined Ellie and Jack at the car. Jack told them that they were going to have to take Ellie to the emergency room to have her arm looked at. This seemed to anger Bobby even more. He looked like he was going to go finish off Dave when Ellie tried to calm him. "It's okay Bobby, I've been hurt worse, let's just go." It was a rare reference to her life pre-Evelyn. She never really talked about what she had been through but it was generally assumed that it was bad. Unfortunately her statement just made Bobby even more ballistic and Angel and Jerry had to physically keep him from returning to the rink. The only thing that stopped him was Ellie's second statement. "Bobby please come with me to the ER.. I really want you there with me." This stopped Bobby cold. His eyes softened as he looked down at his little sister who was still cradling her arm to her chest. "What are you dick heads doing just standing around here? Ellie needs to get her arm fixed up. Get in the car!" He ordered his brothers. He took the keys from Jack as they all piled in and he drove them to the emergency room.
Ellie slowed the car as she pulled into the church parking lot. It was filled almost to capacity. Evelyn Mercer was truly going to be missed and judging by the turnout at the church, it looked as if all of Detroit had come to pay their last respects. Ellie turned off the car and looked over at Neal. "Well here we go."