AN: Ugh. I have nothing to say. Sorry it's short, but it was depressing.
(Jessie)
The next day, we all ended up in the yard messing around. It was a hot summer day. Alanna was helping Sam out in the garden, looking adorable in her little sunglasses and wide brimmed hat. She had a small shovel and was digging a hole in the garden while Sam was watering the plants. Randy and I were circling each other in the large open part of the yard.
"Ready?" he asked.
"C'mon!" I groaned. He laughed and ran at me. "Uh oh," I said before turning the other way and running. He caught up with me quickly and spun me around.
"Scoop slam!" he yelled. He easily lifted me and swung me over him, slamming me down.
"Ow!" I whined. He got up and rubbed his head, prepping for the RKO. I staggered up, looking like I was in pain. He hit the RKO, and I fell down, laying out.
"Bad Randy!" Sam said. She turned the hose on us and sprayed the water our way.
"HEY!" we both yelled. With a laugh, Randy ran at her and picked her up, spinning her around. "That wasn't very nice," he pouted. They kissed and just looked like a really cute couple. I laughed, still sitting on the ground. This had been my life for the past two months, and if what they had said last night was true, I wouldn't ever have to leave it! I would never lose the best thing that ever happened to me. I had a family now, a dad, a mom, and an adorable little sister.
Speaking of that adorable little sister, where had she gone? I looked around. She wasn't digging her little hole in the garden anymore. I was about to ask Sam, but her and Randy were having a moment that I didn't want to interrupt, so I got up to look around for the little girl. Looking around, I finally found her. She was waddling single-mindedly after something. It was about to lead her right out the yard and into the street.
"Al!" I said with a laugh. "Where are you goin'?" I walked towards her to collect her.
That's when I saw it.
The car.
Time seemed to slow down and my brain kicked into high gear. The guy was looking at his phone. He wasn't looking up. Al was walking straight for the road, right into the man's path. If she kept walking, she'd be hit by the car. I vaguely remember yelling Alanna's name before breaking out into a run. I had to reach her before the worst happened. Randy was running behind me, and Sam was screaming. I was going to reach her first. We tried to flag the guy down, but he was in another world. I was acting on instinct, now. There was nothing we could do to stop the car. My brain yelled stop, but my gut said keep going. If there was one thing I learned from the past few weeks, it was to always go with your gut, so I did. I kept going, as fast as I could. I estimated that if Al kept going, she would definitely get hit now. Randy was yelling her name, now. She wouldn't stop, that hardheaded little brat. I reached my arms out. A split second later, she was in my arms. I couldn't stop in time, either. I was right on the curb now. The guy finally looked up and slammed on breaks. With nowhere else to go, I jumped.
(Randy)
I spun Sam around and kissed her. This was a good day. After lunch, we had decided to talk to Jess about adoption. We were all happy.
All of a sudden, though, we heard Jess scream Alanna's name. We both looked up and saw what caused her distress. Al was walking right out into the road, and into the path of an oncoming car. Sam screamed, and I dropped her in the grass and took off towards the road after Jess. She was a good 5 paces ahead of me. We both tried to flag the guy down, but he was engrossed in his phone. I yelled Al's name, trying to get her to stop. She was focused on whatever she was chasing, though, and didn't stop. I knew without a doubt that I wouldn't be able to make it in time. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, Jess stepped it up and ran harder. She reached out and grabbed Al, and the man slammed on breaks. All other sound was drowned out by the squealing of breaks. Jess wouldn't be able to stop in time. She held Alanna close and took a running leap at the car. Squealing breaks were joined by the sound of shattering glass. And through all the turmoil, the sound of Jess crying out in pain cut through everything else. She hit the windshield and bounced off, landing on the pavement. Sam was right behind me, and we ran to Jess.
"She's unconscious," I heard Sam saying as the world caught up with me. I stood and glared at the man in the car. I couldn't see his face through the cracked glass and blood that was splattered across it. I stalked over and opened his door.
"Look man, I didn't mean to-"
"Shut up and use that phone for something useful," I said, barely restraining my anger. "Call the ambulance."
"Y-yessir." I turned when I heard Al crying.
"Randy! Help please!" Sam said. Jess was still laid out, but Al was in Sam's arms crying.
"Is Al ok?" I asked.
"She's fine, just has a few scrapes. Check on Jessica!" I fell to the ground next to her.
"Jess!" I groaned. "C'mon, talk to me." I gently turned her head. She was bleeding pretty badly, but it didn't look like her head was cracked. I checked for a pulse and found a strong one.
"Is she alright?" Sam asked.
"I think she's gonna be fine, just busted her head up. Did you call that ambulance?" I demanded of the guy in the car. He nodded, looking terrified.
What seemed like hours later, the ambulance finally came. They loaded Jess up, and I rode with them to the hospital. There were thousands of pesky questions to answer.
"Does she have insurance?"
"I'm not sure. She was just staying with me over the summer." The guy wanted to keep talking.
"Look!" I growled. "We'll just pay the full amount, alright? She needs help!" The scared doctors ran around and took her into a back room for an MRI.
"Any news?" Sam walked up behind me.
"No, they just took her for an MRI," I said slowly. They think she'll be fine though."
"I called John. He'll be down here in a few minutes." I sighed.
"I guess all we can do is wait."
Eventually, she got her own room. The MRI results came back, and they told us she was fine. No aneurisms, no cracked skull. She did have a few cracked ribs, but she would recover from that. John showed up at some point and sat in the room with me while Sam took Alanna to get patched up.
"What are you gonna do?" John asked. "Weren't you thinking about adopting her full time?" I put my face in my hands.
"I've made up my mind."
"Oh yeah?" I shook my head.
"I'm not gonna do it." John looked at me like I was nuts.
"Are you serious? She just saved your daughter, Randy."
"It's because I care about her, John!" We both looked over at Jess, who was stirring. "Listen to me, alright? Ever since I brought her here, she's gotten hit by a man three times her size, gotten into a war with some powerful guys, and now, she's been hit by a car. The worst thing that ever happened to her before she met us was she passed out and hit a water fountain. Now you can't tell me that this is good for her," I said angrily. "So, as soon as she's cleared for travel, we're taking her back home."
"You're crazy Randy. You tell her you're taking her home, and you know what she'll think? She'll think that house in St. Louis. She LOVES you guys."
"And I love her, and that's why I'm making this decision."