Hailflower and Her Memory

Chapter 2

Rider's POV
I fall off the couch, rudely getting awakened from my deep slumber by a slam. Struggling to untangle myself from the clutches of my sister's blanket, I quietly walk up the cold wooden stairs and hear a very well-known voice. The cause of my sudden awakening was Hail's best friend, Lillee. She had gotten past me without waking me up, well, until she reached her destination.

I overhear Lillee saying, "We are going to a party!"

I was about to turn the knob until I hear Lillee also say, "Oh, come on. You have been cooped up in this house all day. It is about time you had some fun."

She wasn't mistaken. Lillee and Hail were planning to go to a restaurant, then shop somewhere, but Hail canceled to help me re-paint the kitchen. I felt guilty and tried to encourage her to hang out with Lillee, but she insisted on accompanying me.

Fine, Lillee, you win this time. I will allow my sister to go to his party, but just this once.

But, had I known what was going to happen, I would have never let her go.

I swiftly run down the stairs when I hear Lillee say as she opens the door, "Put those on, and we will go. You have ten minutes."

I go back to my couch and act to be asleep. As soon as they left I did what any decent right-minded older brother would do. I run up the stairs, change into some clothes, grab my keys, and go to my friend's house. I was not about to just let Hail go to her first party, knowing that Lillee would separate from her.

Daniel would always try to get me to go to his parties, but I would regularly excuse myself from the equation by telling him that I did not want to leave my sister home alone, but this time we switched roles. She left me. I laugh at the irony. When I get there, I see Lillee hanging on a random guy, but I did not care much about what Lillee was doing. I was looking for Hail, not her.

I knew that my sister liked quiet places, so I immediately fight the crowd and headed outside. But when I reach my goal, I see Hailflower on the bench with two figures. As I get closer, I see Peter covering Hail's eyes as Daniel is kissing her. I immediately yank them away from her.

How brave yet incredibly foolish of them to even make a move on my sister. I could not control the storm surging within me and slug Daniel in the mouth. I go forward to strike Peter again, but what I did not calculate was to see my sister's frightened expression. I tried to stop the speed by changing the direction, but that did not help; I hit her in the head, and she collapses.

I see Peter and Daniel attempt to catch her but end up ramming into another, knocking themselves down. I reach out and touch her soft, warm fingers but could not grip her small hand in time. It felt like the world was going in slow motion as she hits the wood floor, but instead of getting up, and brushing herself off, she lays there, not budging.

I had hit her moderately hard. She is the last person I wanted to cause harm to. The two idiots start to dispute, accusing each other, and for the first time in a while, I was scared. Was she going to be ok? Will she wake up? Why did this have to happen to Hail, of all people? No! No. No, why did I have to lose it? With a speeding heart, I carry her in my arms and faintly hear her say my name.

Hailflower's POV
I could hear the boys hitting each other and saying owe. I feel one of their hands touch my fingers, but I escaped their grasp and hit the hard wooden cold floor. I could not tell who it was because my sight had left me, but all I knew was I longed for my brother. I say Rider's name as stentorian as I could before beginning to hear high-pitched ringing within my ears and blackout.