When the Blood Runs Thick

The Broken Family

I wake in a warm, comfortable hospital bed. The first thing I notice is I can breath again. Slowly, I sit up, pain shooting through my chest, causing me to wince. I look next to me and see Mason and Aiden sitting in chairs. Mason tensed body and clutched hands cause him to appear distressed.

Mason stands and walks over. He gently tousles my hair. "Morning, sleeping beauty."

"How bad is it?" I ask.

"Well, your left ankle snapped and Midnight's hoof broke your sternum and left a nasty cut that needed stitches," Mason says giving me a sympathetic look. "But, hey. You'll be out in, like, an hour."

I fall back on to the bed. Snapped ankle? Broken sternum? And a stitched up gash? What next? I close my eyes. This means I'll be on crutches for at least twelve weeks total; six weeks with a plaster cast and another six weeks without the plaster.

I stare at the white ceiling. My wrists and head begin to ache. It then starts to feel wet, like someone just poured warm water on it. My chest tightens. If you haven't noticed already, my memories like to pop up at random times, tearing my heart apart.

*****

The first few weeks of recovery is a real pain in the neck, but as more weeks pass, everything becomes easier. And at school they've started calling me crutchy and horse fodder. It bothers me more than it should, so at night I'll add to my collection of cuts and scars. Nothing new, really.

So, eventually my twelve weeks are up and I don't need to use the crutches anymore. It's great, honestly. I can run around again and I don't need help carrying around my stuff anymore. Aiden had been the one helping me out at school, helping me carry my lunch and helping me from class to class even though it caused him to be late to his classes.

*****

I sit in English, listening to Mr. Pearlberg talk about how to properly write an essay. He writes down notes on the white and I jot them down, making sure to get every detail. It's an easy class but I just want to make sure I get this right. And if you're wondering why I'm still in school despite the fact that it's June, it's because of our many, many, many snow days. We now go until about the middle of June. The room's phone rings and Mr. Pearlberg excuses himself and goes to answer it.

"Hello," he says into the phone. "Yeah, I have her in my class right now... You want me to send her down to the office? ... Okay. Thanks. Bye." Mr. Pearlberg turns. "Annie, the office wants you."

The class ohs like they always do when someone is called down to the office. My cheeks warm as I stand and exit the room. I walk down the hallway. I see Aiden walking the opposite way.

He stops me. "Hey. Where are you going?"

"The office," I say.

"Why?" Aiden gives me a concerned look.

"I don't know. The office called Mr. Pearlberg and he said they wanted me. I don't know why though. Where are you going?"

"Ah. I'm just headin' back to science class."

"Cool."

"Okay. Well, see you later," Aiden says with a smile.

I smile back. "Okay. See you."

I round a corner, continuing down the hallway. I then reach a flight of stairs, which I hop down like a child. When I reach the bottom, I nonchalantly walk into the office where the secretary and Miss White stand waiting for me. They have saddened looks on their faces. They look at me like I'm some kind of wounded animal. Miss White looks over at the secretary and then back to me.

"Why don't you take a seat, Annie?" Miss White says, gesturing to the chairs behind me.

I hesitantly take a seat. "What's going on? Am I in trouble?" I become nervous about what's they're about to tell me.

"No, you're not." Miss White takes a deep breath before continuing. "Listen. One of your fathers, Jacob, got into a car crash this afternoon and was seriously injured. They don't know whether or not he'll live."

My heart sinks and tear fill my eyes. "But he's alive... right? They saved him, right?" I ask frantically. I begin to worry that I may have just lost half of my family, half of what makes me happy.

Miss White bites her lower lip. "No, Annie. He didn't make it. I'm sorry. But we called your other father and he's coming to pick you up."

Tears fall down my cheeks, dripping onto carpeted floor. My body begins to tremble and my breathing becomes raspy. "What about class?" A stupid thing to worry about at this moment, but I just had to ask it.

"There's only fifteen minutes left. You'll be fine," the secretary says.

I sit with my head ducked and my hands clasped while I wait for Mason to show up. My cheeks and my collar are soaked with tears. I still can't believe that Jacob's gone. But I can only imagine what kind of pain Mason must be dealing with. I mean, they loved each other with all their heart and now Jacob's just... gone.

I begin to imagine what the crash may have been like. I imagine Jacob out on his lunch break, just driving on the road like it was any other day. Then he comes upon a stoplight, but the light is green, so he continues to drive. Then, another car, who ran their red light, slamming into the side of Jacob's car. I imagine the side of the car crushed in and blood streaming down Jacob's forehead and glass sticking out of his skin. Blood then--

"Annie?"

I look up and see Mason standing in the doorway. I run over to him and wrap my arms around his torso tightly, not wanting to let go. Mason pats my back and gives me a small smile.

"Everything will be okay, Annie," he says, fighting back tears. "I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," I say through sobs.

Mason bites his lip. "Come on. Let's go."

I hop into the passenger's seat, remembering when I first met Jacob and Mason. How Jacob had sat here and how he told me how long they'd been dating. I remember how happy he was. How happy he made me. But I shouldn't be talking. Mason is probably in pain a hundred times worse than mine. I mean, they loved each other so much, and were willing to do anything for each other.

When we get home, Mason immediately walks into the kitchen and comes back with a beer in his hand. He plops down on the couch, popping the tab on the can. He has a dead look in his eye.

"What? Why are you just standing there?" Mason asks, choking up on his tears. Suddenly he doubles over, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I should've been the one to die! Not him! He deserved life way more than me! He should've never died!"

I walk over and sit next to him, hugging him tightly. "But if you died, Jacob would be broken hearted and so would I." Tears well up in my eyes again.

Mason shakes his head. "But Jacob never deserved this. He never did anything wrong. He deserved better."

My lower lip starts to quiver and my heart shatters more at the sight of Mason being so upset. Mason doesn't deserve to be hurting so much. I mean, Mason is one of the kindest people ever, but then again, Jacob never deserved to die.