The Four Points

CHAPTER 5

SPOTLIGHT

Later that day, I got released from the hospital. My mom, sister, and brother came to pick me up. This was the first time I'd seen my sister and brother in days.

My sister, Alyssa, was barely a year older than me. She was a straight-A student; I was not. She was the smart, pretty child. I... well, I wasn't ugly... my sister and I did look a lot alike; some people even thought we were twins. She was just the prettier version. We both had long brown hair with reddish golden tinges throughout. But while my hair was thin and dull, my sister's was thick, full, and shiny. My skin was pale and washed out, my sister's golden and rosy. While I was skinny, my sister was the perfect weight. When I was younger, my school wanted me to skip a grade because of my test scores— which I guess showed I was smart, but I'd never been like Alyssa, driven to do well at school. I was glad my mom chose to keep me in my grade. Could you imagine how much more I would be compared to my sister if we were in the same grade?

My little brother Kai wore big round glasses that covered most of his small round face and he was super skinny like me. He looked and acted like a young Harry Potter. His intelligence and mischievous ways seemed to always get him into trouble too. I thought as I looked at him, I hope he gets bigger, or high school is not going to be fun. Kai wasn't the athletic type either. He loved his video games. He never knew his jerk father, my stepfather, who left us when he was a baby. I wondered how difficult it must have been for a boy being raised by three girls. Did he long for a father? For male companionship and guidance?

"Hey E," Alyssa said as she walked in, jumping on the bed. "Oh my God Erika, there are TV crews everywhere. You are going to be so famous."

"Erika, Erika," my brother squeaked, "can I be on TV too?"

"What are you guys talking about? I don't want to be on TV."

"Erika, we have reporters calling night and day. They are offering us a lot of money for interviews. We can be rich, and you can be famous!" my sister said, jumping up and down.

"I don't want to be famous." I grabbed the blanket and pulled it over my head. "I just want it all to go away."

I was always shy, always quiet. The spotlight was a place I never sought and never felt comfortable in.

"Erika. Come on, stop acting like a baby. You're famous. You should be proud. This can actually open up a lot of opportunities for us. Maybe we can buy a house." My mom's excited voice came through the blanket that I was hoping would be my shield.

I pushed the blankets off, sat up, put my clothes on, and finished packing. We were about to leave when I remembered the book. I reached behind my pillow when no one was looking, pulled it out, and packed it neatly in my duffel bag.

"Mom, have I always had that birthmark on my neck?"

"Yes, you know you have. You were born with it. Why?"

"Does anyone else that you know, like a relative, have the same birthmark?"

"No, Erika. Why all the questions about your birthmark? It's a birthmark, who cares? No one can see it. Your hair covers it."

I wondered how common my birthmark was, and thought about how weird it was to see one identical to mine on Liam Malloy.

"Erika, enough about your birthmark. I want to leave. We still have to go past the hundreds of reporters outside. I want to go before more come." My mom was hurriedly searching the room for any belongings I might leave behind.

Until now, I hadn't thought about the reporters, the rest of the town, the questions they must have, the questions the parents of the dead must have. I didn't want to leave the hospital. Nurse Michelle brought a wheelchair to escort me out. I wanted to walk, but she explained it was hospital policy. I reluctantly sat in the wheelchair. Nurse Michelle pushed me to the elevator then down the same long white hall that just a few days earlier had been filled with the screams and cries of the families destroyed by Trevor and Robert.

Did those families hate me? Did they really believe I could be involved?

As soon as the hospital doors opened, flashes went off instantaneously. People were pushing and yelling out questions. My mom hadn't been exaggerating. There had to be hundreds of reporters out there.

Kai began to cry. My mom picked him up.

Alyssa screamed, "Get back! I swear, if anyone steps on my new shoes..."

We were surrounded. Nurse Michelle could no longer push the wheelchair. I tried to shield my face with my arms. Police and security guards helped to move the crowds back so we could get by.

Reporters yelled. One asked me how it felt to be a hero, another wanted to know if I knew Robert and Trevor well. A third reporter asked me to address the people who felt I was involved. I raised my hands in an X-formation to shield my eyes from the blinding flashes when a microphone was shoved under my arms and in my face. A blonde female reporter yelled over the sea of noise, "How do you feel about knowing that only three people died, and that you probably single-handedly saved dozens?"

The crowd quieted when I spoke, "Three?"

Then the questions started again...

The car was parked just feet from the exit in the loading zone right in front of the hospital, but it seemed to take us hours to get there. We finally got to the car and I got in. I sat in the front, my brother and sister in the back.

Three... That was the first time I'd heard how many people died. Three people...Did I know any of them?

Three... I felt faint.

I put my head against the window. I placed my hands over my ears. I could still hear all the questions. The windows were up and the doors were shut, but I could still hear every single reporter as if they were sitting right beside me.

There was a reporter standing in front of the car. He wouldn't stop taking pictures and he wouldn't get out of the way, even after my mom revved the engine.

My heart accelerated, my temples were pulsating, my head throbbed, and then the noise stopped. It was silent. I stared at the reporter, wanting him to move, wanting to run him over.

"Mom!" Alyssa shouted as the car leapt forward, barely missing the reporter as he jumped and rolled on the black pavement.

"Whoa, I don't know what happened! I must have put my foot on the gas too hard."

"Mom, Mom, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" I placed my hand on my mom's extended arm as she clutched the steering wheel tightly.

"Erika, what are you talking about?" my mom asked, looking at me like I was crazy.

Kai started to cry again. My mom placed her foot on the gas. The car made a screeching sound as we sped out of the hospital parking lot.

"Mom, do you think that the reporter we almost hit is ok?" I strained my neck looking behind us, trying to catch a glimpse of the man I was sure I almost killed.

"He's fine, Erika. I saw him get up in my rearview mirror."

"Serves him right for blocking our car anyways." Alyssa ran her fingers through her hair, flipping it to the other side.

My mom pleaded with my brother, "Kai, please stop crying, please! This is just great. Now we are the focus of the whole world."

"I think it's pretty cool – and anyways, if I remember, so did you when you were talking about buying a new house."

Judging by the lack of response from my mother, I don't think she heard Alyssa's final mutterings.

"I think it's kind of scary," Kai sniffled from his booster seat.

For the rest of the ride I just stared out the window wondering. Was it me? Did I make the car lurch forward? Did I make the car almost hit the reporter? I felt like I was losing my grasp on reality.