Get Reviewed Forum When Times are Tragic, Wounds ..

It all began with a simple phone call one night after dinner. “Carly,” my father hollered up the stairs, “It’s for you. It’s Josh and he sounds upset.” As I came down the stairs to pick up the phone, I was not happy. I was tired and had looked forward to a nice, quiet evening at home, not another depressing visit with Josh. Thirty minutes later, however, Josh’s silver Mustang convertible swung into our driveway, and Josh was dialing my number before the car even came to a stop. Grabbing my coat from the couch, I walked out my front door with all the enthusiasm of a man going to stand before a firing squad. Instantly, I could sense something was wrong with him. Other than the fact that he actually called me for this emergency, I knew him well enough to know something terrible had happened. “What’s wrong?” I asked worriedly. Josh’s face turned as white as snow as he tried to utter a response. “My sister….she was…she was in a car accident.” Agony and despair quickly flashed across his face. “I’m sorry I bothered you, I know I shouldn’t have and that this is wrong but you used to always be the one I would go to for anything. I just really need someone to talk to right now,” Josh exclaimed brokenly.  He was clearly on the edge. At the time, I didn’t even know how badly his sister, Mia, was hurt. “Where’s Mia now? How is she? Why aren’t you with her?” I hurriedly asked, forgetting at the time that I should be a bit more supportive and compassionate. This was his sister after all. No matter how much Josh had put me through, we had history and I would never let him down, especially when it came to something like this. “She was driving and a car hit her straight on...” Josh said while on the verge of tears, “She’s at Walterwood Hospital right now. Carly, she’s not looking so good. I don’t know what I’m going to do.” The pain was shown clear on his face. Only twice had I ever before seen him cry, and they were all under extreme circumstances. When Josh cries you know something is seriously wrong. Suddenly, the memories came flooding back to me. The ones I had so crucially tried to block out for the past eight months. Not the brutal memories I had been keeping to help ward off any temptations of reentering an endless cycle of being with Josh, only to end up getting my heart broken, but memories of “the good ole days.” He used to be the center of my life at the time, and I of his. Young puppy love most people would say, but to us it was much more than that. Although, since our last break up, we hadn’t even so much as glanced at each other, let alone talked. At least until his phone call that is. Taking charge and knowing that I had to stay strong for him, I softly said, “Let’s go to the hospital. That’s where you need to be right now. To be there by your sister. Don’t worry, I can stay with you as long as you need.” He nodded in understanding and started driving off in the direction of the hospital. Within a matter of minutes we had arrived. As we got out to walk, I respectively told Josh that I had to make a quick phone call to my dad and let him know that I wouldn’t be home for awhile. After I finished talking to my dad, we started off for the quick walk from the car to the hospital. Josh took each step carefully, almost as if he was studying every crevice and wrinkle on the asphalt. Trying to still time so that he didn’t have to face any grave news, but also knowing at the same time that by taking these few moments his sister could be breathing her last breath of air. Once we entered the hospital, we quickly found Josh’s parents sitting on those uncomfortable green cushioned chairs outside of the room Mia was in.  Josh’s dad, a short, stocky, bald man was gripping a cup of coffee while seemingly staring into space. Josh’s mother on the other hand, who was a petite framed woman with bouncy black curls, seemed more unnerved than ever as she paced the long hallways not knowing what to do. They both embraced us with hugs of worry. Holding back tears from her big brown eyes, Mrs. Turner said, “Thank you so much for coming Carly, it means so much to all of us.” I nodded my head in respect for their family. Just as I was picking my head up to glance around, a loud monotone beeping slowly occurred. With the dread of that sound, nurses from every corner came running into Mia’s room. Timelessly, Mr. Turner dropped his cup of coffee, almost as if it were a reflex. Mrs. Turner tried running into the room to stand by her only daughter but was crudely pushed out of the way. She kept on persisting though, screaming hysterically at everyone in the room until finally they called for security and dragged her out, clawing and screaming. Josh and I were standing in the doorway while all of this was happening. We saw every detail, almost as if it were in slow motion. Within thirty seconds the doctors had spread this clear gooey liquid onto Mia’s chest as another doctor yelled, “Clear!” before shoving two defibrillators down against her. The room was silent as the doctor diligently continued to press the defibrillators down onto Mia, her body lurching forward every time. Josh inched closer and closer with every lurch, expecting a seemingly happy ending where Mia wakes up like Snow White. But it wasn’t; with one last lurch and no change in the steady ringing of her heart monitor, the doctor gently set down the two machines, checked his watch and declared, “Time of death, 10:47.” Josh had dropped to his knees as the doctor confirmed the death of his baby sister. Mr. Turner, trying to stay strong, put his hands on his son in a comforting gesture. But there was something wrong with his features. There was no more light in his eyes. No more sense of soul in his stance. Mr. Turner may have been standing there in a physical sense, but it was as if he was no longer there mentally. When he finally managed to utter a word, all he could say was, “Who’s going to tell my wife?” He kept desperately looking around as if there was a right answer. Josh aimlessly got up off the ground and slowly started off in the direction of the exit. Still in a trance, I had barely realized that he had left. Without hesitation I ran full speed after him, wind rushing past me. I came to a quick halt when I saw Josh laying on the ground near a gigantic pot hole. It was so big that while Josh had been running he hadn’t seen it and had fallen leaving minor scrapes and cuts on his arms. He didn’t even have the decency to put his hands out to try and catch himself As if he were a helpless child, he crouched into a fetal position, losing the effort to care anymore. Tears quickly dispersed down his face. In the midst of the night, all that could be heard was a soft cricket and Josh’s muffled tears hitting the cold, hard ground. I sat next to Josh, not knowing what to say, or even what to think. I was a novice when it came to losing someone the way Josh just had. Words from me wouldn’t heal the wounds that had just been inflicted on his life, nothing could. With all the comfort of two people who had been through so much together, I put my arms around Josh and laid there with him.  He slowly turned and sobbed solemnly. Time endlessly passed with us just laying there in the deserted parking lot. As I was staring up at the stars, letting Josh mourn, he turned his face to look up towards me. I stared back, waiting for what it was that he seemed to have to have to say. “You’ve always been here for me,” Josh whispered, as if in half realization. “You’ve never given up through it all.” I sheepishly looked away, avoiding his grieving yet renewed eyes. With another breath of air Josh breathed, “Thank you.”  Steeling myself, I glanced into his eyes, feeling as if I could see his soul. What I saw was a mourning teenage boy who had just lost his sister, but there was something else forming there too. It seemed that just by having my presence here, something between Josh and I had been healed. Something we both never thought could be healed again. And all with that one look from him, I knew that he was going to be alright. Yes, he would carry a deep sorrow from losing his one and only sister, but as time passes, it would heal. As Josh stared up at the stars he seemed to realize this too. Carefully, yet surely, he stood up and reached down to grab my hand. When he had pulled me up he slowly stated, “Come on, it’s time I go tell my mom what’s happened. I need to be the one to tell her and be there for her.” Being proud of his strength, I looked at him with resolution and said, “I’ll be here with you through it all.”  

...............I cried I just cried, this is done really well.