EmpressOfDarkness's blog: "Torn Part 4"

Brian returned to his window and Lisa was at a loss. She'd tried everything she could think of to make him feel more at home. She didn't know what else to do. Then she remembered her friend Wendy's dinner party the following weekend. It gave her an opportunity to work on getting him out of the house and interact with other people for a while.

Wendy was leaving for graduate school and they were having a going away dinner. She had gotten early admission, so she was heading to California a few weeks early to get settled. It was going to be just a few friends; nothing fancy or outlandish.

Lisa just had to figure out how she was going to convince Brian to go. She thought about bribing him, begging him, even just asking him. Nothing seemed like it would work though. She'd actually tried bringing it up, but he was back to wherever his mind would run and he either didn't hear her or pretended not to. As the days passed, and the event approached, she thought that she'd never come up with a way to get him out of the house.

The night before Wendy's dinner, Lisa thought Brian was making a break through. She actually heard him on the phone. She couldn't make out what was being said, and didn't wait around to find out. She was just happy because it was the first time since he got home that he had made a call. 'Maybe getting him out to dinner won't be so hard after all,' she thought, her hopes soaring.

Her parent’s actually helped to make sure he would go. She told them what she wanted to do and they thought it was a good idea. A few hours after Brian's phone call, his mood shifted, slightly. He seemed tense; almost angry. Whenever someone talked to him he would just glare and brood.

Everyone else sitting at the table quickly was quiet, and Lisa couldn’t help but think of changing her plans to get him to go with her. The problem was she couldn’t find a way to let her parents know her concern.

Brian kept glancing back to the window. He looked very troubled. It got so bad that Mr. Callington got up from the table and closed the curtain, hoping that would pull him back to the present, even for a little while.

“Your sister wants you to go out with her and her friend’s tomorrow night,” Mr. Callington said, watching his son's reaction.

“Yes, I know. I had a feeling she’d want me to go with her. I haven't decided if I'm going or not.” Brian refused to look up from his plate. Instead he sat moving the food around distractedly with his fork.

Lisa looked up with surprise. She hadn’t said anything about the dinner in front of him. Not that she remembered anyway. Forcing herself to recall if she had or not just started to give her a headache and no answers.  

“Well, I thought I would let you know that we're having company tomorrow night.”

“We are?” Brian looked up and glanced from his mother to his father.

“Yes we are,” Mrs. Callington confirmed.

“Who is it?”

Lisa held her breath. She knew this would either make her brother come out for the evening, run screaming hysterically into the night, or vow to hide up in his room until the following day.

“It's the Wetherton's from down the road,” Mr. Callington said, keeping his voice steady.

“The Wethertons?” Brian wasn't able to keep his voice steady. The distain was clear.

“Yes, they just got back from their vacation and they want to show us the slides they made.”

'There it is; the clincher.' Lisa thought. If anything would make him leave the house that would.

“Do they not know that slide shows are out of date?”

“You know they'll never change. They're set in their ways.” Lisa's father said glanced at his wife. When she nodded at him he continued. “They're bringing their son, Jason.”

Brian and Jason had never gotten along. There was no reason for it, at least none the family knew about, they just didn't appear to click.

“Fine, I'll go!” Brian relented.

Lisa could barely contain her excitement but she said nothing for fear if she did he would change his mind. With that settled, Brian went back to eating his dinner silently. The rest of the evening no one said very much. They seemed to understand that Brian needed quiet and left him to his thoughts.

Dinner the next evening went fine; it was just a few people which Lisa was glad for. She was a little afraid that it may have turned into a huge affair, but they kept their word and left it a small group. Lisa kept a watchful eye on her brother in case it seemed like he was being overwhelmed or even retreating like he did at home.

Sometimes it didn't seem to matter if there were people in the room, or if he was in the middle of a conversation. He would even stop mid sentence and his gaze would return to the window. Lisa wished she knew what triggered these retreats; then maybe she could keep her brother just a little longer by avoiding them.

There wasn't any 'one' thing though. Not that she could find and she did try. She didn't want to focus on that though. She pulled herself back to the present and the company she was in. 'The rest can wait,' she thought.

Brian seemed to be having a good time. He was laughing and joking. Lisa wasn't entirely sure if it was real or not though because that haunted look kept sneaking into his eyes. At times though, when she glanced over, he actually looked like he was having fun. She was glad she decided to do this.

When it was over, they decided to walk home. It wasn't far, and the night was warm enough. Lisa wasn't in the proper shape to drive. Tires squealed down the road, swerving from left to right. The driver appeared to be drunk and unsure of what they were doing. It would roar forward then shudder as the gears changed.

Lisa had never actually witnessed a drunk driver before, she wasn’t sure if she felt scared the driver would hit them, or angry that the driver was going down the road like an idiot. “Some people shouldn’t have their license,” she muttered, frustrated and slightly annoyed.

As it approached Lisa and Brian a second time, it swerved away at the last second, barely missing them. Brian wasn’t sure if it was going to miss them so he pushed his sister gently toward the lawn.

She stumbled but caught herself before she could fall. A small gasp escaped her lips as she thought Brian was going to be hit. She no longer felt calm, her knees were shaking and she fought the need to cry.

A moment later, the car hit the curb on the other side of the road and slammed into a mailbox post. The cracking wood startled the pair, despite already feeling near panic.  

With the car now at rest, the pair was curious to see if the driver was alright. They approached cautiously.

“Hey, are you okay?” Brian asked, peering in the passenger side window.

There was no reply. They could see a shadowed figure slumped over the steering wheel; also they noticed the airbag didn’t go off.

“Lisa, call 9-1-1. I'm going to try to help.” Brian walked around to the other side and pulled the driver's door open.

Lisa sobered up immediately. Pulling her cell from her pocket, she quickly called for an ambulance. While explaining what happened, she kept a careful eye on her brother. She leaned against the side of the car to support herself. Adrenaline was keeping her from collapsing.

“Hey, Lisa! I know this guy,” Brian said, panic filled his voice.

“You do? Is he okay?” she questioned, leaning in the passenger window. She knew something was not right. The tone he used told her that it wasn't good. She couldn't quite put her finger on if it was because of the accident or something more. That bothered her. If she wasn’t so panicked she might be able to tell.

Sirens could be heard approaching in the distance; they were only minutes away. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, yet far too quickly at the same time. It was confusing to her.

“Yeah, it's one of...” Brian was cut off by a loud pop that hurt Lisa's ears; the flash was just as intense. Lisa had never heard anything like it. She looked from the man in the car to her brother.

“Brian!” Lisa screamed as she watched her brother crumple to the ground. “Brian! Oh my God!” She ran around the front of the car to him. Dropping her cell phone to the ground, she collapsed to the ground. She could see the blood.

Tears filled her eyes as she pulled him close, cradling him in her arms as blood seeped slowly from his ear and down the side of his mouth. A puddle was beginning to form between her knees. That's when she saw blood trickle through her fingers.

She looked at the driver; confused, angry. “How could you?” she screamed at him. It wasn't anyone she recognized. Her mind was racing. “Who did he think he was?'

She couldn't get over his eyes. They were the darkest brown she’d ever seen and they appeared dead to her. It was the same look her brother had when he stared out the window; lost... but mostly dead. “Why? Why would you...” she was interrupted by another muzzle flash and pop. 

to be continued...