Untitled
Morgan Barr
“This is the last time I’m going to pick you up. Next time, you’ll face the wrath of mom and dad. And, just because I didn’t tell them doesn’t mean they won’t find out. This is a small town, Hailey, and people talk,” Hunter lectured to his little sister. Ever since their parents’ divorce, Hailey had been arrested twice, started doing drugs and had started dating Brayden, a twenty three year old college student.
“You need to start being a little more cautious. Just because Dad’s been working, and mom moved away doesn’t mean your freshman year of high school isn’t important.”
Looking over, he saw Hailey had put her headphones in. Sighing, he admits the uselessness of trying to get through to a fifteen year old girl. Especially Hailey. From her ripped jeans and converse sneakers to her cropped shirts and long red hair, she was a rebel. Her attitude and disrespect just made it worse. But, by far the worst thing was her anger. Between fights at school, in bars, and with her family, her temper was uncontrollable.
Hunter turned into the driveway and shut off the car. Getting out, he felt a knife of sadness wrenching through him when he glanced at the For Sale sign forked in the front yard. Taking another mental picture of his home, he walked towards the door, went inside and up to his room.
Hailey would come in sooner or later. Either that or she would go to whatever party was going on that night.
Hunter laid on his bed, hoping to discover a way to turn Hailey’s life around. Since his parents were never around, Hunter took care of his sister, and developed a deep sense of protection over her. His plans after his senior year never were to stick around and make sure she did okay instead of going to college like he’d dreamed of.
Instead, he’d be doing his parents job for them while they tried to forget they even had children. The only time they actually did something for Hailey and Hunter, was when they stocked the fridge with food, or when they paid the bills. Not once had they been to one of his soccer games, or one of Hailey’s cheer competitions; before she quit.
Before she quit cheerleading, Hailey’s red high ponytail had been her life. He runiform was pristine, and she’d never done any drugs. Bows and Nike Pros were her go to outfit when she had practice, and she never had a boyfriend. Now, she led a very different life. Although, her uniform still hung in her closet, without any dust on it. Her bows were all on her board, and her Nike Pros were folded in her dresser. Hoping they’d be worn sometime soon.
Hunter sighed again. He just wanted his family back. Back before his parents started fighting, before his mom’s miscarriage, back two years ago when all seemed right in the world. Little did he know, everything would change.
It was too late for Hailey to go home, even though she desperately wanted too. But she stayed with her “friends”. They were all trying something new, something called… Cocaine.
The puffy white lines on the tray looked like skinny clouds to her. Skinny, white clouds made of sugar. Skinny, white clouds that would take away her pain. Even if it was only temporary. Hailey could think about what Hunter would say, how he’d try to stop her. She thought about what her old coach would say. Finally, she thought about her parents. They didn’t care. They don’t even know where I am, or what’s going on. They don’t care. Nobody cares. Hailey took the tray, and snorted the skinny white cloud.
What is going on? was Hunter’s first thought when he heard the phone ringing. If Hailey hadn’t answered it, she wasn’t home. Hunter looked at his clock, it was 2:37 in the morning. Rushing to the phone, he caught it just in time.
“Hello?” Hunter questioned.
“Is this Hunter Brady?” the operator replied.
“yes.”
“Your sister, Hailey Brady, is dead.”
Hanging up the phone, Hunter slid to the floor. Hunter began to cry uncontrollably. His crying didn’t stop until the phone rang. It was his mom, calling for home in Cincinnati.
“How did this happen?” his mom screamed. “What did you do to her? What did you do???"
He stood up, finally realizing he didn’t deserve this. He took care of Hailey, he was there for her when his parents weren’t. And he wasn’t going to let his mom blame her death on him the way she did everything else.
“WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE?!?!” He screamed
“Because I’m her mom!”
“NO, you’re not. You moved away, dad started drinking, and working more than coming home, and I took care of Hailey. I took care of her, I raised her, not dad, not you. You are not her parents.”
Then he hung up and flew out the door, into the car driving as fast as he could towards the hospital. Storming through the entrance like a madman, he went to the front desk demanding to see where they’d been keeping Hailey.
“Sir, we can’t let you in yet, they’re performing the autopsy, and then you’ll be allowed in to identify her.” A doctor explained to Hunter.
“No, I want to see her, she, she’s my only real family.” The words slipped out like snakes from his lips. Then it really hit him: Hailey was gone, and she’s never coming back. There would be no more picking her up from the precinct, or from random parties when she’d gotten too drunk to walk home. There would be no more fighting about her clothing, or her boyfriend, or her drug abuse. There would no more cooking dinner for Hailey when she finally came home.
There would be no more family.
There would be no more Hailey.
Hunter broke down. It seemed like there wouldn’t be anything else to do. Right there, in the middle of the hospital lobby, he stopped thinking and started bawling. For the loss of his sister, his life and his family.
When he finally finished crying, it was time for him to identify Hailey. Walking into the morgue, and seeing her just lying there was the hardest thing he’d ever done.
Then he saw her, Hailey was lying there, on a rolling table. For once, she wasn’t moving. She was just lying there, and for once he was wishing she would say something.
“Is this your sister?” The doctor asked.
“yes.” Hunter said vaguely.
“Have you thought about a funeral son?”
He hadn’t. How could he? It hadn’t even been twenty four hours. of course if he did have a funeral, it would cost more money than he had. And it’s not like he could just ask his parents for the money, considering his mom was in Cincinnati, and he had no idea what bar his dad was in at the moment. The best option was probably to just have Hailey cremated.
“I just wanted her cremated.” He said at last.
“Well, considering your situation, I’ll gladly find someone to do it for free.” The doctor explained.
“What situation are you talking about?” Hunter exclaimed defensively.
“Son, we all know about you parents, word gets around when two kids are left to fend for themselves, essentially abandoned by their parents that were supposed to take care of them.”
“Well if everyone knew, why didn’t anyone try to help us? Why didn’t anyone come rescue us when our mom moved away? Or when our dad traded us for booze and extra shifts? OUr when my sister started doing drugs? Huh, Why didn’t anyone help us?” Hunter was yelling now. All the anger from the past months, years and days came pouring out of him like a waterfall.
“I don’t know why no one helped you kids. You didn’t deserve the burden of raising your sister on your own. You needed help. You needed someone to raise you too. BUt now, you’ve had a chance to grow up before most of your peers. Which makes you extremely prepared for whatever crap life throws your way.”
Hunter sat and pondered those words for a long time when he got home that night.
“Maybe I’ll be okay, maybe I can go to college now. This pain is only temporary. I’ll be okay.” He said aloud to himself.
Hailey’s gone. Eventually, I’ll accept that and I’ll try to move on. I’m never going to forget her, she’ll always be my little sister. One of these days, I’ll get to see her again, and it’ll be okay. Maybe.
“You need to start being a little more cautious. Just because Dad’s been working, and mom moved away doesn’t mean your freshman year of high school isn’t important.”
Looking over, he saw Hailey had put her headphones in. Sighing, he admits the uselessness of trying to get through to a fifteen year old girl. Especially Hailey. From her ripped jeans and converse sneakers to her cropped shirts and long red hair, she was a rebel. Her attitude and disrespect just made it worse. But, by far the worst thing was her anger. Between fights at school, in bars, and with her family, her temper was uncontrollable.
Hunter turned into the driveway and shut off the car. Getting out, he felt a knife of sadness wrenching through him when he glanced at the For Sale sign forked in the front yard. Taking another mental picture of his home, he walked towards the door, went inside and up to his room.
Hailey would come in sooner or later. Either that or she would go to whatever party was going on that night.
Hunter laid on his bed, hoping to discover a way to turn Hailey’s life around. Since his parents were never around, Hunter took care of his sister, and developed a deep sense of protection over her. His plans after his senior year never were to stick around and make sure she did okay instead of going to college like he’d dreamed of.
Instead, he’d be doing his parents job for them while they tried to forget they even had children. The only time they actually did something for Hailey and Hunter, was when they stocked the fridge with food, or when they paid the bills. Not once had they been to one of his soccer games, or one of Hailey’s cheer competitions; before she quit.
Before she quit cheerleading, Hailey’s red high ponytail had been her life. He runiform was pristine, and she’d never done any drugs. Bows and Nike Pros were her go to outfit when she had practice, and she never had a boyfriend. Now, she led a very different life. Although, her uniform still hung in her closet, without any dust on it. Her bows were all on her board, and her Nike Pros were folded in her dresser. Hoping they’d be worn sometime soon.
Hunter sighed again. He just wanted his family back. Back before his parents started fighting, before his mom’s miscarriage, back two years ago when all seemed right in the world. Little did he know, everything would change.
It was too late for Hailey to go home, even though she desperately wanted too. But she stayed with her “friends”. They were all trying something new, something called… Cocaine.
The puffy white lines on the tray looked like skinny clouds to her. Skinny, white clouds made of sugar. Skinny, white clouds that would take away her pain. Even if it was only temporary. Hailey could think about what Hunter would say, how he’d try to stop her. She thought about what her old coach would say. Finally, she thought about her parents. They didn’t care. They don’t even know where I am, or what’s going on. They don’t care. Nobody cares. Hailey took the tray, and snorted the skinny white cloud.
What is going on? was Hunter’s first thought when he heard the phone ringing. If Hailey hadn’t answered it, she wasn’t home. Hunter looked at his clock, it was 2:37 in the morning. Rushing to the phone, he caught it just in time.
“Hello?” Hunter questioned.
“Is this Hunter Brady?” the operator replied.
“yes.”
“Your sister, Hailey Brady, is dead.”
Hanging up the phone, Hunter slid to the floor. Hunter began to cry uncontrollably. His crying didn’t stop until the phone rang. It was his mom, calling for home in Cincinnati.
“How did this happen?” his mom screamed. “What did you do to her? What did you do???"
He stood up, finally realizing he didn’t deserve this. He took care of Hailey, he was there for her when his parents weren’t. And he wasn’t going to let his mom blame her death on him the way she did everything else.
“WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE?!?!” He screamed
“Because I’m her mom!”
“NO, you’re not. You moved away, dad started drinking, and working more than coming home, and I took care of Hailey. I took care of her, I raised her, not dad, not you. You are not her parents.”
Then he hung up and flew out the door, into the car driving as fast as he could towards the hospital. Storming through the entrance like a madman, he went to the front desk demanding to see where they’d been keeping Hailey.
“Sir, we can’t let you in yet, they’re performing the autopsy, and then you’ll be allowed in to identify her.” A doctor explained to Hunter.
“No, I want to see her, she, she’s my only real family.” The words slipped out like snakes from his lips. Then it really hit him: Hailey was gone, and she’s never coming back. There would be no more picking her up from the precinct, or from random parties when she’d gotten too drunk to walk home. There would be no more fighting about her clothing, or her boyfriend, or her drug abuse. There would no more cooking dinner for Hailey when she finally came home.
There would be no more family.
There would be no more Hailey.
Hunter broke down. It seemed like there wouldn’t be anything else to do. Right there, in the middle of the hospital lobby, he stopped thinking and started bawling. For the loss of his sister, his life and his family.
When he finally finished crying, it was time for him to identify Hailey. Walking into the morgue, and seeing her just lying there was the hardest thing he’d ever done.
Then he saw her, Hailey was lying there, on a rolling table. For once, she wasn’t moving. She was just lying there, and for once he was wishing she would say something.
“Is this your sister?” The doctor asked.
“yes.” Hunter said vaguely.
“Have you thought about a funeral son?”
He hadn’t. How could he? It hadn’t even been twenty four hours. of course if he did have a funeral, it would cost more money than he had. And it’s not like he could just ask his parents for the money, considering his mom was in Cincinnati, and he had no idea what bar his dad was in at the moment. The best option was probably to just have Hailey cremated.
“I just wanted her cremated.” He said at last.
“Well, considering your situation, I’ll gladly find someone to do it for free.” The doctor explained.
“What situation are you talking about?” Hunter exclaimed defensively.
“Son, we all know about you parents, word gets around when two kids are left to fend for themselves, essentially abandoned by their parents that were supposed to take care of them.”
“Well if everyone knew, why didn’t anyone try to help us? Why didn’t anyone come rescue us when our mom moved away? Or when our dad traded us for booze and extra shifts? OUr when my sister started doing drugs? Huh, Why didn’t anyone help us?” Hunter was yelling now. All the anger from the past months, years and days came pouring out of him like a waterfall.
“I don’t know why no one helped you kids. You didn’t deserve the burden of raising your sister on your own. You needed help. You needed someone to raise you too. BUt now, you’ve had a chance to grow up before most of your peers. Which makes you extremely prepared for whatever crap life throws your way.”
Hunter sat and pondered those words for a long time when he got home that night.
“Maybe I’ll be okay, maybe I can go to college now. This pain is only temporary. I’ll be okay.” He said aloud to himself.
Hailey’s gone. Eventually, I’ll accept that and I’ll try to move on. I’m never going to forget her, she’ll always be my little sister. One of these days, I’ll get to see her again, and it’ll be okay. Maybe.