Not An Accident

by Tampa Tyson

  “It’s not like she treated me with any respect beforehand, though,” Robert said, “She got me kicked out of school- though she'd say it was all my fault."

  I wasn’t sure if he got kicked out of school before his parents died or after they died.

  “And from what I can understand, your parents didn’t treat you any better,”

  “Like I said, my parents doted on my big sis!” Robert said, “I never got any chance of getting their attention. Good, bad, whatever, I was completely ignored. The only thing that got me any attention was pulling out their brakes. That was the first time they actually reacted.”

  “Did that kill them?

  Robert stopped sawing. “What kinda question is that?” he asked.

  “I’m just asking,” If I pushed him too far, he’d lose control again and Stephen would come running downstairs. I wanted to investigate, not get the kid in premature trouble.

  Robert swayed again, a bit faster this time, with a slight twisting of his short brown hair. “I didn’t mean to kill them Gabby,” he said, “I just wanted to teach them a lesson.”

  “Really? So, it didn’t cross your mind that car crashes due to damaged brakes usually result in death?”

  “No, Robert shook his head, “I didn’t think about that.”

  “Well, whatever the case, you’re in danger, Robert,” I said, “you should probably go back to the construction site, where you’ll be safe.”

  Robert stopped swaying. He stood up, his hands flat on his lap. “This is about Stephen, isn’t it?” he said.

  “Of course not,” I said, “I just want you to be safe.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Gabby,” Robert stood up and crossed his arms. Almost instinctively, I sprawled myself out. Robert bent forehead staring at me, “I know he’s up there. Standing.”

  “What can he do to you?” I chuckled nervously, “it ain’t like he has a restraining order or anything between us...”

  “That’s it!” Robert reached for the nearest thing he could find- a pillow- but even that was a contact sport- and Dr. Angie had told me - no contact sports.

  “Robert don’t—” Too late.

  I grabbed the nearest pillow I could find and made it into a shield. “Stop! Stop!” Even though I felt like screaming, I kept my voice as low as possible, “you don’t know what you’re doing, Robert!” I begged as he hit my shield with his pillow- sword- first using both hands and starting from his forehead, "you’re gonna get yourself arrested!”

  Robert aimed yet again, this time starting from his stomach. I grew frightened- for both of us. “Please, Robert... Do you know what Sage would think of you?”

  “It doesn’t matter what I try to do- she’s never liked me,” Robert took aim again, and I shielded myself again, "she was the one who bailed me out after I got arrested for accidentally killing my parents." Only this time, Robert threw it over me instead of on me. I breathed a sigh of relief.

  Robert then asked me if I wanted to sit down and I said yes, giving him the exact same seat, he’d gotten earlier. He kept the pillow, but instead of throwing it at me. he gently tossed it as if was a frisbee. A thick Frisbee. “Maybe that’s why she treats me so bad.... just because.”

  I was curious. “What has she done?”

  “Well, ever since Mom and Dad died, Sage’s been on my case about looking nice,” Robert flipped the pillow like he was flipping pancakes with two spatulas, “she’s even gone so fall as to replace all my clothes with nice cloth versions. You see these overalls?”

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s the only pair I have that’s decently comfortable. I wear as it long as I can, but it’s gonna get frayed soon. I need new clothes. Comfortable clothes.”

  “Is that why I’ve never seen you at school?” I asked.

  “Yeah, you’ve only been here a year,” Robert said, “Sage had me kicked out of school a couple years back.”

  “How?”

  “She made me wear clothes that I could barely move in. All day, the only way to feel comfortable was to shuffle around- which she teased me about. And then she had the audacity to make me go be social all night. Couldn’t handle any of it, so I got really stressed....”

  “You went insane, didn’t you?

  “Don’t say that. I’m not insane,” Robert began to stand up, the pillow in his hand. I lifted my hands, "I just lost control.”

  “Yeah, Yeah, I’m sorry...”

  Robert sat back down. “It’s kind good news though... Sage got kicked out too.”

  “How is that kinda good news?”

  “Well, given she couldn’t go to school no more, she couldn’t show off all the fancy clothes she had in mind for me no more,” Robert said, “but then again, now she constantly teases me- blames me for the whole thing. She took away everything I loved, like a master punishment meant to make me a copy of her.”

  “Oh, Robert, I’m so sorry,” I began to rest my hand on Robert’s shoulder, but he jerked away from me, “tell you what, before I get my cast replaced, I’ll come and visit you.” That gave me a week deadline- plenty of time.

  “You’ll do that for me?” Robert asked.

  “Of course, Robert,” I said, “you’re too special. Too special of a person. Too special of a person not to be paid some attention to.”

  “You’re just like Kayla, Gabby,” Robert said, “only, you’re forgetting something.”

  “What?”

  “The restraining order.”

  “Don’t worry Robert.” I grabbed Robert with a firmer grip and leaned in, so I could whisper in his ear, “I’ll figure that out.”

  He didn’t seem too bothered by my attention. In fact, I think he liked it.

  Chapter 13

  I felt sorry for him. That poor boy. He’d go home, alone, without his sister. And when she did come back - if she ever came back - he'd be in a world of pain. And his clothes- they smelled terrible, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.

  I wished I could help him, but there didn’t seem to be much that I could do. Even though I’d told Robert I’d come and see him, I wasn't sure how I'd be able to- especially not with the restraining order. I headed to the top of the stairs and found Stephen standing there, door wide open. “You okay, Gabby?”

  “I’m fine, thank you.” Hearing his voice was like hearing the first thunderclap of a thunderstorm in the summer. As soon as it happened, everybody would rush to the nearest building, in pursuit of safety. I knew Stephen was only trying to do that, too- keep me safe, but sometimes I felt he was going in the other direction.

  “Are you sure?” Stephen asked.

  “Of course, I’m sure.” It’s not like Stephen would ever throw me a party, would he? All I could do was try to survive this. Maybe someday somebody else would come rescue me and bring me into the city. More people, more excitement. “Is my Dad almost home?”

  “He told me he’d be working all night.” Stephen shook his head.

  I wasn’t surprised. Dad would do anything to try to stay home. “Tomorrow's my doctor's appointment,” I said.

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Next week I might be getting a new cast,” I said.

  “Yes, you’ll be able to have a bath.”

  The door opened, and Stephen answered. It was Mom. She thanked Stephen profusely for keeping an eye on me, but I didn’t share her enthusiasm. And with zero emotional strength, all I could do was stand there and watch as Mom cried into Stephen’s shoulder, thanking him again for keeping an eye on me.

  It took a while before Stephen left, and when he did, Mom paid little attention to me. Dinner was parboiled rice, which Mom mixed with green onions and peas. It wasn’t too bad, I guess – I mean, I got my veggies. But I didn’t eat that much. “Is something wrong?”

  Nothing’s wrong, Mom. “I’m just not hungry.”

  “Well, maybe you’ll be hungry by tomorrow,” Mom put the green onions, peas, and rice mixture away in a Pyrex container. Then she sent me to bed. In the morning,
when I woke up, I heard her arguing with Dad- him complaining that he was too tired, and she insisted that he should have come home earlier. "Well, what am I supposed to do, my boss wanted me to work today!”

  “You're a liar. Get up!”

  Dad climbed into the front passenger sheet of the car. “You locked all the doors?”

  “Yeah, of course.” As soon as Dad put on his seatbelt, Mom got out and went to check the doors. Dad began to take off his seatbelt, but she came back before he even had a chance- and started the car before he could protest.

  “This is so stupid,” Dad said, “Gabby should be having her friends over, not sitting in the house with Stephen on her front porch. They don’t even talk.”

  “They don’t have to,” Mom said, “all I care about is that Stephen’s there to keep an eye on Gabby if we both works.”

  “You’re missing the point, Catherine,” Dad said, “I don’t want Gabby in the house. Not all the time. Not on her own. Not with one other kid who doesn’t talk to her.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s not healthy for her to remain isolated like that,” Dad paused a moment, “you’re not even listening, are you?”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Maybe I should get Gabby a dog.”

  “No.”

  “She doesn’t have any other good reason to get up in the morning to get up in the morning right now. No skiing, nothing but school.... the only reason she's getting up this morning is because of her doctor’s appointment. She needs a dog.”

  Mom gave him a look. “Maybe I should take Gabby out of school and give her a sedative then. She’ll get through these three weeks easily that way.” Dad said.

  "That's a terrible idea."

  “Really? Like locking Gabby up in her own room is okay?”

  “Don’t treat me like a villain,” Mom said, “I am not locking Gabby up. She’s able to go to school, every place a normal kid goes.... aside from the swimming pool.”

  “And outside,” Dad added.

  “You know it as well as I do.... she has to keep her cast dry.”

  “Maybe I should throw her in the pool.”

  “You idiot!” Mom barely avoided crashing the car into a parked car as she swerved into the hospital parking lot. “You are so lucky we’re in the hospital parking lot.... otherwise we probably would have all died!”

  “Honestly, she’s better off dead.”

  Mom ignored him while she parked the car and got me in. She wrapped her arms around me as we walked in..... but I couldn’t calm myself Dad. As it stood, Dad was right. I was kinda better off dead... I had no reason to exist... I didn’t even know why I was staying alive.

  Mom stepped up to the front desk in the pediatric department and asked the receptionist if Dr. Angie was available right away. “No, sorry, miss,” The receptionist said, “he’s actually in an emergency, he’s gonna be a bit late.”

  That annoyed Mom, she turned around and shouted at Dad that my life was worth living. He shook his head, saying that all I was currently doing was existing, not thriving. He wanted me to thrive, not simply survive.

  Getting tired of listening to them scream, I started to make my way over to the playroom, patterned with a seashell wallpaper covered with the ABC’s. Did they really think kids could learn while waiting in the hospital? There was a bookcase- full of different books, books I wouldn’t dare touch for a million dollars. “Whatever,” Dad said, “come on, Gabby. Build me a block tower.”

  “But Dad...”

  “Just do it, Gabby.” Dad pointed at the table holding several blocks.

  I sighed. Mom had apparently said something that had irked Dad. I didn’t want to make him any more upset- especially not in the hospital. Who knew what that would do to the patients who were busy recovering. “Alright.” I sat down at the table and built a tower- well, I tried to, but the best I could do was layer blocks on top of each other. Given the limited number of blocks, the tower wasn’t even a foot tall- and given I didn’t think Dad would like it- I wrecked it as soon as I’d finished it.

  At that moment, Mom came in, shaking her head, suggesting that I do something. Dad started fighting with her again, and I, who was desperate to escape, ran over to the kitchen play set and pretending I was making myself a delicious pancake breakfast.

  The play distracted me- for a while anyway - until a toddler ran in. As soon as his eyes spotted the stove, he ran to it- knocking me over as he shouted excitedly. He didn’t seem to care that I’d touched it first- and playing with him was impossible- all he wanted to do was bang things and chew things.

  He even took the pot I was using to cook pancakes. And when I tried to tug it away from him, he held on with a tighter grip. Sure, he was both smaller and younger than me, but given that my wrist was broken- he had the advantage. And he sure knew how to scream.

  A moment later, his Mom came running in. She scolded me for messing with her child’s sane development and then scolded my parents for setting a bad example. At least that got them to stop fighting— you know, Mom and Dad. But the toddler's mother took it a step further- placating her crying child while forcing me to sit near the books.

  I sat down at the table next to the crate-style bookshelf. I lay my broken arm at the table and stared at my fingers poking out of it. One more week, I thought sadly. And then finally I’ll get a new cast. It seemed like forever too.

  I started to hear a soft beat, and then I began tapping along- first my feet, then my fingers. One- two- three- four- five.

  “I’m telling you, I’ve had enough!”

  The voice snapped me out of my tapping spell. Where was it coming from? It couldn’t be from the playset- the toddler was too young to speak like that- and besides, he’d left. It couldn’t be from the waiting room, either- Mom and Dad had finally stopped fighting.

  “I’ve had enough with their interference,” somebody said, “they must pay!”

  I turned back to the wall, but the voice had faded as quickly as it arrived. And only a moment later, Mom and Dad came and told me Dr. Angie was ready. I got up and followed them in.

  ***************

  “Everything seems to be healing well.” Dr. Angie had gone through the standard hospital procedure, changing me into a hospital gown, sending me for X-rays, and then giving me a brief physical examination while he waited for my X-rays.

  Now Mom and Dad were both looking at the X-ray- while my eyes drifted between the screen and my feet. I was trying so hard to pretend I hadn’t seen what I saw, it kept seeping in.

  “Hey, Gabby,” Mom said, “you see how that bone’s healed?”

  I looked up. Dr. Angie had several X-rays hanging. The first one was apparently when I’d first come into the hospital- the crack was huge, and it made my arm look deformed. The second was probably after I had my arm set and put in a cast- the crack was still huge, but the weaves the plaster cast created on the x-ray stitched it still. And in the third... “I see.”

  “You know what that means?”

  I do. The crack in the 3rd X-ray was much smaller than the others. “I’m getting a fiberglass cast, ain’t I?”

  Mom clapped her hands. “Even better!”

  I smiled. Then Dr. Angie helped me off the examination table and Dad took me out of the room. As we were leaving, I heard Dr. Angie say one final thing. “I’ll arrange for the procedure to take place next weekend.”

  Then, after I’d gotten dressed, we were on our way home. As soon as Mom and I’d gotten in, the phone rang. Mom picked it up, then hung it up. It rang again. She hung it up again. But whoever was calling apparently wouldn’t give up- they kept calling until Mom finally gave and answered it. “It’s for you, Gabby,” she said, “they said they’d keep calling all night if I didn’t let you answer.”

  I snatched the phone from Mom’s hand. “Hello?” Finally, someone to talk to, “who is this? Hannah?” Hannah had been my ski coach, “what? You found someone else?”

  As soon as Hannah said yes
, I dropped the phone. Given it was a detachable corded phone (with speaker capabilities), it simply dangled at my side. I could hear Hannah’s voice out of it, but I wasn’t really listening. I was too busy thinking. Thinking how I’d almost destroyed my life simply through the obsessive dream of skiing.

  It was only when Hannah hung up the phone that I realized she'd been trying to talk to me- and I picked up and redialed. She answered, introducing herself

  But I didn't bother introducing myself.

  “Hannah, I need to apologize,”

  “For what?”

  “I know Kayla’s goodbye party for me didn’t work out,” I said, “I didn’t stay long enough to make even a decent goodbye speech and I want to apologize for that.”

  “Of course, Gabby,” Hannah said, “I’m sure all of them know you’re sorry.”

  Simply saying I was sorry didn’t feel like enough. I needed to explain it, tell what had happened- how when I’d first came to the ski lodge, I’d thought it’d been a dream come true. And now I realized it hadn’t been a dream- it had been a trap. “Wouldn’t it be better to discuss this in person?” I asked.

  “It would be,” Hannah said, “unfortunately, most of the kids who ended up at that party have been arrested- and the others.... well, they probably got in a lot of trouble.”

  The guilt hung over me like a cloudy day with zero chance of sunny weather. It made sense— even the kids who had managed not to get themselves arrested would be in trouble— but it didn’t make me feel any better.

  “Tell you what, Gabby,” Hannah said, “next weekend, I’ll let you, Robert, Kayla, Stephen, and Sage all come over to my house for an evening. You’ll be able to record your apology speech and I’ll get it to everybody. How does that sound?”

  “That sounds wonderful, Hannah,” I said, “Unfortunately, I can’t do it.”

  “Why not?”

  “Stephen’s placed a restraining order between me and Robert, and Kayla and Sage are both in juvie.”

  “That’s crazy!” I didn’t know who Hannah was talking about- Stephen or the girls?