Having A Great Time With Sage

Chapter 6: Ashley

"Julie please I need you to get down here!" I begged my older sister over the phone. My voice was still shaky and uneven, I've always hated the way I sound when I cry.

She sighed, "I'm sorry baby, you know that they won't let me off early. I've taken too much time off already and we can't risk not being able to pay bills if they fire me."

She said that like it wasn't obvious. She always talks to me like I'm a child when it comes to money and work. I stayed silent.

"I promise I'll come get you as soon as my shift is over. I love you."

I waited a beat, "I love you too." I slammed the phone back on the receiver.

I walked back until I hit the wall and slid down it, tucking my knees to my chest and burying my face. Jeez it's cold in here.

My mind keeps going back to when dad told the two of us about the accident, about mom. It was four years ago but I remember it like it was just yesterday. A drunk came out of nowhere and ran a red light, he hit on mom's side; they said she died instantly, she probably didn't even see him coming.

Dad told us about it on Monday, and by Friday the house was packed up and we were moving to Lily Valley to "start over". What a joke. He took us away from our friends and our school just to drink away all our savings and abandon us in an entirely new state surrounded by strangers. It's been three years since he left, since he forced Julie to give up on her college dreams to finish raising me instead. I hate that man.

Right now Jules is at her second part time job as a barmaid at Rosie's, a frequent favorite of our father's. She's never even home anymore, I miss her. I miss my mom. I miss the way things used to be back in California. I miss the beaches and the sun. I miss being happy.

I used to think that things could be happy here with Sage and Josh. But now I'm not sure anymore.

"Excuse me sweetheart?" An unfamiliar voice called me to look up into the face of a worried woman with dazzling eyes.

"You came in with that group of boys from earlier didn't you?" She asked me. I only vaguely remember seeing her face in the crowd of doctors and nurses that swarmed us when we got here.

I nodded and my mind started buzzing with the worst possible reasons she would come and find me. "Did something happen?" I jumped up suddenly.

She put her hand on my arm gently, "No, no, nothing's happened. I just got worried when you wandered off and didn't come back. I thought you might've been hurt and we didn't get to you." The nurse paused before saying, "You're soaking wet."

"Yeah it's from the rain..." I muttered, I was cold and now a little embarrassed.

"We have a spare change of clothes, do you want to get out of these wet ones?"

I nodded, following her to a back room that I assumed was some sort of a break room for the nurses. The woman introduced herself as Nurse Betty and handed me some fresh clothes to change into. Soon enough I was in a pastel yellow t-shirt, a pair of dry trousers, and a thick navy blue sweatshirt. It hung somewhat loosely on my small frame but at least it was warm.

"Nurse Betty, will you come tell me if, er- when anything changes?"

"Of course." She led me back to the waiting room and guided me to a chair. Something about her reminded me of my mom a little bit.

"One more thing," I felt awkward asking, "why did you come looking for me? You didn't have to help me, but you did."

Betty gave a short laugh, "Baby, do you really think that I would see you on the floor, shivering and soaking wet, and not help you? Any decent person would've done the same. Oh, and you can keep the clothes, it's just a spare set I found laying around."