rain

Chapter 9

I propped my bike on the side of the house. I had already decided that I should knock on the door instead of just walking in or going through my window. I felt like it would be better for everyone that way, so I walked up the path and tapped on the door.

Shortly after, it opened. My little brother Jason gasped, shock crossing his face. I smiled. "Carter!" He said in an excited sort of questioning way.   "Yeah," I stated, not sure what else to say. Luckily he made it less awkward when he excitedly hugged me. I hugged back. I had missed him a lot.  "Mom! Dad!" He yelled as we walked inside and closed the door. Mom came running in at hearing her child yell. When she saw me, she stopped, starring in awe or disbelief, then she came and hugged me too. I looked over her shoulder to see dad walk in the room. I tried to see through him to his emotions, but he was unreadable.

I wasn't sure what i was expecting him to do, but I guess the one thing I didn't think he might do was come and join the hug, but I was wrong. My only explanation was that he was putting on an act like he always did, except this time, I just didn't buy into it.

Mom looked like she was bursting with questions, but she was containing herself. "Jason, get your brother and sister. Tell them we are having an emergency family meeting." Oh no. Family meetings are the most boring things in the universe. Pretty much one happens whenever Mom feels emotional over something and its her sharing her feelings and everyone telling her its going to be okay. It was bad enough before, then she decided to add the talking stick; a small, decorated pipe that means only the person holding it can talk.

I sat on the recliner inside the family room with my Mom and siblings sitting on the couch across from me and my father on the chair next to me. They all looked at my like I was an alien. It only felt like a week since I've seen them, but I guess it had been a whole month. I can kind of understand where they're coming from. I sat there silently, waiting for instruction, as did my Mom and the rest of my family. "Well aren't you going to say something?" Mom asked.

"What, no talking stick?" I replied.

"Forget about the stick, I just want to hear from you."

"Where do I begin?"

"How about the night you left?" She said.

But I didn't start out with the night I ran away. I started with that day in school; how I wanted to change my life and I climbed a tree, and I kept the beauty to myself but shared that I was sure I had found happiness. Then I told them them about how when I got back, I felt no one truly care about me so I packed my bag and left; and how Seth scared me out of the tree and I had this huge gash in my hand after having fallen ten feet to the ground. They all cringed at that; wait until they hear about lightning. I smirked to myself, finding it humorous.

I left out the part of how my father said he didn't care about me because I wanted to see what he would do; how he would react. Then I told them of how Seth cared for me and how the day she gave him the flyers he came straight to the tree. Mom seemed kind of offended at that. After I told them about waking up to rain with Seth, I stopped talking.

"Wait, I'm confused," Miranda said, "If that's all you were doing, why do you have so many cuts and bruises now?"

"Well, theres still another part of the story. I've only gone over five days."

"Then why'd you stop?" Jason chimed in.

"Because I'm trying to figure out how to put someone else's words into mine," that got some confusing looks so I further explained, "Ya see, the last three weeks were kinda a blur. Actually, I don't remember any of it."

"What do you mean, 'you don't remember'?" Austin asked.

"I was in a coma," I said slowly as if unsure of what I was saying. Their eyes grew wide in disbelief.

"You were what?" Mom asked clearly alarmed. I looked at each of them, my eyes resting on Dad who was the only one who had yet to talk. My eyes flicked back at Mom just in time to see her give him a look of disappointment.

"Well, when I woke up with Seth, I was trying to decide if I was going to... um, turn myself in, and I was overwhelmed and needed some thinking space. So I climbed the tree in the rain. Then when I got to the top, I was er... kinda, sorta, maybe, struck my lightning and its a miracle that I am alive," I confessed. The look on their faces turned to shear terror, but I don't understand why because I'm alive, and it was three weeks ago.

"You wer—" Miranda started, but only to be cut off by Mom.

"Go ahead, Carter, keep telling us your story."

So I kept telling my story; that I was struck by lightning, and fell from a height of half the fieldhope building, hitting branches as I fell. I told them of the fear in Seth's eyes; how I saw each of their faces in the clouds above me. Then landed, knocking myself unconscious.

Then I went on to tell them of how I was convulsing and how Seth carried me to the hospital and of all my injuries. I told them of the nurse; who was the only one who knew me, but she decided not to tell in case I was running away from something worth running from; how she put all of my treatment on her insurance. Then I wound up here. By the end of my story, Mom was in tears yet again and everyone else was shaking, except for Dad, who remained silent. I wonder what he is thinking.

My mom came over and embraced me in another hug. She pulled away only to look in my eyes and I saw that she was truly thankful for me. She really loves me. I smiled to her, and she smiled a sympathetic kind of smile back. "Dan, isn't this crazy?" She asked my father.

"Yeah! I'm just glad my daughter is okay," he said the word in such a way as to make it sound awful to be his daughter. He got up and left the room. I tried not to let it show, but it tore me up inside. Mom frowned at him with her back turned to me, but when she turned around she smiled as if nothing was wrong.

"Do you mind if I go to sleep right now, Mom?" I asked, needing some time to think. "Hard to believe that a girl having been in a coma for three weeks could be tired, but lying unconscious for such a long period of time is exhausting."

She laughed, "Of course you can, Honey. We can talk more tomorrow," she said kissing my head. I smiled a kind smile at her and walked to my room, where I had been three weeks ago. I saw the picture of my father and I had been moved; picked up of the floor and set on my desk instead of on the wall.

I wonder if that was what we would be talking about tomorrow, or if there was something else. I set my backpack down and changed into a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, then collapsed on my bed. I hadn't actually planned to at the time, but I realized I really was exhausted, and soon I was fast asleep.