Finding Lost Dog Tags

Chapter 2

Oh God. Walking into the courthouse was a lot more intimidating than I originally imagined. The big marble room with dark wood furnishings swallowed me up. A woman sat in the very middle typing away on her computer not even paying attention to me. I made my way to her desk taking in her appearance. Did women even wear pearls or use that much hairspray anymore?

"Can I help you miss?" The woman looked up at me and I could see her stained, red, chapped lips. Her teeth were even covered in that stuff. Could you be anymore unprofessional?

"Yes. I am here for the James court case. They said the be here at 6:00 so here I am." I mumbled the last part unsure of where I was going with the conversation.

"Okay. Your lawyer is waiting for you in room 10b. After you settle in with him, the trial will begin at approximately 6:30 depending on Judge Moore's previous cases. Questions?" She rushed her answer and didn't even listen to if I had any questions. What could she possibly be doing on that computer that's taking so much of her attention?

"No ma'am. Thank you for your time." I sarcastically snort and leave her. When I look back, I get a clear view of her computer.

Solitaire. Seriously.

After about 10 minutes of wondering around aimlessly, I finally found room 10b. I pushed open the heavy door.

The cold air took over my body but was quickly pushed aside when warm arms draped around my waist. Tyler. He buried his face in my neck, and I felt the tears on his cheek. I realized how much I had missed this kid, and suddenly, the courtroom became less suffocating, and I began to realize that this moment would defiantly change the rest of my life.

I pushed him aside and took his hand in mine. "Let's do this." I said confidently. We took our seats and I tried not to fidget as much as Tyler was.

The judge entered the room and looked to be about 50, give or take a few years. His eyes screamed kindness and his mannerisms were very professional. His brown eyes looked straight at me, and he began. "Okay Ms. James. You become a legal adult December 29th, which makes you entitled to full custody over Tyler James. We just need your recount account of the events that took place over the last 6 months leading up to this trail. Talk slowly and clearly please."

I nervously stood up and looked around the room. I could feel the clamminess of my palms so wiped them on my black dress pants. After a few short breathes, I began:

"My name is Alice James, and I am seeking full custody over my 12-year-old brother Tyler James. My parents died 6 months ago, the beginning of summer. My friends and I planned a big road trip before we all started our senior year of high school. After three days on the road, I received the most terrifying call a teenager could ever experience."

*Flashback*

"Ugh, turn the radio up! Its too freaking quiet in this damn car." My friend Patrick yelled, waking us all up. Cassie's legs rested over mine causing the blood circulation to be cut off. I pushed them off and reached over the center counsel to turn the song up.

"Thanks Alice. You all have been asleep for three hours and our lovely driver, Michael, has been boring my brains out." Patrick had always been the loud, obnoxious type, and I could understand how Michael would bore him. Michael was very intellectual and shared everything on his mind. That's what I liked about him though. His bursts of randomness have always calmed me down, like before a test or after I was ditched on a date.

"Come on Patrick, I know you loved my story about plants in South Africa." Michael snorts to himself and I smile.

"Cassie, get me my bag of chips." I ask quietly, afraid that Patrick would want some. I couldn't possibly share, that would be outrageous! Cassie grabbed the bag and stealthily handed it to me. Mission complete.

Cassie was my best friend. She knew everything about me, even if I didn't know it about myself. One time, I had to shave my head in first grade, because some kindergartener gave me lice. Cassie came to school the next day with a shaved head too and called it the new "style." The kids in out class were so jealous and begged their parents to let them shave their heads. I owed her big time for that one.

"Is that sour cream and onion chips I smell?" Patrick looked behind him and grabbed my bag of chips.

"Ugh! Give them back Patrick." I grabbed the bag but Patrick didn't let go. The bag eventually ripped, and crème colored chips scattered the floor. Uh oh.

"Did you seriously just spill chips in my-" Michael was cut off by my ring tone. I look at the caller ID and it was my mom.

"Can you guys quiet down for a second?" The car went silent and I flipped open the phone. "Hi mom!"

"Baby girl." The weakness in my mother's tone was evident. The air shifted and became heavy. My stomach dropped, and an alarm went off in my head.

"Mom? What's wrong? Are you okay?" My friends in the car flashed me confused looks, but I waved them away.

"Listen to me, okay? Your father and I got in an accident." I cut her off, firing questions through the phone unsure of the severity of the accident. I know I shouldn't have cut her off, but my mind was out of control. Call it an intuition, but the moment the phone rang, dread ran though me.

"Are you hurt? Did you call an ambulance? Where's Tyler?" My voice turned shaky, and I felt the car slowly pull over.

"Shhh baby... Tyler stayed the night at a friends. We are on our way to the hospital." Her voice faded and she started sobbing. I find myself imitating her, numb to the tears falling down my cheeks. The realization of what this phone call is hits me in the chest.

She continues, "We love you so much. Listen carefully though. If something happens to us, I want you to take care of Tyler, okay?" I realize after a minute of silence on the phone, she wanted an answer, but my breathing was unstable and wouldn't allow me to form coherent words.

"Okay." I managed to stifle out.

I expected her to say something else but only silence emitted through the phone. 

"Mommy" I whispered and started violently shaking. I looked at the clock and it was 2:46.

I felt Cassie wrap me in her arms while she shouted orders to Michael.

Later when I arrived at the hospital, the nurses led me to an office. That should have been the first sign that something terrible happened. Only I was numb to any emotion and any negative thoughts were shoved away by my stubbornness to believe something bad happened. The doctor came in with pity in his eyes. He proceeded to tell me what had happened. 

My dad was driving outside of town to take my mom out for a picnic by the lake. A semi truck driver fell asleep and approached them head on, forcing my father's car off the road. My father was killed on impact. I always wondered why my mother didn't tell me when she first called. Did she even know? My mother was carefully removed from the burning car and put in an ambulance. She demanded to use a cell phone so she could call me. A nurse held the phone up to her ear. She died at 2:45. 

*End of Flashback*

"After the accident, Tyler and I were given to different foster homes because none of our family could handle the burden oftwo kids. I fought like crazy to prevent my brother and I from being separated but apparently, there was nothing I could do. I turned 18 a week ago and immediately applied for full custody of my 12-year-old brother. So here I am, just barley an adult, making one of the biggest decisions of my life. But I am confident I can provide for him. I have taken up a job at the library after school and the insurance money my parent's left will be used for Tyler's benefit. Raising a child will definitely be a new learning experience, but I promise you that I can handle it."

Author's Note: End of chapter 2:) Should my chapters be longer or is this a good length? Please comment or favorite if you want me to continue!!! Next chapter should be up Monday at the latest.

With love,
Belinda Taylor