Too Young To Fall In Love

Phone Calls

Tommy

We're all sitting in the living room of my parents' house. The band, the twins, and Amanda. Nikki and Evie are bugging each other, they're really good friends. Vince and Mick are trying to balance beer bottles on top of each other. Ava and Amanda are sitting on the floor, switching through channels.

It's crazy for me to think about the twins graduating, like it happens in the short side of a week. These twins that weren't even supposed to make it through the night. I'm fourteen months older than them but I remember everything about that day, I guess because it's as close to a miracle as our family is going to get.

On the 31st of December 1963, in the dead of the night, my mom starting to go into labor. At this point she was only five months pregnant. We had been living in the States for just short of a year. At 10:47 pm and 11:17 pm Eva and Ava were born, only weighing about two pounds each. The doctors had said that there was a good chance neither of them would make it through the night (even though it was less than an hour until the next day). Neither of my parents slept that night, I can't say I blame them.

Those little two pound baby girls are going to be eighteen. They've beaten all odds. They're normal sized, Evie plays the roughest sport on planet earth, Ava is top of her class. They are completely normal. Of all the things that could've went wrong, none of it did. Ava is going to UCLA in the fall, Evie well...

She should be going to one of best schools in the country, that stupid girl on that stupid team had to pick her stupid knee. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Evie may never play again. Rugby is her life, it saved her life. I'm positive that she wouldn't be here right now without it.

Evie has battled depression for years now, since about the seventh grade. When she was younger, she was raped by a doctor (her fear of doctors and hospitals explained). It got out to the girls at school and they had a field day with it! In eighth grade, she was raped again at a party. From there, her depression got worse. Evie used to slice up her arms, ankles, and hips. The white scars still shine against her olive skin. There was nothing I could do to help her, I felt like I failed as a big brother. I'm supposed to keep her safe and not let anyone hurt her, I failed her twice. I couldn't stop her demons from hurting her. I didn't know what to say or what to do.

Like going from night to dawn, everything flipped 180 degrees. Two things happened when she started high school. The first was rugby, her passion and her drive. Evie had finally found a reason to live for. The second, she found a Vince. Vince has never been interested in my sister, like wanting in her pants but he treats her like a queen. Evie realized through Vince that people care about her, a lot. The strange mix of Vince and rugby saved my baby sister's life. She hasn't cut since.

I'm scared for what happens now, rugby is gone for the foreseeable future. Evie has Nikki and Mick they care about her an insane amount but I'm not sure if it can hold her over. Evie says there's a feeling that you feel in the locker room after to win a game, like some kind of drug. She says its as addictive as heroine and if you could bottle it you could power the country. It's Evie's fix. If she can't have it anymore, what will happen? Will she start to cut again? Will she go looking for a new drug? It scares the hell out of me that I might lose my baby sister because of that stupid ACL.

The phone rings and I get up to grab it. We still have a clunker black wall phone that hangs in our kitchen. I pick it up and look to my friends through the decretory hole cut in the wall.

"House of Lords, Jesus speaking." I smirk into the receiver.

"I uh, might have the wrong number." A man's voice admits. I can tell by the way he talks he listens to swing music and wears suits. "I'm looking for Eva Bass."

"What's your business with her?" I wonder.

"I'm the coach for the Stanford Rugby Team, I heard she'll be ready to play for September. My offer for the scholarship still stands." The man and explains and I smile.

"You're fucking with me, right?" I ask.

"No, I'm not. Do I have the right number?" He wonders.

"Oh fuck, yes you do. Hold on a minute." I say. "Evie, phone."

I hand her the phone and I sigh with relief. Evie can play rugby. She'll have her fix. I don't have to worry about her relapsing and really hurting herself. I sit beside Vince on the leather couch.

"Watch this." I point to Evie on the phone.

"Oh my god! Thank you, sir! You won't regret this!" Evie smiles as she talks.

"What's going on?" Amanda wonders.

"Hold on." I say as Evie hangs up the phone.

She smiles her bright smile before spinning around happily.

"Well are you going to tell us what's going on, sweetheart?" Nikki smirks at her excitement.

"Stanford University still wants me to play rugby!" Evie smiles.

"So you're going to school?" Ava wonders.

"I'm going to school." Evie agrees.

"Oh my god, yay!" Vince says hugging her.

We all take turns hugging her and we all drink to her success and Evie's ability to kick ass at one of the best Universities in the world. My little sisters, both going to university. They're two of the greatest people I know. I'm not quite sure what I'd do without them.