One Big Happy

Swallow All My Fear

Charlotte had no idea who this woman was, but she really didn't have any other option but to be cordial. She needed to get to the hospital and she wasn't going to be able to walk or take a ferry on her own in these clothes and without U.S. currency. The woman's name was Mariah Taylor and it appeared that she brought her daughter along. Charlotte wasn't stupid and had an indication of what was going but now wasn't the time to deal with it. The fact that she told him his brother was unconscious meant that something even worse was wrong. If he was only unconscious, then he would be at the hospital on the island not in one on the mainland. The car ride was long and it felt even longer with the silence and occasional questions from Mariah. It's like she wanted a know-it-all guide to Charlotte's life. Charlotte already had to mentally prepare for the questions about why she was dressed the way that she was and how she never called back home or barely answered calls. She didn't need to keep holding her tongue when every time Mariah opened her mouth to ask a question. Her daughter wasn't saying anything in the back and Charlotte almost forgot she was there until she could see through the rear-view mirror. Charlotte was relieved when she saw the sign indicating that they had reached the hospital. The car was freezing and it was already a night with a chilly breeze. They all got out and found their way to the E.R. front desk. Charlotte let Mariah do all the talking. The clerk said that they could get a nurse to lead them over there. Charlotte quickly told Mariah that she was going to the bathroom. It was important for this to get done and it didn't seem like her brother was going to be conscious for a while. That excuse would allow for enough time for the exam to be completed because of the supposed time that it would take Charlotte to find the exact area that Oliver was in.

The exam was a lot more painful than she had imagined but the nurse was very kind and gave her an oversized t-shirt as well as a pair of slippers. She couldn't keep her shoes and she didn't really want to keep them anymore. She had been to this hospital only once, so she didn't know her way around. A nurse spotted her wondering and thought she was a lost patient that needed to be led back to her room. She quickly explained that she just needed to find her brother, said his name and then he led her over to where Mariah and her daughter were.

"Where's my dad?" Charlotte asked Mariah, confused that it was just the three of them that weren't in the room.

"A nurse came and took him and your siblings to the room where he is staying," Mariah answered. Well, how helpful was that. Charlotte tried everything in her power not to be sarcastic. She would have to either wait or find a nurse that would take her back there.

Luckily, Charlotte didn't have to wait that long before a nurse with dark brown hair approached her.

"Are you Charlotte Costello?" The woman asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Your family has been looking for you, I can take you to your brother's room." The nurse responded.

"Thank you," Charlotte smiled, and followed the nurse into the hallway. It was a short walk until the nurse stopped in front of room 119.

"Here it is," The nurse said.

Charlotte was kind of scared to open the door but she got over the fear when she was reminded that the reason that she was in the hospital was because her brother and their friends had gotten into a car accident. She opened the door and the first person that she saw was Sean. Which was good because Sean didn't harbor negative feelings about her leaving the United States, presumably because he left before she did. By opening the door a little wider she could see the hospital bed and a very pale faced patient in the bed whom she presumed to be her brother, Ollie.

"Hi guys." Charlotte hesitated. She was really unsure of what to say or if Oliver was even awake. She spoke in a small, quiet voice just in case.

"He just fell asleep," Sean replied. That was probably why no one responded loud enough for her to hear. They didn't want to wake him. "It's nice to see you, little sister." He began turning around. "I was beginning to think you were only alive in memory and Caroline was the only sister that I had left." Sean finished with a smile. He reached out his arms to hug her and Charlotte just felt safe in his arms. She just wanted to stay like this forever, where no one was hurt and where all the hurt that had happened to her would go away.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. She gave hugs to everyone else in the room, her sister-in-law, Nina, her youngest brother Mason. Her younger sister, Caroline, was most likely at home, and their dad probably didn't want her to see Oliver until he knew how bad the extent of his injuries were. On her dad's face was a smile but from his eyes she knew that she was going to get yelled at as soon as they were home together.

"So what happened?" Charlotte asked. She knew the state that her brother had been in last night and it was obvious that it had influenced this accident. Her brothers and Nina were thinking the same thing, at least about what had happened to him. Charlotte's father was the only one that was in the room when the doctor explained exactly what had happened and Charlotte had assumed that's when Oliver got the yelling of his life but judging from the severity of his injuries, mostly the concussion, there was no way that her father had yelled at him.

"He was driving back to the house and was hit by a drunk driver. The drunk was speeding and hit the driver's side. The doctors are still running tests and waiting to see if there is internal bleeding." Her father explained.

"Before I forget, I need to talk to you outside." Her father told her. She was already cursing herself for going out that night and for her brother getting in an accident. Was it possible for any of the Costellos not to go out and party?

Charlotte's father led her outside of the hospital room. And then proceeded to speak.

"Before you whine, and attempt to put your 'rebel teenage show' or my personal favorite 'daddy's little girl show ' on. This is about your brother. We'll get to you later tonight."

"And are you sure that he wasn't the drunk driver?" Charlotte asked him, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms over the huge sweatshirt. It went just past her mid thigh.

"Oliver is struggling in a hospital bed and you want to talk about technicalities? Charlotte, I don't have time for this, but we will get to your attitude and your actions later. And since you know so much what is going to come back on your brother's tox screen? I know that you want to protect him from me but it will just be easier to tell them, so they treat him correctly. The results are going to take longer and with the extent of his injuries they are going to need every second."

"How am I supposed to know what he took? He doesn't talk to me remember? You'll just have to wait for the tox screen. Don't worry I'm sure whatever he was doing couldn't ruin your image with your new girlfriend." She said spitefully.

"Charlotte! This is not about my image! Your brother has a possibly severe concussion, broken ribs, dislocated shoulder and they think he's bleeding internally. Most likely from a rib puncturing an organ and from a rupture. Do you not understand how serious this is? He could die." Her father responded. He lowered his voice at the end, as if he didn't want his children to know that their brother could die.

Charlotte immediately felt horrible, she had no idea what was in his system, just that he was high. He wouldn't ever do a hard drug though, they made a pact while they were traveling abroad. They had always joked that they didn't want to lose their signature smiles. She sighed knowing that she was probably further ruining whatever chance she had of rebuilding her relationship with her brother but his life was on the line and that was way more important. He couldn't forgive her if he was dead.

"He has alcohol in his system, it's possibly past the legal level. He's built up a tolerance. Same for marijuana, which he was probably smoking as well. I'm pretty sure that's about all they will find in his system. The alcohol they can take care of, but THC stays in the system for a while so hopefully they can figure out how to treat him with that in his system." She told him. Then she gave him a look asking if she could go back inside Oliver's hospital room. He gave a verbal response.

"No, before we talk about your behavior at St. Croix seriously when we get back home. I need to tell you that you aren't going back this semester and probably this year. I have decided that for the next few months that we need to be together as a family.