B.A.T (Murdock LS)

Chapter 7

16 years ago

It was a dark, dreary day in November. Raindrops splashed down on the ground and formed puddles. I sat in the back seat of David's truck as we drove to the funeral home. The the rain, tears poured down my face. Momma was trying to console me but I hardly heard her sweet words.

The funeral home parking lot was filled with cars when we pulled in. David pulled out an umbrella for Momma and I to share. He was the nicest when we went into town, but I was to upset to think about it. My hands were balled up in my black dress.

When we walked through the doors warm air hit us. I tried to wipe away the tears on my face as the continued to fall. Soft murmuring was heard coming from a room on the right. We made our way into the room and was greeted by a nice man. His name was Harold and he was the eldest son in the Murdock family. James always talked about he was the best uncle anyone could have.

"I'm sorry for your loss," David mumbled. Momma lead me over to wear James was sitting. I sat next to him and pulled him into a hug. The fourteen year old squeezed me tightly. I squished my face in his chest and sobbed. James let the first tears since the accident.

"I miss her so much Ash," James sobbed. I nodded and curled my body into his side. Momma rubbed our backs from her place beside James. David was mingling with the rest of James's family.

James's mom was hit by a drunk driver a week ago while she walking home from work. I was playing with James and Billy in their yard when the police showed up. They took James to the police station to wait for his grandparents to pick him up. The reality of the situation didn't really hit me until I saw James carrying a box of his things to his grandpa's truck. After his mom, James's closest relatives were his grandparents. So now he was moving in with them, but at least they only lived down the road from my house. James didn't really speak much for the next couple of months and it upset me. He would still come to hangout with me but he was distant. I didn't comment on it for I new what it was like to lose a parent. I lost my father when I was five and it took me years to recover.

James never had a chance to know his father as he left before he was born. His mom was the only thing he had for a parental figure. Now he was forced to live with his grandparents until he moved out.

Momma had had her baby girl a few months before the accident. David and her named my sister Melody Faith Yearns. James and his mom were in the hospital with us after she was born.

Melody had David's Ginger hair but had Momma's gentle brown eyes. While I had Momma's hair and my father's blue eyes. My little sister was never harmed by David, considering she was his legitimate child. James took an immediate liking to the baby like I did. He treated her like the sibling he never had and helped me be good a sister. Momma hardly let the baby out of her sight though, so we had to play with her on the porch. We didn't mind the fact that we couldn't leave the yard, it was fun just being around the bright child. She brought James back to me after the death of his mother.