Tell Me Why - Anthony Trujillo

4

Raegan

I woke up in the middle of the night to my phone ringing. With a groan I lazily threw my arm towards my nightstand and grabbed my phone. Without looking at the caller ID I accepted the call.

"Hello?" I grumbled. Who would call me in the middle of the night? And why? "Raegan." Someone sobbed. With confusion written all over my face I lifted my phone from my ear and saw 'Gina' written as the caller ID. Suddenly I was wide awake. I sat up and held the phone back to my ear. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" I asked her. "Rae, I need you." She cried. Why was she crying? Something must've happened. "G, what happened?" I asked. "Is Olivia alright?" Olivia was Gina's newborn daughter. She was one of the sweetest little bundles I have ever seen.

"Did David do anything?" David was Gina's husband. He had always been a good guy so I didn't think it was possible that he did something.

Gina didn't answer and I was now wide awake and worried. "Gina! Talk to me." I exclaimed desperately. "O-Olivia." She sobbed out. "What's wrong with Olivia?" I asked. My heart started beating really fast because I was so scared something had happened to the baby. I sat up and grabbed my laptop from the floor while I waited for Gina to talk. "Please G. Calmare.." (Calmare is italian for calm down) I sighed. I opened my laptop and went to open a website to book a flight to Ohio.

"I c-can't calm down. Rae, please..I need you." She was crying so hard and I could hear her gasping for air now and then. It made me really nervous that she wasn't talking. In order to know what to do I needed to know what was wrong. "Gina. Please tell me what happened. I need to know." I said calmly. It took her another moment but she finally spoke. "O-Olivia was sick..we didn't know what was wrong so David went to take her to the doctor. I wanted to come later because I needed to bring Laurel to Mom.." She started explaining, a sob leaving her as she finished. "What happened then..?"I asked quietly, scared what she would say next. "A drunk driver slammed into David's car..the car flipped a few times..Rae, O-Olivia d-didn't make it a-and Dave is barely a-alive." She cried out. I gasped. Oh my god. Tears instantly started running down my cheeks. Little Olivia. "N-No." I stuttered. Why did this happen? "I'm so sorry G." I cried with her. "What am I supposed to do now? How do I tell Laurel?" She asked. "The next available flight to Ohio takes off in 3 hours. I'm gonna take it and be there for you." I explained as I booked the last available seat on the flight. "Hold on tight G. I'll be there soon." I told her, taking a deep breath to pull myself together. "I c-can't she sobbed. "Listen to me. You call Mom and you ask her to pick you up. You shouldn't be alone right now." I ordered. "O-Okay." She muttered. "Do it G. I love you and I'll see you in a few hours." I said. "I-I love you too Rae. Be safe." Then she hung up.

I locked my phone and threw it onto my bed. The tears started flowing down my cheeks again as I pulled my suitcase out from under my bed and went to my closet to throw some things into it. I was being pretty loud but I didn't care at that moment. My sister needed me, badly.

Suddenly there was a knock on my door. I heard it open and someone walk in, with them came Shep in. He sniffed me out to see if I was hurt because I was crying. "I'm not hurt Shep." I muttered as I threw a pile of shirts into the suitcase. "Raegan?" It was Jake. "What's wrong? Why are you packing?"He asked in a confused tone. I looked up at him and he immediately grew concerned when he saw my tears. "What happened?" He asked, rushing towards me. "G-Gina called." I said. "My niece is dead and my brother-in-law is on the verge of dying." I sobbed. "How?"Jake asked, his mouth now open in shock as he wrapped his arms around me. "Olivia was sick so David wanted to take her to the hospital. Gina needed to get Laurel to my Mom's so she wasn't with them..but a drunk driver hit them..Olivia died and David is in a critical state." I explained. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry Rae." Jake said sadly, rubbing my back as I cried.

"My plane to Ohio is leaving in almost 3 hours. Can you take me to the airport?" I asked. "Of course." Jake nodded. "I'm taking Shep too."I muttered, glancing at my dog. Jake just nodded. "I'm gonna get dressed. You finish packing." He then said. I nodded and continued packing everything while he went back to his room.

The whole situation didn't feel real. I was still hoping it was just a dream. Something like that shouldn't happen to a newborn baby and it's father. All because of someone who was stupid enough to get into their car while drunk. If I get that asshole into my hands they wished they would've died with them..