Sister to Jonas

Fault

Joe's POV

After putting the Xbox controllers back on their charging station, I flop back down on the couch and switch back to normal TV. I have half a mind to call Brexley right now, but I know she wouldn't answer if I did, so I'm not going to. Heaving a sigh, I scroll to HBO and put on my new favorite show, Game of Thrones. I'll just watch the episode my sister watched without me the other night, I guess.

I'm about ten minutes into the show when my phone rings. At first I don't really process it, but then I hear the ringtone. It's Heart and Soul, from Camp Rock 2, and the only person that uses that ringtone on my phone is Brexley. I pick up immediately.

"Hey," I say, pausing the show so I can talk to her properly.

"Joe," she says, and I instantly pick up on the fact that she sounds extremely scared. "Joe, I got in an accident."

"What?" I ask, terror coursing through my veins as I get to my feet and run to the kitchen to grab my own car keys. "Where are you? Are you hurt?"

"I think so. I'm at the intersection of Houston and 6th Avenue," she says hurriedly.

"I'm on my way, but it's going to take me a little bit to get there. Listen to me, Brex, call the cops if you haven't already," I tell her as I begin to leave the apartment building.

"I did. They're almost here," she whimpers, voice shaking.

"Okay. Good. Stay on the phone with me," I tell her, still petrified as I run out to my car and throw it into drive, speeding off down the road towards where my sister is. "I'm four blocks away. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"You're not going to be able to drive right up. They're blocking off the roads," Brexley says.

"I'll park in front of Joe's Pizza, the one on Carmine street. It's right up the road from where you are," I decide quickly, and I hear her agree over the phone.

I'm in front of the restaurant no more than four minutes later, and then I'm parked and running towards the intersection a block and a half away with my phone still pressed to my ear. I can see the cops and medical personnel already, and my breath keeps catching in my throat. This accident looks horrible, even from here, and the person that I'm closest to in the world is a part of it. So yeah, it makes it hard to breathe.

Brexley clicks off the call as I reach the sidewalk in front of the intersection. I stop dead in my tracks as I see the sight; she was t-boned by a tour bus. There is glass, twisted metal, and fluid all over the street. Her car is completely totaled, airbags exploded, and I'm just glad she's alive. If I didn't already know she was, I probably would've thought I lost my sister today. Completely losing my head, I try to run over to her, but obviously I'm stopped by a police officer. They won't let passerby near the car for their safety, which makes sense, but I don't really care about my safety right now. I care about Brexley's.

"Sir, you can't go over there," he tells me.

"I have to! That's my sister in that car!"

"She's in the best care possible right now. I'm sorry, you can't go over there," he says.

"What hospital are they taking her to?" I screech, watching the firefighters putting her on a stretcher and loading her into the ambulance.

"Mount Sinai. It's the closest," the cop says, and I turn around and run back to my car. I'll meet them there.

As I drive, I can't keep my head from spinning. I'm overthinking badly right now. Normally, I have this feeling, almost like I can help the world, and help other people. I love that feeling. It makes me feel like I have a purpose and that I can make a difference. But today, when someone dear to me is impacted? I've never felt so helpless. Especially since it was my fault she even left our apartment in the first place. My fault that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If she's hurt, it's my fault.

And when I pull into the hospital parking lot, all I can do is break down and cry.