Shattered By Broken Dreams

When Chrissie asks me when we are leaving I tighten my grip around her and smile. "We will leave tonight, we can just run back to our parents house to grab your stuff then-" I say and she tenses and lets out a small whimper. I pull back and see the terror flooding her eyes. She doesn't want to see our parents and frankly... I don't blame her.

She opens her mouth to speak but only "Zee, I-" comes out before she breaks down again.

"Shhhhh, it's ok...I'll grab your stuff from inside and you can wait in my rental car. I promise you don't have to see them if you don't want to" I assure her and she sniffles back the tears.

"Do.you.promise?" she says between sniffles and I nod my head and kiss her forehead.

I call the nurse in and tell her that I am taking responsibility for my sister and she hands me the liability paperwork that I need to sign while Chrissie gets redressed in her clothes in the bathroom.

She comes back out and hands the nurse the hospital gown and I have to bite the inside of my cheek just to force myself not to frown at her appearance. She has deep red blood stains across the fabric of her clothes especially around the arms of her sweatshirt.

I shrug out of my jacket and place it over her shoulder so people don't stare as we make our way towards the exit of the hospital. I open the passenger's side door of my rental car and she crawls inside and curls my jacket around her fragile frame.

The ride to our parents house takes about 15 minutes but it's filled with silence...Chrissie isn't ready to open up and I don't want to force her to tell me her reasons. I know that in time she will open up and talk to me, but it's got to be on her terms.

I shut the car off in the driveway and turn her slightly to face me, "Listen up, little monster" I say and watch her lip twitch up slightly...that was my nickname for her when we were growing up, "I am going to run inside and grab your stuff and I will be right back out. Don't open the door for anyone except me, and I swear...this is the only time I will leave you alone. I love you!" I say and she hugs me tightly.

I get out of the car and walk in our parents house and head straight up to Chrissie's room. My mom runs up the steps after me but I lock her bedroom door behind me.

"What do you think you're doing Zachary?! Don't let her ruin your life and career by actually taking her with you!" she shouts and pounds on the door.

I completely ignore her harsh words and shove all Chrissie stuff into a suitcase but stop when I see I letter beneath a razor blade on her nightstand addressed to me.

I sit on her bed and lift the bloody razor blade from on top before opening it to read it.

'Dear brother,
you protected me from the bad. You held my hand and walked with me through the long and winding road.
You held me when I cried and
told me it would be alright...
Please don't forget me, when I leave you tonight'

Tears fall from my eyes because I now realize that what happened was no accident... my baby sister really wanted to die. She wouldn't have left me this note apologizing if she didn't.

I fold the letter and place it in my pocket and discard of every blade that I can find before wiping my tears away and swinging the bedroom door open.

"Zachary!!" My mother shrieks when she sees the suitcases and tries to grab them away from me.

I shrug out from her grasp and head towards the exit, "She's just going to drag you down with her!" my dad snarls and I scoff and slam the front door behind me.

Chrissie flinches at the loud noise and I walk over and lay my hand against the passenger's side window and she mimics me through the glass. I give her a comforting smile and she starts to smile back but glances behind me and frowns.

I turn around and see our parents standing cross-armed on the front porch scowling at us. I shove her bags in the trunk and climb back inside and quickly grab a hold of her hand for comfort.

"Don't let them bother you...I love you and I want to spend time with you. We are going to have so much fun...just wait and see" I assure her and she sighs and looks down at her lap.

I know I should give the guys a call and let them know that she will be joining us on tour but it's the least of my worries right now.

I'm sure they will understand.

Notes