Red

Chapter 4

Hospitals are rarely ever pleasant. They bring death to some families. There's always an uneasy feeling whenever you're in the waiting room. You never know if you'll be brought good news or bad news. Whatever news it was, it always brought tears. There's always someone crying in the distance, whether it be an upset relative or a newborn baby. There's always someone crying.

In this case, the someone crying is Rydel. She kept replaying the incident in her head. She watched as Rocky came out of the building panicking. She watched as Ross walked out of the building after him. She watched as Rocky crossed the road. She watched as the car came out of nowhere. She watched as the ground stained red. She watched as Rocky went unconscious.

A tear fell as Rydel recalled the event of two days ago. An arm wrapped around her. She saw Ellington give her a reassuring smile. The last two days have been hell for all of them. They avoided social media as much as possible. Their socials were just filled with questions and sympathy. It wasn't something they wanted to deal with at the moment.

It was difficult for her. She kept wondering what would've happened if something different happened along the way. What if Rocky didn't follow Ross? What if Ross didn't leave them? What if someone else followed Ross? Her mind was filled with "what ifs" regarding everything.

Rydel kept thinking of watching as the paramedics got Rocky into an ambulance and drove off. They followed soon after. The whole car ride to the hospital was full of yelling and anger and sadness. The band was beginning to break. She could see the little cracks forming in their relationships. The conversation stuck in her mind.

"What the fuck happened?" Ross had asked. Rydel, at the time, thought he sounded genuinely concerned.

"Ross, just shut up for a minute, please!" Riker snapped. Rydel saw his knuckles turn white from gripping the steering wheel too hard.

"Why are you yelling at me? I didn't do anything, Riker!" Ross yelled. Anger and tension was building up in their car.

"Well, I didn't see you doing anything to help!" Ellington yelled back.

"What the fuck did I do? I didn't cause this car accident! I don't deserve to be yelled at!"

Rydel wanted to yell that he deserved to be yelled at. She wanted to blame him. Rocky was running from him. She didn't. She couldn't. He was still her brother.

"Okay! Guys! We're all upset but fighting with each other won't do anything. We need to get to the hospital in one piece! Because that will do something! We need to be there for each other right now!"

The more Rydel thought about their fight, the more she started to realize that Ross wasn't genuine or concerned. He didn't sound like himself. She didn't want to think about their problems with Ross, though. She was too consumed with worry about her other little brother.

"Hey, where's Ross?" Riker sat up suddenly, looking around. Rydel sighed a little.

"Riker, can we just focus on Rocky right now? We can deal with Ross later," Rydel said to her brother. He opened his mouth as if he were protesting but he let it go.

"Fine. I'm going to get some food. Do you want anything?" She and Ellington shook their heads and Riker walked off.

Rydel and Ellington sat in silence for a while. Rydel was too busy thinking to have any type of conversation. Her mind raced as doctors and nurses walked by without any news. She could feel everything breaking apart. Her world was beginning to crash around her. All she wanted was some comfort and a safe family, but she didn't get any of it.