Weston POV

Waking up was always a pain in the mornings, but I pushed through the discomfort because I loved soccer. When I was little I watched it with Uncle Alessandro on TV, he is a big fan of the European leagues. When I found out that the school my parents enrolled me in offered soccer lessons, I begged them to sign me up immediately. I always admired strikers, but as it turned out I am very good at goalkeeping. Coach Matthews saw that in middle school and when I started high school I didn't waste any time training for another position.

At breakfast, I learned that Aurora was coming to practice with me. I shot my Mom an annoyed look because I am not a babysitter and I couldn't watch out for her while I was at practice. All of my teammates were like sharks and as soon as they saw her, they were going to pounce. I just hope me and my brothers can convince our parents to enroll Rory in an all-girl school instead of the academy we all went to. Those rich kids were like vultures and she was too innocent for them. Plus it wouldn't hurt if she was away from boys for at least a few years, I could live with that. Hell, Dad could definitely be persuaded by this argument, so I filed that away for later.

The drive there was short and I couldn't help but strategize. I need to get to the others before Rory. It helps that she is sleeping right now because I can get out faster and warn some fuckers not to talk to my sister. When the car stopped I quickly opened my door and looked through the driver's side window at Mom. "Could you stall Rory for a while? I need to warn some of my idiot teammates to behave." Of course, Mom thought it was funny. She laughed and said "You do know she will have to face teenage boys at some point. Preferably sooner, so she doesn't get heartbroken or worse." No! Just NO! No heartbreaks for Rory, no boys of any kind. We were shits anyway. "I'll wake her up, you have a few minutes to warn them. I do agree she needs the experience, but your teammates aren't the sophisticated gentlemen their parents thought they raised. We both know that."

I was grateful for her help, so I ran as fast as I could to the locker rooms. Good thing Faraday isn't here to spread unnecessary rumors. "Yo King, guess what's blowing up the team chat?" One of my teammates asked me as soon as he saw me. I had no idea what he was talking about since I hadn't looked at the team chat yet. "No idea Mercer." He got his phone out of his pocket and scrolled. I was fuming. Fucking Seth! He took a picture of my sister in our home. I'm going to pulverize him when he gets back. Another one of my mates saw me and exclaimed "Is it true? Is she really your sister?"

I unloaded my equipment bags next to my locker and stepped on the bench, so I had everyone's attention. "My sister is none of your concerns shitheads. I dare even one of you to look at her the wrong way and not only are you going to feel my fist, but I'll also call in my brothers. She is off-limits to each and every one of you." I made sure my expression told them what would happen if they messed up, even if they didn't hear my words.

The coach told her to stay and watch on the bleachers during practice. I swear every one of those idiots was looking at her more than half of the time instead of actually practicing. They were getting on my nerves. It was almost noon when practice ended and after the coach's speech, I was starving and irritated. I loved Rory, but she couldn't come with me to practice anymore because my teammates were pigs and sooner or later they were going to say something I would punch them for.

Mom suggested we go for food, but I knew she would want to finish unloading the truck beforehand, so I suggested we help her. We helped unload the back of the truck, while Mom talked to the priest. Father Delancy called me over "Weston, I haven't seen you here for years. How have you been?" Of course, he hadn't seen me there. I stopped going to church with my parents after the car crash where Ash was injured. Why should I continue going after my brother almost died?

No one protected him and he was in a hospital for weeks. My faith kind of diminished after that. The doctors weren't optimistic, but I saw who helped my brother. It wasn't God, it was a woman. A beautiful blonde woman. She touched my brother's head in the hospital room and when I saw her she smiled at me and put a finger over her lips. That was the night before Asher woke up. Our parents didn't say anything, but I knew. I was afraid if I told someone about her she would reverse whatever she did, so I kept quiet.

"Good," I answered. "Well, I hope I see you guys on Sunday soon. We missed your jokes!" I kind of felt bad, but that wasn't going to make me go either. "Maybe." We heard shouting coming from the church steps. I looked over and saw Rory on the ground. Mom and I ran like the wind and soon a crowd was gathered. "Someone call 911!" I heard people shouting different things all at once, but I was frozen. "Get her inside!" "No, we can't move her before the paramedics get here!" The priest and Mom managed to restore some peace to the crowd and they gave us some room. "I don't think anything is broken, but we need to get her inside and out of the sun. She probably passed out." Mom did have some medical training, so I trusted her most.

I didn't want any stranger to touch Rory if she woke up, so I gathered her body in my arms and started going up the steps. In the distance, I could hear sirens, so the ambulance was on their way. We were close to the hospital, so I am sure they won't take long. Right before we entered the church Rory woke up and started thrashing around in my arms. She was shouting, begging me to let her go. "No! Stop! Let me go, please!" Her movements surprised me and I dropped her on the cement below. She didn't even wince or slow down to recover from the drop. Instantly, she got up and started running away. 

I should have moved faster. I didn't realize she was running toward traffic and she didn't stop. Everyone around us was shouting. Mom had discarded her high heels and was already running after Aurora. By the time I started running toward them, it was already too late. I saw a dark green Ford Explorer speeding. Everything happened in slow motion. First Rory hit the road and headed straight, but the older model car didn't stop or hit the brakes. I flashed back to the accident when we were little. I saw the car heading toward us from the side. I felt it smash against us.

It was getting harder to breathe I closed my eyes and by the time I opened them again, Rory was lying on the street, while the car had finally stopped. It was already too late though. They hit my sister and now she could be dead. The driver got out unscathed and started shouting nonsense. He was clearly drunk. Mom was hovering over my sister, but I was too afraid to move. Just as the stupid driver was about to approach my family something flipped inside me. I was angry and afraid. I needed to do something, so I did the only thing I could. I started beating the crap out of the drunk driver that hit my little sister. 

People were around me trying to pry me off of him. I didn't let them though. Most of the volunteers that came were women with their kids. The few men that did usually come were on me. We had attracted a crowd of bystanders, who started to film us. I was too angry though, so every time they got me away from the fucker I escaped their hold and attacked again. This was the only way I could not feel useless right now. Just as useless as I was back then when Asher was in the hospital because I was a child and only stood in the way. Now, as a young adult, I was still useless to my sister, who I still didn't know if she was alive or not.

I felt something prick my arm from the side and soon after that I felt lightheaded. Suddenly, I was too tired to fight. I just needed to close my eyes for one second. 

I was startled awake in an unfamiliar room. I knew this smell... Nothing can hide the stench of a hospital, even the VIP room. They bought new furniture since we were last here. Mom opened the door and quickly closed it after her. "Weston! My beautiful boy, you're finally awake. I'm sorry sweety, but I had to sedate you. Mommy's really sorry my sweet boy!". She was hugging me and holding my face in her hands. I wasn't mad at her for anything. I was wasting time with my outburst anyway. "It's okay Mom. I'm fine." I hesitated before asking "Is..." No! I am not going there right now. "How is Rory?"

The seconds of silence felt like hours. Like a healing balm, my mother quickly assured me that she knew me that well. Even though I was aiming to hide my struggles for years, she knew. I just hope she didn't know about my latest ways of coping with those feelings. She would kill me. "She's alive. The doctors are actually stumped as to why she doesn't have more serious injuries after an impact like that." Through the window looking toward the adjoined VIP suite of the hospital we moved Ash in after the accident, I saw my sister lying there. It looked like she was sleeping. Dad was haunched over the side of the bed, while Mateo and Ash were standing by the door talking in hushed tones.

We saw the doctor come in and rush out of the door to the room next to this one to hear what he had to say. "...sustained an injury to the head. We are mostly worried about that. We will know more about it once she wakes up...if she wakes up. Many patients in similar situations don't wake up right away. We are doing everything in our power to help her. Honestly... it's a miracle she doesn't have more injuries to her limbs or internal bleeding considering the accident."

Miracle? He is calling my sister's situation a miracle? She shouldn't have ever felt what it was like in the first place. She is innocent and sweet and wouldn't know sin even if it stood in front of her waving and smiling. This is a miracle? Is he serious right now?

Asher put his hand on my shoulder. He gave me a "not now" look. I couldn't be here again. Just waiting. It devastated me when I was a kid, but I had the advantage of not understanding everything. Now... I understood just fine. I needed some air and didn't even wait for the doctor to finish his report before I got out of there and headed to the hospital entrance. I just needed to breathe. That's what needed to happen right now, but it wasn't. Bursting through the doors I headed toward the parking lot. It didn't take long for me to find one of the family cars. "Wes! Where are you going?" I took the hidden key and hurried inside the driver's seat. I heard the passenger door opening. It was Asher. He was calling me. We sat in silence for quite some time. He broke it first.

"She'll be fine. She just needs some rest. It's going to be okay little brother." I just scoffed at that statement. "I shouldn't have dropped her. If I just held her better, she wouldn't have run." Asher stopped my rant prematurely. "No. We aren't going to play the blame game Wes. You had no way of knowing she would panic and run. There are plenty of directions she could have taken that weren't the street and still gotten away. In her panic, she didn't look where she was going. Plus, the driver was drunk, Mom said he could have slowed down and stopped in time, but he didn't."

We sat in the car in silence after that. I wasn't going to entertain the idea it wasn't my fault right now, so I didn't say anything. After a while, Ash continued talking. He hated silence. "By the way, you broke his jaw and gave that idiot a bunch of other injuries. I don't know how he did it, but Uncle Alessandro got him out of police custody and has him in some secret location. Once Rory is awake, we can pay him a visit. He'll rue the day he got inside of that car drunk. I believe Antonio already started making his day crappy."

"She's not going to wake up any time soon. You don't remember this but it took you two long weeks to wake up. And you were inside of the car with a seat belt. I can't do this again. I can't stay in that hospital waiting for something that won't happen today or tomorrow." Ash didn't need any more convincing. He got out of the car but before he closed the door on me I heard him say "Keep your phone on you, I'll send you updates. And please don't do anything stupid. I don't have the capacity to worry about both of you and still stay sane."

I didn't reply before starting the car and heading out of the parking lot. I drove around for hours and it still wasn't enough of a distraction. I finally stopped to fill up the car at a gas station. I noticed I was in a familiar neighborhood. Some of my classmates live close by. Specifically, Gina, the most promiscuous girl in the school, and her brother Richard Monroe. He was an average student on the outside, but in truth, he dealt all kinds of drugs from prescription to not-so-legal ones to the students and sometimes the teachers.

I admit I have dabbled in some of the soft stuff, but now I need something stronger. I didn't have any texts from Ash, but I wasn't expecting them either. I already lived through this hell once and if I have to do it a second time I need a distraction from my destructive thoughts. I rang the doorbell and waited. Gina opened the door in a revealing tank top and barely there shorts. "Weston?" I didn't bother with pleasantries. "Is your brother home?" She led me inside to their basement, where Ricky, as he liked people to call him, was playing some racing game on his gaming console.

"Wes! Are you here for a good time, my man?" Without hesitation, I answered "Yes, I am. This time I want something stronger though." He just raised his eyebrows, but at the end of the day, a paying customer is always right. We hung around for a while smoking and playing games. It didn't do shit though because I couldn't stop thinking of today. I kept checking my phone, but I got nothing.

Richard excused himself and I realized I should leave, but I was too tired and high to move. "Weston, I think you need a distraction and I am the best for the job." She climbed on my lap and kissed me. Gina was a pretty and smart girl, but the problem with her was that she looked for validation in every direction, which led her to hook up with practically every male in the school since we started. I managed to avoid her all this time, we only ever went out as a group. Now though... I couldn't think straight and desperately needed a distraction.

What are your thoughts on Weston's feelings?

Is Rory going to wake up soon?

Question of the day: Do you practice any sport? If so, what is it?