Oh Brother Read online

  She heard Mrs. Wallace speaking quietly to them. “Yes, his mother has been contacted.”

  Lauren followed them out to the parking lot. Their murmuring voices seemed to be coming from a long way off. She was dimly aware that Byron and Blake were still there, following along on either side of her.

  The paramedics put Will into the ambulance just as Lauren’s mother drove up.

  “Mom!” Lauren ran to her, and suddenly tears were running down her cheeks.

  Lauren’s mom spoke to the paramedics for a moment, then took Lauren by the shoulders and leaned down so they were face to face.

  “Lauren,” she said firmly. “Will’s had an accident, but he’s going to be fine.”

  “But—but the blood—there’s so much—”

  “Lauren. I need you to do something for me. It’s very important.”

  Lauren stopped crying and sniffed loudly.

  “I need to go to the hospital with Will, and I need you to stay here. I need to know that you’re okay. Do you understand?”

  Lauren nodded and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

  “Go home with Callie after school. Your dad or I will pick you up there later. Bernice will look after you. Can you do that?”

  Lauren sniffed and nodded again.

  “Good girl.” Her mom gave her a quick hug, and then she was gone.

  Lauren watched her mom drive out of the parking lot, following the ambulance. She felt like she’d never see them again. Then an arm came around her shoulders and pulled her away.

  “Come on, dear,” said Mrs. Wallace. “Don’t worry about your brother. He’s in good hands. Now let’s get you cleaned up.”

  Half an hour later Lauren eased the door to her classroom open and tried to slip in unnoticed. But the latch closed with a resounding CLICK. Mr. Pittman looked up.

  “Lauren Scanlon, you’re late,” he said. Twenty-six pairs of eyes swiveled in her direction.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Pittman,” said Lauren, feeling raw and exposed in the faded shirt she’d borrowed from the lost-and-found box. She handed him the note Mrs. Wallace had given her and waited while he read it.

  “Oh, so that’s what that was all about,” said Mr. Pittman. “I’m sorry, Lauren. Please take your seat.”

  “Are you okay?” whispered Byron as she took the seat next to him. Alicia and Alex were watching her with matching looks of concern on their faces.

  “Yeah, sure,” said Lauren. But she was cold all over, and every time she thought about the blood pouring from Will’s face, she started shivering.

  She sat through her science and art classes as if she were lost in a fog. What was happening at the hospital? Was Will all right? When would he be coming home? She kept her eyes on the clock, watching the hands drag slowly forward.

  Finally the bell rang, and she shoved her books into her desk. She looked over at Callie. She hadn’t spoken to her for three days. How was she going to ask if she could go home with her? Callie had put her things into her backpack and was following Treena and Maddy to the door.

  Lauren hurried to catch up.

  “Callie.” Her voice came out in a hoarse croak, and she cleared her throat. “Callie!”

  Callie stopped and turned toward her. Maddy and Treena did as well.

  “What do you want?” asked Treena, looking down her nose at Lauren.

  Lauren’s throat dried up. She thought she might be sick. “Nothing. I just need to talk to Callie.”

  “We know all about your little secret,” said Maddy.

  “My—my secret?”

  “Yeah. We saw you at the mall with that kid. Callie filled us in. He’s your brother?” Maddy’s eyebrows were raised, her look a cross between scorn and amusement.

  “Yeah, he’s my brother.” Lauren’s eyes darted over to Callie. “That’s what I wanted to talk—”

  “So what’s wrong with him?” asked Treena. “Did the doctor drop him on his head or something, or do gimps just run in the family?” She sniggered. “Now I know why you sit at that table with the other freaks. You all have gimps in your families.”

  Lauren stared, mouth open, unable to believe her ears.

  “Look at her,” said Treena. “It must be catching—she’s starting to look like him.”

  Something exploded inside Lauren’s head. She snapped her jaw closed and glared at Treena.

  “I’d rather be like him than you any day,” she said. “He’s got more caring and spirit and joy and fun in him than you’ll ever have. And he’s got friends, real friends, who care about him and look out for him and don’t abandon him because other people are too narrow-minded and bigoted to give him a chance.” She looked at Callie when she said this. “He’s my brother, and I love him, and no one’s ever going to take that away from me.”

  She turned and stumbled through the door, dashing angry tears away with the back of her hand. She heard Callie calling her name, but she didn’t care. She flew down the stairs and out the door at the bottom and ran.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lauren didn’t know where she was going. She just knew she had to get away. Get away from Treena and Maddy and Callie. Get away from the visions of blood that refused to leave her head. Get away from her thoughts about Will and the way she’d been treating him the last couple of months. Especially that.

  She let her feet take her where they would, leaping over curbs, racing through the grass, pounding on pavement until finally her lungs couldn’t keep up with them anymore. She fell back to a walk and then stopped altogether as her legs started to quiver.

  Exhausted, she hunched down on the sidewalk to catch her breath. She had no idea where she was. The buildings around her were unfamiliar. She knew this should worry her, but she didn’t feel anything. She was numb.

  She wandered aimlessly, not caring which way she turned, passing parks and gas stations, half-empty parking lots and even a school. A dog ran out from behind a fence, barking furiously. She dodged out of the way, narrowly missing being hit by a car. The driver blasted his horn at her, and she jumped back onto the sidewalk. Still she kept walking.

  She thought about the day they’d spent at the pool. They’d had so much fun. She and Will and Callie and Blake. She had thought she’d found a friend. Someone who could accept her for who she was and accept Will as her brother. But she’d been wrong. Now Will was hurt, and she might never be able to tell him she was sorry.

  She rested her forehead on the cold metal of a signpost. Of course you’ll be able to tell him, she told herself. He’ll be fine. He’s probably on his way home now. But another voice in the back of her head whispered that maybe he wasn’t. Maybe his injury was worse than her mom had let on. Maybe she’d never get a chance to talk to him again.

  She stood there for a long time. She’d forgotten her jacket at school, and she shivered in the cold wind. The dried sweat on her back was like a layer of frost covering her body.

  She had to admit that she was lost.

  She turned a corner, and then another, looking for something familiar now, something that would point the way home. At last she spotted the lights of a 7-Eleven up ahead and darted inside.

  “You all right, love?” asked the cashier.

  Lauren shook her head, taking deep, gulping breaths.

  “All right, just take it easy.” The woman came around from behind the cash register. Lauren noticed a rose tattoo on her forearm. She sounded Scottish. For some reason Lauren found that comforting. “Are you hurt? Do you need an ambulance?”

  “No—no,” said Lauren, still short of breath. “I’m just—I’m lost.”

  “You poor dear,” the woman said, patting Lauren’s shoulder awkwardly. “Don’t worry—we’ll get you home.”

  Lauren’s breathing slowed, and she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

  “Where do you live?” said the woman.

  Lauren told her the street name. “Is it far from here?”

  “Not too far. Just go left at the light and all the way down Broadw
ay. You’ll see Birch Park Elementary on the right-hand side and—”

  “That’s my school.”

  “Then you know your way from there.” The woman smiled, dimples appearing in her cheeks. “Hurry up now, lass,” she said as Lauren turned to leave. “It’ll be dark soon.”

  “Thank you.”

  The house was in shadows when Lauren finally arrived home. She found the spare key under the potted plant, let herself in and flicked the light on in the hallway.

  “Mom? Dad?” she called out, but she already knew that no one was home. The house had an eerie, empty feel to it. She checked the answering machine, but there were no messages. They weren’t home. They hadn’t tried to contact her. She was on her own.

  She wandered around the house, through the living room with Will’s empty standing frame in the corner, the kitchen with its three chairs and the empty spot where Will’s wheelchair fit, into the dining room where the baby grand stood silent. Suddenly Lauren couldn’t stand the stillness anymore. She ran up the stairs to her room and flung herself onto her bed, dragging the comforter over her head.

  She didn’t think she would sleep, but she must have, because she woke sometime later feeling stiff and cramped. She wasn’t sure where she was at first. The room was dark and felt small and close around her. Then it all came flooding back. Will. Her parents must still be at the hospital.

  The house was so quiet. Lauren focused on the soft ticking of the cuckoo clock on her wall. Tick. Tick. Tick. The seconds stretched longer and longer.

  Just when Lauren thought she’d go crazy listening to the silence, she heard a car pull into the driveway. She threw the comforter off and peered out the window. Her dad’s car. He was alone.

  Don’t panic, Lauren told herself. Everything’s all right. But her heart was racing a mile a minute, and her hands and feet had suddenly turned to ice.

  She jumped off the bed and tore down the stairs as the key grated in the lock.

  “What’s happening? Is Will all right? Tell me he’s all right.”

  “He’s fine, honey, he’s fine.”

  Her dad hugged her and stroked her hair. Lauren found herself laughing and crying at the same time. She wiped her nose with her sleeve.

  “He’s really all right?”

  “He will be,” said her dad. “He broke his nose and lost a tooth. The doctor wanted to keep him in for observation.”

  Lauren sniffed loudly. “He looked so horrible. There was so much blood.”

  “Yes, I know,” said her dad. “And he doesn’t look much better now. He’s going to have a couple of black eyes, but he’s proud as punch he’s finally lost his first tooth.”

  Lauren giggled, a wet, gurgling sound.

  “But what are you doing here?” asked her dad. “Bernice said you didn’t come home with Callie. We didn’t know what to think. Then we rang here and you didn’t answer—we were frantic.”

  “I’m sorry, Dad. But they were so horrible, saying mean things about Will. I just couldn’t stand it.”

  “Who? Callie?” said her dad. “That doesn’t sound like her.”

  “No, it wasn’t Callie, it was Treena, but Dad, when Callie’s around Treena and Maddy, she’s different. She does whatever they want and goes along with whatever they say. I couldn’t just stand there and take it.”

  “No, of course not.” Her dad patted her on the shoulder. “It’s all right. I’m just glad you’re safe.” He stood up. “Now we’d better call your mom. She’ll be worrying.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next morning Lauren went with her dad to the hospital to see Will. The familiar smell of disinfectant greeted her at the door. Memories flooded her of all the times she’d waited while Will underwent various tests and therapy sessions. But it had never been in an emergency. She had never experienced this nervous flutter of dread.

  Peering through the doorway, she saw him lying in the bed nearest the door. He looked so small and fragile, his pale arms standing out against the bright-colored blanket. Huge bluish-black circles surrounded both eyes. His nose was taped, and his lips were red and swollen. Her heart squeezed tight.

  Will spotted Lauren in the doorway and raised an arm to wave at her. “Lo!”

  The tightness in Lauren’s chest eased, and she smiled.

  “Hey, Will,” she said, moving to the bed. “How are you?”

  He gave her a huge grin in answer and pointed to the gap in his teeth.

  “Gone!” he said.

  Lauren pretended to be surprised. “Wow! Did the tooth fairy come?”

  Will nodded eagerly and held up his fist to show her the shiny coin he had clenched inside.

  “Two dollars?” said Lauren. “Wow, she must really like you. I only ever got one.”

  Will grinned even harder, if that was possible.

  The day passed slowly. Lauren’s dad had to go to work, but Lauren and her mom didn’t leave Will’s side. Nurses came in once in a while to check Will’s blood pressure and look into his eyes. Finally the doctor came in, gave him another look and said he was well enough to go home.

  “Thank goodness for that,” said Lauren’s mom. She dressed Will and transferred him to his wheelchair.

  As she followed her mom and Will down the hallway, Lauren noticed there was dried mud on the tires of his wheelchair from the soccer game.

  “I guess you won’t be playing soccer anymore,” she said.

  Will squirmed and nodded his head.

  “Well, not for a while anyway,” said their mom.

  Lauren’s mouth dropped open. “You’re still going to let him play soccer? After all this?”

  Her mom stopped to press the button for the elevator.

  “It could have happened to anyone, Lauren. Risk of injury is part of the game.”

  “But it didn’t happen to just anybody,” said Lauren. “It happened to Will.”

  “And he will heal like anyone else.” Her mom looked at Lauren long and hard. “We’ve never babied him, Lauren. You of all people should know that, and we’re not going to start now.”

  “But—”

  “Remember when you broke your toe at the dance recital a couple of years ago? We didn’t make you stop dancing just because you hurt yourself.” She sighed. “Will loves soccer, Lauren, and if he wants to play, I’m not going to say no.”

  Will nodded his head and waved his arms enthusiastically.

  “Play ball!” he cried.

  Lauren looked at his battered face. No bruise could hide the eagerness shining out of his eyes.

  “I guess you’re right,” she said.

  They’d only just arrived home when the doorbell rang. Callie and Blake were standing on the front porch.

  “Is Will okay?” asked Blake. “Is he home? Can I see him?”

  “Yeah, he’s in the kitchen. Go on in.” Lauren moved aside, and Blake flew past.

  There was an awkward silence. Lauren watched Callie as she stood staring at her feet, nervously scraping a bit of dirt off the doormat with the toe of her sneaker.

  “Blake told me what happened,” Callie finally said. “Is he okay?”

  “No, he’s got a broken nose, two black eyes and a missing tooth,” said Lauren.

  Callie raised her head, and Lauren saw that there were tears in her eyes.

  “I’m so sorry, Lauren,” she said. “I’ve been so awful. All I wanted was to be friends with Treena and Maddy. I thought if I was friends with the cool girls, it wouldn’t be so bad going to high school and all. But I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I don’t think Will’s a spaz like Treena said. I really like him. He’s the best friend Blake’s ever had, and you’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and now I’ve gone and wrecked it and…”

  She stopped. The silence stretched longer, but Lauren just waited, her heart beating fast. There was a lump in her throat.

  “…and I’m just sorry. That’s all,” Callie finished. She looked at Lauren helplessly for a couple of seconds and then turned to go.<
br />
  Lauren finally found her voice. “Callie.” She swallowed, but the lump didn’t move. “I’m sorry too.”

  “For what?”

  “For not being honest about Will in the first place,” she said. “He’s my brother. I shouldn’t have tried to hide that. And I’m not going to anymore.”

  Callie looked at her. “So can we start over?”

  “What about Treena and Maddy?” Lauren asked.

  Callie shrugged. “I don’t think they’ll want to hang out with me anymore.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well…” A funny look came over Callie’s face, like she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “They were saying all these mean things about you after you left yesterday. So I told them where to go.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah.” A huge grin split her face. “You should have seen Treena. She looked like she was going to explode.” She giggled and shrugged again. “But I couldn’t let them insult my best friend, could I?”

  Lauren stood there, grinning at Callie, feeling happy and giddy and relieved and grateful all at the same time. The weight in her chest had lifted, and she felt so light she thought she might float away.

  “Still friends?” asked Callie.

  Lauren laughed. “Of course, silly.” She grabbed Callie’s arm and dragged her inside. “Come on. You should see Will. He looks like he did ten rounds with Muhammad Ali, but all he cares about is the money he got from the tooth fairy.”

  As soon as they entered the kitchen, Will pointed to the gap in his teeth. “No tooth!” he cried.

  “Wow,” said Callie. “Congratulations, Will.” She turned to look at Lauren, her eyes like saucers.

  Lauren did her best not to giggle.

  The doorbell rang. Lauren heard the murmur of voices in the hallway. A moment later Dad came into the kitchen.

  “Will, you’ve got another visitor,” he said.

  It was Byron. He kneeled beside Will’s chair and placed a plastic shopping bag on Will’s lap.

  Will squirmed and giggled. “Cold,” he said.