It started just like any other day for Lucy. She was going to go shopping with her best friend Jessie. Lucy has been driving everywhere ever since she turned sixteen last month and got a brand new car for her birthday. Her brother, Ryan, had a fit because he wanted a car too. Ryan is ten years old, so Lucy’s parents got him a toy car instead. Ryan always throws a fit except for this one day.

The day was May 14th and there was no school due to a teacher work day. It was a perfect, bright, sunny day. The birds were chirping, the dog next door was barking, and the sun was shining through the curtains. Lucy rolled onto her stomach, face in the pillow, trying to get the sun to stop shining in her eyes. She couldn’t fall back to sleep so she got up and headed to the bathroom.

She walked past the mirror and noticed there was something different about her. Her brother had drawn a mustache on her face. She scrubbed it off with soap, glad it was washable, but really mad about it. When she found her brother she told him, “Don't you ever do that again or I will kill you!” She went into the kitchen and opened the fridge looking for food. She told Ryan she was leaving at 11:00 to go shopping.

Lucy went upstairs, got dressed and put on some makeup. She went downstairs to find Ryan sitting on the couch all dressed. Lucy said she was leaving, and Ryan ran over to her and said he was ready to go. Lucy told him, “I am not driving you, ride your bike.” Then she hopped in her car and left Ryan all alone in the garage.

On the way to the mall, Lucy told Jessie, her best friend, all about what happened with Ryan. They arrived at the mall and went to Forever 21. After shopping at four more stores they stopped at the food court. At 11:57 she got a phone call from her mom. Lucy thought it was probably about the chores they had to do so she picked it up. She heard her mom crying and all her mom said was, “Lucy, go to the hospital now. Something has happened to your brother.”

Lucy hung up the phone and was shocked by the news. Jessie popped a grape in her mouth and asked what was up. Lucy said, “Ryan’s hurt. I have to go.” She threw her bags in the car and drove fast to the hospital. She pulled quickly into a parking spot and ran into the hospital. There were so many people sitting and waiting for news of their loved ones, several were crying. She went to the ER waiting room and found her parents. Her mom had bloodshot eyes and her father, who never cries, had swollen eyes. Her parents talked quietly to a nurse until she said to follow her.

They walked into a small white room where a doctor and several nurses were around a bed. As she got closer she saw that Ryan was there and there were bruises and cuts all over his body. His left arm was beaten up and was in a cast. The doctor talked to her parents, but all Lucy could think about was why she told Ryan to ride his bike. She heard he got hit by a car which caused bleeding in his brain, a broken arm, and other internal bleeding. The doctor’s tried to relieve pressure on his brain to keep him alive; They tried their best. Lucy had a chance to say something to Ryan, but she didn’t know what to say. He wouldn’t be in this condition if it wasn’t for her. She left because she didn’t know what to say.

Later that night, when everyone left, Ryan’s heart stopped beating. The doctors and nurses rushed in and worked on him until early in the morning. The doctor came out with no expression, so Lucy knew it wasn’t good. He came over and said, “I’m sorry. We tried as much as we could, but he is unresponsive.” Her mom started crying and Lucy’s dad held her close. There was nothing Lucy could do, she couldn’t move, she was frozen.
The funeral was a week later and everyone was there. Lucy was sitting by her parents, who were crying. As the priest spoke, Lucy buried her face in her hands. She couldn’t bear to look at Ryan in the open casket. Lucy couldn’t believe that he was really gone. She remembered Ryan’s sixth Christmas where he wanted to get her a present so he grabbed something from her room and gave it to her. She remembered all the good times they had playing tag and ball in the yard during the summer. Lucy should have been nice to him but instead, she pushed him away and wanted him gone. Now he is really gone, forever.

After the priest was done talking he asked Lucy if she wanted to say a few words about her brother. “Lucy would you like to say a few words, Lucy, Lucy!” She opened her eyes ready to speak but instead found her brother staring down at her. She grabbed him and hugged him, scared that he would leave her. He screamed, “Stop, let go of me or you will squish me to death.”

She said, “Ryan, I am so sorry. You are the best brother ever.” Everything changed that day. Lucy started treating her parents with respect and helped her brother out with anything he needed. They became a closer family, one that helps each other out, all because of a teen’s nightmare.