Tell Me Something Good

It was dark as they drove down the highway, her twin brother was sound asleep his head pressed against the glass his headphones blaring. She looked out the window and watched the empty highway fly by her, the feeling of heaviness weighing down on her eyelids taking her off into her own dreamland.
A scream woke her from her sleep, she felt disoriented she thought she was upside side down. Taking in what was going on she noted that their car was rolling over her head smashing into the side of window, her brothers body getting flung forward into the seat in-front of him. She could see her mother getting tossed around like a rag doll in the front of the car, and just as quickly as it started it was all over.
“Chris!” she screamed, looking over seeing her brother bloodied, blood pouring from his head “Mommy!” there was no reply from her mother either, sobs racked her body. She tried unbuckle her seat belt the strap was crushing down on her chest making breathing extremely difficult, finally succeeding she tried to open the door but it wouldn’t budge. She looked to the window beside her it was broken open. Taking off her sweater she wrapped it around her hand and cleared the left over glass from the frame, maneuvering her way out the window onto the grass. She looked back at the car and began to sob, the site too much for her thirteen-year-old mind to handle.
Shock had set in and she could feel herself shaking, her head spinning, her stomach turning. Somewhere in the background she could hear sirens getting closer, voices calling down to her; someone was asking if she was okay. She couldn’t responded the scene in front of her deeming her speechless, the only noise she could make was the sobs leaving her body, dropping down to her knees she wrapped her arms around her stomach rocking herself back and forth on the ground. The sirens where closer now, she could hear footsteps approaching her at a fast pace, someone calling out to her again. A hand was placed on her shoulder causing her to jump, she looked up into a dark figure.
“Kid, you okay?” the figure asked, all she could do was sob harder in reply.
Cara woke with a start, her heart beating a million beats, a layer of sweat coving her body. Taking in a deep breath she exhaled.
“Fucking nightmare,” she muttered to herself. Sitting herself up on the bed she looked over at her twin brother, who was smiling in his sleep. Well at least one of us slept well she thought as she continued to watch her brother sleep. You could see the faint line of a scar across his hair line. Chris muttered something under his breath before rolling over on to his back, his morning erection making a small tent out of the sheets on top of him, “Oh gross!” she hissed jumping out the bed, “ew, ew, ew!” she muttered as she crossed the room and left him to sleep, not feeling so inclined to be in the same room as him anymore. Cara walked into the hall and down the stair to the main floor, where she could hear voices coming from the living room. Walking into the room she furrowed her eyebrows at the strange site in front of her. Ashton, one of her friends, was doing a handstand against the wall, a joint placed between his lips and a pissed off Douglas sitting in the chair beside him.
“G’morning Care Bear!” the sudden greeting made her jump, turning her best friend Rob stood behind her holding a bowl of cheerios in one hand and shoveling the cereal into his mouth with the spoon in other, “sleep well?” he asked with a mouthful of food.
“As well as can be expected. What on earth is Ash doing? And why does Doug look like his dog just died,”
“Nightmare?” Rob questioned, concern lacing his baby blues, Cara merely nodded, “Wanna talk about it?”
“Not particularly, maybe later,” Cara muttered training her eyes back on Douglas and Ashton.
“Fair, and Doug bet Ashton 50 bucks that he couldn’t do a handstand and smoke a joint at the same time,” Rob looked over at the pair, Ashton still on his head, “Looks like Doug lost,” Rob chuckled, shoveling more cereal into his mouth, walking past Cara plopping down on the couch. Smiling up a Cara spoon in mouth he patted the spot beside him on the couch, tilting his head for her to come sit beside him.
“Where’s Nina?” Cara asked as she sat down beside her friend, referring to his girlfriend of three years now.
“Sleeping, wore her out last night,” Rob smirked, a proud look on his face.
“I know, I heard you two all the way up stairs,” Cara said, glaring at Rob.
“Chrissy-boy still sleeping he asked,” watching in amusement as Ashton finally toppled over, curling into the fetal position on the ground muttering about how he was never going to do a handstand with a hangover again, and Doug laughing at the man on the floor, while tossing money down around him before exiting the room and headed towards the bathroom.
“Ya, he’s still fast asleep off in the porn site in his mind,” Cara cringed at the thought of the site of her brother condition only minutes before. Rob laughed at the younger girl beside him, knowing what she was referring too.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Ashton groaned from the floor, his face pale.
“I swear to God Sawyer, if u puke on the rug again I am going to shit in your bed!” Rob snapped, shaking his head at his idiotic friend. Ashton looked up in horror before lifting himself from the floor and running out of the room. Cara and Rob assumed he was headed to the washroom.
“Remind me why we keep him around?” Cara asked looking over at Rob, who was now slurping down the milk in his bowl.
“Cause...” Rob set his bowl down and ran his fingers through his beard while pondering her question, “We need someone to make fun of?” Cara snickered at her friend and grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned on the television, cuddling herself up to Rob laying her head on his shoulder.
“Comfy?”
“Quite,” she said and smiled up at him.
“What are your plans for this lovely Sunday afternoon?” Rob asked as they flipped through the channels looking for something to watch.
“Homeward bound,” she sighed, finally settling on a repeat episode of Vikings
“Or, you could come hangout with us at band practice! Be a regular teenager for once,”
“Rob, we have this argument every Sunday. Can we please not,”
“He’s the father yet, you act like the parent. It’s not fair too you, I don’t know why you don’t get out like Chris did,”
“Robert!” Cara growled in a warning tone.
“Fine, fine,” he backed off. That man doesn't deserve her he thought looking down at the younger girl.
Cara huffed as she walked up to the place she called a home, Unlocking the door, the smell of old cigarets assaulted her nose. Peering to her left into the living room, her father was in the same place she left him Friday night; in his Lazy Boy, with a whiskey in one hand and a Marlboro in the other. Shaking her head, she walked towards his disheveled throne.
“Dad, I’m home,” she muttered softly. Peter rolled his head over to the sound of the voice. His glassy, dull eyes looking up at his daughter. Locking eyes for a moment he nodded at the seventeen-year-old, and rolled his head back to the television. Cara sighed and walked out of the room, and headed up to her own.
Flopping down on her bed she opened her laptop and started to play some music, opening her textbook she began to study for her history exam that week, drifting off to sleep where along the way.
“Kid you okay?” the figure asked, her only response was crying harder. “Can you tell me what happened?” he asked kneeling down beside the young girl, “are you hurt anywhere?”
“Mommy! Chris!” she cried pointing towards the car, the figure looked over at the car wreck.
“It’s gonna be okay kid, help is on the way,” the figure said, taking his coat off and wrapping it around her shoulders.
It felt like forever, but the ambulance, police, and fire departments finally arrived. It all seemed like a blur people yelling, Chris being hulled out of the car and rushed to the ambulance, herself being led to one. But her mother she couldn’t see her anywhere, there was a big fuss around the driver seat car, a stretcher was being taken towards the car.
“What’s happening?” she asked, looking over at the paramedic who was attending to her words.
“Don’t you worry hun, you’ve got the best team on your mom,”
“Is she going to be okay?”
“Why don’t you lie down sweetie, we are going to get outta’ here soon,”
Cara snapped herself out of her dream, sitting up on her bed. Running a hand through her red hair she let out a deep sigh, looking over beside her bed she pulled a picture frame off the bedside table.
“Once upon a time we were a happy family,” she whispered running her thumb over the edge of the frame.