All around, the room is filled with a deep darkness. The only light that could be seen glowed from under the front door of our apartment. I lay there in the quiet, peaceful night, struggling to fall asleep. The sound of creaking footsteps could be heard in the distance. That’s when a loud door had flown open and disrupted that silence. Then there they were, arguing as usual and pretending I'm unable to hear them. He's drunk and she's crying. It was that night I had seen how aggressive he was toward her, pushing her against the door as he got angrier. She knew how he was when he drank, yet she always picked a fight. She was never one to wait for a better moment to talk about things. Brooke and I had fallen asleep in the living room, allowing me to view the entire situation. As the bitterness and tensions had risen between them, along rose their voices. That’s when she left as she tended to do when things got messy. But this wasn’t the night to flee. Her leaving had caused his anger to blow a hole through his head that was unfixable. This set off a series of events that can not ever be undone.

It was late and we were quickly rushing to find shoes. Jerry had taken Brooke and I to his car, her in the back and I in front. As he drove, the engine roared, while the speedometer continued to increase. 70, 80, 90.. I was small then and in the front seat, where I felt as if I was going to fly out of the window. The sirens began to wail behind us, though the car kept its speed. The dark night sky had made it difficult to see until we had crashed. It had felt like slow motion when the automobile rolled. To me, it felt as if an hour went by as I gradually continued to drift. The tumbling car had landed in a ditch. My immediate thought was to get out. I stood barefoot in the rain, bruised and wet, as police and ambulances approached us. That’s when I looked back inside the car. I can still picture him holding her. Brooke was in his arms, covered in broken glass and limp. He cried for her, wishing he could take it all back.

The hospital halls were flooded with doctors and fellow relatives. I didn't understand the true severity of the situation. My mind had one goal at the time: find my sister. The medics had mended my wounds and handed me over to the police to discuss the events that had transpired that night.  After I had been checked out, I was seated in the waiting room accompanied by my family. Heartache and mourning had filled the area. When the doctors asked if we were prepared to see her, my mother would not allow me to enter. I had assumed Brooke was injured, but no more. It was not until we had to leave the hospital without her that I realized; my sister was not coming home with us.. Not now, not ever again. You never know how long you may have with someone and therefore, you must cherish your loved ones while you can. Someday, they may be gone with no return.