Beneath the Aspen

It was nearly midnight when Josie climbed into the front seat of the families green Ford Explorer and waited for her mom to drive them to the hospital. As she tried to keep calm, her mind raced with all the different scenarios of what could have happened this time. Her thoughts became interrupted as her mother slammed the driver seat door and started the car. With tears in her eyes she said “sometimes I truly think Savanna would be better off dead…. At least then, I’d know where she was and I wouldn’t have to worry about what kind of trouble she’s gotten herself into or when she’d get hurt next.”

“I could drive,” Josie said putting one hand on her mom’s shoulder.

“No, driving helps me relax…. Gives me a sense of some control in my life…”

It was only a month ago she and her Mother made a similar drive late at night to pick up her sister Savanna from the Bridgeport police station rather than the hospital. Savanna was always a sore subject for anyone in the family, especially Josie, they were completely opposite from one another; not just in the way they lived their lives but in appearance as well. Savanna was three years older than Josie, she had straight chocolate brown hair and dark blue eyes; she was marked as the black sheep of the family, the wild child who was self-centered and inconsiderate of everyone around her, not to mention she was an alcoholic who has horrific taste in men. Josie, on the other hand, has wavy dark blonde hair and ice blue eyes, she was expected to live by her sister’s example, the example of what not to do. In a sense, it took away a part of her freedom, her ability to be young and rebellious. She knew or rather it was ingrained in her that if she were to do anything remotely close to her sisters recoups actions her mother would fall apart.

Once at St. Mary’s Hospital, they were directed to room 135, where they found Savanna laying in a hospital bed, with half her face covered in bruises. “Mom! What are you doing here?”

“Your Aunt June… she told me. So what happened this time?” Their mom said, taking a seat next to the bed. There was silence. The kind of silence that made your skin crawl. They all knew the premise of what happened, they were just waiting for the lie.

“I fell… going down the stairs” Savanna told them, unable to look either of them in the face.

“You let that piece of shit push you down the stairs….what is the matter with you?!”

“You just don’t know him as I do!… he loves me!”

“So we don’t matter? You don’t think WE love you? At least WE don’t put our hands on you, break you physically…. Or emotionally… I just don’t understand.” Her mom began to cry again. “I can’t do this anymore… I will not watch as he kills you.” Their mother stood and began to walk towards the door. “Josie, Let’s go…”

Savanna shot Josie a look, a look she knew all too well; the “Help Me” kind of look, Savanna knew her mother meant what she said, and that she couldn’t live without a handout from others. She thrived on preying off those who pitted her and was willing to enable her destructive behavior. As Josie followed her mother out of the room, she remembered what it was like to live with her sister and shear a room together, it made her realize that person no longer existed, she will forever be just a memory.