I sat in a plastic chair next to my mother, her hand grasping mine as we waited for any news on Lolita. A few hours ago, the doctor had told us that she would need surgery, and for some reason, her body was fighting the different kinds of treatments they had tried to give to her; basically, she was still unconscious and they were trying 'the best they could'.

Rain and Angel had gone home, my mom informing them that they needed to rest, that they had been up for too long, and that we would call if there was any news.

"She'll be fine, Shay," Rain had murmured to me before they left, which I had replied with a blank stare and a lifeless nod; it had been almost seven hours since she was brought into the hospital, and the patience I hardly had in the first place was wearing thin. My mom had tried to make me go home with them as well, but I didn't want to leave my little sister.

I couldn't.

Especially because she was in this condition because of me; all I wanted her to do was get better. That was all I needed her to do.

I ran a hand through my hair and stood up to pace the hallway, my mother sitting with her legs crossed and her finger tapping mindlessly on the unread magazine she had in her lap; now and then, she would jump up and pester the nurses that came in and out of the room Lolita was currently undergoing treatment in.

After about ten minutes of pacing and mindless tapping, my father walked in; Jeremy Hunter always was the workaholic type.

He was always away on business trips, attending business meetings, and constantly on the phone when he was home. I couldn't remember clearly the last time I had talked to my father for more than five minutes, and it was usually about the grades I was making in certain cla.s.ses or if I needed cash from him. My father never made time to spend with either Lolita or me, so I had stopped trying to get our father-daughter bond back and had given up on him.

And he had missed my birthday.

I seethed when I saw him walk in, slowly sauntering over to where my mother sat. I flopped down into the chair beside her, and glanced away when my father showed up.

"What happened?" I heard my dad's frantic voice, so I glanced at him weirdly; he had never shown any concern for either of us, so this type of reaction, I had not been expecting. My mother sighed and looked up painfully at him.

"The car drove off the bridge."

My dad glanced at me then, and I stared back at him without uttering a word.

"How come you're okay?"

"Because I am?" it came out more sarcastic than I had intended; my father glared at me and glanced back at my mother.

"How did it happen?"

"They were on their way back from Shay's birthday party"

My father glanced at me then, and I expected that he would apologize and wish me a belated happy birthday; instead, my father looked at me suspiciously and glanced back to my mother.

"Were they drunk?"

What?

Silence followed my father's question so he ran a palm over his face angrily and turned to me.

"Shay, how irresponsible can you be?"

I glanced up at my father; where did that come from? So because I wasn't the one in the operating room, I was suddenly guilty? I mean, I kind of was, but I wasn't going to tell him that; my father would flip s.h.i.+t if he knew the real reason why Lolita had been speeding yesterday night.

"What?" I muttered, staring at him with a raised brow.

"You were supposed to take care of your sister! How could you let her drive drunk?"

I seethed and took in a deep breath to calm myself.

"Lolita wasn't even drinking, dad"

My father stared at me as though he didn't believe a single word I was saying.

"So what happened then?" my father folded his arms across his chest and jutted out his chin "explain right now, Shay Hunter"

I gritted my teeth.

Before I could speak, I heard my mother's voice reply with a "Jeremy, calm down"

Slowly, my father turned his gaze to my mother as though he had just told me that he would lose his job. My mother rolled her eyes and stood, stepping in front of my dad so I was almost out of view.

"Don't blame it all on Shay, okay?"

My dad stared at her like she had lost her mind, before slowly backing off and putting his hands up in surrender.

"You're right," he said with a sarcastic smile "they're just teenagers Amy," he stared blankly at my mom "they're supposed to act on impulses irresponsibly"

"Hey," I muttered in protest, crossing my arms defensively over my chest.

I do not act on impulse and irresponsibly; only if and when the need arose.

"This was all your fault," was what my father said next, his gaze and fingers pointed toward my mom; she stared at him in shock.

"Don't look so shocked," my dad said irately "you're their mother"

"So this was my fault?" my mom asked, as though she hadn't exactly heard what my father had said. My dad clicked his tongue and walked toward my mother, so he could lower his voice.

"You're the one that allows the girls to do whatever they want," he sighed annoyingly "you don't discipline them"

My mother narrowed her eyes.

"They're your daughters too, you know," my mother ran her hands through her hair "plus you're never around, so don't put this all on me"

My father grunted, extremely frustrated.

"I work, okay?" he said exasperatedly "I work every day all week to keep us going"

"That's just an excuse, Jeremy," my mom rolled her eyes "you never spend time with them! I mean, come on," she pointed at me "you missed your own daughter's birthday"

"I had a very important meeting yesterday," my dad sighed "you know that."

"Did the meeting include the blonde wh.o.r.e?"

What?

"What?" my father said, voicing my thoughts; I glanced at my parents weirdly.

What were they talking about?

"Don't even joke, Jeremy," my mother said, her voice going softer "your secret love affair? Not so secret anymore"

Whoa!

Back it up; secret love affair?

My father?

When did that happen?

"You don't know what you're talking about," my father's voice faltered and I sat up, even more, interested in their conversation now. Dad had grown quiet? Did that mean what I thought it meant?

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked then, and they both turned sharply to me and glared.

"Quiet Shay!"

I put my hands up in surrender and leaned back in my chair, watching my parents worriedly.

"I'm talking about your boss," my mom said then, trying to catch my father's gaze but he averted it "the s.l.u.t sending you 3 am messages"

"They're work-related," my dad murmured and my mom stared at him in disbelief, and I wondered why he even still bothered denying it "and she isn't a s.l.u.t"

"Oh, so you're defending her now, are you Jeremy?"

My dad glanced up at my mother.

"Listen, Amy," the rest of his sentence was cut off by the sounds of footsteps approaching where we were; the doctor sighed and motioned for us all to sit down.

"She's okay, right?" I asked eagerly as I glanced up at the doctor; he sighed and turned to me. The moment I saw the look in his eyes, I clammed my mouth shut and slowly leaned back into my chair.

"I'm sorry," the doctor sighed and placed his clipboard on his lap; both my parent's eyes widened but I closed my eyes and placed my hands over my ears, not wanting to hear what he had to say after the look he had given me; it told me that Lolita was anything but okay.

"I have bad news"