Betrayed

Today is the anniversary of my parents death. One year ago today my parents were killed in a car crash by my drunk brother. 

He survived and fled the scene never to be seen again, meanwhile my parents died on impact. 

I’ll never forgive him for leaving me on my own. I just turned 18 a month before my parents passed away and now I have to fend for myself with no guidance or help.

Living on my own has proved to be the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life. There’s no calling your parents for help or asking them for advice. 

Part of me wishes I had died with them. Anything is better than being alone. 

“Marissa?” 

I look up and notice my roommate, Alex.

“You really need to put that journal down and get out of your slump.”

She grabs my journal and takes it away from me, throwing it across the room.

Writing in my journal is my only coping mechanism that I have and here she is tossing it around like trash. 

“Alex,” I begin to say, “my parents died a year ago today. I’m sorry if my slump is bothering you, but you can leave me alone now.”

I get up from my desk and go towards the shelf to pick up my journal where it landed next to. 

Alex sighs and doesn’t even say anything more. She doesn’t understand me even though she thinks she does. 

No one can help me get over the loss of my parents. I’ve tried several therapists and medications, but the sadness and anger I feel over there death still remains day after day.

I sit down back at my desk and I hear Alex slam the door shut leaving our dorm. 

My parents died at the end of my senior year. I wasn’t planning on going to college. I wanted to be a writer, but since I had to live on my own I couldn’t do that anymore.

I needed to get a job that would actually pay the bills, so I decided to go to college which is where I am now. My end of freshman year studying Education to become a teacher. 

Not something I ever wanted to do with my life, but my mom was a teacher at an elementary school. And if I was ever going to have a career besides writing, I mind as well chose what my mom loved doing.

It gives me a way to feel connected to her.

I hear a knock at the door and groan. 

I put a sign on the door specifically so people would leave me alone, but I guess people can’t read.

I walk towards the door and open it aggressively. 

“What.” I don’t even care whose on the other side. I just want to hear what they want and move on with my day.

“Hello Marissa. It’s been a long time.” 

I know that voice and face from anywhere. 

The brown wavy hair and hazel eyes. He has a scar above his eye which is from when a dog bit him when we were kids.

It's my brother, Jack. 

I don’t know whether to be angry or happy. He killed my parents and fled the scene leaving me on my own. 

However, I've always wondered where he went and despite everything I missed him. He was my brother after all. 

Tears begin to fall down my face. I’m overwhelmed. 

He walks through the door and sits down on my bed. I close the door and walk over to Alex’s bed and sit down. 

I’m the first one to break the silence. “Why did you do it?”

He laughs. The audacity that he has. “Do what?” 

I’m angry. “Don’t play games with me Jack. I don’t need this. Especially not today.” 

He sighs and begins talking, “I was scared. I didn’t want to go to jail. It’s as simple as that.”

“No.” I begin saying, “there has to be more. You left me!” I begin yelling now, “Do you know how hard it is having your life flipped upside down and then having to live on your own with no guidance?”

“Maris-” He begins saying, but I cut him off.

“I hate you! You destroyed my life and the only answer you give me is that you didn’t want to go to jail? I call bull!”

I can see him getting angry now, but not even an ounce of me cares. 

“I had a baby on the way Marissa. I couldn’t let my child grow up without their father!” 

My mouth drops open. I wasn’t expecting this. How could he not tell us? His own family that he got someone pregnant. 

“Yeah well now I have to grow up without a family,” I respond bitterly. 

I don’t want to know anything about his baby. I don’t care.

I remember my phone being in my back pocket and I grab it. He needs to go to jail and pay for what he did to our parents. His child doesn’t need a murderer for a father. It's worse than not having a father at all. 

I call 911 and I see that Jack notices what I'm doing. Panic begins to rise within him as the operator on the phone responds.

“911 whats your emergency?”

I put the phone up to my ear.

“No no no no! Marissa don’t do this please I'm begging you.” 

He’s on his knees now as I respond to the operator. 

“I have Jack Dendrick with me right now in my dorm room. The suspect who hit Anna and Matt Dendrick a year ago.”

I see the tears streaming down Jack's face. As much as I hate him, turning your own brother in hurts. 

  He collapses on the ground and now we’re both crying.

I give the operator on the phone the address and she tells me that the cops are on their way.

I’m surprised that he doesn’t even try to run away. He just sits there on the floor with his head in his hands.

He’s given up. 

15 minutes pass before the cops break open the door to my dorm room. 

Jack looks up, defeat in his eyes. 

“Jack Dendrick, you are under arrest for the hit and run of Anna and Matt Dendrick. You have the right to remain silent.” 

They get him up from off the floor and pin him against the wall handcuffing his hands behind his back. 

As the cops are leaving with Jack in custody now, he looks back at me and all I can do is mouth “I’m sorry” to him, but I know that will never be enough.