I wake up the next morning and its pouring rain. I throw on a sweatshirt and yoga pants as I go to wake up Adam. “Adam get up” I say sitting on his bed.
“No I want Mommy” he grumbles into his pillow.
“Mommy will pick you up from daycare. Now get dressed” I go to wake up Ava but she is up and ready to go, all ready wearing the outfit I put out the night before. My phone goes off indicating that I got a text message, as I go to grab it there is a knock on the door. As I open it I see Troy. “What?” I ask with a major attitude.
“I can’t come see my girl?” he says while kissing my cheek and trying to walk into my house.
“Yeah, no.” I push him back out the door and lock it so he can’t let himself back in. I walk into the kitchen and grab 2 plates and put an ego waffle on each and place them in front of the hungry children. I go and get an apple for myself and sit down with them before I have to take and drop them off at day care.
As I pull into the school parking lot, I remember the text I got this morning so I take out phone.
From Troy <3: Good morning beautiful :* Hope everything is cool between us and that rat you call your sister. I throw my phone in my bad and hope out of my car. First thing I see is Troy sucking faces with one of the cheerleaders. I quickly gather my things and begin to walk to my first period class. I slowly make my way there and take my seat as class should be starting relatively soon.  “Good morning class” my teacher Ms. Green says as she enters the room. “How is everyone?” she questions not giving us time to answer before moving on to the next thing on the agenda. “I believe we have a birthday today” she says scanning the room before her eyes land on me. “Happy bir-” the phone cut her off. As she answers it I can see all the color drain away from her face. “Amy may I see you in the hall” I stand up falling her out there. “Sweetie your parents they have been in a car accident…” she trails off, “they might not make it. Now I kno-” I cut her off by running. I don’t know where I was running to but I was running far away from here.
I bring myself to a stop and look up, I am at the hospital. I walk in, dripping wet, as I walk up to the young lady at the counter I say, “Linda and Gregory Coy” she looks down at her list for a moment.
“Linda is in surgery but Gregory is in room 322” I give her a nod before mouthing a ‘thank you’ as I walk in the direction of where my father is.
I stand outside the door just trying to prepare myself from what I am about to see. I put my hand on the doorknob and turn. As I walk in I began to cry, seeing my father lay in a bed with a tube down his throat helping him breath is too much of a sight for me. I quickly turn around and leave the room, putting my back on the wall and sliding down, crying into my arms before a nurse walks by.
“Honey, are you okay?” she kneels beside me.
“That’s my dad in there” is all I manage to get out. She picks me up and walks me to the waiting room. She leaves me there but then returns a few moments later with a doctor.
“I understand that you are Mr. Coy’s daughter” the man says. I don’t respond, “Your father is in critical condition but we are keeping a close eye on him” I just stand there shaking, not being able to move. Then the second I go to answer the doctor, it all goes black.

I woke up in a hospital bed with my Aunt Liz sitting next to me asleep. I look around and there is an IV in my arm and a heart monitor thingy on my finger. I hit the button that brings a nurse into the room and within a few seconds a very pretty young nurse walks in. “Yes sweetie, is everything alright?”
“Yes I’m fine I just want to know what happened and if my parents are okay”
“Oh um, I think you should get some rest before we talk about your parents” she says with a smile.
“Okay, but what happened to me?”
“You fainted and hit your head, you have a minor head injury but you will be fine” she says walking over to me and checking my condition. “You seem fine you will most likely be discharged within the next couple of days. The doctor wants to keep an eye on you.” I just nod and lay my head back down on my pillow and drift off to sleep.
“She looks as if she is recovering well” I hear a deep voice say.
“When will she be able to come home? Adam and Ava miss her” another voice says. I flutter my eyes open and see the doctor and my aunt talking. “Oh Amy darling” she says snatching me up into a hug.
“Aunt Liz, what are you doing here I thought you were in South Africa for the rest of the year?” I question, still slightly groggy.
“I came back because of your mother and father, and then you got hospitalized and it went bad very quickly.” She says all in one breath.
The doctor looks between my aunt and I and said, “Gregory and Linda didn’t survive the night…” he pauses before continuing, “and Ava had a stroke at school and is now paralyzed and is on a breathing monitor.” I sat there froze before letting the tears fall from my eyes.
“Is Adam okay?” I manage to get out.
“Adam is very healthy. We checked his brain activity and it appears as if he will be able to live a normal life.” I just nod in response.
“How do you think Ava will do?”
“Sadly, I don’t think that she will survive more than a few days. Her heart isn’t able to keep up with her body and she has brain damage from there being little blood flow.”
“Wait did her heart stopped?” I question becoming more and more worried about my little sister.
“Yes, that is correct but we were able to revive her” the doctor response calmly. I sit there, in complete and utter shock. My little sister won’t get to go to prom or get married. All her hopes and dreams won’t come true.
“When will I be able to go home?” I say with a neutral tone.
“We want to run a few test to make sure your brain is fine and healing well.” I nod and stand up and follow the doctor out of the room. We walk down a long hallway, past the waiting room.
“Amy!” I hear Adam yell. I turn to him and pull him into a hug. “I thought you were going to die” He says in a serious tone.
“I’m not going to die, I’m not going to leave you” I say releasing him from the hug and walking down the hallway again.
As I walk into the room the doctor tells me to lay flat and still on a bed. He explains that this is a CAT scan and it allows him to see my brain. After we finish I go back to my room and lay down. Adam comes in soon after and sits on my aunt’s lap, wiping her tears away. “I’m glad Amy and Ava are okay. It scared me when she fell to the ground in daycare.” He says shaking. My aunt looks at me and we exchange a few looks, agreeing to tell Adam about Ava’s condition. “Adam,” my aunt starts, “Ava won’t be able to live a normal life IF she survives, and we don’t want to take anything away from her do we?”
“No but what do you mean by ‘if she survives’?” he answers more confused than ever.
“She might not make it longer than a couple of days because her brain go hurt really bad” I try to explain it to him.
“Why can’t they just give her a new brain?” he still doesn’t get it.
“They can’t do that, it’s too dangerous and that will make it to where she won’t live at all.” I say letting a tear roll down my cheek. Adam just sits there, frozen just like I was. I reach to rub his back but he pushes my hand away.
“Don’t touch me!” he screams at the top of his lungs.
“Adam calm down” I say to him trying to stay calm myself.
“Calm down? I can’t calm down my sister might as well be dead!” he gets up and runs out of the room.
“I got him you stay here and rest” Aunt Liz says with a smile. I just nod and look up at the ceiling thinking about what we will do now. I mean yes I am 17 but I don’t have a stable job, plus with Troy causing all this crap I won’t have time to spend with Adam. I would also have to keep the house clean and keep my grades up and get ready for my baby to come. I hit the button on the side of my bed to get a nurse. The same nurse from the night before comes in and just gives me a confused look as to why my baby brother had just ran out of the room only moments before.
“Yes?”
“I was wondering if we could do an ultrasound so I can see my baby...” I trail off.
“Of course we can just let me go grab the machine and I will be right back.” She says with a smile as she exits the room.
“There you go” the nurse says wiping off my stomach “He will be coming in about 7 months. Are you stable to have him? Plus the lost of your sister and parents, I can only imagine how hard this will be on you.” She says soon realizing that I haven’t been told yet
“I thought Ava was still holding on?” I say tears filling my eyes.
“Oh sweetie I’m so sorry I though you already knew” she says giving me a few tissues before sitting beside me and rubbing my back as I cry into her shoulder. I few minutes go by before she has to go into another room to help another patient and pretty soon I am alone.
The whole time I am alone I just sit there thinking about how I am going to raise a 5 year old and a newborn, still get my school work done, work and take care of the house. My Aunt can’t stay forever she has a job and a family and I can’t ask her to drop all of that. Soon later I am broke from my thoughts as the doctor comes in and says, “Your test results are in and it looks as if you will be fine. You will be discharged as soon as we have a legal guardian sigh these papers.” He soon notes to himself that I don’t have a legal guardian. My parents said that if they die young that my grandmother would take us kids in, well she passed away just week’s before and they were going to go and pick a new person tomorrow. It is up to me to decide who gets to take care of us but I will be 18 in four months so they might just let me take care of us.

A few moments later Adam comes back in, his cheeks stained with tears. “Why do bad things happen to good people?” he questioned look up at my aunt who also had red cheeks from crying.
“I don’t know, but what I do know is that something good will come out of this.” She says with hopeful eyes. She looks up and sees me; tears filled my eyes as Adam realizes that the life he knows is now over.
“Amy please don’t cry” Adam says coming to sit on the bed.
“I’m sorry Bub but it’s just hard not to right now” I say trying to smile.
“I know but we have to stay strong, for Ava and Mommy and Daddy” he says letting a few tears fall from his eyes. I reach my hand up and wipe his cheeks as I look up at my aunt as she still stands in the door way. “It’s not going to be easy but as long as you got me, I got you Amy” Adam says pulling me into a hug.
“I got you buddy” I whisper, “I got you”
“Here are your discharge papers” the nurse walks in holding out a clip board to my aunt.
“Thank you” she says taking it with a cheerful smile. After she’s done filling the papers out she hands the clip board back to the nurse and I gather my things, having already changed out of the hospital gown and into my clothing again, and leave. As we walk out to the car I realize I haven’t seen Troy in a few days and the fear hits me.
As we walk into my home it is empty and completely untouched. That’s a good sign. “I think I’m going to go take a nap Aunt Liz can you take Adam to day care so you don’t have to worry about him?”
“Sweetie I will just take him to Bryan’s house and he can play there” she says referring to her brother. I just nod in response and head up to my room. As I open the door there he stands. “Tr-Troy what are you doing here?” I question trying to keep my voice from shaking.
“You thought you could go and spend days away from me? Big mistake” he says slamming the door behind me and yanking me into my room by my hair. “You though just because your sister and parents are dead that you could just leave me?” he shouts in my face.
“I’m sorry” I say taking a step back, pushing me up against a wall.
“Sorry isn’t going to save you this time baby” as he says that his hand connects with my cheek leaving a stinging sensation. He swings at me again but this time I duck and instantly regret it. He grabs a handful of my hair and throws me up against the wall. He hits me a few more times before he reaches into his pocket for a knife. I see what he is about to do so I try to reach the hand gun I keep in my bed side table. As soon as I grasp it I point it at him.
“St-Stop or I will shoot” I say with every word becoming stronger.
“You want shoot” he says confidently.
“Really?” I question c***ing the gun and pointing it at his head.
“Do it” he says take a step closer to me and with that I shot. I shot my boyfriend in the face and killed him. I walk up to the body lying on my floor and began to cry. I grab my cell phone and dial 911. I tell them the situation and they send help right away. When the police arrive I began to tell them what has been happening for the past 2 years, and they say they will give me a number for a support group and a therapist so I can talk about my problems. They think it would be best for me to go see a doctor to make sure my baby is okay.

After I leave the hospital I head back home and sleep, sleep for hours on end. I dream about how perfect my life was before I met Troy and before everything went wrong with my parents.
I woke up to dry tears on my face, I must have been crying. I don’t have to go to school for the rest of the week because of the past couple of days. I look at the time and I head down stairs to make lunch for myself. After my pizza is done I go and sit on the couch and turn on Netflix. I sit there like that for the whole day until my aunt stops by to see how I am doing.
“Okay thanks for stopping by and taking care of Adam until I can figure everything out” I say giving her a hug.
“Anything for you Honey.  Now, go get so rest.” She pats patting my arm and pushing me up the stairs.
“Bye Aunt Liz” I say as she waves at me. This is going to be a long week of therapy and talking about my feelings.
“Everybody this is Amy she is new and has been through a lot so please be supportive” the handsome man named John say to the group of people who have been threw similar things that I have. I look around and fine a seat next to a girl who’s name tag says ‘Emma’. I smile as I sit and face John. “Who wants to start?” John asked the group. “Emma how about you”
“Just last week I was in a car crash with the man I love. He did not survive and now I have no one. My family doesn’t understand that he would show his love for me by hurting me and leaving bruises on me” she says tearing up. “He would be a gentleman to me and love me when there were people around but when it was just he two of us. He would hit me and tell me that I am his slave.”
“Anyone else want to share?” John asked as Emma sits down. I raise my hand and wait for John to notice me.
“My name is Amy, I am 17 and just this week I lost my little sister and my parents. I had to shoot and kill my boyfriend because he had been hitting me for the past two years and I grew tired of putting my life and my baby’s life at risk.” I say placing my hands on my stomach. “If a man hits you, he doesn’t truly love you. I know it’s hard to rap your hear around but it’s the truth. Killing Troy was one of the hardest things I had to do. It was either him or my baby and I’m not going to lose this amazing child that god has granted me.” And with that I sat down and started to believe what I did was the right choice. A few more people went and then it was time to go.
As I walk into my home I see that my fridge was open. I quickly grab the rifle I had hidden behind the door, creeping around the corner. I bring the gun up to my eye and see my friend Robbie standing there with a piece of cheese handing from his mouth. “Don’t shoot!” he yells dropping his cheese.
“Robbie! What are you doing here?” I say setting the gun down and walking into his open arms.
“I missed my best friend” he smiles while kissing the top of my head.
“Want to watch a movie and stay the night?” I question looking up at him.
“Will there be food?” he jokes.
We decided to order a pizza and watch Forest Gump, one of my all-time favorite movies.
“Why did Jenny have to die?” Robbie questioned.
“Because that was her destiny” I say smiling up at him. “Want to build a fort?” I say getting up off the couch and grabbing a few blankets and pillows.
“Is that a trick question?” he laughs at how silly I was being.
A few moments later we have our fort build completely and are playing truth or dare after we invited a few more friends over to stay the night. “Katie,” Robbie started.
“Oh god” Katie giggled.
“I dare you to...” he paused, “kiss David”
“What? No way!” Katie yelled throwing a pillow at Robbie’s face.
“A dares a dare Katie” Robbie laughed. Katie has always had a crush on David but never told him. David just sits there in complete shock after he hears the dare and doesn’t say or do anything. Katie slowly leans in and puts her lips on David’s.
“There the dare is done” she says sitting back up straight. “Now Amy truth or dare?”
I sit there thinking for a little bit before answering, “Truth”
“Is it true that you’re not going to come back to school for the rest of the week?”
“Yeah” I say looking at the ground, “let’s play a different game” I say changing the topic.

The next month is the same routine, now with school. Wake up; go to school, therapy, support group, friends, and start again. I have not see Adam in weeks; my aunt thinks I’m unstable to support him and myself.
Today is my last day at the support group, I walk into the room and take my normal seat and wait for John to get the group going. My therapist thinks that I am doing much better and that I only have to go once a week instead of everyday. “Good morning, who wants to start?” John says jumping right in.
“I will” I say standing up. “Today is my last day and I have been doing much better. I have slowly gotten over my fear of being alone and today is the first time I get to see my baby brother in awhile. I haven’t had any problems with kids at my school and my friends have been really supportive. I am excited to announce that I will be getting a stable job and my own apartment with my friend Robbie. I will still be living in the area and I would love to stay in contact with you guys. You all have made a huge impact on me and I am so thankful for your support and friendship, I have grown to love you all.” I say wiping a tear from my face thinking about leaving all my new friends is hard but it is the next step I need to take to move on from this.
I walk into my Aunt’s house and see Adam sitting there on the couch. “Amy! I missed you!” he yells running and jumping into my arms.
“I miss you too” I say beginning to cry, “Have you been good for Aunt Liz?”
“Yes, but I want to come home with you. I miss all the fun we would have.” He says letting a few tears stray from his eyes.
“I’m working on it Buddy but I don’t know when that will happen again” I say wiping his cheeks.
“Amy” I hear a stern voice say. “May I speak with you in private?”
“Yeah give me a sec” I say not taking my eyes off of Adam. “Go play I will be out soon” I say giving him one last hug before I stand up and walk into another room with my aunt.
“Amy, how have you been?”
“Good, now when can I take Adam back?’ I say wanting to get this done with.
“When are you going to get a good job; A house in a good neighborhood?”
“I just got a new job and I am moving in to my apartment this weekend”
“An apartment? And you expect me to let Adam come and live with you?”
“I won’t be on my own, Robbie is going to live there too” I say growing more confident with every word.
“No”
“He’s my brother; I should be allowed to have him back. You were only going to watch him for a week!”
“Amy please be mature about this, I am doing this out of Adam’s best interest” Liz says trying to stay calm.
“Oh so keeping him here and treating him like he is nothing is good for him?” I say walking out of the room. I walk right out the front door, not saying bye to Adam was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

I drive home, mad as can be. I pull in to the house that is full of boxes and walk right into the bedroom and lock the door behind me and drift off to sleep.
I wake up still mad but not as bad, I walk out of the room and into the kitchen to see Robbie sitting there eating cheese. “What is with you and cheese?” I laugh.
“What is with you and picking on me and my cheese?” he jokes right back. “Your aunt stopped by…..” he stated already knowing what I was going to ask. “She said that she will never give you Adam as long as she is alive” he says in a hushed tone. I just stand there not saying or doing anything.
“Okay if that is what she believes” I say walking to the fridge to get a glass of milk. Then there was a knock on the door. As I walk to answer it the person keeps hitting the door and won’t stop.
“Wha- Adam?”
“Amy! Help she hit me!” he screams looking behind him. I pull him in and lock the door as I take him into the living room.
“Sit here, I will be right back” I say jogging to my cell phone to call the police.
Within minutes the police arrive and Aunt Liz is in handcuffs for child abuse and kidnapping. “So officer who will have Adam” I say holding my little brother close to my side.
“Well I still have to talk to child services but for now you can have him.” He says shaking my hand.
“Thank you so much for everything sir” I say giving him a smile. I go and sit on the couch and take a deep breath.
“See everything worked out” Robbie says picking Adam up and placing him on his lap as he sits next to me.
“Yeah” I say with a smile. “Adam you can have my bed while I sleep on the couch”
“No I will sleep on the couch, the little guy can sleep in my bed” Robbie has always loved Adam like the brother he never had. With that we all headed off for bed and began to get ready for the day we have ahead of us.
“Good morning” I say to Adam as he walks out of Robbie’s room and into the kitchen. He doesn’t say anything just lays his head down on the counter with a smile on his face. “Are you ready to move all these boxes to the new house?” I say.
“Can I just sleep all day?” Adam questions.
“No” I giggle while I ruffle his hair.
“Amy don’t you have to go the doctors today for a checkup?” Robbie says walking through the front door.
“Not until later on, like around dinner.”  I say sitting down at the counter next Adam. “Do you wanna come with me Bub?”
“Yeah but only if Robbie is coming” Adam says shooting his head up and look at Robbie than me.
“Sure Robbie can go” I laughed at how exited he got. “Let’s get you dressed” I say patting Adam’s back as I stand up. I make my way up the stairs and into the room Adam has been staying in as I grab a pair of shorts and a t- shirt that I have from his old room. “When you’re done brush your teeth” I point to the bathroom.
As we pull into the parking lot of the doctor’s office I become more and more exited. I may not have Troy here to help me but the baby isn’t even his. After I had my first ultrasound and I got to see the face it became clear to me that the baby is Robbie’s and ever since then he has been more and more supportive. We walk in and I give the lady at the front desk my name and she handed me a clip board with papers to fill out. Once I was done the doctor came out and took us back to a room. “Lets get started, how far along are you?” she asked
“About 17 weeks” I say with a smile.
“Okay so we are finding out the gender I assume?” she says with a smile.
“Yes we are” I look to Robbie with a smile seeing that he is already about to cry thinking about his little baby.
“Let me go grab the machine and then we can start” she says walking out of the room. After she gets back and gets the machine ready and we are about to hear the heart beat, she has a frustrated look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” Robbie asked, he must have noticed her face also.
“I can’t find a heart beat I’m so sorry” she says looking at us. I freeze before I feel my face wet with tears. I look at Robbie and see he is no longer in the room.
“Your baby girl didn’t survive I’m so very sorry miss” and with that she wipes off my stomach and leaves Adam, Robbie, and I alone with our thoughts.
“Amy, why are you crying? This was just God’s plan for you” Adam says trying to make me feel better.
“I know but sometimes God doesn’t think about how we will handle and feel about his plan” I say wiping my cheeks. “Why don’t we go home” I say to Robbie who is standing in the hallway. He just nods and we walk out, our faces stained with tears.

A few months have gone by and Adam has a foster family because they found out that Robbie has been doing some drugs and that I am living with him. “You need to stop! I can’t see my baby brother because you are so selfish!” I scream at Robbie as he is about to inject himself with more poison.
“Just move out then!” he says throwing the needle down on the bed.
“I should have known you were bad news. You have always been the one to go out and party every weekend and get drunk with Adam here and then be a hypocrite about it the next morning!” I say going up to my dresser, beginning to collect my things.
“Who do you think you are talking to me like that?” he says.
“I think I am the mother of your dead child!” I scream before running out of the apartment. Robbie shouts a few things after me but I can’t make them out. I start to walk to Katie’s house but then I remember she is out of town. I stop and think, then turn around and walk the other way, in the direction of my brother’s house.
I knock on the door before it swings open, “Amy?”
“Hi I know its last minute but I need a place to sleep...” I say looking at my older brother Ashton.
“Sure come on in” he says opening the door so I can get in.
“Thanks” I mumble.
“How are Mom and Dad?”
“Good they are on vacation” I lied. I could tell him that his parents are dead and that he will never see them again.
“How’s Cameron?” I ask referring to his girlfriend.
“On a business trip” he says with a smile on his face. “I am going to purpose when she gets back” he says looking down at his feet.
“Too bad I can’t go” I laugh, thinking about how much we hated each other for most of our lives.
“Girl you can come” he says pushing me by my shoulder. I push him back and then we both laugh at how silly we were when we younger. I head over to the couch and drift off to sleep.
I wake up to a loud scream and a lot of ‘yes yes’. I assume that Ashton did it and that Cameron said yes. I walk into kitchen and see that she is crying and kissing my brother like crazy. “Congratulations” I say with a smile.
“Amy? Is that you?” Cameron asked, still shaking from the previous events.
“Yep Cam, its little Amy” Ashton says pinching my cheeks. These two have been dating for about 10 years and have been friends for about 17. Ashton met Cameron one summer when he was working at the movie theater, at least that’s what my mom tells me, I was too young to remember. But Ashton got into some drugs and my parents kicked him out when I was 10 so I haven’t seen him in awhile.
“Wow. Look how beautiful you have gotten” She says taking me into her arms for a hug.
“Thanks but look at that baby bump” I say gesturing to Cameron’s growing belly.
“Yeah, I’m so excited to have our little guy” she says with a smile. I just smile and try to keep my tears in.
“What are you going to name him?”
“Troy” she says with an even bigger smile this time. I just continue smiling, trying to hold it all together. This nice lady has no idea that she is slowly killing me.
Later that night when everyone is asleep I tie a rope around my neck as I stand on the chair and whisper, “I love you all, but it’s my time to go” I left a note giving Ashton the information on Adam and I told him about Ava and our parents. Then I step off and I take my last breath before I leave this world.

Ashton’s point of view
I stand there at the back of the room, tears stream down my face. My little sister, Baby Amy as I would call her growing up, is no longer with us. My parents are dead and so is my little sister that I didn’t even know was born. Amy had such a bright future; she was so young and beautiful. She would have had such beautiful children. I didn’t even know she was so close to our parents, when we were young she didn’t want anything to do with them. I wish I could have been there for her, to tell her that we loved her and that she didn’t deserve to be hit or yelled at or treated like dirty. She was going to be the most beautiful bride and wife. You never realize how much you care about someone until they’re gone. “Now Amy’s brother, Ashton, will speak.” The man up front said backing away giving me space to talk. I slowly make my way up front trying to stay content.
“Amy was very young when she passed. She was going to get somewhere in this world. She was going to be a wonderful mother and wife. But she has to go through all this junk to get there. It was too much, she couldn’t do it. The lost of our parents and sister all in one day and then, the loss of her baby a month later. Why should anyone have to go through that? She had been abused emotionally and physically, I may not have been there for her but I wish I had. I would have been there to hold here when she cried and I would have protected her from all the people out there in this world who hurt her. Amy was the best little sister anyone could ask for and I will miss her with everything I have” with that I stepped off the stage and went to Cameron who started to rub my back almost instantly.
You never truly get over something like this; you just learn how to deal with it. It isn’t easy but it’s part of life. Love isn’t always between significant others, it can be able family and friends. Amy wasn’t just my sister, she was my rock, my best friend, the one lost I will always remember.
Love is a dangerous thing. So why do we embrace it so much?