chapter one of my story (kind of, it may change)

It is beginning to be to much. their emotions and my own, mixed. I can feel Olivia’s pain and it gives me headaches. Usually I can change others’ emotions, to make them feel better. Though when someone is feeling something so strong, there isn’t much that I can do. When her pain and guilt are crushing me, I can hardly muster enough strength to try to help her.
I’m empathic so I feel others’ emotions and can change them most of the time. Though one thing about it is that most of the time my own feelings radiate off of me. So those who know about it understand that the weird feelings they get…are mine. It is kind of like being an open book.
Being so in tune with my emotions, I can usually stay calm and neutral, but today I am a mess. I’m trying to stay away from others and they are keeping their distance as well.
Olivia is my sister. She is 25 years old with a very plain husband and they live about twenty minutes from home. Last night my dad went to pick her up because their washer was broken and she needed to do laundry. They crashed and Olivia was protected my a large duffel bag full of clothes on her lap. Dad, however, was not so lucky. He is now in urgent care while I sit in Olivia’s hospital room with our 7year old brother on my lap sleeping.
Eric, Olivia’s husband is out talking to our Dad’s doctor. we’ve been here for 3 hours. Olivia has a few cracked ribs and some cuts and bruises. Her normally pretty, round face is now bluish in most parts. Her left eye is swollen. Her small frame is lost in her hospital gown. Her usually beautiful strawberry blonde hair, that she inherited from our mother, is bloody from busting her head, and messed up from them wrapping her head.
This is the kind of thing where I wish my mom was still alive. Three years ago she died of a stress related heart attack. She had a full time job as a personal assistant to a company owner, she always helped us with our homework and she took in too much caffeine in order to do this all. To add to all of that she had a hereditary heart condition that I, too, inherited. The Doctor’s orders for both of us were always to avoid stress and to not have too much caffeine.
She had that wonderful strawberry blonde hair that Olivia and Brandon have. I have my dad’s brown hair with red and blonde highlights. Olivia got Dad’s green eyes, me and Brandon got Mom’s silver eyes.
I ever understood how my Dad got my mom. She was fun, smart, outgoing and beautiful. She was slim, that’s where Olivia gets it, and tall. I got my extreme height from my mom. Dad was shorter than her. but dad is stumpy and wide, that’s where I get my awkward shape. I am curvy but it is in the hips, I have wide hips a smaller waist but very small boobs.
While I was lost in my thought of the hereditary genes in our family, Eric walked in. I looked up and immediately felt him. Something was wrong. I can feel Olivia’s guilt and Brandon wakes up. As he remembers why he’s in the hospital his fear comes back. He’s feared losing someone ever since out mom died. “Jay? What’s wrong?” he asks me. He’s always been too smart for his own good. Sometimes I think that he has the same thing as me.
“I don’t know Brandon, Eric hasn’t told us yet.” I say to him.
Eric looks at me, his face white and full of pain. “Jadee I think you should take Brandon out of here.” He says to me. He knows I hate my real name, “Jadee” People call me Jay. He only ever uses it when something bad has happened. My father is dead. I know this now.
A sob escapes my mouth and Olivia begins to worry. I feel the tension building so I hurry and take Brandon out, trying to shield him from their feelings.
“Jay is Daddy okay?” I can feel his fear and I know that I need to tell him. I feel Olivia’s pain, the same pain that she felt three years ago when Mom died.
“Brandon, I’m so sorry, Daddy didn’t makes it. He passed away.” I tell him and slowly watch his face change and feel his fear turn to agony at his fear coming true. His face contorts in pain. He overwhelms me and the only think I can think hard enough to do is pull him into my arms and cry with him. I release everything I’ve been feeling. I had been holding back everything since I first got the call from Eric that he would be picking us up and bringing us to the hospital.
I pull back from him a little, to see his face, “Sweetie, everything is going to be okay. Daddy is in heaven with Mommy. You know you will be fine, we are all here and we love you.”
I feel doubt and I don’t know if it is mine or his. I know that it wont all be okay for a while. sure we’ll figure out how to live with out Dad but never will we forget the pain.
I pick Brandon up, which, though he is 7 and heavy is an easy enough task. I am strong. He eventually falls asleep on my shoulder and I walk into the room. Olivia has dried tears on her face.
“I told him already. He will be fine I think.” I say to them, and relief rushes into me.
“Oh, Jay! You didn’t have to do that.” Olivia says. I reply, “Yes, I did. I knew what to say and I knew how to help him with it.” Olivia understands my power to a point
so she knows what I mean when I say this.
Suddenly I feel the same thing from them as I feel on my own. and I know that we are all thinking the same thing: What now?
That, I have no answer to.