Whatever Davion intended to say was silenced by the sound of screaming and crying as his older cousin tugged on his arm with a serious expression. "Hurry up. We need to go to the hospital right now."


    "What?" Davion blurted out.


    "Your sister had an accident. Didn''t you hear?"


    Of course he hadn''t. With his headphones on, he hadn''t heard a single thing.


    Davion scrambled off of the couch, nearly dropping his phone in the process. The duo rushed over to where the commotion was, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the sight of his twin sister on the ground at the foot of the stairs.


    "Sharlene!" he screamed, throwing himself towards her.


    His cousin grabbed Davion by the waist as he said, "Davion, don''t!"


    "Let me go! What happened to Sharlene?"


    "She fell and hit her head. Don''t touch her. You might make it worse."


    This stopped Davion in his tracks.


    Every part of his being screamed at him to go to his twin''s side to make sure she was alright, but his cousin''s firm grip and words kept him from moving a single step forward. All around him the adults were shouting and hovering over his twin sister, looking like they wanted to touch her, yet no one dared to get too close to her.


    "How much longer until the ambulance gets here?"


    "It''ll take a couple more minutes."


    "Maybe we should drive her to the hospital ourselves."


    "No! You shouldn''t move someone who''s hurt, especially if they''re unconscious."


    After what seemed like forever, the paramedics finally made their appearance to take Sharlene to the hospital. Davion followed after them, hoping to join her in the ambulance.


    Unfortunately, the paramedics only allowed his mother to join them. Apparently, they could only allow one adult to go with them.


    Even though he wanted to protest, no one paid him any mind as the doors of the ambulance shut closed. It took off, speeding away. Davion clung to his father''s side like a barnacle and jumped into the car before they chased after the ambulance. He glanced back and saw everyone else following suit. Then he turned his gaze back to the front of him, his gaze anxiously following the ambulance.


    Sharlene, please be okay.


    It felt like hours passed before they finally reached the hospital. He had lost sight of the ambulance a couple of traffic lights back and could only hope that it had already arrived at the hospital.


    The duo ran inside, charging for the front desk.


    "Excuse me, my daughter and wife arrived by ambulance. Can you tell me where they are?" his father asked in between breaths.


    The lady helpfully pointed them in the right direction after learning more about the situation. Without wasting any time, they quickly headed for the ER; however, neither of them was allowed in to see Sharlene. They were forced to wait in the waiting room with only his mother at Sharlene''s side. Davion fidgeted in his seat as he kept shooting glances at the door.


    His father placed a hand on his shoulder, saying, "It''s okay. Your sister is going to be okay."


    It would have been easier to believe if his father''s hand wasn''t shaking so badly.


    As they waited, the rest of the family trickled in. After checking with Davion''s father if there had been any news, they took a seat in the mostly empty waiting room. When a nurse finally appeared to talk to them, everyone rushed forward.


    "Nurse, how''s my daughter?" his father asked.


    She glanced at the crowd before turning her gaze back to his father. "Are you family? What''s your relationship with the patient?"


    "I''m her father. These are the rest of our family."


    "I would like to speak to you in private."


    His father nodded and took a moment to say to Davion, "Davion, stay here, please. I''ll be right back."


    He reluctantly nodded. Watching his father follow the nurse, Davion suppressed the urge to run after them.


    It was his twin sister they were talking about. He needed to know if she was okay or not, but his father had told him to stay put, so he had no choice except to wait for his father to return.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    After some time, his mother, instead of his father, returned with teary eyes. Everyone rushed forward asking about Sharlene.


    His mother sniffled and dabbed her eyes with a tissue given to her. "They say she''s going to be okay, but they want to keep her under supervision just in case."


    Davion fell on his butt.


    Thank goodness. Sharlene is okay.


    "That''s good news. We''re glad to hear that she''s okay," one of his aunts said.


    "Do you know how long they want to keep her?" one of his uncles asked.


    "They said for a few days," his mother said. "But she''s still unconscious so who knows how long she''ll stay here."


    In an instant, Davion''s relief was replaced by uneasiness. When his mother said that she was okay, he had thought she had already woken up and was eager to leave.


    What if she didn''t wake up?


    He had heard plenty of stories where someone fell into a coma and never woke up ever again. The thought that his sister would never wake up again made him sick.


    His mother must have picked up on his emotions and reached out to him. "Davion, don''t worry. I''m sure she''ll wake up in no time."


    She gave him a shaky smile with tears pricking at the corners of her eyes again. Davion''s lip wobbled as he took his mother''s hands and lifted himself back onto his feet.


    "Can I see her?" he asked in a small voice.


    "I will have to check with the doctors and nurses, but I''m sure they won''t mind. Your father is with her right now, so you will have to wait. The doctors and nurses don''t want too many people crowding around her right now," she said.


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    Davion nodded and accompanied his mother to where his sister was currently staying in. His hands gripped hers tightly as the rest of the family followed after them. No one stopped the large group making its way down the halls. Eventually, they reached the room, but his mother didn''t open the door. Instead, they waited outside, making sure not to block the way. The only thing Davion could do was grip his mother''s hands tightly.


    He still couldn''t believe any of this could have happened. It wasn''t that long ago that they had gotten into a fight over him borrowing his sister''s red cloak. If he knew this would have happened, he wouldn''t have fought with her.


    Sharlene, please wake up.


    Suddenly, the door opened. His father stepped out with a grim expression on his face.


    Looking down at Davion, his father asked, "Do you want to come see your sister?"


    Davion frantically nodded. His father stepped aside, allowing Davion to hurry over to his sister''s side. Careful not to touch her, he placed his hands on the bed to get a closer look at her.


    She looked so peaceful. If they weren''t in the hospital, it would be easy to believe that she was just sleeping.


    His lips quivered, and he sniffled. A warm hand pressed against his back, but Davion didn''t look up. He kept his eyes fixed on his twin sister''s face, refusing to budge.


    After some time, the hand nudged him as his father said, "Davion, it''s time to switch."


    He balled his hands into the sheets, wanting to stick around longer, but he reluctantly left the room. As he waited outside, his relatives took turns to see her before leaving. Several people passed by without a glance meeting other patients.


    It was only when most of the family was gone that his mother spoke up. "Davion, I think it''s better if you go."


    Davion snapped his head towards her. "Mom, what about Sharlene?"


    "It''s not a good idea for you to stay. You should go with your relatives and have fun instead of waiting around. It''s Halloween."


    The thought of leaving his sister unconscious in the hospital while he went trick-or-treating churned his stomach.


    "Mom—"


    "Your mother''s right," his father cut him off.


    "Honey, why are you here instead of with Sharlene?" his mother asked.


    "I heard you talking, so I wanted to add my two cents," his father said before turning his attention to Davion. "Staying here won''t help your sister. I know you want to stay by your sister''s side, but I think she would prefer it if you went trick-or-treating with the others."


    "I don''t think Sharlene would be happy we left her behind," Davion muttered.


    "Well, think of it as you grabbing candy for the both of you. You remember her favorite candy, right?" Davion nodded. "Good. Make sure you grab a lot of it so you can surprise her when she wakes up, okay? I''m sure she''ll be thrilled to wake up covered in her favorite candy."


    The image made Davion snicker.


    His mother patted his head. "Be a good boy and go with your aunt and uncle. Make sure you have a lot of fun."


    Despite his parents reassurance that it was alright for him to go ahead, Davion hesitated.


    It still felt wrong to leave his twin sister in the hospital to go trick-or-treating. If something happened to her while he wasn''t there, he wasn''t sure he could forgive himself.


    However, with his family and relatives encouraging him to go, he reluctantly went with one of his relatives back to the house. Along the way, his aunt and uncle tried to cheer him up, but he couldn''t bring himself to smile, leaving an awkward silence hanging over them. Upon returning to the house, he saw only a few cars were left.


    Did some of them go home after visiting his twin sister in the hospital?


    He solemnly entered the house, abruptly silencing the people inside. When he entered the living room, he saw several people look at him with guilty expressions, but what infuriated him was the sight of some of his cousins happily playing without a care in the world. Davion saw red and stormed towards them. Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed the phone out of his cousin''s hands and tossed it to the ground.


    "Hey! What was that for?" his cousin snapped, standing up.


    "Hey, easy now. Sharlene is in the hospital right now. Don''t pick a fight," one of his uncles barked before turning his gaze to Davion. "Davion, I know you''re upset, but you can''t just break your cousin''s things. It''s not your fault your sister is in the hospital."


    Even though he knew his uncle was right, he still left a bitter taste in his mouth that his cousin could be so carefree while his twin sister was in the hospital.


    To ease the tension, the uncle who brought Davion home cleared his throat, grabbing everyone''s attention. "I know that things aren''t good right now, but we shouldn''t mope around. If anyone still wants to trick or treat, you should change your clothes right now and get ready to go out."


    "What about Davion? His parents are in the hospital with Sharlene right now. Who''s going to be watching him?" one of his aunts asked.


    "We''ll stay with him until one of his parents comes home, or he''ll come stay with us if they choose to stay in the hospital."


    No one argued against it and went to grab their costumes to change. Davion robotically headed for his room to get his costume only to find it missing. Confused, he searched his bedroom, but it was nowhere in sight.


    It had vanished into thin air.


    Where did it go? I remember hanging it in my closet so it wouldn''t get wrinkled like Mom said.


    Unable to figure out what happened, he left his room and spotted one of his cousins wearing his costume.