What I saw ~ 3

Hello, dear readers! I'm back! Soon there will be posts about the trip and regular parts of Being Little Sister. But for today... 

Here's the What I Saw to go with the last Imagine This. It's late, but it's here now. :) 

~Family Tragedy~

 by Firefly

 Meredith awoke to the sunlight filtering in through the windowpanes. As she threw aside the covering and sat up, all of last night's tragic happenings came rushing back to her. 

 Mom must not have called, since Dad didn't wake me up. She took a deep breath and looked across the room at the clock on the dresser.  

 "Nine-thirty!" she exclaimed. Jumping out of bed, she hurried across the room. She was pulling a knee-length denim skirt from the closet when the phone rang. 

 After hearing Dad pick it up, she quickly finished dressing and hurried through the house. 

***

 Upon entering the kitchen she found Dad leaning against the counter, the phone in one hand and a coffee mug in the other. 

 "I see," he said to the person on the other end. "No, she was still sound asleep when I checked on her about an hour ago." 

 Meredith assumed he was talking about her and inched closer, hoping he'd notice her. 

 Dad smiled. "Oh, here she is!" 

 "Who's that?" Meredith whispered. 

 He turned away from the phone, "Mom." 

 Meredith nodded and waited while he resumed his phone conversation. 

 "Sorry, I was talking to Meredith. What did you say about the ventilator?...wow! That's definitely good...And they're still monitoring the pressure?...Alright. We should be there in about half an hour. Do you need anything?...Okay, see you then...Love you, too. Bye." 

 He clicked off the phone and turned to Meredith. "How did you sleep, honey?" 

 She shrugged. "What did Mom say? How's...Matthew?" 

 "Well, she said they're hoping to take him off the ventilator sometime today." 

 Meredith's heart rose alittle higher. "That's great news, Dad. Did she say anything other than that?" 

 "She didn't say much, just that he's alright." 

 "But not awake," Meredith said flatly, lacking a questioning tone. 

 Dad cleared his throat. "No. Not awake. Hungry?" 

 Meredith shook her head. 

 "Meredith, you need to eat some breakfast. Then we'll-" 

Ding-dong! He was cut off by the ringing of their doorbell. 

 "Who in the world could that be?" Dad muttered, going to find out. 

***

 Martin Joner opened the door to find his sister, Jennifer, standing on the front porch. Her red-rimmed eyes showed she'd been crying. "Jennifer? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at college." 

 "I know. Mom and Dad called me last night and told me about what happened to Matthew. I knew right away that what I needed and wanted was to be here." Tears filled her eyes as she pulled him into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Martin." 

 He returned the embrace. "Thank you, sis. You didn't need to do this, but I'm glad you're here. Maybe you can help Meredith." 

 Jennifer's eyebrows drew together. "What's wrong with Meredith?" 

 "She's taking this pretty hard." 

 Jenny nodded. "That's understandable. She's very close to Matthew." 

 Martin agreed. "They are close, but that isn't all of it." He went on to explain about their quarrel and Meredith's refusal to speak to her brother afterwards. "She regrets it now, but she hasn't ask his forgiveness. It's really bothering her." 

 "I see," Jenny stepped into the house. "I'll do whatever I can, Martin. You know that." 

 "Thank you, Jen," Martin smiled. 

***

 When Martin and Jennifer stepped into the kitchen, Meredith looked up in surprise. "Aunt Jenny!" 

 The girl ran forward and embraced her aunt. They were both sobbing. 

 Meredith and Matthew were very close to Jennifer. She was only four years older than Matthew and had always been more of a big sister to them than an aunt. 

 Pulling away, Meredith asked, "H-how did you get here?" 

 "Your Grandpa called me last night and told me what happened." Jenny brushed a lock of dark hair out of Meredith's eyes. "I grabbed a change of clothes and hopped in my car." She embraced her niece again. "I'm so sorry, Meredith." 

Let me know what you think in the comments! Thanks for reading! =D

-Faith