No Such Thing as Coincidence: Foreward

The wheels of the car screeched as Kailey turned a corner. She cursed under her breath. The last thing she needed was a speeding ticket right now. She was late picking up her brother from his band concert. It irritated her that she seemed to be the only responsible child her parents had. Her brother, Kenny, had his car keys taken from him for missing his curfew almost every night. Even her parents weren’t dumb enough to believe that he was up all night studying with his friends, especially on the weekends. Unfortunately, Kailey’s parents decided to ground him from his car the day before they left for a business trip together, leaving Kailey as the incredibly unhappy “taxi driver” of the family.

She pulled up to the school’s circular driveway, hoping against hope that Ken would still be there despite the parking lot being nearly empty. Just as Kailey was about to turn off the car and go looking for him, Ken came from the shadows of the school building, carrying his trumpet case over his head. Ken threw his trumpet in the trunk that Kailey popped for him and then hopped into the car, slamming the passenger door.

“Can you please not slam my door? Just because Mom and Dad took your car away doesn’t mean you have to destroy mine.” Kailey could feel her anger beginning to boil. She tried to ignore it as she started the car and put it in gear.

“Maybe if you’d remember to pick me up at the appropriate time, not forty-five minutes later, you’d catch me in a better mood,” Ken snapped back.

Kailey’s voice rose. “I’m sorry I’m late, ok?! Work wouldn’t let me leave early to come and pick you up. Someone called off and…”

“And you had to stay,” he finished for her. “I just wish that you’d stop putting your job before your family. They treat you like crap there anyways.”

“Ken, I’m not trying to put my job before anyone. I’m just trying to save enough money so that I can get you something really nice for your birthday next week.”

“Are you sure you’re not just being selfish and saving up for something nice for yourself?” Ken’s anger was still there, but he had cooled off a bit.

“No, I just worry about you. Isn’t that what an older sister is supposed to do? I just want a chance for both of us to get away for a while. There’s just too much drama at home.”

Kailey and Ken’s parents had been arguing a lot between one another. And the more they argued, the more it seemed to be over petty things. Kailey used to find herself laughing at how they fought over whose turn it was to do the dishes or who forgot to let the dog back inside. But her laughter soon turned into worry as the arguments became more frequent, and more serious. Ken came into her room one night when Mom threw the glass coffee pot against the front door as Dad was leaving. Their late-night fights were keeping him up all night too.

Ken put his hand to his temple, slightly rubbing it. “I’m sorry. I’ve been angry a lot lately. It would be nice if Mom and Dad cared about the things I do. I understand why you work all the time. It’s a good excuse to get out of the house. I think I need to find me a job too.” A slight smile came across his face, and Kailey could see Ken’s one dimple across his left cheek. “Well, what I really want for my birthday is a brand new car. Then I can go all the places I want. That must be what you meant by you and I getting away for a while. In my new car right?”

“Oh ha-ha. You aren’t even responsible with the one you’ve got. Why the heck would I buy you a new one? And besides…”

Kailey’s sentence was cut off as she heard a deafening sound and shattering glass as her car was suddenly somersaulting sideways across the street. She saw sparks as the metal frame scraped across the street until it came to a stop. Then she heard nothing at all. Slowly, she regained her vision and found herself leaning hard to the right. Her seatbelt was literally choking her. She moved the shoulder strap and could breathe semi-normal again. She looked towards Kenny in the passenger seat and could only scream until help arrived.