This Cruel Love

“She’s quiet, make the most of it. Most days she’s whining like a freak.”

I sank one of Travis’s battleships, and was doing a victory dance in my seat as we heard the snap and thud sound from outside. No cries, just thump and thud.

Travis ran to the open door of the treehouse and threw himself down the ladder faster than I’d ever seen him move. When I got to the top of the ladder, I saw why. Ryley must’ve tried to climb up to get to us, but her little legs weren’t big enough or strong enough and she must’ve slipped. She was lying lifeless, like a rag doll on the woodland floor. There were leaves tangled in her hair and an open, gaping wound on her forehead that was dribbling red blood into her bright yellow hair. Her left arm was twisted at a peculiar angle, and a jagged, dirt-encrusted piece of old glass was sticking out just below her elbow.

“What… oh my god… what do we do?”

Travis was panicking, circling his sister and grabbing chunks of his hair in despair.

“We have to pick her up, Trav. Get her back to the house. She’s hurt.”

I jumped down the last rung of the ladder and knelt down next to her.

“Is she… dead?” Travis was crying now, and rocking on the spot like a lunatic.

“No, she’s not dead. She’s still breathing.”

I pulled her into my arms and stood up. She weighed about as much as a feather, and her little head lolled to the side to rest on my chest. I didn’t know if picking her up was the right thing to do after a fall like that, but all I did know was that I had to get her to safety. Seeing her lying there, injured as she was, had done something awful to my insides. I was hurting really bad, and the thought that something serious was wrong with her made me want to throw up.

“Don’t tell them we left her. If my mum and dad find out she was on her own they’ll ground me forever.”

Travis was sprinting behind me as I ran with Ryley in my arms, panting with a mixture of exertion and his desperation to avoid getting into trouble.

“What else are we supposed to say? She’s got a cut on her head and her arm looks weird. They won’t believe us if we tell them she just fell over. We need to tell the truth.”

I didn’t care if I got into trouble for this, I truly believed we both deserved to be punished. Ryley was hurt because of us. We’d been selfish. The adults needed to know that. I felt so ashamed.

I sprinted out of the woods and into their back garden, with Ryley cradled like the baby she was in my arms. Her mum saw us first and let out a blood-curdling scream. My dad and Travis’s ran faster than his mum though, and when they reached us on the grass, Travis’s dad took Ryley out of my arms and scowled at me, as if I’d attacked his little girl myself.

“What the hell happened? Speak boys, NOW!”

“I’m so sorry, Mr Emerson. Ryley tried to follow us into the treehouse, but she slipped on the ladder and fell. She hit her head. I’m so sorry.”

I looked over to Travis, to see him glowering across at me with daggers in his eyes.

“Jesus Christ, are you really that stupid?” Mr Emerson looked ready to kill us.

“She’s only just turned two. Can’t we trust you to look after her?” He turned his hateful stare onto Travis, but Mrs Emerson cut him off.

“Enough, Harry. We can deal with this later. We need to get Ryley to the hospital.”

We trudged our way back up to the house, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of us. I couldn’t bring myself to look at my dad. I couldn’t bear to see the disappointment in his eyes. We’d messed up big time today, and we’d found out the hard way that one bad decision can have devastating, lifelong effects. Travis’s parents had already gotten into their car to make the frantic journey to the hospital. We were left to wallow in our own guilt and worry.

Present Day

“Thanks for today, Liam.”

I threw my bag onto the table and looked up to find my big brother, Travis, sitting on our sofa. He looked like a zombified hot mess.

“What the fuck, Travis? What’re you doing here?”

He shuffled about in his seat uncomfortably and avoided my gaze.

“I took over babysitting duties. That dick, Liam, was more t

han happy to fuck off. What the hell did you call him for, Rye? I’d have come round. You know you can call me anytime, sis.”

I had to admit, I didn’t know why I’d called Liam either. The guy was a flake and a sleaze. I knew he’d probably only come round to try it on with me, but my brain had been frazzled by the lack of sleep and the events of the previous night. So, in my defence, my judgement had been severely compromised.