A shrill scream suddenly tore through the peace and quiet of the park shaking me to the absolute core. It was a scream that I instantly recognised and knew who it belonged to. I promised to protect her. I promised mum to always keep her safe. And I broke that promise all because I was infatuated with Rosie.

I'm so fucking stupid.

Rosie's face paled as her head whipped over to the area where the scream sounded the loudest.

Without thinking, Rosie and I ran as fast as we both could towards the screams and cries that were getting progressively louder by the second.

Racing past trees and scaring off large groups of birds, my feet suddenly came to a halt as my precious baby sister lay on the soft green grass that now stained deep red with her blood.

Collapsing before her I scooped her into my embrace and pulled her into my chest. Tears welled up in my eyes seeing my little sister whimper and tremble as the pain coursed through her body. Realising my attempts to take away her pain were pathetic, I placed her gently back onto the ground and yanked my jacket off placing it on her stomach hoping to stop the bleeding.

"No no no no no, come on Lulu. Keep those eyes open".

But there was too much blood.

"Call an ambulance!" I screamed out with my eyes still fixed on my baby sister. I cannot lose her, I cannot lose the only family I have left.

My blood soaked hand stroked Lucy's hair shakily as I tried to shush her and comfort her, but the blood loss and her tears only made me more frantic. A crowd was gathering around us curious of the commotion. But all I could see and think about was Lucy.

"Fucking call an ambulance NOW!" I yelled back at Rosie who was frozen on the spot and speechless at the situation. She jolted back at my outburst, but I couldn't care less. I was not going to lose another person I loved. I had protected and kept Lucy safe on my own since she was 2 and now she could die because of my carelessness.

"Come on Lucy, fight my little warrior. Don't you fucking dare close your eyes".

Lucy whimpered and gasped for breath as she stared up at me. She was fighting hard to keep her eyes open, but like hell was I going to let her shut those innocent eyes.

"Y-you need to p-put £5 in the swear jar" she chuckled gently before she gasped for more breaths. I wanted to scream at her for finding the humour in a dire situation, but this was how she was. She was the light in my dark world and I would be broken without her.

"I'll only put £5 in the swear jar if you pull through. You hear me?"

I pressed firmer against the wound and stared down at Lucy as blue flashing lights came closer towards us.

"You're on, big brother".

I could hear sirens and loud voices talking to me in the distance, but I couldn't take my eyes off her.

"I-I'm scared" she sobbed whilst clutching onto the sleeve of my jumper.

"It's going be alright sweetheart, I'm right here. Stay awake, I'm not going anywhere".

"I'm trying, but I feel so sleepy".

I could hear Rosie behind me talking to a group that had gathered from the commotion. I could also see paramedics jumping out of the ambulance before rushing over to us.

"Lucy, I"-

The paramedics suddenly appeared next to me and started talking to both Lucy and I. They were begging me to move so that they could help her, but I couldn't move.

The paramedics were trying to pull me away from her, but I couldn't let go of her hand.

"Hey, NO! Keep your eyes open Lucy!". My voice broke as her eyes fell shut with her beautiful smile still on her face.

"Get the fuck off me". Shoving the paramedic away from me as he tried to take Lucy away from me I held onto her tighter and pleaded with her to come back to me. But she fell limp in my arms.

————————————-

7 hours later

"She's stable for now Mr Gray. The operation was a success. She's dosed up on a lot of pain medication so she's pretty out of it at the moment, but we're monitoring her closely just to ensure there are no complications from the surgery. We will of course keep you updated with her progress and you can visit as often as you want. We have our best doctors and nurses in her care".

"Thank you very much. I need to leave now, but I will be back this"-

"Sir, visiting time is closed as it's 1am. Your sister is in a stable condition with many medics nearby. Go home, get some sleep and come in the morning. If anything changes, I'll be sure to contact you".

I hesitated at the doctor uneasy at not being able to go and see her, but I respected the hospital and it's rules. Besides, I knew Lucy would be safe there.

"Ok, I'll be back tomorrow morning".

"Of course Sir. Take care".

I felt a weight lift off my shoulder. The wound was closed, but unfortunately, it was a deep cut.

It was now a game of finding out who was responsible for hurting my sister.

Walking out of the hospital with a heavy heart, I stepped out into the heavy rain and lifted my head up to the night sky and let out a deep sigh of relief that I had held in for a long while.

It was my fucking fault that she was in this mess. I chose this life and of course the innocent always get dragged into it. Lucy was a weakness. A target. She almost died today and there was still a possibility that she could die. Ever since I've become distracted by Rosie, my focus has been slipping away from Lucy. I was responsible for Lucy and I let her down. I should've left Rosie in the rose garden and searched for Lucy straight away. But I didn't. Lucy was alone and vulnerable. I'm a terrible brother.

"Dean?"

Anger flooded through my body hearing the voice of the girl who distracted me from my duties, my sister and ultimately is the reason Lucy is in hospital.

The rain poured harder against my tense face as I debated whether to look at her or not. She called my name once more as I felt her presence right up behind me. Even now I felt a pull and inexplicable urge to wrap my arms around her and never let her go. And I hated myself for that. She is a weakness and I can't have weaknesses.

"What do you want?"

My rage filled eyes fell upon the girl with the sweet soft voice and I clenched my fists tightly seeing her soaked body shivering slightly in the rain with a beautiful bouquet of light blue flowers in her hand.

"Dean, I am so sorry about your sister. Any news on how her operation went?". I could tell she was confused at my tone and demeanour, but I couldn't care less. She was a distraction and look where it got me. I was selfish. I put someone else before Lucy and because I turned my eyes away from my sister, they attacked. They're always waiting and watching.

"She'll live" I mumbled dismissively before turning my back on her and headed towards the car park.

"Dean wait!".

"What do you want Rosie? God you're acting like you mean something to me. Well news flash, you don't. You're just some stranger I saved. Because I let you in Lucy almost died. It's always been Lucy and me and that's how it's going to stay. My priority will always be her. I saved you, now go and live your life far away from us".

She reached her arm out towards me, but pulled it back towards her side slowly as she assessed my body language. Hurt was the only expression I could depict in her watering eyes. I hurt her. I knew I did, but did I care? No.

Images of Lucy's bloodied body in the park flooded my mind as I snapped at Rosie who was now crying silently a few meters away from me. I was losing it second by second as rage pumped through my body faster than blood.

"Dean, I understand you're angry and upset, but"-

"No, you don't understand. Lucy is all I have left. As for you, you have no-one who cares about you".

Rosie suddenly fell silent and took a step back at my very harsh words. She let out a sob as she turned and ran as fast as she could away from me.

Shit. I crossed the line.

"Rosie, wait! I-I'm sorry".

But she was long gone. She had dropped the bouquet of beautiful blue flowers on the concrete floor and ran in the opposite direction. I stared at her small figure and watched as the rain fell down harshly on her.

Even though I was blinded by rage at the thought of almost losing Lucy, I lashed out at a girl who was broken and unstable.

I'm the biggest idiot in the world. And also Lucy is going to murder me when she finds out.