Working Saturday shifts took much more energy than my after school shifts. There were more customers which meant more accidents, too many unruly teenagers and a lot of patience from me and Jack. It was all worth it though because I got to see Jack's happy face when he saw business booming.

Henry usually kept me company on most Saturday's but he had to travel to the city for a meeting concerning the game he had been working on. He wanted to sell it that's why he was meeting with an interested buyer. I was so proud of him and hoped that he would get the credit he deserved for working so hard. Charlie had spent Friday night with Alex but he was being dropped of at the arcade in a few hours because we had a date to go watch Black Widow at the theatre. We'd already watched it at home but we were yet to see it in 3d and Charlie had been excited about it all week.

"We should start selling coffee."I suggested to Jack as I dumped myself on the chair behind the counter.

"You'll probably drink it all so no."Jack replied serving a customer.

"Not all the time, just days like today when everyone is damn set in testing my patience. Like this one kid, there's a clear sign on the bathrooms that says which is for girls and which is for boys but he keeps going to the girls bathroom to scare them off. I swear to God if you weren't such a good boss days like today would have already made me quit."I groaned running a tired hand through my hair.

"First of all I will take the being a good boss as a well deserved compliment and second go easy on yourself and these kids. You were their age once too."Jack reasoned.

"I was very responsible at that age. Charlie was still a baby and my mom wouldn't take responsibility of us so I had to step up."I huffed.

"All these kids are spoilt and born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Just be patient with them and it will be fine."Jack consoled.

Before I could reply my phone rang in my back pocket so I retrieved it. It was a new number and I normally ignored those but I needed an excuse to stop talking to Jack to I picked it up.

"Hello."I mumbled stifling a yawn.

"Good afternoon, am I talking to a Willow Cooper?"The strange male voice asked.

"Yes this is she."I replied skeptically.

I really hoped they weren't asking me to take a survey or something because they would piss me off more than Jack and his stupid customers were.

"My name is Daniel, I'm a nurse at Crescent Pediatric Hospital. You've been listed as the emergency contact to one Charles Brown...."He started but I cut the poor man off before he could finish.

The mention of Charlie's name had me jumping to my feet, all previous fatigue forgotten as my heart nearly leapt out of my chest.

"Is he okay? What happened?"I rambled surprised that I could actually talk.

My mind was already running crazy scenario's about Charlie. What if he was badly hurt? Had he broken a leg? An arm? Or worse what if he was dead?

Jack looked at me questioningly but I didn't have any answers for him.

"I'm sorry to inform you but he was in an accident and is currently in the ICU."The nurse informed me.

I didn't need to hear anymore from him. I hung up the phone quickly and grabbed my keys and jacket from the hooks next to Jack.

"Willow what's going on?"Jack asked looking alarmed.

"Charlie is in the ICU."I sobbed unable to hide the fear in my voice.

"What happened?"Jack inquired looking alarmed.

"I don't know but I've got to go."I yelled putting on my jacket and trying to tame my shaking hands.

"You can't drive in that state."Jack insisted.

"Ill be fine. I'll call you as soon as I get to the hospital."I yelled already halfway to the door.

"Drive safe. I'll be there soon."Jack yelled after me.

I quickly got into my truck and it took me a few minutes to get it started. My hands were shaking, my vision was blurry and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Maybe Jack had been right and it was wrong for me to drive in such a state. Images of my baby brother lying on a cold hospital bed hooked to machines ran in my head driving me crazy. Taking deep breaths to calm myself, I relaxed enough to start the car. I wiped off my tears but that didn't help as more replaced them. The more time I took freaking out, the longer it took for me to get to Charlie so with that thought in mind I angrily swiped at my eyes and willed myself to be strong long enough to get to the hospital. I backed out of the arcade parking lot and merged into the light traffic.

The hospital was a twenty minute drive away and being stuck in my car with nothing but thoughts of my brother dying wasn't going to help. I needed a distraction so I called Henry and connected the call to the car's Bluetooth.

"Hi, babe. Have you and Jack driven each other crazy yet?"Henry's cheery voice asked and despite my inner turmoil I found myself smiling.

"Yeah well you know me and playing against the rules."I replied my voice coming out all choked up and weird.

I thought Henry wasn't going to notice but he knew me too well.

"Willow what's wrong?"He asked his voice changing from cheery to worried.

I had called him with the hopes of him distracting me but it was of no use. Thankfully no more tears fell but my heart did break when I couldn't get rid of thoughts of my brother getting hurt.

"Charlie is in the hospital."I choked out unable to say anything further.

"What!? How?! What happened?"Henry rushed out.

"I don't know everything, the nurse called because he was in a car accident and is currently in the ICU."I explained.

"Okay love just calm down, it will be fine. Charlie is strong, he'll be okay. Are you already at the hospital?"Henry said trying to console me.

"No I'm driving there."I answered.

"Please drive safe and I will see you soon."

"What about your meeting?"I asked hoping he wasn't cutting it short for me.

"It's already over. I'll tell you all about it when I see you. For now get to Charlie and stay strong."Henry replied.

"Okay, bye."I whispered driving into the hospital.

"See you soon love."He said before we both hang up.

It took a few minutes to park my car before I got out and rushed into the hospital. I quickly followed all the signs to the ICU on the fourth floor. There was only one nurse at the station, a male nurse and the name on his tag informed me that he was the one I'd talked to on the phone so I hurried to him.

"Hi, my name is Willow Cooper and I'm here for Charles Cooper. How is he? Can I see him?"I asked hurriedly.

The ICU was too quiet and I didn't like that. It's like death was looming around taking souls left and right. Well he better stay away from my brother because I was not going to loose Charlie anytime soon.

"Oh, yes my name is Daniel. We spoke on the phone."The nurse replied.

He was young and looked like he was fresh out of college which explained why he was wasting my time with introductions instead of giving me relevant information. I decide to repeat my questions just in case he hadn't heard me.

"Is Charlie okay?? Can I see him?"I requested as politely as I could.

"Yes you can see him but I'm afraid all other information will have to be given by the doctor."He answered.

I wanted to reach over the reception and smash his face against the tiles for giving me irrelevant information but I held myself back.

"Where is he?"I gritted out.

The nurse must have heard the irritation in my tone because he quickly pointed me to Charlie's room, informing me that the doctor would be with me shortly.

I all but ran towards Charlie's room but the sight of him on the other side of the glass doors, hooked to more machines than I thought possible had me stopping in my tracks. All ICU rooms had clear glass so I could easily see my brother without stepping into the room. The heart monitor was beating steadily which assured me that he was alive but one could barely tell from how still he was.

I gathered all my courage and forced myself to walk into the room. The doors automatically opened for me and I took slow tentative steps towards my brothers bedside. My eyes thought they were deceiving me and that it was all a bad dream but once I touched Charlie's cold arm, I realized that it was all real. Charlie was weirdly always warm so feeling his cold hand in mine was the reality call I needed that something was wrong.

I couldn't stop my tears even if I wanted to because lying in that cold hospital room that smelled of bleach and medicine was my baby brother. He looked pale, there were scratches on his face and arms and a bandage around his head. I would have thought he was sleeping were it not for all the machines hooked to him that told me something was very wrong with him.

The doors behind me opened and I turned to see a middle aged woman walk in dressed in a doctor's coat over blue scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck and a huge tablet in hand. She had long dark hair tied into a stiff pony tail, blue eyes and the tiniest ears and lips. She looked like she was of Asian descent.

"Hello, Miss Cooper, I'm Doctor Kim. You look too young to be his mother. Who are you if you don't mind me asking?"The doctor asked in a kind tone.

She definitely seemed more capable than the nurse.

"I'm his sister."I replied listening to the heart monitor for assurance that Charlie was still with me.

"What about your parents?"She asked.

I knew she was just asking for formality but I couldn't help but feel angry at both my parents for not being there. Our father didn't even care that we existed and my mom was currently away on a booze cruise with Henry's mom. They had become fast friends and were definitely birds of a feather with how spiteful they both were and their terrible motherly instincts.

"It's just me for now, my mom is away for business and my dad isn't in the picture."I replied not wanting to lay out my whole sob story to the doctor.

The doctor looked down at her iPad and it pissed me off that she was wasting time instead of telling me what was wrong with my brother. Maybe she was just like her incompetent nurse.

"Can you please tell me what's wrong with Charlie?"I asked hoping my no nonsense tone alerted her that I meant business.

She looked taken back by the tone of my voice but nonetheless she faced me so I braced myself of the news she was about to lay on me.

"Your brother was in a car accident, it was a hit and run I'm afraid. He and another boy his age were walking across the street when a car hit them. The other boy has a broken arm and a concussion but will otherwise be fine."The doctor explained.

I assumed the other boy she was talking about to be Alex and I was glad he was going to be okay. I just hoped that the same case would apply to my brother. I hoped that the bastard who hit them would be found and punished.

"Because of Charlie's disabilities his injuries were much more substantial. He suffered a concussion too, several bruised ribs and a shallow laceration to his upper thigh."The doctor continued.

"Those all seem pretty minimalist injuries, why isn't he awake?"I asked bracing myself for the worst because the doctor seemed like she was sparing worst for last.

"When Charlie got hit, he was thrown off his wheelchair which caused him to land heavily on the tarmac and roll several times. This caused even more stress to his twisted spine. We've sedated him to ease his pain."The doctor concluded.

"What does that mean?"I asked already having a pretty good idea as to what that meant.

The doctor didn't reply as fast as I would have liked which pissed me off more than I already was.

"Doctor will my brother ever be able to walk again?"I asked.

"The chances are pretty slim now as compared to before the accident. When Charlie's back heals it will permanently be conformed to a new shape which will render the Corrective surgery useless."The doctor explained.

Those words hit me deeper than I thought possible so I had to take a seat before I passed out. I looked at Charlie's sleeping peaceful face and only one thought came to mind; I had failed my brother. I had worked so hard to get the money that he needed and now that I was so close, he got into an accident that would maim him forever.

"What if he gets the surgery now?"I asked remembering that tiny bit of information.

"His body is weak from the accident and he might not survive the surgery. Even then, recovery will be much more painful and longer."The doctor reasoned.

"But if we wait then the surgery won't be possible and he will forever be disabled and stuck to that chair."I spat.

"But he will still be alive."Doctor Kim argued.

"What are his odds if he gets the surgery now?"I inquired.

"Miss Brown, I don't think you're properly thinking about this."Doctor Kim argued.

"Don't you dare lecture me about what is right and wrong. I've raised Charlie from the minute he was born till now. He is all I think about so when I ask for the odds you will give me the damn numbers. Your job is to provide the best medical care for my brother and mine is to decide what's best for him so doctor I ask again. What are his odds?"I yelled getting angrier that needed be.

"His chances of surviving the surgery if it's done now are 30-70."The doctor replied quickly clearly taken back by my outburst.

"Then schedule the surgery doctor and get my brother in that operating room as soon as possible."I replied.

I was not confident about those odds but I would never be able to live with myself if I gave up on the chance for Charlie to be able to walk. The odds weren't in his favor but my brother was strong and I believed he would survive.

"Miss Brown you should really consider all angles before making such a rash decision."The doctor pleaded.

"I have."I said with a finality in my tone.

The doctor sighed realizing that she had lost that particular war.

"I'll need all of Charlie past medical records, you need to clear off the payment before the surgery and I need official signatures from his legal guardian."Doctor Kim informed me getting in line with my idea.

"I'll get you all that but is there any way I can sign the authorization forms as his legal guardian? "I asked.

"Are you eighteen yet?"

"No"

"Then no. I need signatures from both or at least one parent."The doctor replied.

I slumped back on my seat because once again my mom had screwed me. She was millions of miles away when I needed her, Robert couldn't sign because he was just my mom's husband and not our guardian and I had no idea where my fucking father was.

"I'll get you the signatures."I assured the doctor knowing that no matter what lengths I had to go to my brother would get the surgery.

"Okay then I will get working on that right away. If you need anything else please contact me or one of the nurses."Doctor Kim informed me before leaving the room.

I rubbed my thumb over Charlie's hand hating how cold it felt.

"I'll get you better Charlie."I swore kissing the back of his hand.

Now I just had to find a way to get those signatures and the amount needed to fill the full amount required for the surgery.