Rebirth, Renewal, Rediscovery Post: Scars
Nov. 2nd, 2011 08:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lilfluffFor Rix_Scaedu's prompt: Finding out the truth behind a story known for a long time.
Title: Scars
Universe/Setting: modern day
Rating/Warnings: Should be safe for all.
Summary: Sometimes the story you know barely touches the real story. (403 words)
Michael listened to the sounds of the hospital. From the calls for doctors and nurses on the PA system in the hall to the heart monitor by his bed, all of which now sounded like victory cheers. Tomorrow he could go home and next week he would get to watch his little sister's college graduation ceremony.
"You never told me." As if drawn by his thoughts Sarah stood at the doorway, her softly spoken words almost drowned out by the rest of the sounds he had been listening to.
"I only was told I'd get to go home today. Got a clean bill of health, heart's as good as new. So come on, wipe away those tears it's okay now."
"Not that! You scars, the burns, you didn't tell me!"
"What? That was years ago, our house caught fire, you know that."
Sarah dropped several pages onto his bed. Printouts of old newspaper articles. Articles about the fire, with all the stories he'd never wanted to read again.
"You never said you got them protecting me!"
"You're my sister. Sarah, you're all the family I have left, the most important person in my life."
"But it was my fault."
"Your fault? Sarah, you weren't even two years old. How could it be--"
Sarah held up a page, waving it in front of his head. "It says so right here. It started in my room! I still had the lighter when the firefighters came. How many times did I tease you about those scars as a kid. The dates I tried to keep away from you so they wouldn't see them. And it was my fault!"
"It was my lighter. For cigarettes I wasn't even supposed to have. You may have found my lighter but I never even should have had one." He pulled the page away and dropped it with the others. "I never blamed you Sarah. Never. I almost lost you and all because I couldn't say no when my friends started smoking. You weren't even two yet and I was sixteen. If anyone was to blame it was me."
Michael sighed, "That's why I never told you. What was I going to do? Brag how big a hero I was for protecting you from my own mistake? Leave that out and try to make you feel guilty when it was my fault? You were safe. That was all that mattered."
Title: Scars
Universe/Setting: modern day
Rating/Warnings: Should be safe for all.
Summary: Sometimes the story you know barely touches the real story. (403 words)
Michael listened to the sounds of the hospital. From the calls for doctors and nurses on the PA system in the hall to the heart monitor by his bed, all of which now sounded like victory cheers. Tomorrow he could go home and next week he would get to watch his little sister's college graduation ceremony.
"You never told me." As if drawn by his thoughts Sarah stood at the doorway, her softly spoken words almost drowned out by the rest of the sounds he had been listening to.
"I only was told I'd get to go home today. Got a clean bill of health, heart's as good as new. So come on, wipe away those tears it's okay now."
"Not that! You scars, the burns, you didn't tell me!"
"What? That was years ago, our house caught fire, you know that."
Sarah dropped several pages onto his bed. Printouts of old newspaper articles. Articles about the fire, with all the stories he'd never wanted to read again.
"You never said you got them protecting me!"
"You're my sister. Sarah, you're all the family I have left, the most important person in my life."
"But it was my fault."
"Your fault? Sarah, you weren't even two years old. How could it be--"
Sarah held up a page, waving it in front of his head. "It says so right here. It started in my room! I still had the lighter when the firefighters came. How many times did I tease you about those scars as a kid. The dates I tried to keep away from you so they wouldn't see them. And it was my fault!"
"It was my lighter. For cigarettes I wasn't even supposed to have. You may have found my lighter but I never even should have had one." He pulled the page away and dropped it with the others. "I never blamed you Sarah. Never. I almost lost you and all because I couldn't say no when my friends started smoking. You weren't even two yet and I was sixteen. If anyone was to blame it was me."
Michael sighed, "That's why I never told you. What was I going to do? Brag how big a hero I was for protecting you from my own mistake? Leave that out and try to make you feel guilty when it was my fault? You were safe. That was all that mattered."
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no subject
Date: 2011-11-03 08:26 am (UTC)OUCH! X(
(also, typo at "You're fault?")
no subject
Date: 2011-11-03 10:57 pm (UTC)I'm finding myself impressed with just how much can be put in less than a page.
(Ack, typo fixed on post and in the original file)
no subject
Date: 2011-11-03 10:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-03 11:06 am (UTC)I suspect this is going to take a few more conversations between them to bed down.
So why did she go looking for the old stories now?
no subject
Date: 2011-11-03 07:45 pm (UTC)And yeah, it will probably take a while for them to come to terms with this coming out into the open.
(Oh ... you mean I have to click on Post before this shows? That might help. :))
no subject
Date: 2011-11-03 09:57 pm (UTC)That makes sense.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-03 12:37 pm (UTC)And I second Rix's question.