A Family Podcast (english)

Chapter 37

Thea

"Sorry, but we can't let anyone beyond the barrier," the man apologized, looking at me apologetically.

"But my phone is still in the car, I can't call anyone. We need to get to-"

"I'm sorry," the man repeated, annoyed, and turned away.

I stared at him in silence for a moment before angrily turning around and trudging back to the group of trees where Coulder and Susan were waiting for me.

"They won't let me get to the car," I said, sitting down in the grass and letting myself fall backward.

I had no idea what to do now. All my brothers were already at the hospital, and I couldn't really be mad at them, but I wished they hadn't just left us here. None of this was planned. Dad was supposed to come with us, but Nicole had cried so hard that the two of them were allowed to ride in an ambulance, even though she wasn't injured. Maybe I should do that too. With a sigh, I dismissed the thought because I wouldn't dare to lie to the paramedics.

"Are you okay?" Coulder's head appeared in my field of view. His eyes were still red from crying, and immediately, I felt guilty for just lying around here. I was the wrong person for this.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just need a moment to figure out what we're going to do now," I said, holding my hands in front of my face and considering our options. Should we call a taxi? In the middle of a highway? Was that even possible?

Bus? I snorted. Same problem.

I felt my eyes start to burn. Screw it. I had the right to be upset. I took a deep breath before sitting up again.

I briefly examined Coulder and Susan and nodded. It would work. Both of them looked completely teary-eyed and exhausted.

I picked Susan up and we headed back toward the road.

"Okay, we're playing the sympathy card, alright? Look really sad, you hear me," I said to Coulder, as Susan was already completely out of it. My brother quickly nodded and gave a thumbs-up.

So far, so good. I looked around. There were people everywhere because the road was blocked off. But I couldn't just ask anyone. Taylor would kill me if I got into a stranger's car.

My gaze landed on a young policeman standing by his car.

"Him," I pointed to the policeman, and Coulder furrowed his brow.

"Jackson always says we should stay away from the police," he whispered, and I shook my head.

"Jackson is always getting into trouble. We just want to get to our family. No one's going to arrest us for that."

I put my arm around my brother's shoulders and pushed him towards the policeman. Time to do a little acting.

As the man looked at us, my lower lip was already trembling. By the time we reached his car, the first tear rolled down my cheek. The man frowned, so I intensified the performance. I took a trembling breath and then let out a soft sob.

Immediately, the man came over to us, looking helpless. Perfect.

If there was one thing younger siblings were good at, it was playing the sympathy card. A perfectly executed crying fit always threw off any of my older brothers. Admittedly, I was a bit out of practice. I wasn't a little kid anymore. If I wanted to eat chocolate cookies before breakfast, I could just take them without having to convince any of my brothers to give them to me.

"What's wrong? Are you injured?"

I shook my head. "We're okay," that's all I said. He needed to take the initiative if I wanted to get what I needed.