*Seven years ago*
"Come on, Seth, please?" I begged as I grabbed my older brother's hand to begin tugging him towards the door.
Although we were different ages, it was apparent we were related as we shared the same blonde hair and emerald eyes. But while I was short, Seth took after our grandpa with six feet of height.
"No, Liz. I told you, it's dark now and too dangerous to go for a ride," Seth said as he shook his head being the cool, collected and sensible eighteen year old that he was.
"Please? We don't have to go far or fast, and it's school on Monday and you begin exams so you won't have any more time. Please, even if it's five minutes?" I begged and wrapped my arms and legs around his left leg to prohibit his walking.
Seth sighed as he looked down at my hopeful face. "Fine, five minutes."
"Thank you!" I squealed and raced off down the hall to my room.
"And dress warm!" he yelled back at me.
Within one minute I had pulled on my long pants, gloves and heavy jacket and was sprinting towards the front door. "Hold on a sec, Liz," Seth called as he grabbed my arm. "You forgot something," he said and handed me my little pink helmet as he grabbed his own grey one.
I cheered as I ran out the house and towards the garage, waiting impatiently as Seth locked the house. At the moment, Sara, Mom and Dad were at some school function.
"Hey, Lizzy!" I looked over my shoulder and beamed when I saw an eleven year old boy with light brown hair and brown eyes sitting outside on his porch.
"Hey, Richard," I greeted and ran to the picket fence which divided our two houses.
"Where're you going?" Richard asked as he bounced his little sister on his lap.
"Seth and me are going on a quick bike ride before our mom and dad get home, so shh," I said and pressed my finger against my lips.
Richard nodded his head. "Don't worry. I won't say a word."
"You coming, Liz?"
I looked back to see that Seth had already brought his bike out of the garage and mounted it. "Coming!" I yelled back and said goodbye to Richard before sprinting towards the bike. Samuel leaned back a bit so that I could climb in front of him before he grabbed the handlebars and kick-started the bike.
A giddy smile came to my face as the sound of the engine roared around me. "I can't wait until I'm old enough to have my own bike!" I yelled over the noise.
Seth laughed. "Getting you off it will be a nightmare."
I squealed as he let out the clutch quickly, making the front wheel lift slightly as we sped into the street. I sent Richard a quick wave before looking to the front and holding onto the fuel tank. I loved riding bikes, especially at night because it was less busy. But for some reason my mom didn't like it. She said it's dangerous, but I can't see why. It's quieter or traffic so it should be safer.
Seth revved the bike a little, making me laugh. "I love this!" I screamed.
"Me too!" he agreed as we continued to ride down the road.
My ears perked when above the roar of the engine, I heard squealing tyres. "What's that?" I asked.
"I don't know," Seth replied as he slowed to a halt as he came to an intersection.
Everything happened in slow motion.
A car came out of nowhere, going far above the speed limit. "Liz, look out!" I heard Seth yell as the car flew through the intersection and straight towards us.
My whole body froze as the headlights blinded me and I felt Seth grab my waist and throw me out to the side as the car collided with the bike. I screamed as I hit the hard tarmac and rolled a few times before coming to a halt.
I slowly looked up to see the car fly through a neighbour's fence and hit into a tree with a massive smash. I looked back at my brother to see him lying on the ground beneath a now mangled, smoking bike.
"Seth?" I called in a weak voice.
"Seth?" I asked a little louder when I didn't see him respond and I knew something was wrong. "Seth!" I yelled and stood, but my knees buckled beneath me and I landed on all fours. I tried again and, although my legs felt like jelly, I pushed them to run towards my brother's side.
The crash had gotten people's attention and I saw them all start to run out of their homes to investigate. "Seth!" I yelled as I reached him to see him lying face down on the ground. "Come on, Seth, get up!" I yelled as I tried to pull the bike off of him, but it was far too heavy for my small arms.
"Lizzy!" I looked up to see Richard and his dad running towards me.
"Uncle Kevin, please help me get this off him!" I cried as I continued to struggle.
"Okay, Lizzy, just step back, sweetheart," he said as a few men from our neighbourhood came as well and they all grabbed onto a section of the bike. "One, two, three," he instructed and they all grunted as they lifted the bike off my brother.
"Seth," I cried as I reached out to shake him now that the weight of the bike was gone, but a hand held me back.
I looked up at Richard's dad. "Hold on, Lizzy. The ambulance is on its way. It's safest if you don't touch him," he said and I looked at my brother who was still lying down on the ground. My eyes widened when I saw blood start running from beneath his helmet and down the back of his neck. I reached out for him again, but Uncle Kevin held me back once more.
"No!" I struggled against him. "He's hurt! I have to help him!"
"The paramedics will help him," Richard's dad said and he forced me to look at him. "Now what happened? Are you hurt?"
I shook my head. "No, I-I'm okay. I don't know what ... there was a speeding vehicle," I said and pointed to the crashed car to see people looking inside. "And then Sam threw me out the way..."
I trailed off when I heard the echo of sirens and soon an ambulance with flashing lights sped around the corner. The crowd which had formed around us quickly moved aside to let the paramedics through.
I watched in silence as they moved to Samuel and started checking him. "Was anyone else involved in the accident?" one asked and Richard's dad pushed me forward for the medic to see. The man walked up to me and crouched down to look at my face still hidden in the helmet.
"Are you injured in anyway?" he asked and I shook my head.
"No, I'm fine, but please help my brother," I begged and looked at his still form.
The medic nodded. "We will do what we can, but I need to ask you what happened."
I suddenly lost my voice and Richard's dad spoke up for me. "It was a hit and run. The car crashed in the Henderson's yard. Her bother threw her out of the way before the bike was hit."
The medic nodded and called for men to investigate the crashed vehicle before turning to the medic examining Seth. "Dawson? Status."
The whole crowd turned to the paramedic still crouched next to my brother. She gave a heavy sigh. "No pulse."
I felt my heart stop as I stared at her in disbelief. "He's ..." I couldn't finish the sentence. I looked back at my still brother's form in disbelief.
"Oh, Lizzy ..." I heard Richard whisper along with the murmurs of the crowd, but my body was frozen in place.
No. He couldn't be...
"What's going on here? What happened?" I heard my mom ask as she walked through the crowd with my dad and sister in tow. The paramedic who was by me stood and faced them.
"Are you the deceased's parents?" he asked.
"Deceased? What are you - Wait ... is that?"
My mom screamed when she saw my brother lying on the tar while a person began drawing a chalk outline around him. "What happened?" she yelled as she tried to reach him, but my dad held her back.
"Where's Lizzy?" he asked and everyone looked at me.
"Lizzy!" my mom cried when she saw me standing and rushed to me to check for injuries, but I still had my helmet and layers of clothes on so she couldn't see much.
"What happened?" my dad asked as he came up next to my mom.
"It was an accident ..." I started, still in shock.
"A drunk driver hit them while they were on a night ride. Your son threw your daughter out of the way before the car hit him. He died on impact, as did the driver of the car when he hit the tree further off," the paramedic explained.
"Night ride ..." my mom muttered and her eyes, which were brimming with tears, slowly hardened as she took a step away from me. "You..." she began and her eyes narrowed. "You made him take you on a ride! Didn't you?" she shouted at me and my eyes widened.
"Now, ma'am, I realise you're upset but please try to remain calm," the medic said but she only glared at him.
"You ..." her glare turned to me and I froze under the vicious stare. "This is your fault! It's your fault Seth died! You killed your brother!" she screamed.
"Carol, calm down! This is not her fault!" my dad yelled at her as she burst into tears, but the damage was already done.
I took a step back and looked around the crowd to see that everyone was looking at me with sympathy and pity. The stares suddenly felt overpowering, pressing down on me, wanting to crush me and my mom's words swirled in my mind.
Your fault. You killed your brother.
"Lizzy!" I heard Richard call as I broke away from his father's grasp and sprinted through the crowd. Tears spilled down my cheeks as I ran down the street.
"No, Lizzy, stop! I didn't mean ..." I heard my mom cry, but I pressed my legs to run faster. I could hear people rushing after me, but I slipped into an alleyway between the homes that an adult couldn't fit through and ran as though my life depended on it.
I ignored the calls for me to come back as I wiped my sleeve across my eyes to rid the tears which only flowed more. I ran and ran until I finally arrived at an old abandoned playground that Richard and I found a few weeks ago.
I didn't waste a second as I climbed into the old, round slide and wrapped my arms around myself as I tried to regain my breath. I scrunched my face as sobs filled the small space and I cried my heart out to nobody. I tried to breath but the feeling of the helmet became as though I was suffocating. I grappled at the strap under my chin and pulled it off my head before tossing it as far away from me as I could as the tears flowed.
I wasn't sure how long I was in there, but it was long enough for my tears to run dry and I was left feeling empty, tired and very much alone.
"Lizzy?"
My eyes shot open at the sound of a soft voice.
I sniffed and tried to hide, but Richard's head peaked through the bottom of the slide. He gave a relieved sigh. "Oh, thank goodness, you're okay," he said and climbed into the slide. "Your mom's worried sick about you."
I stayed silent and avoided his gaze. "Lizzy?"
I looked at him to see him giving me the same look that the crowd did. I glared. "Don't look at me like that!" I suddenly yelled.
His eyes widened in shock. "Like ... what?"
"That look! I don't want to see it. I hate it!" I cried.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he said and held up his hands in surrender. "But come on, your family's worried about you."
"Not Seth though," I whispered and sniffed. "Mom's right. It's all my fault."
"No, it's not. If anyone is pointing fingers, they should be at that drunk driver. You didn't kill him," Richard argued.
"But if I hadn't begged to go for a ride, he would still be here!"
Richard stayed silent and he knew that I was right. He sighed after a moment. "Come on, it's late and we need to get home," he said and grabbed my hand.
I froze as he tried to pull me out the slide. I couldn't face my parents. "No ... I-I'm scared."
He looked at me then and gave a small smile. "Hey, everything will be fine, okay?" I looked away as I felt nothing but guilt.
"Come on, Lizzy. We can get through this."
I looked at him. "You're not ... mad at me?"
Richard shook his head. "It was an accident. You would never have done it on purpose."
"How did you find me?"
Richard smiled. "Lizzy, I'm your best friend. Give me some credit."
I looked away as I felt tears come to my eyes. "Hey, come now, don't cry," he said and wiped some tears away from my cheeks.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"Come on, we have to get home and I promise you everything will be okay." I gave a small nod and allowed him to pull me out of the slide. "Just remember ..." Richard began as we started walking, "I'll be by your side no matter what, okay?"
"Why?" I asked as he wrapped his arms around me.
"Because we're best friends forever, so you're stuck with me for life," he said with a cheeky smile.
Despite the heavy feeling which seemed to be crushing down on me, his words made the smallest of smiles appear on my face.