sportsreports

this is the final installment of my continuation of chapter 1 of a book called the Burn Journals, by Brent Runyon. Read my previous posts to catch up.

Brent opened his eyes halfway, the lights in the ceiling temporarily blinding him. His body hurt all over. Where was he? What was going on? Why did his skin feel like he had been bitten by fire ants all over his body? He tried to lean forwards but his neck exploded with pain. He tried to cry out but he couldn’t find his voice. The lights started swirling overhead. Who were those people standing around him? He heard voices. He recognized those voices. Was that Mom? He tried to call out her name, but nothing came out. Was that Craig? Craig. His brother, his kid brother, was there. He was always such a jerk to Craig even though he could tell how much Craig looked up to him. He tried to apologize, but he couldn’t get the words out. His dad was even there. He realized now how much he loved them all. All of a sudden he remembered what he had done. Why had he done that? He tried to take his life just because of an incident at school. He felt his eyes watering up, the tears stung his face so bad it took his breath away. He started gasping for air but he couldn’t breathe. He heard beeping, was that his pulse? The nurse rushed into the room, and held his gauze  covered hand. His mom whispered to him that everything would be all right. And in that moment, despite the burns covering 85% of his body, Brent Runyon found peace. It didn’t matter that he was in trouble at school. It didn’t matter that his dad was always away on business or that he had screwed up so badly already. The only thing that mattered now was that his family was around him, and they loved him. His family forgave him for what he had done and he was finally happy. He closed his eyes, and despite the pain that spread like wildfire across his skin, smiled.