Queen for a Day

Ch. 12: The Accident

Normally, on rehearsal days, I would ask dad to babysit Barb while Thrash and I performed sound checks and rehearsed for concerts at the stadium. However, recently, he got sick and had been bedridden for about a month now, kind of like mom before she died. I hoped he didn't have what she had...

Even though he was cold-hearted, I still loved him. He was my father, after all. Plus, he loved Barbara more than anything else in the world. He'd spoil her all the time, which made me a bit jealous. He never treated me like that when I was a little girl...ever...

But that doesn't matter. Now, since dad was sick, Thrash and I had to do everything that he would normally do. It wasn't as much as I thought, it was just like what I would do on a normal day with only a few extra tasks here and there. No big deal.

Although he was sick, he still agreed to watch her, but now the doctors said it would be best if Barb just stayed with us. He wasn't exactly getting any stronger. So, the day before, Thrash and I promised that we'd bring Barb with us to rehearsal.

"I have a bad feeling about this, sweetie..." I whispered to him. This was just after we told Barb that she'd get to stay with mom and dad all day, which made her very happy.

He chuckled and replied, "Relax, Blueberry! It's just rehearsal. What could possible go wrong?"

Maybe if we had known what would happen that day...he probably would've phrased that sentence a bit differently. What went wrong, you ask?...

Everything...

———

The next day, I helped Barb get dressed before we went to the stadium. She dove into her closet and came out wearing Roxy's old tutu.

"Okay! I'm ready! Let's go!" She started running towards the door, but I quickly grabbed her before she could make it.

"I'm sorry, Barb, but I can't let you wear that."

"Why not?!" she screeched while trying to wiggle out of my grasp. That only made me tighten my grip on her.

"Because its not general hard rock clothing, my wild child," I responded. "Plus, I don't want you to ruin it."

I carried her back over to the closet and pulled out some tattered black leggings, along with a long, white t-shirt. After fighting with her to take the tutu off and put on the clothes I picked out for her, she was finally dressed and ready for the day.

"There we go!" I smiled at her. "Now we can get going!"

She crossed her arms and pouted. "I want my tutu!" she complained while stomping her foot. I sighed and rubbed my temples.

"I know you do, but that tutu doesn't even belong to you, wild child! It belongs to your aunt." I started walking towards the door, motioning for her to follow and grab my hand.

I heard her tiny feet thump across the floor, then I felt one of her small hands in mine. "Where is Auntie?" she asked curiously.

That question made my heart ache, and I fought back tears as we exited her room and headed in the direction of the stadium.

"I don't know, Barbara...I don't know..."

———

Thrash was already at the stadium when we got there. When he saw us enter, he smiled.

"There's my girls! I was wondering when you were gonna show up!"

Barb smiled widely, let go of my hand, and ran over to Thrash. He scooped her up and hung her upside down.

"And how are you doing this morning, my little monkey?" He started tickling her, which caused Barb to start squirming around and explode into fits of laughter.