Brian remained plastered to his bed while Kevin tried to make him get up. “I was up late Kev, I need more sleep. Go away.”

“I was up late too. And you left earlier than me so get up!”

“No. I have no reason to get up so go away you overgrown... you... just leave me alone.”

“Yes you do! You need to eat to uh... to sleep better later on. Get up! Don't make me get Nick in here to jump on the bed!”

Brian put a pillow over his head, “I'm not hungry man. You go eat and have fun. If I get hungry I'll fix myself something to eat. Sleep now is good, food comes later.”

Kevin let out a deep sigh and opened the door, “Nick! Get up here!”

Nick came running in a few moments later holding a Popsicle and Kevin pointed to the bed. Nick ran over and started jumping up and down on the bed, “Brian! Get up! Up! Up! Pretty girls are coming!”

“Nick... stop... jumping on... me.” Brian threw his pillow at him, but Nick just swatted it away. “You go get the pretty girls, they're all yours buddy.”

Nick stopped jumping and stood over Brian. “No! One is Kevin's. He told me that I can't flirt with her and the other one, I already spit on! You have to come down man, or else who am I... oops.” The Popsicle melted off the stick and landed on Brian's back, “Sorry man. Just... uh... oops.”

Brian jumped up, “Gross man. That's gonna leave a big stain.”

Kevin spoke up from where he was standing near the door, “Ha! You're up so now you have to go. Good job Nick.”

Nick lightly jumping on the bed, “No problem man. Can I get my $20 now?”

“No, he can give me the money to get my sheets cleaned. And I'm still not going. Why do I have to go anyway? There's only two of them and that would make three of us. That's an uneven number, leaving one of us as a... 5th wheel. You two go,” Brian said.

Kevin motioned for Nick to leave, "Brian, you're like a hermit. Just because there will be girls there doesn't mean a thing. You've been blowing off hanging with us guys that it's like you don't even care to be in the group anymore. And I know that you're still not over... you still blame yourself. It’s been almost six months, Bri. When are you going to realize that it wasn’t your fault?”

Brian slowly shook his head, “I know exactly how long it’s been, Kevin. When will you understand that it was my fault?” He ripped the sheets off his bed, “Look, I really don't want to talk about this now. I'll go with you, but don't expect much from me.”

“Brian, look at me.” Walking over to where he was standing, Kevin pulled his younger cousin into a hug, “It wasn't your fault. I love you, and I hate seeing you like this.”

“I hate being like this, but I can’t help it.” Brian pulled away. “Go downstairs and I’ll be ready in a few minutes… once I wash this crap off of my back.”

Once Kevin left the room, Brian went into the bathroom and turned the water on for a quick shower. As he slowly got undressed and threw his now dirty clothes into the hamper, he started to feel his head pound causing his eyes to burn with pain. It wasn't the pain of a migraine but the pain of a lost loved one. He stepped into the shower, letting the warm water run down his newly found sore muscles. He placed his head under the water and everything that he tried so hard to forget, came rushing back into his head. "Elizabeth," the name that haunted him passed through his soft lips. Even if everyone refused to believe him, it was his fault. Brian had been behind the wheel, not Elizabeth. He told her to get something from the back seat for him, and instead of pulling over to where it would be safe, he told her to unbuckle her seatbelt to reach it. That's when the other car struck them. Her body was wedged between the front seat and the back when a car smashed into her side of Brian's car. It was his fault. He was driving, it was his car, and it was his idea to remove the one thing that could have saved her life. Brian felt a few warm tears stream down his face that quickly blended in with the rest of the running water. He sniffed at the memory of the one woman he vowed to love before finishing up with his shower. He slowly ran the bar of soap over his body while he stared dazed at one tile behind the falling water coming from the showerhead. He quickly rinsed before stepping out and wrapping a large towel around his body. He headed to his room to find something to wear, ignoring the fact that he had just been crying the whole time.