I badly needed a break from work and waved a green flag. "Let's catch up at Ramola's." Adam waxes lyrical.

I went home after work, showered and got dressed in denim jeans and a white T-shirt. Applying little bit of gel to my black hair I was prepared to chill up. Spraying my favorite cologne I looked at myself in the mirror. A smile automatically laces on my rugged features. I was too peremptory to be so handsome. But l won't make a publicity of it.

All set I jumped into my black Ferrari and drove off to my favorite nightclub The Ramolas. But very few know I also owned it. I went to the bar to grab a glass of Tequila and drowned myself with alcohol when my brother interrupted. "Hey bro, a little slow man, or you will drop down."

I just looked at him with dripped eyes and a blonde came to me swaying her hips. It was time to relax, right? So I decided to taste the Colleen and waved bye-bye to my brother taking her to one of the executive suites.

At around 2:00 am in the night, I got a call. The person on the other line spoke "Hello we are speaking from Holy city hospital. Am I speaking to Mr Shannon Clandevis?" I answered in the affirmative. And the receptionist of the hospital told me that my brother had been admitted in the hospital for an accident on drunk driving.

Shit!

Within ten minutes I was in the hospital along with my parents comforting my mom who had almost turned hysterical after looking at the motionless form of my brother. Dad was trying to console her but he was breaking too. The doctor entered the room and signaled me to the exit. I followed him praying for my brother's life.

Making a note of my anxiousness the doctor apprised me of the hard truth. "Adam has meager chances of survival with multiple organ failure. His kidneys failed, liver got damaged hitting a rock and lungs stopped functioning after getting steered to a sudden shock."

My legs became shaky as I learned about the crucial veracity. Dropping to the chair I listen to the doctor's diction wrecked in a chaos. I am the person responsible for my brother's death. Alcohol overpowered my senses and my mind went out of its accurate stature. The holistic gospel was torturing me to odds and ends. Had I been vigilant on my drinks and used my rationality, I would have chosen my brother to a whore. A driver could have been hired to drop us home and Adam would have been alive today.

I let my brother drive home in his half conscious state because I was drunk too and was not able to make a lateral decision. My eyes go moistened, suffering the guilt. I succumbed to carnal pleasures and chose an unbound woman over my family in a state of dopiness. Making a lone implausible decision had cost me a sin of perpetuity which changed my life forever. How long am I to suffer the weighted loss of my brother?

The doctor looked at me with consoling eyes. He patted my shoulder and left the room giving me the privacy that was most required by me and my family at that moment. However before his departure I had one question to ask him.

"Can I have the details of the family that had to bear the brunt of my brother's recklessness?"

Shannon's POV

Adam left this world and it has been more than a week since the most sorrowful event of our lives occurred. Mom went into a state of depression hardly speaking to anyone and was starving herself to death. If this continues for long, I fear that I may lose my mom too along with my brother. I consulted a few psychiatrists regarding her health and after a lot of persuasion from me and dad she is finally on medication. Dad asked me to stay in their house till she recovers and we are doing our best to get her out of the cataclysmic situation.

I made it a point, after I came home from the office to spend some time with mom in discussing her day. It is not that she speaks much but thankful to the heavens and above she still gives me an answer in monosyllables. 

With the passing time according to the assessment of her physician I am happy to note she is steadily improving on her health. Dad now frequently takes her out, sometimes to a park, church and even to watch movies which my parents hadn't done for more than a decade. Yesterday I saw her smiling at dad for one of the stupid jokes he specially created for her. It was a huge sign of improvement and I am glad I could share their glee.

The work in the office continued to be a challenge especially pertaining to the loggerheads of the accounts department. Tomorrow is the final interview I am going to take. Mr Brad had been of great help to me during this challenging period.  I am grateful to him and very much bank on his decision regarding the selection of a prospective accountant for being the trusted employee of our company for more than a decade.  He already shortlisted two candidates from his interviews yesterday and I hope I will now breathe a sigh of relief.

****
During these days I tried to find out from the hospital the details of the family that unfortunately became prey to my brother's incautiousness. But I couldn't get a fruitful result. The family wasn't willing to share any of their information with us. Through the sources, I came to know that the car which is now reduced to a trash belonged to a middle aged couple. The woman died on the spot and was declared ‘brought dead’ to the hospital. Her spouse suffers serious injuries and is now in a coma.