"Sometimes trust blinds us so much that we can't see the truth"
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After being dragged to some boring dinner meeting, Scarlet meets Jackson Vanderbilt. From leaving dinner early to being kicked out her apartment, Jackson was by Scarlet's side. What...
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Numbness. It's all I felt.
The last thing I remember is having my eyes blurred with my tears, and Jackson yelling my name and charging at me. My head snapped to my side, and I think I saw a car, but I'm not sure.
I don't think I got run over... I don't feel like I did... That means - - Jackson! My eyes are shut, but I can't open them. I need to see if Jackson's okay. Trying as hard as I can, I open my eyes. First, my vision is blurred, so I blink a few times to settle my eyes down. Finally, my eyes somewhat situate, and I see some hospital-type ceiling.
Where am I? Trying to get up, I feel a sharp pain in my right arm and leg - - no, my whole right side hurts.
"Sit down!" I hear a soft voice say, it's Jackson. His hand gently puts me down.
So... I was the one that got hit.
"I'll go get the doctor," Jackson says, avoiding eye contact.
I nod. My brain hurts as I try to remember what happened. What time is it? What was I doing in the middle of a parking lot? What is going on? The only thing I remember from the past twenty-four hours is the whole car thing. God, how did my life go from being so normal to this?
I still feel drowsy, and I try but fail to stay awake.
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My mind keeps replaying the whole car accident scene but in slow-motion. I shut my eyes tightly and continue walking down the hall of the hospital, trying to look for the doctor who's in charge of Scarlet.
Finally, I find the man, and he walks to the room. I don't follow - I'm scared to follow. Slipping down in one of the waiting room chairs, I feel my phone vibrate, and it's my father.
Rolling my eyes, I answer, "I'm busy."
"Are you now?" My father asks. Sarcasm and a weird expression I can't yet identify present in his voice.
"What do you want?" I question.
"I hear Scarlet's not well," He says, he knows something.
"What. Do. You. Want?" "Nothing, can't a man just check in on his son's girlfriend?" "No, no he can't. Plus, you already 'checked in' on my ex." He laughs, "That was a good one. Anyway, you're welcome." "For what?" "What do you think?"
I scoff, "Listen, I'm not here to play some stupid game with you, okay?"
"So impatient," He chuckles, "Do you really think the car just happened to hit Scarlet when you fucked up?"
"What are you saying?"
Another laugh follows, "I hired the driver."
"You-"
"Ah- ah- ah-" he stops, "From her losing her house and job to getting run over, did you think it was all coincidental? Coincidences aren't real, Jackson. "
Rage. Rage takes over, and the only thing I want to do is put my father six feet under the ground. I hang up and begin to walk outside. I'm a ruthless man when I want to be.
Before I get to the door, the thought of Scarlet comes to me. Right now, I should be with her, rather than going to my father. Walking back to her room was pretty hard, especially since I know who was behind it all. I really thought the whole thing was fate. Well, la-dee-fucking-da, Jackson, that shit doesn't exist.
I stand near the edge to observe the doctor checking Scarlet's statistics - or whatever they call them. I didn't go to school for medicine.
"How is she?" I manage to get out.
"Well, her vitals seem fine, but she does have a sprained arm and knee, which could take months to heal. Ms. Thompson, do you live alone?" the doctor asks.
She opens her mouth to answer, but I interject, "No. No, she lives with me."
"All right, so I take it you can take care of her? At least for the first few days as Ms. Thompson adjusts to her new normal."
"Yeah, Of course."
"Great. I've written some pain killers for her, be sure to pick them up from the pharmacy." I nod, and the doctor leaves.
"How're you doing?" I ask.
She looks at me as if I've lost my mind, "Oh, you know, I just have a broken arm and leg, but I'm doing great!"
"Sprained," I correct, "And I'm not great with comforting."
"I couldn't tell."
"Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened. I didn't mean to hurt you, but you know how everything I do works out. When I saw my father with my ex, I lost it, and I just-"
"It's cool," She stops me.
"What?"
"It's cool. I guess I didn't think about how I'd feel if, God forbid, my mother ended up with an ex," she explains and then cringes at the thought.
I smile, "But it still doesn't mean what I did was okay."
"Yeah, but you'll have to take care of me for the next few months, so I guess that will make up for it all," she teases.
She stops laughing and sigh, "You didn't call my parents yet, did you?"
"God, I forgot, I'll do it now," I answer.
"No! Stop. They'll be all over me and start lecturing me." I laugh, "but they do need to know." "We'll tell them... in a couple of years."
★★★
Just like that, it was time for Scarlet to come home. My mother decided to stay a couple more days to help out.
I asked my mother not to visit Scarlet at the hospital just to give her some space. If she didn't want her own parents to know about the accident, I doubt she'll want my mother to know.
My mother.
Oh, God!
I didn't even tell Scarlet that my mother is in town.
To be continued... ———— This chapter i'm was slow, i know.
i just got out of a shit ton of essays, books, etc., so cut me some slack.
anyway, how're you girlies? let's talk? idk i'm bored.
happy star wars day? i haven't watched any of the movies, sooooooo.
