Gone And Forgotten (Ghost Romance)

Chapter One

I wasn't stopping for anything and I sure as hell wasn't taking my foot off the accelerator for a little rain. I was late for my mum's birthday, I had promised to be there, yet here I was, speeding down a dead road on my way back from Anna's party. I said I'd only be a few hours, I didn't realise I had almost been there the whole night.

The hiss of the tyres over the smooth tarmac was lost under the blasting music. Even though I was stressed and pushing past the speed limit a little, my favourite country song came on for when I'm in the car. I bellowed along to the song, tapping the wheel to the beat. 

My childhood memories spilled into my thoughts and a grin spread across my face. My grandad had always played it on repeat when I was little, so it was always my go to song when I was alone in my car. It meant I could jam out to it without being judged. 

I leant over to turn it up as my favourite part was coming, my grin still plastered to my face. 

Before I could even reach out to touch the dial, something hit me from behind.

It happened so fast I barely had time to scream before the air bags knocked me back and sideways. My body jerked to the dashboard, my forehead colliding with the window. There was nothing I could do to stop the car, it tumbled over and over. The momentum had my eyes struggling to keep up with the movement.

It wasn't until I rammed into the central barrier that I came to an absolute stop. Silence; it scared me more than the pain.

I was fleetingly aware of the bloody taste in my mouth but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. My eyelids were fluttering open, but as my mind was clouded with a thick haze, I couldn't seem to will them to stay open for long. They felt so heavy. I suddenly thought I must be at home in bed because it was so dark. I must be dreaming. But why did I feel so cold? Why could I hear the sound of rain on metal? Why the pain, God, why so much pain?

Then came a blue flicker, the sound of sirens, wait, police?

It came back to me.

The panic rose.

And then everything went black.

***

When I woke up, my mother was sitting next to me, her legs dangling off one side of the green armchair. Her body twisted away from me in a way that could never be comfortable enough to actually sleep in. She had a pen stuck in her auburn hair holding the top section of it up. I always loved how no matter where we were, if my mum picked up some new inspiration, she'd always pull a notepad out of her bag. Even if it was already full with drawings, it wouldn't stop her from finding some space. She would whip out the pen that always either sat behind her ear or was used to twist her hair together so she could start scribbling down whatever she saw.

She didn't know I had awakened, and my mind was too clouded to form the words from my head to my mouth so I could let her know I was awake.

But why did she need to know? Why was she sat next to me as I slept? The answer was on the tip of my tongue, yet no matter how long I focussed on trying to reach it, it wouldn't come to me. My head started to hurt.

I think I must have made a noise because when I stopped trying to remember the thing that was so important, my mother's body had done a 180 turn. She now sat facing me, her big green eyes filled with concern. There were more lines around her eyes then I remembered, worry lines.

"Oh Leah," My mother said in a hushed tone while she grabbed my hand and squeezed it. The pen so tiredly wedged into a knot of hair, fell onto the floor, letting her red hair fall around her shoulders. "you're awake."