To Be Claimed

✙ Chapter 16 ✙

Hey!

Another chapter! Just want to say that I am very thankful for the support and sweet comments! They brighten my day! I hope you enjoy - by the way, I've been curious: WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER???

~Lissa

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I watched as the familiar woman twirled in a circle, laughing. Her hazel eyes brightened as she spun on her toes, her white dress flowing around her. Next to her, there was an ugly wreckage in the middle of the street - shattered windows, crushed doors, destroyed bumper, and laying upside down. A few feet away was the large truck where an intoxicated man sat, unconscious. Blood trickled down his forehead onto his shirt; the drops sounded similar to those of the beer leaking out of the bottle in his lap. Slowly, I approached the woman who I recognized as my mother. She ran her fingers through her dark hair, before elegantly holding her hand out - and her hand was grabbed. My father appeared in front of her and twirled her in a circle, a smile on his face. His red hair was beginning to turn grey, probably from the amount of stress I constantly put on them.

"Mom? Dad?" I croaked, nearing them.

My mother laughed again and the two of them started walking away down the street, holding hands. "Mom!" I shouted, chasing after them. "Dad! Wait, I'm here! I'm right here! Please!" My mother's laughter filled my ears again as my father nudged her side, whispering something into her ear. "I'm here! Look at me! Just look at me!"

I was screaming at the top of my lungs, desperately seeking their attention. They didn't glance at me; in fact, it was almost as if I was invisible. I watched with watering eyes as they disappeared into a white light, one that nearly blinded me. My mother's laughter rang through my ears while my father's smiles haunted me in the back of my mind.

Releasing a cry, I turned around, surprised to find paramedics and police officers gathered around the wreckage. Confusion overwhelmed me; they hadn't been there before. I watched as two paramedics helped the truck driver out, carefully. The police officers were closing off the road, forcing oncoming traffic to turn around. Several paramedics were crouched around the familiar battered sedan, struggling to help the people inside. Hesitantly, I approached the car, listening to the sirens around me. A paramedic shook his head with sad eyes, before pulling his arm out of the vehicle. I crouched down, peering into the car - and found myself staring at my parents. Motionless. Bloody. Dead. I choked back a sob and covered my mouth with my hand, nearly toppling backwards onto my butt.

My eyes flickered towards the girl in the backseat, her chest slowly rising, then falling. A paramedic on the other side was attempting to reach her. Her auburn hair was stained with blood, which was barely visible. She was pale, too pale. And, she reeked of booze after her parents were forced to pick her up at the police station; she had been caught drinking at a lame party. This girl was me, the same girl that miraculously survived the accident. The girl who didn't die, but fought for her life in the hospital for three months. Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I watched the doors be ripped off the car. I couldn't look at this anymore; I turned away, closing my eyes to fight back some tears.

But, when I opened them, I found myself staring at me in the hospital. I was laying in the uncomfortable bed, several needles in my skin. Tubes were tangled and some were connected to beeping machines. I looked hideous; I looked broken. Bruises and scrapes covered my skin - I barely looked alive. My brother, Ethan, was seated at the end of the bed, gripping my ankle. He was blinking frantically, his lips pinched together. He looked exhausted with dark circles underneath his eyes. "It's time for you to wake up now, Little Bird. Wake up - please. You're all I have left. . ."