Blackout

7. A Guilty Visit

Brianna Carter | Before

"Are you sure you girls are okay?" Mom asked again.

"I'm fine, promise," I assured her. As much as I appreciated Mom's concern, she should be scared of me, not for me.

"Mija, no me miente." said Mom.

"No te mentí." I promised.

"Can you guys speak English?" Claire asked. "Like, we get it Bri, you use Duolingo." Claire was acting extra irritable, which meant that she was just as scared as I was.

"You were the one who complained that Spanish classes were lame." I told Claire.

"Are you done attacking me?" Claire asked. "And I'm alright too, thanks for asking."

"The most important part is that neither of us are hurt." I concluded quickly.

"Besides," said Claire, "school is canceled for a week while they try and investigate everything. That reminds me." Claire put on her innocent face. "Can I sleep over at Mae's tonight?"

Mom sighed. She clearly didn't want us to leave her sight after what had happened yesterday. "Only if your sister drives you," she answered finally, defeated by Claire's puppy eyes.

Claire focused her large, begging eyes on me. "Please."

Mom gave me a look that told me no was not an option. "Fine. But I have an errand to run first."

"Take me there at five?" Claire asked.

"Sure," I answered.

The errand was never meant to take that long anyways. I drove myself to the grocery store to pick up some flowers. I had no idea what kind I was supposed to get, so I grabbed the first bouquet in sight. I picked up a Hallmark card too. On the way out, I bought a couple of candy bars on instinct. You never know when you need more Kit Kats.

"Get well soon." said the cashier, reading my card aloud. "What happened?"

"Um, my friend got electrocuted." I forced the word friend out of my mouth, but it felt sour. My answer seemed to appease the nosy cashier, who just shrugged and kept scanning.

"15.95," she announced.

I grabbed the bag and got into my car to drive to my destination. Alex was in Piedmont Hospital for electrical burns. Like everyone else, I didn't remember what had happened, but I knew that it was my fault.

That night, I had stayed up googling people who had been struck by lightning. The chance of survival from an intense lightning strike was incredibly slim. I was lucky I wasn't that strong yet.

Yet?

I frowned at that prediction. Focusing back on the road, I made a sharp left turn into the guest lot of the hospital. This might be one of the worst ideas I've ever had. Sure, Alex Forrest was probably a terrible person, but I never wanted to hurt him. Even if he had hurt me. I circled the parking lot four times, hoping to waste as much time as possible. Eventually, I figured that I looked suspicious, so I pulled into a spot and sat there.

I took a deep breath and tapped the steering wheel of the car, still debating. I needed to do this.

"One, two, three." I counted aloud. On three, I grabbed the card and flowers as quickly as I could and nearly leaped out of the car. It was like ripping off a band-aid.

Even though every part of me wanted to run, I found myself inside the doors of the hospital with no chance of turning back. I walked toward the front desk and smiled awkwardly at the receptionist. "I'm here to visit Alex Forrest. Is he here?" I asked her. The receptionist raised her eyebrows at me as if she doubted that I wanted to see him.