Grayscale

-Chapter 13-

Usually, I am all ears in US History AP, hanging onto every word the teacher says since history is my favorite subject. History has always been interesting to me, but today, I am distracted by the absence of Sierra. It has been weeks, and she still hasn't come back to school, but Ryan is still here, so she couldn't have gone anywhere, could she? Asking Ryan gets me nowhere... he refuses to answer the question, or just simply changes the subject. No one else at school knows either. I think they are growing annoyed at my constant badgering of asking them where Sierra is. People don't just appear in peoples lives and then disappear off the face of the Earth.

The teacher dismisses us early, and I leave the classroom without getting picked on for not paying attention during class. But I don't think the teacher cares anyways. Summer is around the corner, and no one seems to care about class anymore, or have as much energy and drive as they did in the beginning of the year.

I slump into Karen's car, where she honks at me in annoyance. "You're slow," she comments.

"Your face is slow," I retort, not giving any thoughts into my backfire. I just want to go home and sleep.

Karen zooms away, the car tires screeching painfully. I don't know if she thinks it's cool to drive horribly and why that's the fad nowadays, but she's extremely good at driving dangerously. I clutch onto my seat, fearing for my life. "Please," I moan. "I don't want to die before the summer starts."

Karen shoots a look at me. "There's no need in being a drama queen," she says before swerving on the road, the car teetering dangerously.

"Not. Exaggerating," I manage to make out as Karen dodges another pedestrian. I honestly don't know why a police hasn't stopped her yet. Her driving has only gotten worse as her social status grows higher.

"Right," she says, tapping the wheel. "You wouldn't have to deal with me if you drove to school yourself."

"And fail my class? Not likely."

Karen sighs. "Look, I know you're anxious that Sierra hasn't been to school, but haven't you thought of it this way? She probably doesn't want to go to school. Can you blame her?"

"But she hasn't answered the phone or any texts."

Karen shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe she wants some time all to herself."

"O-kay," I say, cutting the word into two distinct sounds. I grab the backpack beneath my legs and wave a hand at Karen. "Thanks for the ride."

Karen nods at me before speeding off to her friend's house.

I open the door with my keys. The house is still and silent. Mom and Dad are still at work. The house phone rings, and I trudge over to pick it up.

"Hello?" I say.

"Hi, may I speak to Marley please?"

"That's me," I say.

"Oh great, hey. It's me, Ryan. I guess I owe you an explanation."

"For what?"

"Sierra. You've been asking for weeks." I stay silent, not daring to believe he will actually tell me. "You might want to come over to hear this," he says.

I run over to my car, not caring about the science experiment anymore. "I'll be right there," I say. "Stay put." I race over to Ryan's house, pushing the speed limit. As I arrive, I pound on the door. Ryan opens it, a grim expression on his face and lets me in.

He settles down at the table, and I join him. "Sierra... attempted to take her own life," Ryan says after a long pause.

No, no! What? Shock overwhelms me, and I almost want to laugh, to tell him that April first already passed, but the unsettling feeling in my stomach tells me otherwise.

Ryan clears his throat. "Um, she's at the St. Mary's Hospital Center if you want to visit her."

"What?" I shriek. "The one for mentally unstable people? Sierra's not mentally unstable."

"That's where they put you when you try to kill yourself," Ryan says, his voice soft. His expression changes for a moment, and he looks almost angry. He speaks again, low, but with a hint of something dark in his voice. "At first, I was shocked when I heard it. Sierra? No way. But when I thought about it, it made more sense. I should've known something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. That's when I became angry. Who is she to decide whether or not to take her own life and affect others around her? You know how much suffering I went through, worrying for her just because she suddenly decided it was okay to take her life without talking to anybody at all?" Ryan slams the table, and I flinch away. "Sorry," he says, heavily breathing. "I needed to say that out loud."

I look at the ground. "Did you ever figure out why?"

Ryan snorts. "Do I need to know why? But no, I never asked, and I doubt she'll ever tell me."

Ryan is right. I do feel angry at Sierra, but mostly, just shock at why she would do this. Sierra wasn't... isn't like this. She wasn't depressed was she? Or is she still depressed. "I'm going to the hospital," I finally announce.

Ryan nods. "I thought you wanted to. Maybe someone can manage to talk some sense into her, or maybe it's too late." Suddenly, he deflates, the air spurting out of him like a balloon released.

* * *

After badgering the receptionist, I pace down the corridor, all my energy spent. I cautiously open a door, causing a little moan and creak on the old hinges. When the door is open, it reveals a girl sitting cross-legged on her bed, jiggling her knees, and picking white nail-polish from her nails, though her face is concentrated and scrunched up, her mind most likely wandering elsewhere. Upon hearing the door open noisily, her head snaps up. Her black, black eyes grow wide with shock, and her whole body grows still. Her hair falls over her face as she continues gaping at me. She seems to be the same, yet somehow different, as if weaker, as if more vulnerable.

I take a step closer to her and close the door. "Sierra?"

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Hey all!

So I decided to extend my story a little longer by adding a plot twist (you'll see next chapter) ;)

I'll keep this short and sweet. Thank y'all for the support! Vote and comment below, it lets me know you enjoyed and supported my story!

<3,
C. Augustine