Eye of The Tiger

Last Year

“Ma’am, I have a few questions to ask you just so we can understand what happened,” one of the police officers says to me as I try not to look over at Aaliyah’s lifeless body.
“I... I just.. I was driving down this road and... a deer came out of nowhere and ran in front of my car. I didn’t wanna hit it so I swerved the car and then....aaand,” but I couldn’t finish the sentence.
“It’s okay, ma’am. Take a deep breath, okay. Let’s get you over to the medics so they can check you out and make sure that you’re okay. You’ve got a nasty bruise on your head there,” he says as he guides me towards the paramedic.
     Once I was cleared, the officer asked if there was anyone they could call to come pick me up and I gave them CJ’s number.
     Later that day, CJ told mom and dad  about the accident and I was so annoyed with him. It wasn’t that I wasn’t gonna tell them. It’s just that I wasn’t gonna mention that I had lied to the police. CJ told mom and dad exactly what I told the officer and they were not happy. But they felt bad about the fact that I lost a good friend, so they let me rest and grieve.
     Dad gave me space to heal emotionally. But mom kept trying to pepper me with questions about how I was feeling and what exactly happened that night. I didn’t want to tell them that I had a hypomanic episode that night because mom would probably freak out and worry even more. I may be grown, but I’m still her daughter.
“Paige..  Mija, you shouldn’t keep your feelings inside. ¿Que pasa contiga? Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours please,” she basically begged me.
“Babe, give her some space. She’s going through a lot right now,” my dad said and gently guided my mom into the family room.
     At that moment, my dad had given me an idea: space. He was right. I needed some space. Space away from this city and everyone in it. It was in that moment that I decided I was going to move and live by myself. I needed space and change.