Everything After you

Chapter 1 - Glass and Blood

I can still hear the crash—the grinding metal, the shattering glass, the screech of tires tearing through asphalt.

But what haunts me more is the silence that follows—heavy and endless.

The smell of burning rubber filling my lungs. The bitter taste of blood on my tongue.

And Adrienne's hand in mine, warm at first, then slipping away, already cold.

Adrienne and I loved our road trips. We never went too far and always came back even when we talked about never returning. We were coming back from a road trip to celebrate Adrienne's 18th birthday. She was just a year younger than me.

The road bent and curved like it was dancing with us to the music blasting on the radio. Adrienne tapped her hands on the dashboard to the beat of the song along with singing as if no one could hear her. The scenery felt so special as if I was supposed to memorize it for eternity, I didn't know that this would become something I could never forget.

The sun started to set, and the stars began to glow. The mood settled and slowed down as the road kept turning. Adrienne had her arm hanging outside of the car, swaying like a plane. She had such a wide grin on her face even though the fast wind was blowing her hair into her face, getting caught in her cherry lip gloss.

"Go faster!" Adrienne shouts, smiling even wider now the air rushed through my hair, and I felt untouchable. So I pressed the gas. A little more. Then too much. In an instant another car came speeding down the road. Out of habit I jerked the wheel to the right, making the car spin out of control. Next thing I knew I was thrown out of the car through the windshield. Everything blurred. The world reeked of burning rubber. But when I saw Adrienne's body hanging halfway out of the car, none of it seemed to matter anymore.

With all the strength I had left over I used it to crawl back to the car. Blood coated my teeth, thick and metallic. I could taste it with every breath, like pennies melting on my tongue. My view of everything became darker and darker but I wasn't going to stop till I had reached Adrienne, I stretched my hand toward hers — fingertips inches away — before strong arms yanked me back. Setting me on what felt like a cold bed. Before I blacked out, I used all of my might to call out to her but it was returned with silence and sirens. When I awoke, I found myself in a bright white room, I tried to scream but no sound escaped my bloody mouth. I could hear voices from outside of wherever I was trapped, it sounded serious.

"Astrid sustained a moderate traumatic brain injury during the accident. She's currently in a coma — stable, but unresponsive. Her vitals are strong, which is a good sign. We're monitoring the swelling in her brain closely but there's no way to predict exactly when she'll wake up. It could be days. It could be longer. Right now, our focus is keeping her stable and giving her time to heal."

"Thank you, doctor." I heard a woman sob. Must be my mother, I thought.

Days passed. Or hours. I couldn't tell.

I was stuck in some endless maze inside my head. Thought spirals. Flickers of light. Adrienne's laugh echoing like a ghost.

Then—I surfaced like I was drowning. Not everything came at once, first it was sound, a slow, steady beeping sound followed by a soft hiss. Something mechanical breathing near my ear. Pain came next, it hit me like a train. I felt it mostly in my face and chest, it felt as if there were boulders on top of me to stop me from getting up. Someone said my name.

"Astrid?" A small and fragile voice said softly. It was warm but shaky. Familiar.

I wanted to answer, I wanted to ask where Adrienne was, but my throat burned, and my lips wouldn't move.

"Where's Adrienne?" I tried to say, I think I did. It was silent then sobbing again. That's when I knew, that's when I remembered everything.