His Collection

FIVE

There were no stars, there was no sky; all I could see was the red.

"Red. I hate that color," I whispered, then moaned out as my body began to awaken from its uncomfortable rest. Though I couldn't see, damn right sure I knew right away I must have been covered in bruises. Scenes of Kyle being shot, and the crash all swirled inside my head. I began to cry silently, wishing I could stand up then dart off to wherever he was. My dry-blood covered fingers reached out for the red sky only for it to be a soft sheet.

A blanket? Where am I?

Slowly I lifted myself into a sitting position, clutching my banged up elbow -which was wrapped up tight. I knew someone must have been watching over me. A bit of fear had started spreading through my stomach then sunk deep into my bone marrow when I saw nothing familiar. But, I was not frightened easily.

I am not going to run off screaming, and never had. I was always more of silent, collector, and observor when it came to fear, and that's what I did; I sat up and analyzed my surroundings.

Pillows, and blankets had been placed under and over me in no specific order; they were colorful, hand-embroidered, each pattern seemed to be just as beautiful as the one before. I picked up one, and took a closer look; tiny butterflies, and even itty-bity bugs were sticked in, making it a tasteful design, the stitching was amazing, too.

What an odd choice; bugs.

My skull started itching, it had to be the blood and dirt. I reached up with my good arm, then touched my forehead. Yep, it was bandaged as well, and my hair had been braided up into a messy, thin bun.

My doctor seems to be a stylist as well.

I managed to smile a little, and noticed how even my cheeks were swollen. The tears were still flowing as I took hold of the red sheet, pulling it down.

"Oh, great," I muttered as it all fell over me. The small ocean of red had swallowed me, and it had to take me a handful of minutes to find an edge to peek out into the daylight. It surprised me. I wasn't expecting it to be day already.

How long had I been knocked out?

With only the top of my head poking out, and lips hidden over the sheet, I held the sheet to my face. My eyes darted around, realizing I was in the last place I thought I'd be; in the back of a truck located right outside an old small, two story house in the middle of a vast plain covered in patches of bush, flowers, and wheat. I tried to see how far it went on, but once the clearing was out of view, all you could make out of it was that there was woods surrounding the valley. This had to be private, rural area.

My brown eyes dashed to the house. Cozy. It looked warm, tidy, and simple; flowers roamed freely around the home and almost everywhere you could set foot in. Stretching my neck a bit more, I noticed a small barn next to the house; it was white, and gray. I winced once my neck made a click sound.

"Ow," I hissed while trying to touch the spot. I reached behind me and tugged at more blankets trying to make room for movement. The goal here was to let my body breathe, it had begun to get stuffy and hot that my sweat was basically melting the blood on me.

A voice behind me said, "Stop it, you." Immediately I spun around, and soon regretted it. The way I jolted made a cloud of thunder start rumbling across my temples. Closing my eyes, I focused, then blinked a couple times before getting a clear picture of whom had been behind me the entire time. There was a pool of thick, black hair spilled across a few pillows that seemed to glisten back at me. 

Mom?

I blinked once more, then saw a young girl, not much older than me, comfortably snugged within the pillows. She yawned, and stared at me. Her own night eyes shimmered like wet paint while she gave me a once-over. The first thought was how pretty she was. I sucked in a few breathes before figuring out what to ask first.

"Uhm."

"Hmm, guess you have pretty eyes." She smiled into her hand, then rested on her elbow. "Your hair isn't that long, and you're pretty short compared to me." She continued to judge the rest of my appearance, and quickly it became a mixed emotional thing to me. I wasn't sure if I should be offened at some of her sharky comments, or impressed at her blunt choice of words. The small, mental foot tapping ceased once she gave the longest sigh. "Well, you ain't screaming or runnin' off or anything. I think I can leave you alone. I hate sleeping out here."

"What," I said, but it didn't even seem like a question, and she raised a sharp, dark brow while standing up, fully showing her body; she was tall, and slim. Her faded yellow, key hole dress with a princess bottom danced with the slight breeze, mesmerizing my foggy eyes. She wasn't pretty at all, she was beautiful and a natural one, too. Quickly she noticed how I gawked at her, and it made a pleased grin cut through her cheeks.

"Do you like me?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. You look familiar."

"It's okay. Everyone used-tah stare at me. It doesn't bother me. I'm Alice, by the way," she replied while walking to the egde of the truck. Jumping off, the truck shook a bit, as she spun around to wave goodbye, but stopped, asking, "You won't run off, will ya?"

Tightly holding on the sheet, I politely questioned why she'd ask that yet it seemed I had caused her some panic. Her eyes became buried streaks of coal as she said she'd get in trouble if I did.

I was in someone's truck. They had taken care of my wounds. Had someone watch over me...but only so I wouldn't run off? Am I being held by my will, or something?

"I can't run," I stated while showing her the slow movement of my legs through the blankets. She twisted her lips, contemplating whether she should leave or not, and honestly -now I really did want her to leave.

Alice swung her hair back and fixed her dress while walking into the house, she peeked out a couple times to make sure I hadn't moved. I stared back, motionless with my brown eyes never breaking contact. Waving while she disappeared behind the cream door, mentally I counted the seconds -once I reached three-hundred, I began shuffling to the edge.

Kyle's voice was being carried by the breeze, and memories of our bonfires and camping creeped over my skin. Today would have been a perfect day to be outside...with him.

"No, no, not right now, you pansies," I tell the tears to stop. My body finally slides down the truck, and thinking my legs could take it, I let go of the edge. Big mistake; my knees buckle, and I fall on my back.

Someone to catch me? Kyle always did. Yet this time, nothing. I fell into nothing, and blacked out again into

nothing.