Sacred New Beginnings

Chapter 1- Twenty Stitches In The Hospital Room

January 10th 2016

"Isabella, where are you going?" The teenager rolls her eyes as she walks down the street in the cold air, "away from you." Her eyes prick with tears as she crosses her arms over her chest, trying to fight them back as she walks away from the older boy following her. She shakes her head as she hears him call her name and picks up her pace until she's running down the street.

Tears flow freely down her cheeks, her vision blurred as she runs down the street and consequentially out into the road as she doesn't realise she's strayed from the path in the dark. The sobbing teenager doesn't realise there is even the potential for danger until tyres are screeching and seconds later she feels the cold metal of the car collide with her body.

The driver of the car is a young woman in her early twenties and the teenager running out in front of her is so sudden that all she can do is slam on the brakes, but even then it doesn't stop her car hitting the young girl. She gasps as the car stops and within seconds she's jumping out and running to the side of the girl now sprawled on the ground. "Honey, can you hear me?" She kneels down, fear coursing through her veins as she looks over the girl and pulls her phone out of her pocket to dial 911.

A groan passes the lips of the younger girl and Taylor sighs a breath of relief before the call connects to emergency dispatch and she tells them everything that has happened in the last few minutes. "Honey, my name is Taylor, can you hear me?" The blonde coos gently as she's told to stay on the line and help is on the way, "Miss Swift, are you okay?" Taylor looks up as her bodyguard comes rushing out of the second car and the blonde nods, "an ambulance is on the way."

Within seconds they hear sirens piercing the cold evening and Taylor takes a shaky breath as she looks around, "Taylor?" She's surprised by the teenager saying her name but she just nods, glad the girl is responsive, "I'm right here, honey, you're not alone," she can't imagine how scared the girl must be, especially as paramedics and police rush to her side and the girl reaches for Taylor's hand to hold onto.

"Do you know this girl?" One of the officers addresses Taylor as the paramedics work to stabilise Isabella and the woman shakes her head, "she ran out in front of my car, I tried to stop but I- I didn't see her in time," the officer nods and notes down what Taylor is saying. "I'm sorry, I- I didn't mean..." Isabella hears what Taylor says and tries to apologise but the woman just shakes her head and squeezes the girl's hand, "it's okay, you're okay," tears fall down Isabella's cheek as she looks at Taylor and the concerned faces above her.

"We need to move you now, okay?" The paramedic speaks to the teenager and she starts to panic, tears streaming from her eyes. "Hey, hey, they need to take you to the hospital to make sure that you're going to be alright, it's okay," Taylor frowns as she tries to comfort the crying girl and Isabella clings to Taylor's hand, "can I stay with her? She's alone and it's late," the woman looks to the paramedics as she runs her thumb soothingly over Isabella's fingers and they agree so Taylor speaks briefly to her bodyguard before going with the young girl in the ambulance.

---

It was just after nine when the accident happened and Taylor has been at the hospital with the young girl since. They can't identify Isabella until she wakes up which means she would be alone until then, and Taylor felt that if anything she owed the girl some company after what she went through tonight.

So now it's morning and Taylor hasn't moved from the chair beside the bed. She gave her statement to police and she used the bathroom once, but other than that she's been right here holding the teenager's hand. Doctors say that Isabella has a brain injury but they won't be sure of the extent until she's awake and other than that she got lucky with just a few scrapes.