Not Just Another String On His Guitar

Chapter 9- The Pursuit Of Happiness

                The hospital? Asleep for forty-eight hours? What happened to me? Then it all came back at once, like being hit with an icy water-balloon. I sat down on the top step, resting my head in my hands.

                I could almost see the way the car’s headlights flickered behind me as it crashed into Allie’s car. The way I slowed down for a red-light, but the other car didn’t and it slammed into us. The way I blacked-out just as I saw Allie’s eyelids flutter closed and flames began to lick the back of the car. Oh my god, Allie! Was she okay?

                The sleepiness disappearing, I regained some strength and descended the stairs into the kitchen. My mom was still pacing back and forth, her perfectly straightened brown bob of hair bouncing with each step. Her dark eyebrows were furrowed with worry and her hands were tightly folded behind her back. My dad sat at the table with his hands covering his face, trying to hide away from the bad things in the world. I impatiently tugged at the bottom of my purple T-shirt, wondering how to start a conversation with them.

                “Mom…Dad,” I began, watching as they jumped with surprise. My mom spun on her heel to face me, her eyes instantly lighting up as she wrapped me in a hug. My dad heaved a sigh of relief as a grin spread across his face.

                “Lilah, I’m so glad you’re finally awake. How do you feel? After that crash…the hospital…we were so worried,” my mom stuttered, beginning to pace again. I somehow felt like she was putting on a show, pretending to be nervous because she had to, because she was my mom.

                “It’s okay guys, I’m fine now. But what about Allie? Is she okay?” I asked immediately, not really wanting to know the answer.

                My dad ran a hand through his short, gelled blond hair, making it stand on end. His green eyes were dull and shallow, “She’s alive. She’s at home with a headache, and her car is completely destroyed. We’re probably going to have to buy her a new one. About the crash…The other driver was drunk….”

                “I don’t want to know, just please don’t tell me,” I said and grabbed a container of leftover dinner, eating it hungrily as I sat down beside my dad. After swallowing a bite, I remembered my dream and curiosity spread over me.

                “Mom, Dad,” I said, “was there somebody singing in my room? I had the weirdest dream and I could’ve sworn somebody was actually singing to me. There was also a chair beside my bed that wasn’t there before.”

                My parents exchanged a glance and they both grinned. “Yes, there was a boy that was here for a little while,” my mom said, taking a seat beside my dad, “he stopped by saying he was a friend of yours. Such a sweet boy. Landon, I think his name was. He wanted to make sure you were alright.”

                For some reason, my heart sunk a little. “Was he singing to me?”

                “No,” my dad answered, standing to go to his room, “but another boy stopped by, too. He was a cocky, quick-tempered fellow; I didn’t really catch his name. He brought a guitar with him, but I didn’t hear him singing. Your mom and I were down here the whole time. He was here about an hour before you woke up.”

                I shrugged carelessly, but my heart twirled in my chest, sending butterflies into my stomach. Why? I didn’t know. Maybe it was because Tony actually cared about me enough to come see if I was alright.   

                Feeling an uncomfortable tension settle in the room between my two business-like parents, I wanted to run. I grabbed my keys from a pile by the door and slid into my navy-blue Converse. “I’m going to see Allie,” I announced, opening the front door.