The Pink Hotel

Could've Been

Nell was already dead.

This whole time she was dead. I wasn't crazy. This whole time Nell was real. She wasn't a figment of my imagination. She was just dead. She had died right in front of me. I once called her my friend. She was my friend. I had literally just watched my friend die right in front of me.

Things slowly began to piece together. The gunshot I heard as I ran. The bandaid on he cheek that she had gotten so defensive about. The way she dressed. This was all because she was dead. Josie couldn't see her because she was dead.

She was shot in her cheek. The bullet must've gone far enough to hit her brain because the moment the sound of the gun firing filled the room. She was gone.

Now it was the girl's turn.

I was positive she knew what had happened to her friend. I was positive she knew what would happen to her next. There was no running away from this. There was no other option. That was it. I couldn't change anything. The images that were displayed in front of me were just pictures of the past. Out of everyone I knew the past couldn't be changed.

The man shook his head and sighed before he took off after the girl. He moved quickly. I knew there was no way she could outrun him. He knew what he wanted and he would do anything to get it.

Everything was horrible.

All of it. Everything that had just taken place was horrendous. Who would want to do that? Why would you want to do that? Could that have happened to me?

I knew the truth about Nell but I knew nothing about everything else. I needed to figure it out but watching the events happen we're barely helpful. I needed to figure out who that man was but his disoriented face got in the way of that.

I wanted it to be over. There was nothing I could do I wasn't getting any information. Watching this was useless all it did was emotionally scar me and put dark images in my head. Trust me I had already seen enough of those.

There had to be something right?

Why would they make me watch this if there wasn't something? Some information. Some clue. Some sign. Anything. I just didn't want to feel useless and I also didn't want to die.

I needed to go. I needed to watch everything. Everything. Maybe there would be something. Something in the cluster of horrifying images. That was all I had left. All I could do was watch so I might as well have watched everything.

My legs began moving down the hallway hoping that things wouldn't have been as bad as I thought they would be. My heart was racing and the only thought that filled my mind was the thought of turning around and going into that group of loud and oblivious people.

I wish I could've been like them.

The moment I walked into the hotel I was separated from them. From my parents. From Josie. From all of the people who had no idea what I was going through. What I was seeing. The nightmares. Running from my life. They didn't have to go through that but I did. For some reason I did. For some reason the exact moment I came in things was different. I had no idea why. I needed to figure that out. It seemed pretty impossible to do that but I couldn't give up. There was no time for that.

Everything stopped the moment my eyes fell on the exact image I had been dreading seeing.

The man held the young girl up against the wall and tried to get what he wanted from her. Of course, she wasn't giving up that easily. She yelled and screamed waiting for someone to come and help her but oddly enough that didn't happen.

This all made no sense. All of those screams and not a single person helping. Impossible. This was real life and in real life and a dead body on the floor and loud screaming wouldn't go unnoticed.

Without a second thought, I turned back and began running back. I need to know what was stopping people from coming. There had to be something.

My stomach felt as I saw a stain of blood on the carpet where Nell used to be. It was impossible. I had watched everything. Nobody had moved her. She should've still been there.

This only pushed me more.

I knew this had to be a two-person job.

I turned the corner quickly once again almost get knocked off of my feet. My eyes finally fell on the reason no one was helping.

A young woman stood in front of a large crowd of confused people trying to get a glimpse of what was happening in the halls.

She was thin and tall. Her hair was curled perfectly and she wore a tight dress that screamed expansive. That wasn't what made me believe she had something to do with it. It was her stained hands.

Her stained red hands that she kept behind her.

She knew exactly what she was doing. I hadn't known what she was saying but I knew it was working as the people slowly began to turn around and go back to the activities. 

I knew no one was going to help.

I quickly ran back down the hall in hopes something more would come out. Knowing about the woman wasn't enough. I needed more.

All I got was an image of the man throwing the screaming girl to the ground and then dragging her by her hair to the nearest closet.

It was probably the closet Dean had pulled me into.

Loud, horrid and painful screams came from the closed door as the knob moved back and forth. The screams suddenly cut off.

Instantly I knew I had been brought there to solve their murders.