ikik i didn't update last week IM SORRY
Chapter Twenty-Three: It Wasn't An Accident
Malum drops me off at the front entrance and tells me he's going to park the car and meet me inside. I'm too worried about Aislinn to interfere and ask him to wait where he is, so instead, I jump out of the car as quickly as I can and practically attack the door as I burst inside.
I stop at the front desk and am about to open my mouth when the lady sitting behind the counter points her finger at me in an indication to wait.
I drum my finger against the desk impatiently, watching her intently as she nods her head and responds to the person she's talking to on the other end of the phone.
"I'm here Aislinn Futurm, she was just admitted a couple of minutes ago-"
She cuts me off with a glare and I huff impatiently.
I try again a minute later, "could you just tell me what floor she's-" this time, she completely ignores me so I don't bother finishing my sentence.
I lose my shit two minutes later.
"Look lady," I growl, "I'm pretty sure you're here to help visitors, not tick them off. Now I don't know if my friend is dead or alive or what even happened to her al all, so if you could kindly point me in the direction she's staying it'd be great."
She glances up at me and raises her eyebrow, "if you can't already tell, I'm kind of busy," she says in a snotty voice, gesturing to the phone in her hand.
I stare at her incredulously, "How long does it take to search up the name on your stupid computer and tell me which floor she's staying on?"
"You need to wait your turn," she glares at me. "There are other people that are in need of medical and visitation help."
I glare at her, and wait another two minutes before sarcastically thanking her for her help and head to the east wing, my instinct telling me that that's the way to go.
I hear her calling me from behind me. "Excuse me, you need to sign in."
Oh, now she answers me.
I ignore her and continue walking.
She calls out to me again, "It's our policy for all visitors to sign in."
I don't stop walking as I say, "sign in for me."
"But I don't know your name," she says in irritation, as if I'm the stupid one.
"Maybe you would if you helped me," I mutter as I press the elevator button.
I step in and stare blankly at the number of floors, unsure of what to do from here.
I look at it for a couple of seconds before pressing the number three, certain for some reason, that she's on that floor, and wait as the elevator lurches forward, wondering what's taking Malum so long to park the car.
When the doors open, I rush past the nurses at the desk, figuring they won't be much help and wander the halls, letting my instincts take over and guide me to where I need to go.
I keep turning corners, trying my best not to shudder every time I pass a room with someone in it. Something about hospitals really creeped me out, though I was never sure why, I hadn't spent much time in one when I was younger.
When my mother died, she wasn't sent to the hospital because she was pronounced dead at the scene. So I didn't have to spend days in the waiting rooms, hoping and praying that things were okay, only to learn that she was dead after a bunch of frantic nurses exploded from her hospital room.
I didn't have to watch my mom die and I was never sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
All I really remember about my mom's death was my grandparents getting a knock on the front door with a police officer standing on the other side of it, saying that their daughter got into a terrible accident and didn't make it out alive.
I'm torn from my train of thought when a hand grasps my arm. I look over to see a nurse smiling kindly at me.
"You looked a little lost," she says, "I've been watching you walk up and down this floor for five minutes. Is there anyone I can help you find?"
"Yeah," I say, shaking my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts. "I'm looking for my friend, Aislinn Futurm. She was admitted maybe a half hour ago."
"She's in room 328, stable but not conscious."
"Thank you," I breathe, "the lady on the main floor wasn't much of a help."
"I know," she says and then her voice drops to a whisper, "she can be a real bitch sometimes."
My eyes widen but she simply chuckles in response, winking at me before continuing to speak, "don't tell anyone I said that though."
After I promise pointlessly to not say anything, I thank her politely again and start to walk towards the direction she pointed me in.
My head starts to spin and my mind transfers to a memory, or maybe a vision, I'm not sure.
I'm in an empty field. There's blood everywhere, on the ground, staining the grass. I can an echo of someone screaming. Though there are no people around, I can feel the cluster of worried bodies standing everywhere. Echo's of a battle and loss fill the air in a suffocating way.
There's someone lying restlessly on the ground, her face blurred but her blonde hair bright and sure; familiar with the way it shines through the darkness of the field-
I'm pulled from the memory as quickly as it comes and I blink a couple of times before taking a deep breath and walking into Aislinn's hospital room.
The room is completely empty except for Aislinn, who is unconscious and lying on the wrinkled sheets, and Derek, who is sitting in the chair beside her bed, his leg twitching rapidly and his mind so lost in thought he doesn't even see me enter.
The room is filled with an eerie silence, the only noise being the constant beep of Aislinn's heart monitor.
"Derek," I say, pushing him lightly on the arm. "Hey."
He snaps out of his trance, standing up in defensively before relaxing his body after realizing it's only me.
He skips straight past the hellos, "Why weren't you answering your phone? I called a million times, I was so worried something happened to you."
I raise my eyebrow at him, "Hey Skylar, how was dinner with your father? What did you guys talk about? Did you have a good time? Were you okay when you figured out what happened to Aislinn?"
He stares at me blankly.
"I'm pretty sure it's called a conversation, you know, the kind of questions you ask a person in this situation," I say sarcastically.
"Well I would, but you already asked them for me so there's really no point in repeating them, now is there?" He asks, his tone matching mine.
We both fall into silence.
"I'm sorry," we say simultaneously, and then laugh halfheartedly.
He kisses me lightly on my lips, hugging me close to him, before guiding me to sit in the chair beside his.
"If you didn't answer my messages, then how did you know about Aislinn?" he asks, curiously.
"Would you believe me if I said I saw it?" I say slowly.
"That depends on what you mean by you saw it. The accident happened maybe two minutes away from Adela's library, and there's no restaurants around there, so you couldn't have been there."
"No," I say, shooting him a look. "I wasn't there when it happened,."
Derek stares at me, "then how did you see it?"
"That's exactly my point," I say loudly. "I wasn't there and I still saw it happen. I was talking to Malum and then all of the sudden it was like I was right there, watching the whole thing happen. I saw the car hit hers, I saw it spin off the road and then the vision just ended. I told Malum to bring me to the hospital before you even told me what happened."
"Your father saw the whole thing?" he says suspiciously.
I give him a blank stare, "obviously Derek, he was with me."
"He must've had questions," he mumbles.
"He did; a lot. But I didn't answer any of them." I say quickly.
He raises his eyebrow, "so where is he now?"
"Parking the car," I say absently, and then stop abruptly, looking down at my feet sheepishly.
"For twenty minutes?" he asks accusingly.
"I don't know where he is," I snap, "he probably got lost trying to find the room, or maybe he couldn't find a place to park the car or something."
He doesn't look convinced, "I just think it looks a little bit suspicious that-"
I cut him off before he can get the rest of his words out, "stop. Just stop! I didn't come here for an interrogation, Der, I know you don't trust him. But I do. I'm not arguing with you about this anymore."
Derek nods after a moment, "I know. I'm sorry. I just got so worried when you weren't answering."
An awkward silence passes between us as Derek tries his best to prevent it, "So... how was it?"
I smile, "it was fun; we had a good time, before, you know, everything that happened with..." I trail, gesturing to Aislinn, not having the courage to look at her because seeing her lying there so lifelessly made me feel as if it were my fault.
"What did you guys talk about?" he asks, noticing my hesitation.
"Nothing much," I shrug, "mostly just stuff about my mom. He took me to a restaurant that we used to go to when I was kid. It felt good to be back there, you know?"
He nods, although something tells me he doesn't know, not really. But I continue anyways, "and then we talked a little bit about my..."
"About what?" he presses me.
"My future," I blurt.
He shoots me a look of confusion, "your future?"
I snort, "Yea that was my reaction too."
"Well what did you tell him?" he asks, not sounding so general anymore.
"Exactly what he needed to hear," I say casually, like it's nothing even though it means everything to me, "that I wanted to go to school and get into writing and move away."
Derek pauses, "did you mean it?"
I don't answer right away. "Did I mean what?"
"All the things that you told him," he says impatiently, his eyes glued to my face.
"Of course I did Derek. I wanna live somewhere other than Belmount and start my career but I can't, I know I can't. I think it's time I accept that and push all those thoughts away, it's not right, it's not fair for me to allow myself to think like that."
Derek shakes his head firmly, "Of course it's right, Skylar, it's your future. We can live wherever, we can do whatever you want, you know that I wouldn't stop you from living your dreams. I want you to go, I'd come with you if you wanted me to."
I shake my head, "I don't want to talk about it, we can't live that kind of life; that's what I know. Aislinn in the hospital proves that; I got carried away and this is my karma."
He starts to protest when I stop him, "I'm done talking about it. We have more important things to worry about right now."
He doesn't answer but he didn't have to for me to know that he thought I was wrong.
"What happened to her Derek?"
He shrugs, "I don't know. She dropped me off at Adela's library and she was upset when she took off."
I interrupt him, "why was she upset."
He stares at my blankly, his eyes shifting in colour, but remains silent.
"What did you do Derek?" I ask, sighing loudly.
He looks away from me sheepishly, "I might've made a comment about Aidenn's disappearance."
"What kind of comment?" I ask slowly.
"Something along the lines of him disappearing doesn't make him a saint and that he's not here because he's hiding something from her and from all of us as well."
I sigh, gaping as I look at him with wide eyes, "oh, Derek you didn't."
He nods solemnly, "I'm sorry, okay? I knew it was wrong as soon as it came out. It just slipped, and to be honest, I don't really regret saying it. I think it's obvious to everyone that I don't like the guy, I had to get it off my chest."
I shake my head at him, "you want to get it off your chest, talk to me, don't go saying it to his sister."
He frowns but remains silent.
"What was the reaction?" I ask, half not wanting to know.
He winces, "she accused me of thinking I knew it all, went on to tell me about her dying uncle and ended with her slamming the door shut as she drove away."
I shoot him a look but remain silent, allowing him to continue what he was saying before.
He sighs before complying, "I thought she was going to be fine, she seemed upset, yes, but I didn't think she was going to go on emotion overdrive. I was about to go inside when I heard the crash. I ran down the pathway but by the time I got there, her car was completely flipped over," he says with a shudder, his voice becoming shaky. "And the person that hit her was gone."
"What do you mean gone?" I say ask.
Derek shrugs, "I mean the driver's side door to the car was opened, the keys still in the ignition, the person driving was the only thing missing. I don't know who it was or why they would run."
"Maybe they were shocked and their first instinct told them to run?" I point out, but my suggestion falls on deaf ears.
"It just doesn't make sense," he says quietly, lost in thought.
"I don't think it was an accident," he continues after a long pause.
"You think someone did this to her intentionally?" I ask in surprise. "Who would want to hurt her?"
"Don't you think it's a bit odd she was caught in the same type of accident that all our parents died in? I don't think whoever hit her intended only to hurt her," he says absently, and looks up at me, bright green eyes now dark. "They ran her right off that road, Skylar, almost as if..." he trails, taking a breath before continuing, "almost as if they wanted to kill her."
The room falls completely silent, the constant beeping of Aislinn's heart monitor at a slow but steady pace being the only sound in the small space.
"That's crazy!" I exclaim, "Who would want to do something like that?"
He looks at me pointedly but doesn't say anything.
"You think my father did this to her?" I ask, my voice filled with shock.
"That's crazy, Derek, you're crazy."
"Maybe I'm not," he says instantly, his eyes challenging mine.
"My father was with me the whole night! He may be suspicious but he's not a murderer, he would never do that. I mean seriously. Are you even listening to yourself right now?"
"How would you know that?" he half-screams, "you don't even know him!"
I look at him incredulously, "my father did not try to kill Aislinn; no one did. It was an accident and nothing more."
"Just like your mom's death was an accident?" he ask quietly, hesitating before looking me in the eyes, "and my parents and the twins' parents? When are you going to open your eyes, Skylar? The facts are right in front of us; someone tried to kill Aislinn tonight, it may be the exact same person that killed all of our parents, and if we don't start doing something about it, we're going to be next."
Thankfully, a doctor chose the perfect moment to walk in; silencing me even though I wasn't sure I knew how I was going to respond.
The doctor raises his eyebrow at us, "are you family?"
Derek looks at me and then back at the doctor. I cut in before he can say anything and shake my head.
"The information on Miss Futurm's condition is for family only, I'm sorry but you're not allowed to be in here," he says coldly.
What is with the attitude in this hospital today?
I squint at him, unsure what to say.
"Look around you dude," Derek growls, "do you see anyone else here?"
I shoot him a look and the doctor does too, "I'm sorry, but to insure Miss Futurm's safety, I need only people that are related to her in this room."
I fight the urge to roll my eyes, "she doesn't have any family around, we're all she has."
"Where are her parents?" he asks, annoyed at us for wasting his time.
"They're dead," Derek says bluntly, skipping subtleties, before I can get any words out, and looks right at me pointedly.
I glare at him.
"She doesn't have any other family?" he asks, trying to hide his surprise from Derek's words.
"Not really," I say, trying to be nice, and then pause.
"What about Aidenn?" I ask, whipping around to face Derek.
"Aidenn's gone; you're not likely to get a hold of him anytime soon."
"Well we should still try," I argue.
The doctor clears his throat, "Aidenn?"
"Her brother," Derek and I say at the same time, my tone sounding hopeful and his sounding annoyed.
"Well can we try getting a hold of her brother?" the doctor asks.
Derek shrugs, "we can try, but I can't promise that he'll come."
The doctor falls silent, trying to find a solution to our problem, "try and reach out to him and we'll keep Miss Futurm as comfortable as we can. When she wakes up, we'll discuss her condition."
"When is she going to wake up?" I ask in curiosity.
He shrugs, "it's hard to say. That car hit her pretty hard. She could be unconscious for hours; days, even."
Derek nods and ushers him out the door, "we'll notify you if something happens." His smile is fake, "thank you so much for your help."
The doctor nods, either not aware of Derek's sarcasm or choosing to ignore it, and is about to leave the room when he stops in his tracks and turns around.
"You're Skylar Midnight, aren't you?" he asks, his eyes scrutinizing, "the girl who's mom died when she was four."
I stare at the doctor blankly and don't respond. But I don't have to, because Derek's angry glare is enough to answer the question.
"Get out," Derek growls, "you had no right to ask that question."
The venom in Derek's tone is enough to send the doctor practically running out of the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.
"The lack of help and respect in this hospital is unbelievable," he mutters angrily, as soon the doctor walks out.
I snort, "This is Belmount, there's not much you can expect from these people. They don't care who they hurt or how they hurt them,."
Derek shoots me a look when I look at him pointedly and then shakes his head. "Aislinn better wake up soon."
"We have to get a hold of Aidenn," I mumble, "this doctor isn't going to tell us anything unless he's here."
"Good luck with that," he says with a snort, his voice filled with sarcasm.
I roll my eyes, "you know, you could at least pretend like you give a shit, for my sake," I say and start to walk out of the room when Derek stops me.
"Where are you going Skylar?" he asks, his voice tired.
I don't turn around, "to call Aidenn, and since you're so obviously content on pointing the finger at my father, there's no point in me staying here to listen to it."
"Skye, I-"
I cut him off, looking back at him this time, "save it. What's done is done, I already know what you're going to say and quite frankly, I don't want to hear it anymore."
***
DAAYYYUMMM
SLAY GIRLLLL
derek can be so mean sometimes smh
im feeling a time jump? what do we think...?
song: Soilder by Gavin Degraw