This dedication goes to my girl, Zain, for being an awesome and beautiful person and for making that gorgeous banner on the side for me. I love you, girl ♥ ------>
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Chapter Eighteen ⌔ Too Much
"Do you get irritated by all these wires?"
The gentle, deep voice caused shivers to run pleasantly down my spine, effectively making me shiver a little. My eyelids fluttered open and I found myself looking into a pair of my favorite blue eyes.
Blue eyes that were warm, gentle and loving. It was hard not to fall into their depths and forget the world and its harsh realities.
I blinked and then managed a small smile, lifting my shoulder up in a slight shrug -well the best a shrug I could do while lying on my side. I dropped my eyes to his lips and then to the drip attached to his left arm. I pursed my lips and shook my head, letting my free hand that wasn't entangled with David's to gently touch the skin around the needle.
He was slightly pale; his skin was a little drier and his movements a bit more clumsy. It was strange how I noticed only the little changes in David, but I supposed it was because I was used to the little positive things about him. Unknowingly, it was the little things and small habits that I had somehow gotten attached to. It was the way David looked at me, either in a laughing or angry manner. He always had a look in his eyes when he addressed me -always telling me with his eyes that he loved me.
I let out a soft sigh and met David's eyes again. My eyes roamed his tired faced, the bags under his eyes, his sunken cheeks... his weary expression. After bringing me to the hospital with him, David had practically manipulated me into staying a few nights with him. Lisa had been easily dismissed from staying with him -she didn't seem to mind at all. Rather, she encouraged me to stay with him, despite my father's protests about having young people alone in a room together.
I could hardly blame Peter for worrying about us; hardly two nights and I had already taken to cuddling with him in bed when he wasn't attached to too many drips.
"I'm going in for chemo tomorrow," David murmured, squeezing my hand gently. I looked into his blue eyes and somehow managed to put up a brave front. I smiled, trying to show him that he could make it through this. David didn't smile back, simply staring at me with a gentle look in his eyes.
"I don't want you to see me after I go through it," he whispered, releasing my hand to push back a strand of hair away from my face. I felt a frown immediately take over my features and I brought my hands up only to have David talk over me, purposely shifting his eyes away from my hands. "Go to school and stuff, see how people are doing. Be normal with them."
I pursed my lips and stared at him meaningfully; didn't he know I was already recovering? Slowly, yes. But surely and most definitely.
*
"Mom? Mommy? Oh, God. Mom, please?" Karen's broken sobs cut through the thick daze that I had fallen into; alerting me to the fact that something might be wrong with my mom.
"K-Karen? What's wrong with mom?" I croaked out, the screaming having strained my throat. I clumsily tried to unbuckle my seatbelt to see my mother. "Mom?"
"Oh, God! Sierra, don't do anything! Stay where you are. I'm going to -" Her sentence was cut off as something smashed into the car, hitting roughly against the door on my left. The car spun wildly, shrill screams ripping their way out of our throats.
It wasn't done yet?
The car spun and hit something, suddenly turning everything upside down before it righted itself again. I couldn't see anything -it was far too dark. All I could smell was gasoline. All I could hear was screaming, crying and the sounds of screeching tires and groaning metal.
I reached out blindly, feeling something burn across my hip. "Karen?" I coughed. "Karen..."
There was a cough and then a pained moan.
"It hurts," Karen whimpered. Our breathings were heavy but I couldn't do anything, everything was so dizzying. There was a frighteningly loud screech behind us and a crash that didn't sound good. I couldn't breathe -the air was suddenly so thick.
"K-Karen. What... are...?" I coughed, my hands weakly coming up to cup my mouth. As I pulled away, I noticed some dark liquid over my hand. What...?
Was that blood?
I blinked fiercely to clear my eyesight and then noticed the same dark liquid spattered against the windshield, all over the seats and over the limp hand of a familiar pale skin. My mom's hand lay limp against her side, blood slowly dribbling down her exposed arm and fingers.
My eyes widened and pain sliced through me.
"Mom? Mom! Oh, God! Mommy!" I cried out, hysterically as I struggled to get my limbs to move. I felt stiff and something was hurting my hip. I let out a sob and turned my head towards where Karen was supposed to be sitting.
"Karen? Karen." She was there; I could see the edge of her jacket. She just wasn't responding to me. "Karen!"
I let out a cry as I tried to move but couldn't because of a powerful surge of pain from my left hip. I glanced down and saw something sharp and jagged sticking out of my hip. A large window splinter from the broken window had somehow wedged its way into my skin.
I clenched my jaw as my bloodied fingers gripped the edge of the glass and tried to pull it out. My hands were uncoordinated and I was shaking too much; my fingers just accidentally pushed the glass further into my hip. I screamed out in pain as stars exploded before my eyes.
My scream seemed to have revived Karen a little as she suddenly moved. "Sierra?"
"Help... me..." I whimpered. Karen struggled to turn around and when she did, I screamed in horror. On her cheek was a deep gash that had blood pouring out of it. "Karen, your face -"
I shouldn't have been so careless. I should have known that everything that transpired in the car took only a few seconds to happen. I should have heard the oncoming screaming metal as it skid towards us.
I no longer had energy to scream as it knocked into the left side of the car.
The last thing I heard before I fell unconscious was Karen's crazed scream.
"Sierra!"
*
"How's David doing?"
I lifted my eyes up from the History book opened in front of me and looked into a familiar pair of blue-grey eyes. I felt a warm smile draw onto my face as Katrina Hollands grinned down at me, holding out a sweet for me to take. I accepted her gift and glanced at Pepper as she squealed from beside me at getting offered a sweet as well.
"I'm getting a sweet from a popular person! God, I feel so honoured right now."
Katrina rolled her eyes as she sat across from us on the grass, crossing her legs. "Pepper, stop. Sarcasm is not appreciated."
Pepper just laughed as she happily unwrapped her sweet. "Don't lie. I know you love being the center of attention."
"Excuse me?" Katrina laughed. "Have you tried walking where people just come up to you and treat you like a princess? I don't think so, Salt."
"Funny," Pepper snorted, rolling her eyes. "Not one I didn't hear before. But hey, you're making a comment about my name. Girl, you did not just go there."
"Ah, I'm bad with comebacks," Katrina sighed -almost mournfully -and then smiled, her straight white teeth making an appearance. "I want to be normal, like you guys. Sometimes I wish Ms. Jean didn't sneak those reporters in."
"Liar! I know you love the attention."
"I don't!"
"You do! It's in your eyes!"
"What's wrong with my eyes?"
"They have a glow in them!"
"Because I'm sitting where the sun is on my face." Katrina threw Pepper a flat look. Pepper just laughed.
"I don't care. I just know you're happy about being miss popular!"
I gave a half smile as Katrina and Pepper got into a playful argument about Katrina's social status. I leaned back a little as I crossed my legs, letting my eyes roam the school grounds. Although lunchtime was no longer a lonely time for me ever since David and I befriended the 'popular' group, it still felt a little awkward for me since I wasn't really close to them as I was with my old friends. I didn't mind, though, because Katrina's friends were always so joyful and happy that it didn't really give me time to feel too awkward about it.
I only really felt awkward when James and Daniel would try and make conversation with me. The awkwardness only increased when Katrina's boyfriend, Chris Hunter, and Katrina's brother, Jesse Hollands, would turn their attention onto me. I supposed it was because they were all so intimidating.
Pepper and Mark had taken to sitting with me at lunch so I never really felt awkward and shy when being with Katrina's friends. Pepper had a way with people and Mark was just like me, a little awkward but still friendly enough to be considered normal.
"So?" Katrina turned to me, her hands catching onto her ankles as she looked expectantly at me. "How's your boy doing?"
I blushed a little at her teasing title she'd given David and shrugged nonchalantly. Katrina chewed down a little on her bottom lip, her pretty eyes turning sad.
"He's strong, Si. He'll be alright," she said, cracking a smile for me. I wrapped my arms around myself and nodded.
He had to be okay. He simply had to.
**
"She glided into the room, like she was floating above the ground and -Katrina!" Ms. Jean's horrified gasp caused everyone to freeze in their movements. "Your dress is falling apart at the seams! Why is her dress unraveling? Where is my dress team?"
There was a sigh and then Nana hopped on stage, holding a long horizontal box in her arms. She quickly made her way towards Katrina who had her hand in midair and halfway towards Brandon's face. As Katrina turned to face Nana, she sighed and dropped her hand.
"Really?"
"I want the play to be perfect. The school is getting great publicity; students left and right are being checked out for talent -and you!" Ms. Jean clapped her hands in delight, accidentally dropping her script book in process. "You, my dear child, are going to be famous! Do you realize how many offers you've received? And you're just in your second year of high school!"
Katrina coughed, bringing up her hands to cover her face. "Ms. Jean, shall we just continue with the scene?" Her voice came out muffled.
"No, no! Nana has to make sure your dress doesn't unravel. Next week has to be perfect!" Ms. Jean beamed up at Katrina and then bent down to pick up her dropped papers. "Okay, class, positions! Ms. Bloom, please analyze the scene and decide which will be the best for a great shot. Nana, dear, are you done? Kelly, Juan, touch up on their makeup and hair; we want to make this play as beautiful as possible!"
"Correction, you want this play to be as perfect as possible," muttered one of the girls as they walked past me to get on stage.
I sighed and lifted up my camera, moving around to find the 'best shot' position, as Ms. Jean would put it.
Nana and the girls hopped off stage once they finished with their touch ups, the actors went back to their positions and the scene was resumed.
Gentle instrumental music played as Katrina slowly walked across the stage, her hands clasped together and a thoughtful expression on her face. The beautiful and elegant gold dress she wore glided behind her like soothing, calm waves.
She opened her mouth and pushed her hair back in a slightly dramatic way. "He's gone, Kevin."
My eyes automatically snapped to the side as the male lead stepped out from behind the heavy drapes of curtain. "Are you sure? We can't have him snooping around and accusing us of inappropriate -"
"Inappropriate?" Katrina let out a gasp as her hand flew to her mouth, her eyes widening in shock. "Inappropriate! Kevin, our love has never been more perfect or more pure! We have done nothing inappropriate -as you would like to call it!" She clenched her hands into fists and turned away. My eyes widened, and I lifted the camera to my face.
I snapped a picture of Katrina's turned back and the lead actor's expression. I moved my position to get to Katrina's angle.
'Kevin', the character Brandon was playing, let out an audible sigh and strode across the stage to get to his 'lover'. He reached out and caught her wrist, gently turning Katrina around to face him. "Dearest Joni, you know we cannot act more than friends in front of people who want nothing more than to have us separated forever."
"Is it them or are you just ashamed of me? Simply because I am not rich or beautiful enough?" Katrina turned her eyes onto her fellow co-actor, her lips pursing. Everyone watched, breathlessly, as Katrina's eyes watered and she lifted a hand to touch Kevin's face. "Am I not good enough to be seen with you?"
'Kevin' stared at her with an expression of such disbelief, I was almost sure it was real.
Perfect. I snapped a picture of the couple, the way he looked at her and the way she looked like she was about to burst into tears. After I shot several pictures, I looked at the actors, admiring how well they acted. Katrina's acting was incredible-it felt so real.
"Oh, Joni!" Brandon murmured, lifting up both his hands to cup her face. "Don't you know that I love you no matter what? Nothing can separate us forever -even in death, we'll be together!"
Snap!
Katrina let out a gentle smile as a single tear slid down her face. I could hear people letting out soft 'awe's around the room. I chuckled -Katrina and Brandon really were amazing.
Brandon stroked her cheek before continuing, "Love is eternal, especially if it's true love. This deep affection I have for you, the reason I can't feel whole without you... isn't that love?"
I lowered my camera and blinked rapidly. What?
"And... cut!" Ms. Jean's voice rang out clearly in the silent theatre. Brandon pressed his hands harder against Katrina's cheeks, squashing her face. Both actors started making silly faces at each other, making everyone laugh and come back to life.
People started moving about, murmuring about the super romantic scene Katrina was acting in. Katrina's laughter was heard on stage as I looked down at my camera and went through the photographs. I pursed my lips as I studied the shots I took of Katrina's teary eyes and Brandon's shocked face. It would make a beautiful cover photo.
"So, Mr. Wilkes, what did you think of the little scene my actors just played out for you?"
"I think it was brilliant." The new, unfamiliar, deep voice that ran out from the back of the theatre caused the room to fall silent. I lifted my eyes from my camera and looked towards where a man in jeans and a normal button up shirt was walking towards us. My eyes then fell to the camera he wore around his neck and the notepad he held in his hand.
A reporter.
My eyes flickered to Katrina and she let out a groan. "Ms. Jean, you didn't."
Ms. Jean just beamed at her as the reporter reached her side. "Of course I did, dear! Now, Brandon and Katrina, Mr. Wilkes would like to have a word with you."
Both actors exchanged looks before slowly making their way offstage. As Katrina passed me, she threw me a disdainful look.
"Escape while you still can," she whispered, cringing a little. I smiled and nodded my head, not really making any move to leave just yet.
Nana ran up to me and pointed to my camera. "Did you get any good shots?"
I nodded, smiling a little. Nana clapped her hands in delight before grabbing my arm and dragging me across the theatre. "Oh, good! We can check them out now and see which picture will make it to the newspaper."
I laughed silently, shaking my head at her enthusiasm. Sometimes, people were a bit too excited.
**
When I got home, I was not surprised to see the house empty. Peter had work and David's parents were with him in the hospital. Although I was not surprised, I still felt a little empty and uncomfortable being alone in the house. I was so used to people moving about, making noise or laughing. Even when I was all shut up in my room, there were always sounds of people talking and moving.
There was life.
I stood still in the empty hallway, eyes scanning the slightly dark area -Peter had neglected to open the curtains. Gently placing my bag against the wall and out of the way, I made my way into the living room, going straight for the creamy curtains on the other side of the room. I pulled the curtains apart and stared at the big windows as sunlight streamed in, quickly filling up the living room with light. I turned around and went into the kitchen, opening the curtains and letting sunlight fill the area.
I pursed my lips and went about the house, opening all the curtains in order to have light and fresh air. I stepped into David's room and looked around, knowing full well that it would already be clean. As always, Lisa had somehow managed to clean up the room as well as she could.
Everything I'd flung about at David the day I learned about his sickness was all packed up and arranged neatly away. I chewed a little on my bottom lip; I was terrible for letting Lisa clean up after me.
I sighed as I looked around the room in a forlorn manner. It was almost strange how soon, I'd be leaving this place. I simply couldn't stay in here anymore -I needed to leave. The moment I turned eighteen, I was going to leave.
Managing a wry smile, I turned to leave the room when a glitter of something caught my eye. I blinked and slowly turned towards it.
What?
It was hanging by David's window, something I'd missed when I first scanned the room. Blinking rapidly, I walked towards David's window and reached up to pluck the object that was hung on of the curtain hooks. I looked at it and realized that it was David's dream catcher. The same dream catcher that I'd seen when David started his first day at my school.
The same dream catcher David had given me for our first date. I thought I hung it up in my room. What was it doing here?
I held the little brown dream catcher in my hands, studying the woven, circular edge and the gentle netting and spiraling designs in the middle.
My fingers gently brushed against the soft feathers that were hung at the bottom.
It caught bad dreams, David had said. And it takes away negative thoughts.
My eyes widened as I recalled what he'd said about the little object. What if I helped him take away his bad dreams and negative thoughts? I could just give him his dream catcher.
I grinned and bolted out of the room, not bothering to enter my own room as I dashed out of the house, grabbing my backpack on the way out.
As I ran outside, I wondered exactly how I was going to get to the hospital. My eyes landed on the empty driveway and I frowned. How on earth was I going to get to David's hospital?
I started to make my way to the bus station when I remembered an old bicycle somewhere in the garage. Grinning maniacally, I ran back into the house and punched the button for the garage door to open. Before I was able to step into the garage, however, there was a shrill ringing sound in the air. My head whipped around to look into the house and I frowned. That was the telephone.
I hurried into the house and picked up the telephone, unsure how to answer.
"Tap once if it's no and tap twice if its yes, okay?" David's deep voice came from the other side of the line, making me feel excited. I gripped the phone with both my hands, cradling it gently.
David! I tapped twice on the receiver side of the phone.
"I... ah, I miss you."
I blinked in surprise. What? It has only been a day -chemo! David had gone for his chemo.
I pursed my lips, feeling my heart beat painfully. David. I wanted so badly to tell him something, anything. I couldn't... I hadn't a voice box to tell him that everything will be fine and that I would always be here for him.
"Don't come here for a week, okay? I'm... not-I won't be able to see you."
I clenched my jaw and squeezed my eyes shut. Dammit, why did I leave him? The pain in his voice and his rapid breathing made my heart clench painfully. David.
I cradled the phone, breathing in deeply through my nose. Just a few more days, Sierra. Just a few more days then you can see him.
"I love you so much," David whispered over the line. I felt my heart ache at the quiet way he spoke. He sounded tired and in pain. I look down at the small dream catcher I held in my hands.
Just a few more days.
***
The week without David passed by in a blur. The drama that Katrina and Brandon starred in took away most of my attention. The school was preparing for the greatest play of their time. History and all my other classes didn't take much of my attention -well, not nearly as much as Photography and Drama did.
Photography was a busy time for me as well. Mark and his new girlfriend, no surprise that its Rita, spent most of their time with me, looking and checking out each other's photographs. I'd gotten high praises for my photographs by my photographer teacher who said that I had talent. Although I didn't really question her, I still felt a little uneasy with all the compliments. And the photography club was crazy busy taking photographs of the actors, staff and the stage prepared for scenes.
Ms. Jean insisted the entire photography class to take part in it because she wanted the best photos of her drama.
I hadn't seen much of Katrina and her friends as they were all very busy. Katrina was too busy practicing acting, Kimberly was busy with composing music notes and Mia was busy with getting jobs. Her dad had just recently walked out on her and her mother so now; both Mia and her mother were struggling.
Sadly, Mia now worked double shifts as well as having weekend work just so that she could help her mother keep a roof over their heads. Ben, of course, was trying to help as well. However, he himself was struggling to pay his own university tuition fees. He wasn't a scholarship student, so it wasn't easy for him. Well, that was according to Mia. I still hadn't seen or interacted with Ben since he told me to leave the shop.
James and Daniel, Katrina's two best friends, were busy trying to pass their various subjects so they'd been forced to take extra classes. It would be a reason I hadn't seen them much at all. Katrina's been laughing at them, stating how they had neglected their studies for their own stupid fun.
Chris and Jesse, on the other hand, had exams coming up so they stayed at home, studying.
As much as I hoped for all my old friends to revert back to normal and talk to me again, it never happened. All of them, except Pepper and Mark, walked past me and treated me like a stranger.
It hurt terribly in the beginning but now I found that I no longer cared about them. Pepper had somehow become my best friend and I would find myself getting along with her better than I had with Anne. She was my rock and one of my inspirations.
Pepper was also easier to communicate to -she had taken effort to learn sign language just so that she could communicate with me. The idea of her trying had warmed up my heart and I couldn't have felt more blessed to have an amazing friend as her.
"Sierra!"
I blinked in surprise, breaking out of my day dream as a loud voice called out my name. Shaking my head a little to break out of my reverie, I turned around to see Pepper running over to me with a black Canon in her hands and a beaming smile on her flushed face.
I narrowed my eyes at her a little and lifted an eyebrow up in question.
We were at school on a Saturday morning, preparing last minute things for the show on Monday. I was sitting in a half empty classroom, staring dreamily out of the window.
In the background, I could hear people chattering and complaining about having to wake up so early in the morning.
"Your camera," Pepper said breathlessly, holding out the camera towards me. My eyebrows furrowed together in confusion at this; when did Pepper take my camera? I glanced down at the camera as I took it from her, checking the recently shot photographs. I chuckled a little when I saw Pepper's shot of Mark and Rita kissing in an empty classroom.
I heard Pepper settle down beside me, trying to catch her breath. She sounded like she'd been running for her life. Maybe she did; after all, Rita was a girl no one wanted to mess with.
Ignoring her, I studied the photograph and blinked in surprise. The way she took the photograph was beautiful; she'd taken it at the perfect time and with the perfect shot.
The classroom was bright and sunlight was streaming in directly onto the desk where Mark's girlfriend was sitting on. Mark himself stood between her legs, his face pressed against hers.
What made the picture beautiful were the smiles on the couple's faces as they kissed. It was the way the sunlight added a soft glow to the picture and just brightened their happiness.
I lifted my eyes up and looked at Pepper who was looking towards the classroom door. Reaching over, I tapped her shoulder. Immediately, Pepper's eyes snapped to me and she dropped her eyes to my hands as I started signing slowly.
You have talent here. Why don't you pursue photography?
"P-p-what?" Pepper asked, staring at my hands. I smiled a little and lifted up my right hand, spelling out the word pursue for her. "P- u -r- s- u- e."
Pepper's eyes flashed with understanding before she blinked in surprise. Her mouth dropped open and she shook her head rapidly. "Oh, no! No, no, no!"
I frowned at her in confusion. I lifted up my hands and faced her. Why not?
"Goodness, Si. No way! I don't have the talent like you. Besides, I'm more into -"
"Where's Kitty?" Nana came bursting into the room, eyes wild and hair messy. She held a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. Her eyes flickered around the room and then she let out a frustrated groan. "God, that girl. Anyway, Sierra, I need your help with a few pictures. So let's go to the photography classroom and view them, okay?"
I nodded and glanced at Pepper who looked up at me and shrugged. She stood up as well and smiled widely. "I volunteer to find Katrina!"
Nana gave her a tired smile. "You go do that."
***
The drama was a success.
I felt a wide smile draw onto my face as I stood behind scenes, peering out into the audience. Everyone was screaming and clapping as Katrina and Brandon bowed down to them. The curtains slowly closed and Katrina and Brandon laughed, throwing their arms around each other.
"It's over, it's over!" Katrina squealed, pulling away from Brandon and running over to hug Natalie who was standing beside me. Natalie giggled as she hugged her best friend.
"I know! I'm so proud of you, Kitty," she said, pulling back to beam at her friend. Katrina let out a bubbly laugh, turning to me and pulling me in for a hug as well.
I smiled as I hugged her, feeling delighted at the success of the play and of the actors' performance. Brandon came towards us and Natalie gave him a hug, too. Brandon just smiled at me and gave me thumbs up.
I chuckled soundlessly and returned the favour.
There were a lot of noise, clapping, tears, laughter after everyone came towards Katrina and Brandon and the acting crew to congratulate them on their brilliant performance. Katrina and Brandon had been ushered away by Ms. Jean to go talk to several reporters who were standing in a group at the corner of the stage. Friends and family were calling out to each other, couples were sharing happy kisses and teachers were praising the students. Overall, it was a very happy atmosphere.
As I packed away my things in the photography classroom, I thought about how lucky I was to have such wonderful friends like Pepper, Mark, Katrina and her friends. Being with them, experiencing things with them... it always felt comfortable, if not just a little awkward for us newcomers. I never felt like I was sitting with the poplar group; Katrina and her friends hardly ever acted like they were too good for people. Katrina was simply friends with everyone. It was only Jesse's girlfriend and her cheerleading squad that acted a little bit haughty. Maybe even Chris and Jesse were a bit of show offs.
And James? He simply didn't give a damn about anything.
I smiled, gently placing my camera into my bag. I was indeed very lucky.
A gentle beep from my phone caught my attention as I zipped my backpack close. Reaching over to pick up my phone from where it lay on the table, I unlocked it and summoned up the text message I'd just received.
It was from Lisa.
Lisa
4:12 p.m.
David's looking well now. Chemo is alright. Wants to see u soon. Shall I pick u up?
I felt my heart soar with each word I read. David was feeling better! He wanted to see me. A delirious feeling bubbled up within me, making me feel giddy.
Eagerly, I responded that I would be at the house in ten minutes.
I grabbed my backpack and all but ran out of the classroom, adrenaline from my excitement making me move faster. Checking over my shoulder to see if Pepper or Mark were around, I made the mistake trying to run without watching where I was going.
It wasn't a surprise when I ended up crashing into someone and causing both of us to fall. Fortunately, I landed on my stomach rather than my backpack which held my camera.
Hearing a familiar groan, I lifted my eyes to see Katrina sitting on her butt and looking surprised. She was wearing a hoodie and clothes that suggested she was trying to escape.
Upon noticing it was me, Katrina let out a laugh and helped me up. "Sorry, Sierra. Are you okay?"
I felt my lips lift up in an embarrassed smile as I nodded; why should she apologize? It was my fault anyway.
Instead of trying to act silly by doing hand motions she wouldn't understand, I pointed to her outfit instead. Immediately, Katrina beamed.
"Oh, this? This is an amazing day for me, Sierra! Everything fits! Anyway, I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah? Thanks for all your hard work, Sierra. Bye!" Katrina gave me another hug before she practically bounced away. I shook my head at her slightly, shaking away the feeling that there was a double meaning behind her words.
I left the school building and made my way home, waving goodbye to Mark and Pepper as they stood around a few teachers who seemed to be scolding them. Pepper shot me a wary look before pointedly rolling her eyes and then throwing me a wink.
I chuckled at this as I eventually walked past the school gates. When I arrived at the house, I was pleasantly surprised to find Lisa waiting outside in her car. I gave her a quick wave before rushing inside and changing to fresher clothes. I grabbed my cell-phone charger, my wallet and a toothbrush for emergencies, and locked up behind me before getting into Lisa's car.
In the several hours it took to get to David's hospital, I had switched off my phone in order to save some battery as the charge was almost two percent.
My excitement built up with each passing moment as we got closer and closer to the hospital. Closer to David.
When we arrived, I threw open the door, grabbed my bag and hurried inside, eagerly making my way to the elevator. Lisa laughed as she tried to keep up with me. When we got to David's floor, I ran out of the elevator and burst into David's room.
I wasn't sure what I expected.
Maybe I expected David to be happy and waiting for me with smile on his face. Maybe even a happy glow in his face.
I didn't expect his face to be thinner than before with bags under his eyes. I didn't expect his face to scream out horror as he looked up from his cellphone and met my eyes.
"David? Look who I bro-David? Baby, what's wrong?" Lisa's voice which had been cheery a moment ago suddenly became worried as she walked around me to get to him. David just stared at me with the same horrorstruck expression, making my heart drop with fear.
What happened?
"Sierra," David whispered, gently pushing his mom's hand away from his face. "Did you check your phone?"
I blinked at him, feeling unease rise up in my chest and chasing away all the happiness I'd experienced earlier. I slowly shook my head and raised my hands.
No. I switched it off earlier.
"Switch it on," David whispered, still looking horrified and in shock. Feeling shaky and frightened, I felt my heart beat fast and my ears pound.
What happened? I wondered as dread trickled into me. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out my phone and switched it on. After several seconds, the homepage was loaded. I started to look up from my phone but it suddenly started vibrating like crazy in my hand.
I blinked rapidly as I watched as text messages flashed to twenty on my screen. I summoned up the first message.
Nana
4:34 p.m.
Great work today, girl!
My heart beat slowed down a little and I breathed out in relief. It was just a thank you message. As I went through the messages, most of them were just 'congratulations on working hard' and making the play successful.
I started to become calm until I reached the second last and message. It was sent by Pepper.
Pepper
6:14 p.m
Katrina involved in car crash. Two people dead. One lucky and safe. Katrina in critical conditions and in hospital.
Horrified and feeling my heart sink, I lifted my eyes up to look at David who just stared back at me. Robotically, I looked back at my phone and summoned up the final message which was also sent by Pepper.
Pepper
6:52 p.m
Katrina in coma.