By the time the police pull up, Jake's mom is gone and her pink blouse is soaked red with blood. His agony overwhelms him. To have found out that his girlfriend was alive all this time just to die before graduation and to find his mom dying in the road in such a short amount of time, is something I can't even begin to fathom. I feel for him, I really do, but he doesn't want anything to do with me.
He won't even look at me. No matter how many times I tell him I didn't do it, no matter how many times I say I'm his friend, that we've been going through this together. He pushes me away. He calls me a bitch. He tells me to get. the. hell. away. from. him. I struggle to understand. How could anyone think I actually did this? When I was in my house? The whole time?
A neighbor makes a move to grab my wrists. He isn't gentle.
"Hey!" My dad is furious and running towards me. Towards the scene. "Get your goddamn hands off my daughter!"
The neighbor scowls at him and shakes his head, "Your kid's wanted, she can't get away."
My dad reaches us just as the police do, the red and blue lights are reflecting on his face. Confusion, pain, sorrow plastered across his face, seeping from his eyes.
"Come on, Derek. Just let her go. The cops are here anyway."
"Police!" Right on time. They exit the squad car. Officers push back the crowd and create a perimeter. The chief instructs his team to gather witnesses and to seal off the general public. They construct a tent around Jake's mom's body. I see blurry flashes, hear muffled yells. I feel the panic take over.
It clouds me so much that I don't hear my dad's words, trying to reason with the police. Blue. Flash. Red. Flash. Camera Flash. Someone shines a light in my eyes, I pull away. They raise my eyelid.
"...okay?"
Huh?
What did you say?
"...the station."
I feel anger. I feel tension thicken around me, threatening to swallow me whole. Threatening to drag me under, to make me a prisoner.
No. I have to focus. Pay attention to the real world. I squint and try to listen. Flash. Red. Flash. Blood.
I swallow hard and feel my body as it's consumed by my racing heart. My head feels light.
So light.
Flash. My brain goes blank. Flash. I press my eyes closed. Flash. I force them open. When I open them, all I see is black. And then I'm falling. Falling. Falling. I hit something hard, I open my eyes. All I see is nothing. All I feel is nothing. All I am is nothing.
- - - - - -
Young girl. Yellow dress. Blonde hair. Lots of blood.
Older woman. Pink blouse. Turned red. Lots of blood.
The images swarm and swarm and swarm. Over and over. A pit in the woods. A wooden shovel. Digging, digging, digging. A mouth gag. Screaming.
Blood.
So much.
Blood.
And then there's a beep. Somewhere above me. Somewhere above the screams. And then the screams harmonize, creating an awfully bone chilling, skin crawling melody. The screams fade. The beeps increase. I feel like I'm coming out of the ocean for air, water rushes in around me. Where am I? The current rocks me. Which way is up? The waves toss me.
I'm close to the surface, but I'm running out of oxygen, I push and kick towards the surface. The beeping is louder. And louder. And louder.
I bolt up in a bed. I gasp for air. I SCREAM. And then I fall back against the pillows. My eyes start to adjust as best they can. My fears are gone. My anxiety has left. I can breathe. I'm safe. I'm not drowning. I can't explain how it happens but I forget the dream instantly and return to a groggy state. My eyes aren't quite clear yet and my hearing goes in and out.
The beep comes from a monitor. It's constant but not annoying. My body is aching as I try to push myself up. My hands? Why can't I move my hands? My eyes are still groggy and I can't see straight. I rattle my hands. Clank. Clank. Clank. Metal on metal, but I can't raise them. I can't move them. I can't.
I feel the panic come again and the monitor increases it's pace. Someone enters the room.
Like the rest of my surroundings, they're only wearing just white. As they step closer, they become more clear. Their voice is soft, gentle, like a cloud almost. I feel safe.
"Hi Scarlett, how are you feeling?" They're almost singing, it's so beautiful.
"I-" My throat is so dry.
"Here's some water."
I gulp it down quickly, my own thirst surprising me the most out of everything.
"Where-"
"You're in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?"
"Hands-" I begin.
"Oh! They were supposed to take those off. Let me go get help."
She moves to leave. No. She's safe.
"Please-" I beg.
She laughs. It's light. I can see her face more now. She's got soft features, a gentle smile and twinkling blue eyes.
"I'll be right back, I promise."
I wait.
When she returns, other footsteps follow. They're heavier. Darker. I look up and see black, no it's dark blue actually. I squint up and see a police officer, I recoil out of fear. He and I share confusion about my reaction . He looks at my doctor and she nods. He brings a key to what I can now identify as handcuffs and releases me. I feel lighter the instant they're gone. I let out a breathe of relief.
"Thank you," I croak as I roll my wrists. They crack everywhere. He nods and walks out. As he exits, my parents come in. My dad is unshaven, my mom looks like she hasn't slept in weeks, Moira looks relieved.
"Oh my god, Scarlett! You worried us so much, I'm so glad you're okay!" My mom wraps me up in a big hug and squeezes me tight. My dad joins in. They cry and hold me.
Moira stands off to the side and waits to grab her hug. My mom touches my face, wipes my tears I didn't realize I had, and smooths my hair out of my face. I blink at her and she smiles, overjoyed. My dad grabs my hand and plants a kiss to the tip of each of my fingers.
"We missed you so much, Scar."
I look at him in question. My doctor does the same.
"Oh sorry," he mumbles shuffling back.
My mom grabs my hand and squeezes it and my dad does the same.
"We'll be right back. There are some things you need to know, sweet pea."
A nervous pit grows in my stomach.
My doctor sits on the edge of my bed. "Do you remember anything, Scarlett?"
I sit up a bit, but my body resists. I slump back down.
I blink a lot. I look out of my hospital room window. The cop watches me. His eyes bore into me. And then it hits.
Blood. Everywhere.
Jake is crying and everyone is looking at me. Their eyes seeking to destroy me with their looks. They ask me over and over if I killed her.
"It was her, she said so!"
"We heard the victim!"
An officer clamps handcuffs on me. He moves to bring me to the squad car. My family fights the police. And then my face goes numb. And I'm falling.
And falling
And falling
and then I hit something hard.
I take more water from my doctor.
"I fell."
She waits.
"Jake's mom was-oh god-is she?"
My doctor looks sad, she nods. I begin to cry. It's constant, I can't stop the tears. They come and they don't end. I cry hard. She still waits, patient as ever.
"They were all," I sniffle, "accusing me. And then I had a panic attack."
She nods.
"I hit my head. Where is everyone? Is Jake okay?"
My doctor gives me a sad smile. There's something she's not telling me.
"He's been doing well at Yale. He'll be okay."
Wait?
"Yale? But college doesn't start until the fall."
She gives me a sad smile.
"It is fall. Scarlett, you've been in a coma for three months."
********
A/N: So Coronavirus definitely threw me off a little bit and I stopped writing to get used to working from home life, but I think I'm ready to get back in it!
Isn't it funny how you finally get something together and the world falls apart!
Anyway this was a direction I didn't know I was going to take until i wrote it and I think it'll help with the pace i envisioned for this novel.
Thanks for reading if you did! Don't forget to vote and comment, it goes a long way!
xoxo Emily