CHAPTER ONE
THE CRASH
"Juliet..." the radio sang to a sixteen year-old Jess Carlisle as her eyes drooped a bit as she drove on a long winding road. "... the dice was loaded from the start. And I bet, and you exploded into my heart."
She was driving back from her late shift at the grocery store a little outside her hometown of Bloomingdale, Indiana. On her dashboard of her late-seventies Chevrolet it read 3:56 in the morning. It was freezing cold as well; it was in the dead of winter, Christmas was coming up in a few days now.
That's why she's been working overtime. The upcoming holidays have the food hoarders of the family and the planners come in early for the stocked canned goods from the convenience store Jess worked at.
Each turn seemed to be too hard to do for Jess. The road was so winding, it all seemed to be moving too quickly for her liking. She closed her eyes for three seconds, savoring the nice feeling she had when she did so, the she snapped them back open to the wide and open road ahead of her. The black road was illuminated by only her headlights after all there were no other cars in sight.
"And I forget, I forget the movie song," Dire Straits sang through the old radio and to Jess's tired ears. She usually would sing along, but her body was slumped over the steering wheel as she tried to make out the road ahead of her. She was too tired to see the dark fog cloud around her car. She was way too tired to be doing anything.
"When you gonna realize..." Suddenly, Jess's whole body seized. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her hands grabbed the steering wheel in an iron grasp. Her head lolled to the side as her whole body shook violently. Jess was unconscious for the most part but she could still hear everything and feel everything. She couldn't do anything about it.
"It was just that the time was wrong." Jess's arms yanked the wheel to the right and the car skidded to where it was directed. Jess's deadweight foot pressed on the gas further, making the car topple over dangerously.
Then, just as it seemed that it was going to come to an end very quickly, a hill was in the very near distance and a tree was right in front of the speeding car. Jess's Chevrolet smashed right into the trunk of the tree, making a dent right up the middle of the nose of the car. Jess's unconscious body was thrown around and her nose hit her steering wheel. A sickening crack could be heard if anyone was there to hear it.
Jess laid in her car, finally able to rest. Blood oozed out of her wounds on her forehead, nose and ears. Inside her mind, all Jess could feel was a ringing. She could practically taste the metallic taste of it as well. It was cold, dark, and lonely.
"Juliet..." the radio crackled and fizzled out.
-
Her left nostril was clogged. Not by mucus or any sick feeling, but it was literally clogged. It felt like her nose was caving in. It was hard to breathe, but there was something else too. There were tubes shoved up her nose as well. That made it a bit better, but she still felt frightened.
Her eyes opened and she saw the pristine, white ceiling of the hospital. Her neck was trapped in a brace and her arms were kept at her sides with IVs sticking out of her, pumping in pain relievers.
And she was scared. Jess didn't know where she was. What happened? Shadows surrounded her, blocking the light from above. The silhouette of a woman came into view.
"Sweetie?" A familiar voice spoke to her. Jess turned her head to see her mother smiling down worriedly at her. Jess looked at her with confusion. "Hi."
"Hi," Jess responded, breathing fast. "Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital," Jess's mother answered her. Jess looked at her surroundings. Duh.
"How did I get here?" Jess asked. Her mother took a deep breath and looked at her daughter through teary eyes.
"You- um... you had an accident. A, uh, car accident," her mother finally responded. Jess sucked in a breath of sterile hospital air.
"What?" Jess asked, not totally grasping the idea that she, Jess Carlisle, was in a car crash.
"Sweetie," Jess's mother folded her hands on Jess's bed. "I, um, have to know... were you on any drugs? Any alcohol?"
"What?" Jess spoke harshly. How could her mother think that? Sure, Jess was a normal teenager who liked to drink from time to time but she never got so drunk or high that she would drive herself off the road.
"I'm- I'm just trying to understand- " Jess's mother explained.
"No," Jess cut her off. "The doctors would've found it in my system, right? Mom, trust me, I wasn't drunk or on drugs."
"Honey," her mother looked at her with pity. "You had a seizure."
"W- what?" Jess's eyes brimmed with hot tears and her head began to pound.
"I just need to know if anything you consumed- "
"I said, no," Jess growled under her breath. "Seizures can be caused by anything."
"Okay," her mother patted her leg and stood up from her bed. "The doctors say that you have a deviated septum. You're scheduled for surgery tomorrow. Rest up."
"Okay," Jess said, letting her head fall back onto her pillow as she gazed up at the ceiling. What happened last night? What happened yesterday?
It seemed like she knew nothing about yesterday.
So, she really did lie to her mother. She could've drank or did drugs yesterday and she wouldn't know. But then again, the doctors would've found something and informed her parents. So, there's that to lean on.
It still irked Jess that she couldn't remember anything from last night. There were bits and pieces, like the song Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits playing on the radio late at night, and the taste of metal, but that was it.
A shiver went down her spine. Why were hospitals always so cold? Her bed felt thin and frail, so did her body. She could feel that she was healthy, but the feeling of the cold, dry air made it seem otherwise.
Jess closed her eyes, happy to be back in her little headspace and the feeling of safety.
-
Jess got her surgery. It went well, they opened her nose up and now she could breathe regularly again. Well, almost regularly. The doctor said to keep her nasal cannula for a week or two and to come back for a check-up.
Jess stayed in the hospital for another day so that the doctors could observe her well-being before she was released. She couldn't go back to school this semester under the doctor's orders since her neck needed time to heal and being in a car crash was considered to be traumatizing.
She got her cannula out after a week and a half and then she got her neck brace off after five months. It felt weird having a lighter neck and the ability to breathe without a tube, but Jess eventually got used to it.
So, Jess was bedridden. She was doing all of her school work being home schooled. She hoped that if she returned to her old school with the certification of completion she could get her high school diploma on time.
For the rest of the semester, Jess worked hard to keep her grades up and to stay on top of her Junior year. But, when she returned, the school offered to keep her for a semester and she could graduate late. Of course, Jess's mom had none of it.
"Bullshit, absolute bullshit," is what Jess's mother called it. "They shouldn't keep you behind just because you weren't present. You did all of the work!"
"It's okay Mom," Jess shrugged. "I can come back next semester. Besides, it's almost summer vacation, we can get started on all of that paperwork we most likely need to do."
"No," Jess's mom shook her head. They were in their living room with Jess's father as well. He just came back from his shift at the auto garage. "No, you need to go to college right away. I won't allow you to be behind even for one semester. You need to start your life right away."
"But Mom- " Jess started, but her mother cut her off.
"Isn't that what you want?"
"I mean..." Jess trailed. "I guess. It's only one semester."
"If this school won't accept you, then we'll have to find another one," Jess's mother picked up a pocket map from the coffee table.
"The next high school is two hours away!" Jess chuckled nervously. Her mother was so headstrong that once she got an idea, she would follow it until the end of the world.
"I know," Jess's mother sighed, putting a hand over her forehead. She looked at Jess's father.
"Paul? Anything?" Jess's mother asked him. His mouth was open like a guppy, opening and closing as if he had words but no strength to enunciate.
"Well, I- uh..." Paul cleared his throat. "Whatever you think is best, Honey."
"There's a high school in the next town over," Jess's mother pointed to someplace on the map that was closest to their town.
"Hawkins?" Jess read aloud the name. "But that's far away. The commute will be horrible- "
"Then we'll move," Jess's mother concluded.
"What?" Jess shrieked, standing up suddenly. "How could you say that? We can't just suddenly move. I- I have a life here. A job- "
"Which you were let go from- " Jess's mom said.
"Friends!- "
"That haven't contacted you or visited you since your accident!" Jess's mother sighed and threw the map down. "Sweetie, I think this will be a good thing. Move to a new place, new opportunities, friends, jobs, adventures. Honestly, I think this is exactly what you need."
"But..." Jess looked at her mother, trying to think of a reason not to just move. "Dad's job?"
"There will be more shops in that town," Paul nodded. "Miranda, honey, I think it's a good idea. It'll be good for Jess."
"Dad!" Jess scoffed. "You're supposed to be on my side!"
"Wife," Miranda said in a mocking tone to her daughter. Jess made an annoyed face and crossed her arms. She looked at her mother in agitation then looked away, as if to collect her thoughts. Maybe moving wouldn't be so bad. Maybe she could meet new people and make new friendships with people who would actually care. Besides, she has the opportunity to finish high school on time.
"I can't believe you're making me do this," Jess said to her mother after rolling her eyes. Miranda giggled and gave her daughter a wide smile. Her eyes crinkled with pure joy and she clapped her hands together, hugging Jess close. Jess rolled her eyes again and hugged her mother back.
Maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe.
-
[EDITED]