Chapter 1
Rebecca
Everything’s a blur, my vision, my memory. The bed’s uncomfortable, the ceiling lights are unnaturally bright, I had this awful headache, and the room smelled unpleasantly sterile. I wasn’t at home anymore. I could see clearer now. Why wasn’t I in my bed? My heartbeat rapidly increased and the monitor next to me chirped faster and faster, worsening my headache. I gotta get home! Just as I started to sit up, a nurse came in, reading the papers on the clipboard. She didn’t notice my state of panic.
“Okay Mrs. Windals, we did find noticeable traces of alcohol in your bloodstream which isn’t good,” She quickly sped through her words, “but your injuries appear to be healing normally, we want to—” She tossed the clipboard to the blue chair on her right and rushed to my side. She placed one hand on my shoulder and another on my back as she gently tried to guide me back into a lying position, but I resisted. “Please Mrs. Windals, you have to lie back down and relax. You’re safe, no one’s going to hurt you.” She didn’t know that I wasn’t afraid of anyone hurting me. Why would I be scared? Who would hurt me? I stared at her intensely as my eyes started to water and hot tears streamed down my face.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about but my kids… where are my kids?!” She looked at me like I was crazy. “I have to know. Kam and Harley, where are they?”
Her hands fell to her side and she took a step back. “Miss, there weren’t any children in the house when we found you. There was only a white flower with marked out petals placed on the welcome mat in front of the main entry door. ”
That’s when I really began to panic. “Get me out of here!” I screamed at her with all I had. All the memories from last night flooded my mind but the details didn’t even matter. Nothing matters. Not anymore. “GET ME OUT!” I screamed even louder, apparently I had more in me. I flung the starch white sheets off of me and swung my legs over the side of the bed. Before I could even push myself off of the mattress, the nurse put each hand on both of my shoulders. She wasn’t being gentle anymore. She was in my way. She was an enemy.
The nurse screams with her head turned towards the open door, “HELP! I NEED HELP!” I had to get out before more people came, I had enough adrenaline to keep pushing and fighting, but I wouldn’t be able to take on grown men. I gave one last shove and she stumbled back, crashing into the monitors and chords behind her. I yanked out the IV tube and darted for the door leading out to the hospital hallway. I looked both ways like I was crossing a street, two male nurses to my right and a female nurse to my left. Left it was. Once she realized that I had chosen her as my next victim, her eyes widened and she jumped in front of me, blocking my path.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait!”
It’s no use. I locked eyes with her, raised my arms to block my face, and hurtled myself into her. She collapsed on the ground, rolling into a wall. I wasn’t going to stop. I had to find my kids. I didn’t look back but I could hear one of the men behind me yelling for me to stop. Luckily, I was on the first floor so I didn’t have to take the stairs, but I swear that I was sprinting down the longest hallway known to man. Stretching my hands out, I pushed open one of the double doors that led into the waiting room. I took a sharp right around the front desk and dodged anybody walking by, twisting and turning until I finally made it to the entrance. My exit. The two sets of doors were automatic so I had to slow down to get through, but once I felt the hot air of New Mexico hit my face, I knew I made it out. I didn’t have time to catch my breath so I took off again. I knew Albuquerque like the back of my hand but instead of going home (which was left), I turned right (where my mother lives). When I made it around the bushes at the end of the hospital parking lot, the two men that were chasing me stopped. They ran back inside, probably to call the police so they could chase me down next. It just gave me more motivation to get to my mom.
…
