Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
It was never an accident, it'll never be one no matter how hard they try to cover it up it'll never be fully covered.
Click, click, click. My fingers scatter over my keyboard, typing rapidly. Word flashing in front of me, speeding up and down the page, checking my work before I hit submit. I Give it one last look and click on the blue submit button. I shut my chrome book, laying back in my chair pulling my newest read out of my book bag hanging from the back of my seat. I let out a sigh and eagerly opened the book to the page I left off on.
I relax into my chair and begin to read through the words. No, no, no! Not again! Alexandra, runs through each door, each hall, but they all end back in the foyer. She’s stuck in a loop. With eyes watching her from each corner, she…. “Ms. Pruitt, are you done with the essay already?” My eyes shoot up as fast as bullets as they meet Mrs. Moores, the English teacher.
“Yes, I finished.” I reply attempting to hold a strong and steady eye contact. It’s as if every time she asks me a question or looks me dead in the eye we’ve begun a staring contest.
Her eyes seem to be getting wider and wider as she slightly tilts her head to the side. I shake my head and shut my eyes. I’ve never been able to hold her eye contact, let alone a conversation at all. When I get the courage to lookback up, I see Mrs. Moore walking away with a triumphant smile plastered across her face. I silently get after myself for not holding her eyes for a moment longer but I just tell myself that I’ll get it next time.
I continue to read as I begin to see my peers close their chrome books one by one,packing their bags, getting ready to leave the uncomfortable silence and head to the next class. I put my chromebook and book into my book bag, taking it off the chair and holding it on my lap.
Bzzzzzzz, bzzzzzzzzz. My iphone in my bag pocket begins to buzz obnoxiously, I push back all temptations to reach for it and answer the call but I hold myself together until the bell rings. It continues to buzz longer than usual making the anticipation of leaving this classroom even stronger. Finally the bell rings throughout the school. I jump out of my chair, swinging my book bag across my back and reaching with my other hand towards the back pocket. I don't even glance at the caller ID and just swipe to answer the call.
“Hello, this is Blythe Pruitt.” That's all I say before I come to an abrupt stop.
“Hello Ms. Pruitt, this is the Lone Peak Hospital ER. I'm Informing you that your mother and sister have been in an accident.” What the caller says puts me at a loss for words, loss of emotions, thoughts… I can’t think, comprehend, I’m not understand… or I’m not accepting.
“Hello? Ms. Pruitt? Are you still there?” She says this rushed, but then I realize that everyone in the halls have gone to class. I was standing here for at least 5 mins before she said anything.
“Yes! Yes, I’m sorry I’ll be down there as soon as possible.” I only say this and then hang up, rushing down the hall, towards the stairs, then to the main doors of Canyons Ridge High School. My long dark brown hair flies around me as I sprint. My jeans stretch as my legs spread farther apart to cover more ground.
I reach my car, the world flying past me and I get in and turn on the car. I go to my contacts on my phone and find my younger sister's number. Ringgggg , ringgggg. She picks up on the second ring. “Blythe! I’m in school!” She says this hushed, anger hinting at her tone. “Estelle It’s an emergency! This can't wait!” I’m whipping out of the parking lot driving 10 over the speed limit, racing for the freeway. “What happened?” Estelle asks, I can hear her breathing through the phone with how close the phone is to her face.
“Mom and Elosie are in the ER, there’s been an accident. I’m driving there now.” I’m breathing heavily, my chest rising and falling, up and down. So fast I feel as if I might start hyperventilating. “Pick me up, I need to come with you!” Estelles voice gets so loud, I’m able to hear the teacher in the background trying to take her phone but she objects and begins to argue with me as to why she can't come.
“I will get you later, I.. I just have to go.” my voice falters a little as I’m trying to talk and focus on driving at the same time. “No!No! She's my mom, I have to go!” She yells at me through the phone, her short temper bursting through the device.
“I can’t, I’m sorry. I.. I.. uh.. I have to go, Okay. I’ll get you as soon as I can.” I don’t wait for a reply as I hit the red button ending the call.
I speed ast cars, through lights and signs until I read the ER. I forget to lock my car as I run into the sliding glass doors with EMERGENCY printed on with bold red letters. The doors fly open to the side as I run through, there's waiting room chairs to my left and a long reception desk at the entrance. I run up to it, bracing my body against the desk. My chest heaving, eyes watering as I say, “My… My mom, she's here. There was an accident, My sister Eloise and my mother Helen, they should both be here. I need to see them!” My voice is raspy and breaks as I yell. My hands are gripping the sides of the desk with impatience. “M’am It’s okay, take a breath, let's find them. What's your last name?” Her voice is soft with worry, I can tell she cares and it gives me a sense of relief. I sniff, and say, “Pruitt. With two T’s” I sniff again as the nice lady stands out of her seat and walks around. “Follow me.” she says as she motions her hand for me to follow her. I rush after her and through swinging metal doors that say “Authorized Only” She’s a fast walker, practically running through the halls as we pass beekeeping monitors, doctors running past us, flickering lights, the halls look nothing like the hospital halls from movies or what you picture from books. These halls have yellow urine colored walls, a white railing lines the middle of the walls. There are white metal doors and curtains hanging from the walls. The only thing making the place look less like an institute for the mentally insane is the colorful pictures of sunsets or mountains.
We turn right, then left, then right again until she comes to an abrupt stop in front of two massive doors with small rectangular windows letting me see doctors over a female body, my mother Helen’s body. Myhand comes up to my mouth, shaking lightly as I try to control it. I turn around and close my eyes. The image of her being operated on gives me the chills, stripping the warmth from my body.
I shake out my arms in a way to loosen my muscles. I turn around, anxious worry pours from my pores as I ask, “What about Eloise? Where’s she?” Before she has a chance to answer somebody's calls from behind me. “Ms. Pruitt.” The voice is male, with an aged tone. I turn around, “Yes I am” I say as I see an old withered man standing in front of me. He’s tall, with gray and bald spots. He adjusts his glasses as he says, “Come speak with me.” I look back at the lady, her green eyes are wide with concern as her hand comes up to my arm giving it a comforting squeeze as she walks back from where we came.
The look on her face makes me nervous, she knows why he wants to talk with me. I begin kneading at my palms as I follow the doctor through multiple hallways until we reach a hallway designated for offices. We stop at the first door on the right. As he opens the door I notice a sign reading, Dr. John S.
I follow him inside and close the door behind me.
“Please, take a seat.” His voice is more scratchy than deep as I thought before. I pull out a chair opposite from where he sits himself as his desk. The room is small with the same urine colored walls and white borders. There's a small window behind his desk and a brown book shelf in the right corner of the room.
Dr. John folded his hand across the desk leaning in close. He clears his throat and my knee begins to bop up and down, increasing as the silence increases. I tuck my wavy brown strands of hair behind my ears. He clears his throat for a second time and looks up at me through his brown chocolate eyes.
“Ms. Pruitt…” The silence continues as he holds back the devastating news. I begin bracing myself for what might’ve happened. Options begin running through my head, Eloise probably broke her arm… or her leg! She could’ve just been injured seriously…
“Your sister Eloise, she was critically injured. We tried our best but it wasn’t enough.” His eyes and head drops toward his hands. My thoughts stop, everything stops, the sounds of beeping, doors shutting and opening, everything. It all just stops.
He didn’t have to say that she didn’t make it or anything because I understood. I understood the moment I saw the solemn look on his face when he first approached me, and understood when he pulled me into this damn office!
I knew, but I tried to deny it and I still am! Everything aches and tenses as my hands reach toward my chest to rip out every muscle to stop the straining. I stand out of my chair and stumble towards the door, the world spins before my eyes. Nothing is comprehensible anymore as I throw the door open and fall out of the room onto the floor. I grip at the white railing to my right and haul myself back up. My face is in complete shock, devastation and emotions indescribable. My mouth hangs open slightly with my eyes wide and wet with tears.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don't cry, don’t…. Don’t My thoughts lose track and I use all my strength to hold it in.
Dr. John comes to my side, touching my shoulder gently with a worrying crease in between his eyebrows. I shut my eyes and clench my face together, shoving everything down.
“Am I able to see her?” I ask, choking through my words and tears.
“Yes of course. I assumed you might, so I left her in one of the operation rooms.” His voice has become hushed and quiet as he guides me back through the halls and to almost identical doors to what I saw my mother in. The word operation leaves a gut wrenching feeling in my stomach.
As we get closer to the doors they slide open, the room is made completely of metal and bright white lights, there's only one light on, illuminating the operation bed. Where Eloise lays.
Dr. John lets go of me at the door and lets me slowly walk in by myself. My arms and face fall limp as I get close enough to see her whole tiny body, laid across a metal bed. Her clothes are still on, the faint picture of a unicorn printed across her white bloody shirt. Her eyes are closed and her messy brown hair lays in a make-shift ponytail at the top of her head. Her skin lost its color, her smile lost its shine, its all gone. She’s gone.
She was only seven… oh why…. Why why why why….
My brain silently yells these thoughts throughout my head, my body falling cold at the sight of hers. I turn around, not being able to look anymore.
“I’m so deeply sorry…” Dr. John still stands at the edge of the entrance.
Sorry is a funny word, people believe it means something in situations such as these…
But they never do.
I turn back around, knowing this will be the last time I will ever see her again. I walk right up to the table, and reach for her right hand. I pick it up and kneel down just enough that I’m able to pull her hand out my chest and give her one last goodbye kiss. I whistler a, I love you in her ear then walk back out towards Dr. John, tucking my hair back behind my ears as the first salty tear falls from my eyelid.
CHAPTER 2
(NEXT WEEK 01/27/24)
