up and walks to the center of the room. His eyes never leave mine, but they narrow, his face furrowing in concentration. I am about to ask what he is doing, but my head starts aching. The dull pain intensifies, causing me to cry out. It worsens to the point where I can’t think straight. It’s unbearable. I scream in agony, but the pain doesn’t lessen. I fall back to the ground, on my stomach, curl my knees up under me and prop myself on my elbows, grabbing my head. Panting, I try to breathe normally, but can’t. I’m unable to concentrate on anything but the pain. Suddenly, images start forming in my mind.
“What’s wrong honey?” She asks me, while taking her eyes away from the road for a second.
I bite my lip and continue staring out the passenger window. If I share what just happened with anyone, they’d never believe me. It’d be his word against mine.
With a sigh, I turn and look at her, “Nothing happened, mom. I’m fine.” All I want to do is curl up in a ball in my bedroom and cry myself to sleep.
“You’re not fine. You wouldn’t have called me to pick you up if everything was fine.” She turns back to me, trying to figure out what is causing me to act this way. She’ll never know. I can’t tell her. She’d overreact.
Messing with the seatbelt, I reach out and grab her free hand. She worries too much. I’ll be fine. I just need to stop thinking about it and busy my mind.
“Mom, why are you…” Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of silver. I face forward and look out of the windshield. A large truck is driving on the wrong side of the road, heading directly for us. At its current trajectory, the truck will collide with us head on, the majority of the impact on the passenger side. My side.
“Look out!” I yell at the same time as she turns and looks at me, tears in her eyes.
“I love you, Ryanne.” Throwing her hand on the horn, she jerks the car to the left.
I love you too, I think as we collide with the truck. My body is thrown forward right as the airbag deploys sending me back against the seat. My seatback rubs the skin across my neck and chest raw.
The sound of crushing metal fills my ears as glass starts shattering around me. The outside world blurs as the car starts flipping through the air. Glass fragments scrape across my skin with each movement. Warm blood starts oozing out of the cuts. The car slows as the back connects with the base of a large tree.
I’m hanging upside down when the car finally stops moving. I try to move, but pain shoots through my side. A large piece of glass is embedded under my ribs. In the distance, I can hear sirens headed in our direction. I turn towards the driver’s seat to see if mom is okay, but the seat is empty.
Black spots are starting to cloud my vision as the ringing in my ears worsens. I reach out and lightly touch the area. Drawing back, I see my hand covered in blood. I reach down and unbuckle my seatbelt. As I fall, I succumb to the darkness.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
“Mom?” I grumble as I try to open my eyes.
“Sweetie, can you hear me?”
I open my eyes and instantly shut them. The room is too bright. Fluorescent lights overhead reflect off the white linoleum tiles on the floor, instantly giving me a headache.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
“Where’s my mom?” I ask as I slowly open my eyes again. One look at her expression tells me all I need to know. I start shaking my head as the tears begin falling from my eyes.
“No, no, no” I repeat over and over again. Maybe if I keep saying it, she’ll come back to me. As the nurse starts walking towards me, I begin screaming. I want my mom. I don’t want a nurse. I. Want. My. Mom.
“I’m so sorry, honey.” She whispers as more nurses come into the room. I struggle against their restraints, trying to get away from them. I know they just want to help, but there’s nothing they can do. That truck was supposed to hit me. Not her.
Me.
I was the one that was supposed to die. I watch as a nurse walks over to the side of my bed and pushes the button