Audrey's POV:
"No, no he can't be dead!"
"I'm sorry, we did everything we could. He died in the table"
I couldn't believe it he couldn't be dead. Even when I had nothing I had him. He was the best person I've ever met. He didn't deserve to die like that, not him he had a very bright future ahead and now he wont be able to have it. Everything around me started spinning, my vision blurred, the voices and the crying of my family started to make me dizzy and I started suffocating, I had to get away, it was too much. I couldn't let my family see me cry I've always hated it, it made me look weaker than I already are. So I ran. Ran away from them, the hospital everything. I had to get away.
I pushed my way through the busy and white hallway of the hospital as fast as my legs could carry me, which wasn't too fast since my knees and legs were still wobbly from the awful news.
It was a cold December night, the snow neatly on top of the other houses surrounding the small town houses. It was nearly Christmas so every roof was decorated with beautiful colourful lights and there was music resonating from inside the houses. It's incredible how life can be. One moment you are living a wonderful life, laughing and just living happily, and the next you would be crying and missing ordinary things that you were grateful but never really appreciated since it was so… ordinary, normal. As they say bad thing happen when you least expect it. That's why I'm here right now. Not believing the awful news, refusing actually and missing a person who I never really told how much he meant to me since I never really thought this would happen. You usually see this kind of thing in the news but you really never expect it to happen to you, but now I'm in that situation and just wishing I wasn't, to stop the pain.
I sat in an empty hospital room; crying and reflecting on every little thing and moment we had together. I told myself again and again that it's not my fault, but I couldn't help but feel like it. The voices inside my head keep tormenting me, swirling in my head uttering horrible things,
"You could've saved him"
"You never deserved him!"
"He was your little cousin, you were supposed to protect him. Now look what happened to him!"
"Its your fault!"
"You're a freak, you deserve to be in a lab. Monster!"
"STOP! SHUT UP, SHUT UP" I screamed gripping both side of my head with my freezing hands trying to block them, but failing miserably.
"Audrey!" suddenly a voice rang out getting me out of my torment "There you are! You scared me to death! Are you alright dear?" the voice asked
"Yeah mom I am. Now could you please go, I want to be alone" I said
"Honey, its not good to be alone all the time. Sometimes we need other people to make us stronger, it's alright to cry" mom told me
"Mom I think its best for me to be alone now. I don't really feel comfortable around people, even if it my family." I said in a steely voice
"All right but I will be in the waiting room in the ICU if you need me" my mom responded and shut the door leaving me alone to cry and mourn in my way. After all, we all mourn in different ways.
After awhile I left the room and decided to go outside the hospital. Outside the hospital everything was peaceful almost making it happy despite all the hurt hospitals brought. That's why I hate hospitals, they're too white and silent and clean. The temperature was of 10 degrees C (50 F) and I sat in the bench outside burring my hands in my pockets.
I sat there for a while just listening to the Christmas music and watching as children played in the snow remembering all the times me and my cousin, Edmund who was two year younger than me, played in the snow making snowmen or snow angels. I was so rapped up in my memories I didn't hear when a guy sat down beside me.
"Cigarettes?" the stranger asked pulling the box in front of me
"No thanks, I don't smoke" I responded and he shrugged pulling the box away to his pocket.
I decided to make a mental checkup of the guy: He had a handsome face, big beautiful brown eyes, big long eyelashes, eyebrows which weren't think nor thin, high cheekbones and pink lips. His hair was a dark shade of brown, messy locks that seemed as he had just got up of bed. I looked at his eyes again and noticed that they were puffy and a little red suggesting he has been crying. I wanted to know why he was here but decided against it since it was a very personal question and I didn't know him. I was starting to hear the voices again when he said:
"So, what your name?"
"I'm Audrey" I responded
"Tony. So what's your story?" he asked looking at me sounding like we were in a AA meeting
"My cousin died in a car crash that happened yesterday" I responded trying hard not to cry in front of Tony
"Sorry. My parents died in a car crash too. I got called yesterday and I took the first plane here. I really don't know why I came her though." He said while smoking and shrugged
"Didn't have a good relationship with your parents?" I asked hesitantly afraid he was going to snap at me
"Nope, not really. I'm not really sure we had a relationship at all." He replied looking ahead with a bittersweet smile
"Sorry" I said realizing that was a sore subject
"Don't worry" he said
"My butt is freezing here" he suddenly said while standing up
"Where are you going?" I asked suddenly enjoying our conversation as it was getting my mind off my cousin
"The park. Wanna come?" he asked offering his hand
"I don't know, my parents will be worried about me." I responded not taking his hand.
"Okay, well nice meeting you Audrey. Goodbye" he waved at me and started to disappear in the horizon.
"Wait!" I called running towards him
"Decided to join me?" He asked turning around to face me with a smirk in his face
"Yeah well my parents can call me. After all they are going to be there for a while" I said while falling into step with him
We walked side by side to the park that wasn't very far away from the hospital and went to the swings. When we got in the swings we started swinging in silence enjoying each other's company even though we've just met literally minutes ago. It was really odd how in ease I felt around him, how easy it was for me to be myself around him when I don't feel that way around many people, not even my mom. Also I didn't felt awkward at all like I didn't have to fill in the silence between us with words to make it less awkward. And I felt awkward around most people. Even in my family I felt like I didn't belong there, like I wasn't even part of the family. I was so different from everyone making me feel weird. Every family most of the time has a black sheep. You could say I was the black sheep. Since I was a kid I've always felt that I was different not really knowing what that meant.
"It's going to sound weird but I feel comfortable around you. Like I can be myself around you and not be judged by you" Tony said breaking the silence
"It's funny, I was going to say the same thing" I responded looking at him smiling while he too had a smile
"Really? Well we have more in common that we thought, huh?" he asked cheekily with his usual smirk once again
"Yeah we do. I feel like we've known each other for years when we've known each other for like, minutes" I replied with a giggle and a smirk of my one
"Ha!" he said, "I dare you to swing as fast as you can and then jump as high too" he challenged
"It's on pretty boy!" I replied with enthusiasm
"Pretty boy, huh? Well then, sheep lets do a contest!"
"Sheep? Why did you called sheep? " I asked confused
"Well, you seem different. You know every family has one" Tony said getting a little worried even if he didn't know this girl so much, he did cared for her for some reason he still didn't know.
"What? Ha-ha, whatever" I replied
"Okay," Tony responded doubtfully but decided to drop it since it looked like it made her uncomfortable "In three! 1… 2…3, JUMP!"
And then the both of us jumped out of the swing and fell to the ground laughing hard enough to make my ribs and my sides hurt. I really enjoyed this conversation since it appears Tony can make me and has made me forget about the death of Ed and the hurt and pain it came with, and I'm really grateful.
After our laughter died out I asked him a question that has been nagging at me since I fist saw him.
"How old are you?"
"What?" he asked looking bewildered
"Yeah, how old are you? You don't look 16" I said
"Well that's because I'm not 16. I'm 20" he said turning his head since we still were lying on the grass.
"Well that explains it. Well I'm 16 by the way." I told him even if he didn't ask
"A teenager? I would've never guessed" he said sarcastically
"Ha-Ha very funny, Anthony" I said using his full name knowing he didn't like it
"Don't call me that. You know I don't like it" he said sounding exasperated
I was about to respond when my cell phone rang. I sighed and looked at the caller ID. It was my mom. I rolled to me feet and picked up with a simple
"Hello?"
"Honey we're ready to go, come to the parking lot please" my mom said and hung up
"Hey I have to go, but it was really nice meeting you. Maybe we'll see each other again" I said to Tony in a sad voice thinking I just lost my potential best friend even if he was already in college while I was still in high school. Tony could've been my best friend from my best friends because he gets me and understand me like no one else. And now I might not see him ever again. My only chance at getting a friend as no one in school seems to want to be my friend but like me enough as to talk to me sometimes.
"Hey wait Audrey! Give me your phone" Tony said grabbing my phone
"What are you doing?" I asked while eyeing him
"Just putting my number in so we can talk and meet sometime else" he said while smiling. After he finished he gave me my phone back
"So, see you later Audrey" Tony said and turned away to get to his car hopefully to get the funeral and everything else consisting with his parents done quickly to forget about those awful cold people called parents.
I stood there for a while just registering everything that happened in this hour or so. How today was the most awful day of my life when suddenly one guy changed that and made the worst day of my life into one of the bests. It was amazing how he could do that. With a smile on my face I turned around and started walking to the car hoping that they will, in fact see each other again. If only I knew…