The good die young
This story is based on my life, with all names changed.
Disclamer: I do not own Twilight. I do but wish I didn't own these events.
R.I.P DADDY
My name is Bella Swan and this is the story of when my life changed forever, the day I realized that the saying "You don't know what you've got until it's gone" never rang more true.
FLATLINED. He was gone.
I never knew why he had to leave and never will. It was not his choice but it was his fate. I don't remember much about the night that changed my life forever, but it is said that for everything good that happens something bad must happen to balance it out.
Friday 5th December 2003. I pushed open the door to leave for a charity evening with my cousin, Zach and grandfather, Tommy. I bellowed goodbye to the people left behind not yet knowing that I would never see one of them alive again.
As we sped off we chatted excitedly about the evening ahead and the possibility of winning one of those silly games that they always have at these events. When we arrived it was dark and bitterly cold outside so we hurried into the hall and bought our tickets before sitting at the nearest table.
Throughout the evening many a time I had been waiting for just one raffle number but nothing ever came of it. By the end of the night I had grown increasingly agitated and more desperate to win. The prizes came and went and it was my last chance to win, something that I didn't do often. I waited and waited my eyes transfixed in my numbers and finally, YES! The number that I needed to win.
"WINNER!!" I shouted to the caller at the front of the room. The atmosphere went tense; was this really the last winning ticket? Only the squeak of a pair of shoes worn by the ticket checker could be heard through the room.
Through his microphone the card checker spoke to the caller, he said, "White ticket" and then read out all the numbers on my strip. "WE HAVE A WINNER!" He declared after reading the last number.
Applause filled the room and a smile from cheek to cheek covered my face. I was so happy and felt impatient to phone my mum and dad to tell them the news. "DAMN" I couldn't phone Charlie because he was out with his friends celebrating the life of his friend, Billy that had died one year previously.
I received my prize; it was a hamper full of the usual Christmas goodies like chocolate and alcohol. But what I liked the most was the chocolate liquors. On the way home I was so scared that something would fall out and smash that I kept a firm grip on it at all times. It was very heavy and my grandpa had to give me some help to the house. We managed to haul the hamper onto the table and with the same smile on my face I told my mom, Renee, all about the evening and how I had won.
After being congratulated and seeing what else was in the hamper it was decided that the chocolate should be hidden because if Charlie found it we would never see it again.
Charlie, my dad was a chocoholic. You know the type, "Give me chocolate and no one gets hurt" sort of thing. So I took the chocolates in hand and ran upstairs like a herd of elephants to hide them under my bed.
In the early hours of the next morning I was woken by a loud knock at the door. At first I thought nothing of it because Charlie had not yet come home so I assumed that it was him not being able to find his key and after finding out who it really was, how I wish it was him. It was the police. I mean, sure I was used to seeing the police at my house with Charlie being the Chief in Forks, but from the look on their faces I knew it wasn't a social visit.
There had been a fight outside the local bar where Charlie and his friends had been and after trying to defuse the fight he was shot and was in a serious condition in hospital.
After calling friend Jacob to look after my brother Matt, 3 and sister, Emily, 5, Renee and myself travelled the short distance to Forks general hospital where Charlie had been taken. I paced the halls for what seemed like forever until we were told where he was, he was in the ICU. Although we were warned that he was covered in tubes and on life support I was knocked for six when I saw the real thing. Silence…with just the sound of the heart beat on the monitor.
We didn't know whether he would pull through because the bullet had gone into his abdomen and he had slipped into unconsciousness almost instantly. He was comatosed.
For a few hours I rambled on about things that we did when I was younger and how he had to wake up so he could do the same with Matt and Emily. But still nothing. I was later told to go home for a while and to come back later. "Please wake up Char…dad" I whispered softly into his ear before kissing his forehead and walking out of the room.
As soon as I arrived home I phoned the hospital to check if there had been any change but they said that it was too early to tell but they would phone if there was any change. I had a nap and a shower before trying to distract myself with my favourite book, Withering Heights.
Suddenly, the phone started to ring. My heart jumped into my throat and was beating so hard I could hardly breathe. It was the hospital. Charlie's condition was not looking good they had already resuscitated him twice in the last half an hour. They said that I should come and say goodbye in case they failed to resuscitate him again.
After arriving at the hospital just 15 minutes after the call I was already too late. He had flatlined again and the doctors failed to save him again. He was gone. He was just 39 years old.