Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I want to thank all y'all who reviewed last chapter. You guys really rock! Anyways, here's the next chapter. I hope y'all like it.
Chapter Four
She swam in a pool of dark water. Her limbs could barely move and she felt as if she were beginning to drown. Her lungs burned; screaming for air. But she could inhale nothing but the water; thick and heavy. It filled her lungs and weighed her down even more. She fought to break through the surface, but no matter how hard she fought, she couldn't reach it.
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She walked home that day, head hung and hair falling around her face in a dark curtain. Her fingers were wrapped tightly around the shoulder straps of her bag, her knuckles turning white with the force of her grip.
Another day in hell was over with.
The house loomed over her, looking cheerful and bright in the early September sunshine. But Edwina knew what was hidden behind that sunny exterior. She knew that, now that one hell was finished with it was time to step into another.
She heard the glass smash against the wall just as her fingers wrapped around the doorknob. Drawing in a deep breath, she braced herself for impact.
"You no good bastard! I saw you with her! I saw you with that slut!" Her mother's screaming could be heard echoing throughout the house and, Edwina had no doubt, all through the neighborhood.
"Well I wouldn't have to be with her if you would give me what I wanted selfish bitch!" There was her father's response, right on time.
It was always the same. The same arguments, the same throwing of insults. Always the same. Edwina was tired of it.
"Oh, so just 'cause I don't want to 'experiment' you're gonna go around banging the first whore you can get your hands on?" The sarcasm was dripping from her mother's voice.
Clamping her hands more tightly around the backpack's straps, Edwina bypassed the living room where her parents stood- their faces contorted in rage and their hands balled into fists- and quickly ran up the stairs to her bedroom.
She slammed the door behind her. But her parents didn't hear. They never heard anything she did or said. They barely even saw her anymore. Sure they saw her, but they never really looked at her. They never bothered to get to know their own daughter.
Edwina dropped her bag on the floor of her room and fell onto her bed, burying her head beneath the pillow in an effort to block out their angry voices.
Why did she even come home anymore? She couldn't think of any reason to be here. It wasn't worth it.
Downstairs she could hear their argument change from her father's latest affair to money. It was always the same two arguments with them. Money and cheating. And no matter which argument they started with, they always ended up switching to the other topic. Making the two interlink.
Pulling the pillow tighter around her ears, Edwina tried desperately to block out their voices. If only it would all just stop.
> > > > >
The ER doors burst open and the EMTs wheeled in yet another gurney. Bradin rushed forward, and helped the ambulance workers drive the gurney towards an empty trauma room.
"Collision on the highway." The woman EMT said. "Stats are low. Severe head trauma, four broken ribs- possibly more. She's been unconscious since we arrived at the scene."
Bradin glanced down at the young woman on the gurney. Despite the blood that covered nearly her entire face, Bradin could tell that she was a beautiful woman. No amount of blood could hide that fact.
They wheeled the gurney into an empty room and the EMTs instantly faded away, replaced by two nurses and an intern.
Quickly, the team worked to hook the young woman up to a monitor.
"Pulse is low and fading fast." A nurse said as she read the screen.
"Alright people, we gotta work fast here." Bradin ordered. He wasn't about to lose another patient.
> > > > >
A light broke through the murky surface, but Edie was too far away to reach out and grip it. She was too far away to feel its warmth. Struggling, she fought to gain ground, to get closer to that light. But it stayed just out of reach. She fought, her lungs burning and her heart beating rapidly. Her entire body felt as if it could explode at any moment. But still she fought.
The light grew nearer, inch by slow and painful inch.
Just a little further, she thought, just a little further.
> > > > >
"BP is stabilizing." The words were like a burst of sunshine after a monsoon. Bradin sighed, his muscles beginning to relax. He glanced at the clock.
Two hours they had been working on this patient, trying to stabilize her and bring her back from the brink of death. And they had done it.
He couldn't believe it. The young woman had been nearly dead when she came into the ER, and he and his team had been able to bring her back. Or at least he hoped so. They still needed for her to wake up before Bradin could be completely sure that she was fine.
He looked down at the young woman on the table. Now that the blood had been washed from her face, she was even more beautiful than he'd originally thought- despite the dark bruises that were now beginning to show on her pale skin. And, as Bradin looked closer, there was something oddly familiar about her.
> > > > >
Bradin watched Edwina as she worked to open her locker. It'd been three days since school started, and he still hadn't introduced himself like he'd planned to. Instead, he'd watched as she'd been picked on and tormented. And he hadn't even bothered to step in. Bradin felt sick with himself for never reaching out to help her. He hated the fact that she was the punching bag for the whole damn school. How could people be so cruel to her?
She continued to struggle with her locker. Over and over again she pulled on the handle, but the metal door would not budge.
Bradin pushed away from his position against the wall and moved over to where she stood.
"Here," he said, reaching around her to grab the locker handle, "let me help you."
She jumped back slightly, obviously surprised at his sudden appearance. She stared at him through wide eyes that were wild with fright. Her look reminded Bradin of the rabbit that he and his father had hunted when Bradin was twelve- eyes wide as she realized that there was no escape and that the end was near. Bradin had never hunted after that. He couldn't take the helpless look in the eyes of the poor animal. And now, that was exactly how Edwina looked: Like a rabbit that had just found itself trapped.
He pulled open the locker easily and stepped back.
"There you go." He said. Edwina stood still, her eyes never leaving his.
"Is this some kind of joke?" She asked quietly. "As soon as I go to reach into my locker you're gonna slam it shut, aren't you?"
Bradin shook his head.
"No." He replied, trying to make his face look as honest as possible. "I just thought that you could use some help. That's all. I swear." He stepped back from her locker, as if to show her that he meant what he said.
Edwina took a step towards the locker. Hesitantly, she reached inside to grab the books that she needed. When she emerged with the books she sought, she glanced at Bradin.
"Thanks." She whispered.
"No problem." He shrugged. "I'm Bradin." He held out his hand to her. She stared at his hand as if it would bite her. Then, slowly, hesitantly, she placed her hand in his.
"Edwina."
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It's kinda short, but I hope you guys liked it. Please review and tell me what you thought