Chapter eighteen: Interviews
"Where's Tristan? He's okay right?" Ruthie repeated. She looked at her parents; no one would look at her. "TELL ME!"
"Ruthie," Annie said placing her hand on top of Ruthie's. Ruthie moved her hand slightly, she couldn't move it very muchbecause it was in a cast.
"No! Tell me if Tristan's ok!" Ruthie said fighting back tears. "He's okay right?"
"Ruthie, Tristan…" Eric said shaking his head. "He didn't make it."
"No, no that's not true!" Ruthie said shaking her head.
"Ruthie he's dead," Eric said. Lucy and Simon were standing behind their parents holding hands. Lucy squeezed Simon's hand.
"He can't be, no! Why am I okay then? It's my fault we crashed I shouldn't have yelled at him! He can't be dead! HE CAN'T!" Ruthie screamed. Annie hugged her. "NO!" She cried. She stayed in her mother's arm crying, her tears dropping onto Annie's shirt. Ruthie couldn't believe he was gone.
The room cleared out over time and only Annie and Eric stayed the night. Lucy, and Kevin stayed over with Simon and the twins. The hospital was extremely quiet at night leaving Ruthie awake and alone. Time went by and by morning the entire family filled her room again, including Matt, Mary and the twins.
"We need to talk to Ruthie," said a voice in the back of the room. It was the cop they'd talked to a couple nights ago.
"She's not really in the mood to talk right now," Lucy said.
"Well, we need to," He approached Ruthie. "Ruthie we need to know what happened after you left the party."
"Why?" She asked surly.
"Because as I'm sure you know by now Tristan is dead,"
"Yeah I know, it was car accident what else do you need to know!" She said.
"Ruthie, please cooperate with him," Eric said.
"Fine what do you need to know?" She said.
"Erica and Lindsey said that you two were fighting when you left, and that you sped off. What happened the moment you left Erica and Lindsey up until the crash."
"We sped off and we were yelling at each other, and neither of us was really paying attention to the road." Ruthie said.
Flashback.
"What's your problem?" Ruthie shrieked.
"You want to know?" Tristan said speeding up. "You used me! So you could shake your good girl image."
"What?" Ruthie said turning to him.
"Yea and you don't care about me, so you know what I don't care about you! That's why I kissed Lindsey!" He yelled.
"YOU WHAT!" Ruthie said. She gave him a punch on the shoulder before beginning to cry.
"How could you?" Ruthie yelled. "I never used you maybe at first, but how could you think that! How could she do that?"
"It wasn't her it was me," Tristan yelled. "You think your so bad but your not, your just a good girl covering herself in makeup and acting bad but defying everything she ever stood for. Your fake and you know it!"
"Shut up, you don't know anything about me!"
"Your right how could I you're a fake who knows if you were ever telling me the truth! I wish I'd never met you!"
"Yeah well the feelings mutual!"
"Well I hope you have a nice life because after tonight I never want to see or hear you again!"
"TRISTAN!"Ruthie shrieked."WATCH OUT!"
End.
"That's all I remember," Ruthie said blinking back tears.
"So the two of you are yelling and then you scream watch out, what happened next, why'd you scream?"
"Um, I saw headlights coming at us, Tristan when he'd turned he ended up in the wrong lane. Tristan spun the wheel trying to…to get out of the way, but the car smashed into my door. Tristan must've accelerated and then I kind of remember smashing into something, cause all of sudden my seatbelt was cutting into my neck. When I opened my eyes, the last thing I remember seeing," Ruthie stopped and took a deep breath, she was trying hard to fight back tears. "Was Tristan on the windshield." Ruthie started crying.
"Thanks." He said getting up.
"Thanks?" Ruthie repeated. "Your so not welcome, so was I right? That's how Tristan died he went through the windshield? I'm alive because I put my seat belt on?" He turned and left the room, leaving Ruthies questions unanswered.