Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!
Charity slept restlessly. She was stuck in a never-ending nightmare. The loop of images didn't change. She saw Lauren and Zach, walking away from her and Tyler walking towards her. Past him, she saw a car driving erratically. She tried to call out to them, but she couldn't make a noise. She took off at a sprint, hurtling past Tyler, and down the sidewalk. She didn't think she was going to make it in time. She thought about calling out to Lauren again, but she couldn't waste the energy. Then the images slowed. She saw herself stretching her arms out, and launching herself at Lauren and Zach. They both fell to the ground with a thud. She slowly turned her head and saw the car, practically on top of her. The last thing she saw was someone flying through the air, above her. Then the images would start again.
She tried calling out, screaming. She wanted to stop seeing these terrible things. She heard someone calling her name. She tried to turn around and see who was calling for her, but she couldn't. She was trapped in a body she couldn't control. She started to panic.
"Charity? If you can hear me, squeeze my hand." Dr. Leaver requested loudly. She heard the voice breaking through the scene before her. She concentrated all her thought on moving her hand. Suddenly she felt like she was being sucked into a black hole. Her vision swirled, and she felt like she was flying.
"Dad?" Charity croaked softly, as she slowly pulled her eyes open. She blinked a few times, trying to adjust her eyes to the light in the room.
"I'll get your father in a moment. I'm Dr. Leaver. I'm glad to finally see you awake." Dr. Leaver smiled. Charity tried to smile back at her, but it hurt to badly. She was suddenly aware of just how badly her whole body ached.
"I bet you're going to be feeling pretty sore. The impact shattered your pelvis. We put in 4 bolts, but you aren't going to be up dancing for quite a while!" Dr. Leaver joked. Charity realized that what she had seen in her dreams hadn't been a dream. She felt like she'd been ran over because she had.
"Lauren. How's my sister?" She whispered frantically. Lauren had to be okay. She could remember seeing her hit the ground.
"Your sister is fine. She's waiting with your parents. I'm going to go and let them know that you're awake." The doctor said, giving her a smile as she left the room. A few minutes later the door opened and a nurse came in, bringing her a pitcher of water. Charity gulped it down quickly. She felt like her throat had been stuffed full of cotton.
"Charity?" Her father asked, pushing the door open. A grin broke across her face. It hurt like hell, but she didn't care.
"Dad! I'm so glad to see you. Is mom here?" She asked, wincing slightly as her father hugged her gingerly.
"Not yet. Her plane was due to land about fifteen minutes ago, so I'm sure she'll be here any minute." He replied, stroking her hair.
"Peyton is waiting at the entrance for her, and Lauren and Tyler are waiting outside to see you." He informed her, pacing the room.
"Can they come in?" She asked sheepishly. She loved her dad, but he tended to worry too much. It made her nervous.
"Of course. I'll get them." He replied, kissing her forehead before leaving the room. Charity kept her eyes glued to the door as she waited. A few minutes later it opened, and a smiling Lauren came in, followed by Tyler.
"Lauren, I'm so glad to see you! Everyone said you were okay, but I thought maybe they were just saying that so I wouldn't worry." Charity laughed. Lauren shook her head, smiling.
"Thanks to you, Zach and I are just fine." Lauren said, coming over to squeeze Charity's hand.
"Zach is okay too? That's good. What about the people in the car? What happened?" She asked, curiously. She thought that she'd seen someone flying out of the car, but she didn't know if that had really happened or if she imagined it.
"Uh, Well, that's not such good news." Lauren admitted slowly, glancing back at Tyler for support.
"Yeah, lets not worry about that right now. How are you feeling?" Tyler asked, trying to change the subject.
"I hurt, obviously. You guys are hiding something, I know it." Charity said, unwilling to let it go. Lauren let out a sigh, but started to speak.
"Skylar and Chloe were in the car. Skylar was driving and lost control. Chloe tried to grab the wheel to advert a crash, but she couldn't get control. Skylar is still in surgery and Chloe didn't make it to the hospital." Lauren finished softly.
"What? No, that's not possible." Charity stated adamantly. She began to shake her head, refusing to believe that Chloe was dead.
"Charity, we wouldn't lie about this. I'm sorry." Tyler said solemnly. He sat down beside her and held her as she began to sob.
"I'm going to go and find Zach." Lauren said, leaving them alone.
Charity couldn't believe that Chloe was really dead. She had just spoken to her hours ago. It just didn't seam real.
"I was so scared Charity. I tried to stop you, but you had a head start. I thought I was going to lose you." Tyler whispered into her ear as he stroked her hair.
If she hadn't been so distraught about Chloe, she might have pressed him to elaborate on his comment, but the thought didn't even cross her mind.