3:09pm
Nothin' to do. Nothin' to do. I sighed and slowly made my downstairs. I was home alone. It was a Friday afternoon, it was raining out and I was bored. There was nothing on TV, no one to talk to, nothing to do on the computer. Just nothing. I'd spent the last half an hour wandering around the house, talking to myself and laughing at the stupid little things I thought of. Every room I went to I'd walk around, straightening things up and running my fingers along the edges of tables and shelves.
As I walked down the stairs and through to the lounge room my phone vibrated in my pocket, making me jump. My heart beat sped up as I realized it was just my phone, not some other person in the house. I pulled it out of my pocket and answered it without looking at the caller I.D., wanting to surprise myself.
"Hello," I answered slowly, running my left hand along the back of the couch as I walked around it.
"Hey! It's Bailey. Uh, I was s'possed to pick up Laura from school today since it's rainin' and all but I gotta go to work. I was just wondering if you'd pick her up for me?" he asked, rushing his words. I paused. I wasn't about to say no, this was something to do. But then again I didn't know her very well. Laura was friends with Bradie and Shaun's brother Chris but I'd always just seen her as Bailey's step-sister.
"Uh, okay," I said slowly before he cut me off.
"I wouldn't ask you to do this but she hasn't been that great lately and I promised my mum I'd pick her up and- Don't worry, just could you get her for me please?" he sounded desperate. Like this was some sort of life or death situation. But I agreed to do it anyway. It'd waste time for a while.
"Yeah sure, I'll get her. You just want me to take her to your place?" I asked, flopping down on the couch and putting my feet up on the coffee table.
"Yeah!" he was always yelling when he spoke on the phone, "Just take her home. She'll be at the school. Alright, thanks alot. I gotta go, see ya."
"Bye," I mumbled into the phone and hung up. I looked at the clock on the wall above the TV. It was 3:11pm now. I guess I should go now. School finished at three. I knew which school she went to, the same I did. I got up off the couch and went back upstairs to change into a pair of jeans and a dark blue tshirt. I grabbed my car keys from where they were on my bed and pulled on a pair of plain black shoes on my way downstairs. I turned on the house alarm before walking outside and locking the front door behind me. Then I walked to my car and got in. It wasn't raining anymore but I knew it would start again soon. The dark grey clouds that had been hanging around since morning were still there and that funny rain smell was in the air.
I pulled out of the drive way and made my way to the school. It took me ten or so minutes to get there, it wasn't close to my house plus there was a lot of traffic. She was standing outside the school gate, her arms crossed and she didn't look very happy. Bailey must've told her I was picking her up because when I stopped the car in front of her she quickly hurried over and got in. She smiled at me as she shut the door.
Her curly red hair was damp and stuck to her face. She had black jeans on that I could tell were soaking wet and she still pulled her jacket tight around her as she buckled the seatbelt and sat back in her seat.
"Hey," she said to me quietly.
"Hi," I said back. And it was only then when I realized what everyone's been telling me all these years. My voice is awfully loud.
"Thanks for picking me up, Bailey told me he had to work and stuff," she said softly as I pulled back onto the road into the traffic.
"Nah, that's okay. I had nothing to do anyway," I said and instantly wanted to take that back. That last part made it sound like this was the last thing I wanted to be doing today. Which in a way it was but saying it out loud made it seem worse. She continued staring out the front window of my car as giant drops of rain started to pelt down on the car. I turned on the windshield wipers but they didn't seem to be doing much at all. This rain was heavy.
I turned on the heater in the car as we slowly moved through the traffic. After a minute or so with the heater on she relaxed and unfolded her arms, resting them along her legs. I didn't mean to look at her legs, I really didn't. But something caught my eye. A silver bracelet on her right hand that had little ruby colored roses all over it. It was a nice bracelet. Absentmindedly I reached out to touch it. I fingered the little encrusted roses and suddenly she jumped and pulled her arm away. I pulled back my arm and looked at the road. There was a little bit of room for me to move the car up on the road so I did.
"Sorry," I said suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She smiled.
"It's okay. I didn't mind you touching the bracelet I'm just really ticklish on my, on my arms," she hesitated before she said the last few words, seeming embarrased about it.
"Ticklish on your arms?" I asked. I'd never heard of that before. Most peple I knew were ticklish on their stomach. But arms? I just thought it weird since your arms gets touched everyday, even without meaning.
"Yeah," she replied, "I know you think it's stupid. Everyone does, but I can't stand for people to touch my arms." I chuckled a little as the right hand turn light flashed green. I gasped and quickly turned into that lane and turned right. I knew where I was going. This road lead around the back of the suburbs instead of going through them. Hopefully this way would be much quicker. I took a quick glance at Laura who looked worried.
"Don't worry I know where I'm going," I told her. The road was clear. There was absolutely no one down here which I thought to be a bit weird. It didn't even look as if anyone was in the houses, the whole road was dead. I drove a little above the speed limit, like I always did on this road, even though the rain was still pouring down loudly. I liked looking at the big trees on this street. Silly, I know but I'd done this since I was little. I even had a favourite. I don't know why I liked them so much. They were just huge trees, planted between driveways every now and again. I took my focus off the trees and looked back on the road. I noticed Laura fiddling with the bracelet out of the corner of my eye. I took another quick look at her before I looked back on the road. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
A car was pulling out of a driveway three houses ahead. My breath caught in my throat because I suddenly knew what was happening. I could picture it all in my head. Yet I didn't know what to do. The car didn't see me and I had no time to stop. I drove into the other lane and slammed on my brake there. The tire's squealed on the wet road as I remember the car swerved around in a circle and hit something on the side of the road. Even though I remember the car swerving at that moment I wouldn't be able to tell you what we hit or what way we were facing on the road.
4:31pm
I took in a deep breath as I slowly opened my eyes. My eyes were blurry, I couldn't focus on anything right. I knew I was in the car, I could see the outline of the steering wheel and the cracked windshield but other than that I couldn't figure it out. I kept taking slow deep breaths even though I didn't mean it. I looked to my left where Laura was, asleep. I smiled a little at her but I still didn't feel right in the head. I felt dizzy or like something was missing. There was supposed to be something here but it wasn't. I slowly reached out my shaky hand and tickled her arm lightly. Even though I couldn't make anything out that one thing stuck heavily in my mind. I'm just really ticklish on my arms, I remembered her saying.
She didn't stir as I slowly ran my hand up and down her arm, trying to hold in a giggle. Nothing. She didn't move a muscle or even pretend she really wasn't ticklish. I drew back my arm and sighed. My fingertips had a funny tingling sensation in them from tickling her. Suddenly, for just a moment, I felt peaceful. Like this was what I was meant to do with my life.
I jumped, nearly hitting my head on the roof as I felt a vibrating in my pocket. I thought for a moment. I knew this feeling, I remembered it with something else. Phone! Phone! I gasped when I remembered. I stuck my hand, my fingertips still tingling, into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I'd missed the call, my phone was still now, but there was a small message on the screen. Missed call. Bailey. 4:35pm.
My eyes suddenly filled with burning hot tears as it all came flooding back to me. Car crash, we're in a crashed car! I wiped my eyes on the back of my hand, still holding onto my phone. I blinked hard a few times until my eyes registered properly for the first time since I'd woken up and I could tell where I was. The rain was lightly splattering on the windows and I knew why Laura wasn't awake yet. Her side of the car was smashed up, glass everywhere, cracked windows and I could tell what we'd crashed into. A tree. One of those big oversized trees I loved. I let out a whimper of fear when I realized. I looked out the window next to me properly and realized the car was on an angle. I started taking quick, deep breaths.
"Help!" I suddenly yelled. I didn't realize it was me yelling until I'd said the word. And I kept yelling it. I didn't care if I woke Laura, we had to get out of here, "Help! Help!" I heard pounding of feet on the road outside and then five or so faces were in front of my window. I looked at them, do something! They all just looked at me and then they dissapeared. "Help!" I yelled again. "How fucking stupid are you! Get me outta here!" I yelled, banging on the steering wheel. I was scared and starting to really panic. Then there was a banging on the door outside. It continued on for a few seconds, but I couldn't tell what it was coming from. Then the door was pulled open, a quick rush of cold air hit me. It was freezing cold but it felt good. I went to lift my right arm from where it had been sitting in my lap this whole time. But I couldn't. I lifted it not even a centimetre off my lap before stabs of pain ran up and down my arm. I left it there as a guy in a dirty white tshirt leaned close to me.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Thoughts ran through my head. Some telling me to do something stupid like yell stranger danger, others telling me to tell this man to get me out of the fucking car. But I didn't listen to any of them. My mouth and mind were no longer connected.
"Help!" I said to him. He leaned over me and unbuckled my seatbelt. He had to tug on it a few times and I was afraid it wouldn't come undone. But it did. The man took a quick glance at Laura before telling me to lean forward in my seat. I did, biting my lip to ignore the pain in my arm and clutching onto my phone with my left hand. I looked at Laura as he put his arms under my arms and pulled me sideways out of the car. I couldn't move my legs, they felt numb but I could move my feet. I was still stuck there.
"Help me!" the man yelled to the people behind him. Another tall man ran up to us, "Get his legs out," he said to him. That was when I went crazy. The tall guy leaned into the car and pulled my legs out, one at a time. As he did that I started screaming. To me it seemed as if I was just mumbling it but I knew I was screaming by the look on the tall guys face.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It's my fault! Just stay there, I'll come and get you!" I yelled to Laura as the tall guy finally freed my legs. I kept yelling as the two guys dragged me to the other side of the road, away from most of the shattered glass. I stared at the car as more burning tears filled my eyes.
The front of the car was bent around the tree a little and there was glass all in my seat, shining in the small light from the sun between the clouds. I could see Laura slumped there in her seat. There was no way they could just go break open her door and pull her out. The paint was all scratched up and it was just too much to take in.
The two guys were standing beside me, on either side. I started screaming again as I tried to get up. The two guys pulled me back to the ground but there was no way I could move anyway.
I sat there, slumped over on the road and started to cry, loudly. I didn't scream anymore. It was no use. Around me people were rushing back and forth. I heard one person call for an ambulance, another wanting to know our names. Two ladies walked over to me from the one ambulance parked in the middle of the road. They both had bags in their hands with the first aid symbol on them. The blonde lady kneeleed down on the ground next to me.
"Hey," she said softly, "What's your name?" she asked. I looked at her through my blurry eyes. At first I didn't want to tell her my name, I didn't want to take the blame for hurting Laura this bad. But I told her.
"Andy," I barely whispered.
"Well Andy, Sarah and I need to take care of you. You look like you got lucky," fuck you, "with just a few scratches." Sarah and the blonde lady opened their bags and started tending to the cuts that I didn't even know were on my face. I just sat there, letting them work. How could that bitch say I was lucky? I could've killed Laura! Bailey trusted me with taking her home and I ruined it all. How could you saythat's lucky?
"Andy what's the name of the girl you're with?" Sarah asked as she cleaned a cut on my forehead. I didn't reply because all that was on my mind was Bailey. All he wanted me to do was take Laura home, not hurt her. And now I'd ruined it all. He'd never talk to me again, this friendship was ruined.
"I'm coming to get you!" I yelled towards the car as the others stopped for a moment to stare at me. I left my phone on the ground and tried to crawl forward. Sharp pins and needles ran up and down my legs and I fell back to a sitting position. Sarah put her hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes.
"Honey, you need to calm down," she drew her hands back for a moment and handed me my phone.
"Why don't you call your parents yourself and tell them to meet you at the hospital. If they ask any questions just tell them to meet you there," she said. I took my phone and stared at her.
"Why do I have to go to the hospital. Is she coming?" I asked, pointing to the car. Sarah shook her head.
"No she won't be coming just yet. But you're right arm is broken," she told me. I sighed as they packed up my bags and helped me to my feet.
5:03pm
I stared out the window in the little hospital room. I did call my parents and they did ask a lot of questions. When I wouldn't answer them they said they'd be there as soon as possible.
When we arrived at the hospital Sarah and the other lady brought me to this room to put a cast on my right arm. I wasn't paying attention to them as they did it. But I looked up when a man came in the room.
"Sarah did you ask for another ambulance to be sent to the crash?" he asked. She nodded.
"I sent it as soon as we got here. It's only been fifteen minutes, she told him. He looked me over before speaking again.
"Is he from the same crash?" he asked them. The blonde lady nodded.
"But he still won't tell us the name of his friend," she told him. I tuned out the rest of the conversation. I knew they'd just ask me over and over again what Laura's name was. They could wait until Laura got here, she'd be awake when they got her out of the car.
Still, the same thing was in my head. Bailey's going to fucking hate you 'cause of this. I don't know if Laura would hate me, she knew I did all I could. But Bailey would never listen to us.
I looked away from the window as my parents came into the room. My mum's eyes filled with tears as she saw me and came over. She hugged me close to her as dad stood off to the side. I just sat there lifeless, not able to get the thought of Bailey hating me and Laura lying there out of my mind.
"Andy they told us what happened! Baby, I can't believe this thank gosh you're alright!" she sobbed. I just looked at her. I hadn't heard anything about Laura coming in yet. Where was she? "They said you won't tell them who was in the car with you. I don't know who it was either but you have to tell me. You won't get in trouble," she looked into my eyes expecting me to tell her. But I couldn't.
Tears filled my eyes again and I silently sobbed.
"She will tell them what her name is when they get her out of the car," I managed to tell them, my voice a little shaky. My mum slowly nodded but she didn't say anything more about it.
"We need to go talk to the nurses," mum told me, standing up off the bed. I nodded.
"We'll be back in a minute," the first thing dad had said to me before they left me alone again. I didn't want to sit here anymore, staring out the window at the rain that hadn't stopped falling since we got here. I didn't know where my parents were but I hoped they hadn't seen me. I just didn't feel like talking to anyone. All they wanted to know was who the other person in the car with me was. They could just ask her themselves.
I walked down a random hallway, my shoes on the ground the only sound. My cast on my right arm was heavy. It felt funny and for some reason made me giggle a little. I reached the end of the hallway, coming to a huge wall to wall window that for some strange reason looked directly down into the big group of ambulances. Some waiting to leave, some coming in. There was five ambulances on one side of the parking area, another ambulance had the doors open but nothing was happening. And two ambulances were just coming in. One person ran out to each ambulance and threw open the doors. The two people in the front seat ran to the back, helping them to get the people inside out. I watched both ambulances closely but Laura didn't come out of any of them. She's still not here. Tears ran down my cheeks as I leaned my forehead against the cold window and put my hand on the window.
In the back of my head I knew what had happened to Laura. But most part of me, the crazy/hysterical part told me and convinced me she was alive and fine. She just wasn't here yet. Absentmindedly I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out my phone. Probably the only thing that escaped that crash without a scratch. Or a life.
I found Bailey's name under Contacts and hit call. I pressed the phone to my ear and he answered right away.
"Where the hell are you!" he yelled into the phone. It had no effect on me. I kept staring down at the ambulances.
"Hi," I said quietly.
"My parents are gonna be home in five minutes. Where the fuck are you and Laura? All you had to do was bring her home. . ." I didn't listen to the rest of what he said. Yet again I was crying. I tried to keept it quiet so he wouldn't know what I was doing. Everything was blurry, I couldn't tell anything from something else. I sobbed and slid to the ground, turning around to lean against the wall.
"Huh? Where are you?!" he yelled, making me jump. I cried loudly, not caring who seen or heard, "Andy? Andy? What're you doing?" he asked.
"I. . ."
"You what?" he asked and I could tell he was still furious. But I didn't care. This was all my fucking fault!
"I-I think I killed your sister," I sobbed into the phone.