Ghostly Heartbreak | Luke Patterson

Chapter 1

3 Months Later

"Mija. You need to get going to school. You have less than an hour," the woman said to me sickly.

"I know," I grabbed her frail hand that was attached to an IV stand, "I just don't wanna leave you. What if something happens when I'm away grandma." I looked into her eyes, that held so much light in them but when she got diagnosed with cancer not even a month ago, the light dwindled.

It was the day before it would officially be two months without my family. I stumbled out of a friend's at 2 in the morning, coming back from a party both drunk and high as hell. Ever since I was discharged from the hospital two months ago, I've drowned myself in alcohol and drugs to numb the pain that's been left behind from losing everyone I loved. That was my way of grieving, by shutting out all of my emotions. When I wasn't drunk or high, I was cutting myself, wanting to feel physical pain. I yearned to be with them again.

I glanced over to the house that was two doors down, Julie's. She hasn't reached out to me in the past two months and I've missed her, especially during this time that I need her the most. Even when I tried to hate her for not being here for me, I couldn't bring myself to. Flynn comes over occasionally to check up on me and give me updates on Julie. I sighed before walking up the stairs to get to my front door.

The lights in my grandma's house were off, so I walked up the stairs, leaning on the railing for support. Up on the second floor, I had a hand on the wall as I walked to my room. Opening the door, I threw my heels to the side and jumped on the bed. I opened the drawer next to me and pulled out a pill container that I have hidden in my mom's jewelry box. I pulled the cocaine filled container and poured some on my dresser and snorted it.

I started coughing, "Nova, mija are you okay? I heard you comin-" my grandma barged in, "AYE! Honey what are you doing."

I looked up with blood shot eyes, "N-nothing. I'm fine. Go back to sleep." I tried to hide the drug with the shirt, but she marched to my dresser and saw the white powder before tearing through my opened drawer and opened the jewelry box finding more pill bottles.

My grandma turned to me with a broken expression, "What are you doing Nova! You're ruining your life. You could die Mij-"

"THAT'S THE POINT," I stood up from my bed, "I'm tired of living without them, grandma. I can't do this anymore. I can't pretend that I'm fine like you," I cried out.

The woman before me gasped, "Honey, I know it hurts," teared swelled in her eyes, "but this isn't how you grieve for them." She reached for my wrists and noticed my flinching, turning my wrists over to see the fresh cuts from yesterday, "Aye mija, you can't keep doing this. I can't lose you too," she put her hands over my wounds.

I leaned forward to cry on her shoulder, "I can't stop grandma...I miss them too much," I croaked out through my sobs.

She moved to get up, "Let me get some bandages for yo-" she fell to the floor.

I jumped to the floor to help her, to find her unconscious. "No no no. Wake up. Wake up grandma," I shook her shoulders while tears poured out as I started to panic .

I ran to get my phone to call 911, "911 what's your emergency."

"It's my grandma. S-she fell and i-isn't walking up. Please I need help," my voiced cracked.

Five minuets later paramedics took my grandma out on a gurney into the vehicle. Everyone was out of their houses at the sound of sirens outside their houses.