The hush that surrounds me is almost palpable. It's funny how what used to be my enemy, silence, now defines my very existence. I glide through life in near silence—I don't make a sound when I walk, not even a whisper when I shut my locker door. Sometimes, I slip into a room and out without a single soul noticing my presence. It's as though I'm a ghost, entering and exiting unnoticed. My sister used to tease me, joking that if I stopped talking for just 5 seconds, she'd be worried about me.
Five seconds. That's all it would have taken for her to be beside me right now, I think to myself. Maybe, just maybe, five seconds of quiet could have changed everything. Perhaps she'd be alive, maybe about to start her senior year. But I couldn't keep my mouth shut. My endless chatter possibly led to her absence. And not just hers.
Phoenix was in the trailer when the accident happened. The crash that changed everything. I'm not even sure if he survived. I haven't been home since that dreadful day. I'm stuck here in this hospital, my leg shattered in multiple places. The doctors implanted a metal bar, and they say I'll have crutches in a few days. Hooray.
School started a while ago, but I've spent what feels like an eternity in this hospital. I was unconscious for a whole week, even missing my sister's funeral. The only mail I've received, apart from a poorly written note from my coach, has been the bleak news from my parents.
Silence weighs heavy on my heart. It amplifies the guilt that already consumes me. If only I hadn't been talking, maybe I would have noticed the fallen tree. Maybe, just maybe, things would be different. But dwelling on 'what-ifs' won't change a thing.
The hospital room feels both stifling and empty. The silence hangs thick in the air, an unwelcome companion in this new reality I'm stuck in. Time passes differently here. It's been days, maybe weeks, but the hospital walls make every minute feel like an eternity. My shattered leg, was a twisted reminder of the accident that changed everything.
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The Silent Rider
Teen FictionAshlyn was an up-and-coming showjumper before a tragic accident turns her whole world upside down. So now dealing with losing someone she was closet to along with trying to recover herself both physically and mentally. She finds herself falling for...
