It started with her

Chapter 2

Saturday/Sunday

"Wh-What the..." My body was moving on its own, my head was filling up with a million questions and scenarios. I couldn't really believe what I saw, "... Hey! Emily! Are you okay?!" She wasn't okay, not at all. Nothing I could've imagined would've prepared me for this.

"I didn't..." Her eyes were full of tears, painful tears. She sank down along the guard rail. I didn't know what to do, I poured everything out of my bag before I'd even crouched down beside her, "I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's alright. I uh, I'll help you, yeah?" I had no idea how to help, everything was scattered around me.

She certainly noticed my frantic search for the cause of her pain, "it's the stomach, I... just, hand me a bandage." My eyes darted across the ground, I found the bandage and brushed off any dirt before giving it to her. She pulled herself up and grabbed my hands, "hold them there, press harder," I did as I was told. She winced while moving her body away from me, "shit."

"You okay?" That was the second time I looked like an idiot in the span of five minutes. Her eyes said more than enough, she told me to keep applying pressure while she started rolling the bandage around her, "uh, shouldn't you clean it first?"

She shook her head, "it's not a priority..." she grimaced when I lifted my hands to get the bandage over her stomach. They were covered in blood, her shirt was soaked in blood, everything had blood on it, but I didn't care. She kept rolling the bandage, "you'll have to call an ambulance." I really should've done that first I realized, but it was too late to think about that now, I pulled up my phone and tried to unlock it, the blood smeared on the screen. I frantically wiped my hands and the screen onto my shirt before I managed to unlock it. I dialled the number, and they answered almost immediately.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"I uh, need an ambulance."

"Okay, where are you?"

"Trophy Bridge, 31 Acton Road."

"What's the emergency?"

"My friend er... She's hurt! A-and bleeding! Like... a lot!"

"I'll send emergency services right away."

"Great! Thank y—"

"You sound very young, is she really hurt?"

"What? Yes, of course!"

"...Alright, there's an ambulance close by, they'll be there soon."

"O-Okay, I'll wait with her."

I put my phone back into my pocket, Emily tightened the bandage around herself and pushed it under the layers to secure it. I let my phone slide into my pocket before I gathered everything into my backpack, I hesitated to pack the alcohol.

"They're sending an ambulance, hopefully." My fingers lingered around the neck of the bottle; it wasn't even opened. It had stood in our cabinet collecting dust since we got it, "do you uh... should we at least like, wash our hands?"

"Did y—" Her own coughing interrupted her, "water? Did you bring water?"

I showcased the bottle in my hand, "only vodka." I grimaced, she scoffed and reached out her hands.

"Better than nothing, it'll wash off the worst of it."

The pungent smell of the liquid was like a hit to the face, Emily didn't seem to notice, though she probably didn't care about it. "Why are you uh..." Anything I thought of saying felt wrong, "...out this late?" Even that felt very wrong to say.