I loved Lorie.
Loved.
Past tense.
When she was an amiable creature with her timid ways, life was easier. She always preferred to be unnoticed, unimportant, a mere shadow of mine; one content with staying at home in her cosy corner of the world while I hung out with friends and celebrated the New Year in style. I could always come home to my Lorie, who waited with a ready ear for my recent tales and the latest gossip shared among my friends. I never worried when she joined the girls and me; she never partook in the teasing or arguments; was never the one to start a conversation with some lame line. She wouldn't laugh at Terry's idea of fashion or Nicole's whining discontentment with life, despite having been born with a golden spoon in her mouth. My Lorrie kept her opinions to herself and never asked for much. Of all the women in my life, I had loved Lorrie the best...
Yes... I had loved Lorie.
She'd been an uninteresting, introverted creature. After the accident, she became assertive and bold. The way she commanded everyone's attention with her confident chin and winning smirk annoyed me. I never hated a person more. And to you, dear reader, I divulge this secret I've kept for years... it might have been better had she not breathe again...
~
Everything happened so fast. A screaming of horns and squealing tires mixed with a thundering boom and grating metal that could break one's teeth swallowed the air in a flash. I was in the car ahead, and though I was unharmed, seeing the wreckage sent my stomach plummeting to the heated asphalt. I didn't even realise I'd urinated myself. By the time I reached the wreck, Dad and my boyfriend had dragged her bloodied body from the crash. I threw up on the roadside as the pungent fumes of burnt leather, rubber, gasoline and burning flesh smacked me in the nose. My imagination painted grotesque pictures of her face: skinless, protruding bones, broken jaw, burnt out eyes... it was awful.
An ambulance appeared out of the blue and I wanted to kill Dominic, Julia's boyfriend who'd been driving, but I didn't have long to brood. He'd died instantaneously.
Her condition was critical, and every day was a struggle. The family prayed for her recovery, but I'd never been the religious child under Dad's roof and simply hoped for the best and prepared for the worst. But somehow, for some reason, she pulled through. And God, how I later wished she hadn't... it would've been easier for me then.
Weeks of therapy were necessary for Lorie to recover an ounce of her bodily functions, and, in all those months, she refused to see me. Secretly, I was relieved because I feared what the accident had done to her face. Dad kept me posted with his frequent visits and comforted me with the fact that she mayn't have remembered me had I come sooner. However, the day of reconnecting arrived, and I wished to be anywhere else than with her.
"Kate!" she squealed from her bed. My lips pushed themselves into as genuine a grin as they were capable of, and I stared at the thick casts on both her legs and one arm. I had weeks to imagine what that precious face had come to, and it wasn't a pleasant picture. I fumbled with the little gift-wrapped box in my hand and pulled my purse straps over my shoulder.
"How are you feeling, Lorie?"
She gave a quiet laugh.
"Well, I'm broken in several places, it appears my memory isn't what it's supposed to be, my ribs hurt, I'm sore all over, and sleep's impossible unless the good doctor pumps me with pills, so I really cannot complain."
I raised my eyes then. It wasn't like Lorie to display sarcasm and I frowned at the girl on the bed. Her bold eyes held my own and despite the helplessness of her condition, her gaze was challenging, if not defiant. She smirked at me.
YOU ARE READING
A Collection of Stories
RomanceWithin these unassuming pages lies an eclectic mix of narratives that will tug at your heartstrings and set your mind racing. From hauntingly somber tales that delve into the depths of human emotion to delightful escapades that will tickle your funn...