Roses aren't always Red

Life Changer

"Have a seat, this may take a while," the officer says kindly. He introduces himself sensing my tension.

"You can call me Officer Mike or just Mike."

I look him up and down. I notice a nervousness in him. He runs a hand through short blond hair smiling at me. His blue eyes full of emotion, yet I can't quite figure out from what.

"Alright just Mike. Why did you need me? Did I do something of criminal intent?" I brush away a lock of hair that falls into my eyes.

"Well no, you seem like a good kid. Arianna I'm here with some bad news I'm afraid-," he pauses to see my reaction, "your mother is in the hospital right now. There was an accident in the labs. She-," he chokes up and shakes his head sadly. "She was in the room when the explosion occurred. She isn't expected to make it through the night."

I sit there stunned. I always knew my mom worked in a dangerous field, she's a chemical engineer, but I never thought this would happen. Memories of my mother play back in my head. Her long black hair, her loving smile, the goodnight kisses, her hugs... Everything. I feel as though the wind has been knocked out of me and I stare at Mike in disbelief.

"No," I manage to choke out in a hushed voice.

"I'm so sorry. I really am. I know how this feels"

I shout at him "you will never know how I feel!! You do not know what is going on in my head just shut up." Tears start to fall down my face and I whisper "just shut up" again before breaking into a fit of tears and rage.

He reaches out to touch my hand, intending to comfort me, but I pull back away from him. I shake my head slowly in disbelief. I stand up and stare directly at the officer. I think for a moment that he looks like he could be my brother. I ignore the thought and say "take me to her," the pain very apparent in my voice.

He hesitates saying "the hospital doesn't want any visitors at the moment."

"I DONT CARE," I shriek, "MY GOD DAMNED MOTHER IS DYING. TAKE ME TO HER DAMNIT,"

I slam a fist down on the desk. He looks at me shaking his head apologizing to me. It sickens me straight down to my core. I back away from him, unable to stay, I run.

I back out through the office to the streets. The cars and trees blur around me and all I can see is my mother in the distance. I run trying to catch up with her but the more I run the farther away she gets.

After a long time of unknown amount I stop running and look around. I realize then that I have no clue where I am. I pull my phone out of my pocket. Dead. I groan in frustration and Toss it to the ground. I sit down. I realize I'm in something of a park. It's a large expanse of grass and there is a playground further down to my left. I lay down staring at the sky.

"Hey, you!" I feel a sharp pain in my side and I realize I must have fallen asleep. I lift my head remembering the events of the day. "Can you hear me?"
The voice sounds out again and I feel another pain in my side. I realize whoever it is, is kicking me in the side!

"Yes I can fucking hear you. Stop kicking me." I hiss sitting up to see the perpetrator. That's when I realize how much trouble I'm in. I'm surrounded by a group of 5-6 tough looking guys. I see them all staring at me as though I were a piece of meat.

"Hey girly, we haven't seen you in these parts. what brings you out here?" The guy who woke me speaks again. I look at him. He must be at least six feet tall I think to myself. He crosses his arms over his chest scrunching up his muscles, no doubt to show off his anatomy. He is wearing a tight, dirty, white tank top and ripped up blue jeans with steel plated boots.

"Er... just passing through. I just went for a walk and accidentally fell asleep here. I should probably start heading back." I stand up realizing the sky is already dark.

"Oh, we can take you home girly. You wouldn't want to walk home alone this time of night would you now? Say, come back with us." He says with a menacing grin.

"Oh no. That's quite alright. Thank you though." I say trying to keep my voice steady and walk through the circle of guys around me. They close the gaps between them and I feel hands wrap around my waist.

"Oh no. You aren't going anywhere girly." He says into my ear. He starts to push himself against me pulling my body to his and I let out a blood curdling scream of terror.

I kick and thrash about when he tries to pick me up. I manage to punch him in the jaw. Blood streams from his mouth and he spits into the ground. He glares at me and releases me. Four guys take his place holding me where I am. The first one takes his hand and caresses my face. I move to try and bite him.

"Oh girly. You had to make this harder for yourself" he says making it seem like my fault and socks me in the face, hard. I don't give him the satisfaction of knowing how much it hurt. Just then police sirens go off and the guys all drop me and run. I see a familiar face before I collapse to my knees and black out from the event.

Regaining consciousness is always bizarre. You never know where you are or who might be with you. Sometimes you don't even realize you have passed out and you think you are still wherever you are before it happened. I take a breath wondering if I really want to open my eyes and see where I am, not wanting to be back in that park still.

The light floods into my face and messes up my system. I close my eyes and slowly open them allowing more time to adjust. I hear an animal like groan and wonder where it came from until I realize it was me.

"Officer! She's awake."

Strange I think to myself. That sounded like my grandfather. I turn my head towards the sound. It is him!

"Good. That wasn't too long thankfully. She wasn't hurt that badly. Nothing is broken. She will probably bruise but it will fade in a few days," officer Mike is standing in front of my grandfather now. He turns to me "hey there miss. You've worried a lot of people today running off like that. Please don't do it again."

I frown and look at him sensing his unease "she's dead isn't she?"

"Yes" he says quietly. After a long pause he says, "your grandfather is now your legal guardian. Everything has been arranged and all your stuff has been brought in." I sit up slowly and for the first time, I don't cry. I think I'm just in shock, but I don't think about it too much.

"Thanks," I say numbly. He walks over to me and gives me a quick hug. I lay back down when he lets go and ask if I can sleep. They all leave the room and I check out my new room. It is laid out exactly like the room in my mothers house. Suddenly beeping sounds from the top of my nightstand. My phone must be charged and all the messages are flooding in. I silence it.

My room is arranged with my bed on the far side wall in the corner. A desk sits facing out the window. The closet is on the left when you first step foot into the room. On the right there is white, boxy, shelving units. I smile at the familiarity. I snuggle down into my bed, just forgetting the day's events, and allowing myself to drift of in to a pleasant sleep. For the first time today I am happy for something.