An honest mistake

The party

Hello! It's my first time writing a story in English as English isn't my first language, so please excuse the potential mistakes! Thank you so much and I hope you will enjoy reading it!

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"You should wear this dress.

-I mean I like it a lot but... I don't know... it isn't really my style. And don't you think it looks a little too much ?

-I don't think so. It looks really good, red is definitely your color.

-It's a little bit... you know.

-Don't worry, it will only be our friends. And you just graduated from a prestigious university and got a job in a hospital. You can relax a bit, don't you think?

-It's only because it's my aunt's company.

-Nobody cares! Let's just have fun, I have beers.

-I don't drink alcohol.

-I do. Come on don't give me that look, Sarah, we are almost 31.

-I am 28. I skipped two grades. But I get it, just be careful ok? Do you remember that guy in our senior year? He drank too much and he died because he didn't find a liver donor in time. He was my partner in a project, I don't want to finish like him. It's traumatizing.

-He took medicine with it. I'm not as stupid... It'll be just one glass, I promise.

-Don't talk bad about a dead person. But I'll see. Maybe a drink isn't much.  And I do look good in this."

Sarah ended up agreeing with Lori, she didn't want to fight before what is supposed to be the "best night of their life".

Beside, she likes going to parties with her. And she was going to have fun and relieve the stress of her exams and job interviews.
She quickly brushed her hair and put what a man would say is "too much makeup". She didn't care, nor did her best friend.
They just wanted to have fun.

She was dancing when she started to feel dizzy and light headed. She felt like she was in some kind of fever dream. She went to seat on a couch when Lori's friend came to check on her. She had seen him a few times in uni but not enough to remember his name. He offered her a glass of water as soon as she told him her current state.

She took a sip or two and somehow felt worse. That's when she realized her mistake. When it was too late and she couldn't move. When everything went dark.

She woke up on a couch, in an unknown room. She was alone.

She could still hear the music and guessed she hadn't been unconscious for too long. Maybe one or two hours.

When she felt like moving, she got up before sitting down immediately in pain. All of her lower body felt like it was on fire, and the headache and stomachache didn't help.

She managed to drag herself in the bathroom, noticing only there the blood running down her leg. Maybe it was the panic and adrenaline but she suddenly got up and ignore the pain. She had to leave now.

She left the room and went straight to the door before thinking about Lori. Sarah turned around and started to look for her best friend in the room.
She pressed her in the passenger seat and started driving.

Lori was almost begging her to explain what had happened but Sarah couldn't bring herself to. It's not like Lori hadn't guessed yet.

She was driving way pass the speed limit, and when she had to stop at an intersection, she pressed the wrong pedal and accelerated.

The last thing she heard was her best friend screaming "Watch out" before they hit another car and fell into a ditch.
The girl was already unconscious when the three car in the accident caught fire.

One week later, she was the only one to wake up.

In the Hospital room she was alone.
She turned her head towards some machines only to feel exquisite pain in the movement. At least, she had find an emergency button, something she was supposed to press to call a nurse.

She lifted one arm and pressed on it. When the nurse came in, she was crying, she wasn't sure if realization hit her or if it was the pain she was in.

Everything else is a blur. She remembers the man changing her bandages and doing a quick exam on her.

Then her parents were allowed in. They were crying to and it seemed like it was worse after seeing her face.

"Can I have a mirror?"

First the nurse told her to look away while he was taking care of her wounds, now her own parents couldn't look at her in the eyes.
But her voice was too quiet. Nobody heard her, or maybe they acted as if they hadn't. Or maybe she never spoke. When she tried again, she almost choked and was given water.

"Mirror."

She said again, trying to take back the control of her vocal cords.

"No." denied her mother. "Do you want to see pictures of Croquette?"

The woman didn't wait for an answer and pulled her phone to swipe through photos of Sarah's cat.
It sure was comforting to see photos of the tiny animal but no one was listening to her and wouldn't let her speak.

Her mother swiped one last time but it wasn't a picture of Croquette. Lori was smiling right at her and the words "To Lori, a bright young woman. May you watch over us in heaven. Rest in peace."

Her mother gasped before hiding the picture, it were clearly a kind of memorial article in the local newspaper. It must had downloaded itself from WhatsApp. No matter the reason, it was too late, her daughter had seen it.

Sarah started heavy breathing. Her palms were sweaty and her heart felt like it was bursting out of her ribcage. Her body felt so weak it was unbearable, she was shaking uncontrollably. Her throat was dry and she started looking everywhere for the glass of water she had earlier. She tried to grab it but her limbs weren't listening to her.

Her mother had reacted and immediately gave the water and helped her drink. The cold liquid left on her tongue a bitter taste as she remembered the drug she was given what felt like years ago.