Escape Her.

Interview #1

"We want the whole story, tell us everything you know" the reporter said to me with her pencil at the ready to write the best story of her career.
"Alright, are you sure? We'll be here awhile, there's a lot to remember" I told her.
"That's fine honey, I need every part of it. We're changing the way news is told now. We want the whole truth, no matter how irrelevant you may think it is. No more lies anymore, and that's thanks to you for changing that. We have no due date for this story."
"Ok then, this is the whole story..."

I remember Mama telling me she was going to the store. I was so wrapped up in my art I barely acknowledged what she said. I just said alright and forgot about it. Eventually something started to feel off, she'd been gone forty minutes. We live in the south end of Johnson's City, or "the bin" as some of the locals call it. The south end isn't very large, everything you need is within five minutes of driving, most of us walk everywhere. Then I heard a ringing on the home phone, which is unusual, we use that phone maybe once or twice a month. I picked it up and a lady on the other side asked "is this Byrdie Carrier?"
I told her "yes ma'am this is Byrdie, who is this?" And then she told me the worst news I've ever heard in my life. It quite literally changed the course of my life forever.
"I'm sorry to inform you but your mother was hit by a car, he was going too fast and wasn't paying attention. We have her here at Johnson's City Medical School and Hospital."
"What? I'm sorry can you repeat that one more time please?"
"I know this comes as a shock Miss Byrdie, but we need you here to consent to medical operations your mother needs. Unless if you know where your father is?"
I had to pause for a moment to catch my breath. So much was happening all at once. My mama was in a car crash, she was all the way on the other side of town, she needed procedures, and the hospital lady just asked where my daddy was.
"Um-m I'm sorry, no I don't know where he is. I'll try to be at the hospital as fast as possible." I told her
"Alright then." The lady told me and hung up.
I put on my shoes and ran out the door. I stepped right into a puddle and got reminded of how old my shoes are when water leaked through a hole. It also goes to show how wealthy my mom and I were. Which was not at all. I got to the bus station and jumped on the first bus that was there, not asking where it was going. "Can you make a stop near Johnson's City hospital please" I begged the driver. "That depends on how much you have" he told me. I can't blame him for trying to squeeze as much money out as he can from someone. The bin is a rough place. I searched through my coat furiously and came up with a twenty dollar bill I had won in a bet from a friend. He told me that if I could get the first guy I see to kiss me I'd win. I took a good look at him, smacked his shoulder because it was a stupid bet, then kissed him. Not my most proud moment but a twenty is a twenty. I showed the money to the driver and he told me he can drop me off at the nearest bus station to the hospital. I nodded and went down the aisle to the back of the bus. The ride was the most anxiety ridden ten minutes of my life, my head was coming up with all kinds of scenarios. "What if she's dead now and they couldn't reach me? What if this procedure makes her crippled for life? What if she has to get a leg or an arm removed? Or what if she's brain dead now? Will she still be able to work?" The bus finally makes its stop and the driver tells me this is my station. Which was of course an extra five minutes of walking to the hospital, when it had just began to pour. I thanked him anyway and made my way to my mama. The hospital doors automatically opened, which I normally would have been in awe of but at the moment I was only focused on Mama. A nurse in the front took a look at me and said "sorry, we don't offer free health care here." I took a long look at her, she had perfect hair, expensive jewelry, nice makeup, her nails were done, she was obviously from the north side of the city. I also realized that I probably looked like someone who would come in asking for free healthcare just so they would have a place to sleep or just a shot of pain killers. I really needed new clothes. I walked up to her and told her "I'm not here for that, I'm here for my mama. She was brought in today after a car crash, her name is Samantha Carrier." The nurse took another judgemental look at me and began typing on her computer. "Oh, she's in room 114A, I'll have another nurse show you the way."
"Thank you ma'am."
I know I should have waited in the lobby for a nurse to come get me, but I was so worried I decided to try and find the room on my own. I made it to the A level floor when I ran into a nurse. "Looking for someone?" He asked with a big smile on his face. I didn't get how he could have been smiling like that while I didn't know whether or not Mama was close to death. "Yessir, I am, the front office told me 114 A" I said to him. He told me to follow him down the hallway. It felt like we were walking forever until we finally got to the room. A doctor walked up and shook my hand "Hello Miss Byrdie, I'm Doctor Taub. I'm the one who's been taking care of your mother so far. I need you to sign a few forms, she needs surgery and she listed you as an emergency contact." I barely could comprehend what the doctor was saying. It was a lot, I was only sixteen. He handed me the clipboard and I looked through all the pages. "How much will this cost??" I asked Doctor Taub. "In the region of $17,000. This leg surgery will take quite some time." My heart absolutely sunk. We could barely afford the rent to our tiny house, how could we pay $17,000? "Oh, oh, that's a lot, is that the lowest price?"
"Yes ma'am" he handed me a pen as though nothing was wrong "just sign along these lines."
I picked up the pen and signed my soul away.

   "Wow...just, wow" the reporter said. "This whole thing just starts off...tragic. I can't imagine how much that must have hurt."
"It did, it did a lot. I hated seeing Mama in that hospital bed. I wanted her out of there and back home as fast as possible. But doing that came with so many consequences."
"It did, it truly did. I hate that we're at the end of our time for today, but I will see you tomorrow at the same time, alright?" She told me with a worried and sweet look on her face.
I nodded and left the room.