Talking to the Moon

PREFACE

When it’s all over, it never seems quite real. It’s like floating through a hazy dream, never completely sure of where you’re going or how you got there. All you really know is that you wish it would end. You pray someone will wake you up, end it all. But they never do.

          I’m cold. That’s my first thought when my eyes fly open. Thinking back to this, it seems silly. Giving the circumstances, there should have been millions of other thoughts swirling through my mind in those moments. But they don’t. As I’m lying there, I want more than anything to be back home in my bed, under my electric blanket, but that, I will soon learn, won’t be happening anytime soon.

          Where am I?  Is my next thought. Turning my focus to my hands, I feel the scratchy texture of grass beneath my palms. It’s wet. With a jolt of realization, it dawns on me that I am outside, lying on the ground, in the rain.

          What am I doing here? I wonder this as big fat droplets of water hit my face at a steady pace. Bringing my hand up with the intentions of wiping the water away, an intense pain in my arm stops me almost immediately and I cry out in agony.

          I could feel panic rising in my chest as my tears began to mix with the rain. I had no idea how I ended up out there. No matter how much I wracked my brain for an explanation, I came up blank.

          As the minutes dragged on, I became more aware of my own body. Pain. So much pain. And it seemed to only be getting worse by the second. I was sure my arm was broken. The rest of my body, I wasn’t so sure about. The pain was so widespread, I couldn’t even to begin to pin point where else I may have broken something. I wouldn’t have been surprised if every bone in my body was broken.

          The pain that consumed my body could be described as…loud. It was so overwhelming, I couldn’t think about anything else. It’s all I could focus on. The truck, which was lying on its back only a few yards away from me hissing loudly, remained unnoticed. I had no idea that that was what had tossed my boyfriend and me out of its windshield. I had no idea where I was. I had no idea.

          When the sirens filled the air around me, I never heard them. It wasn’t until a paramedic was hovering over me that I knew they were even there.

          “Miss?” said a woman’s voice. It sounded so far away, despite her close proximity. I couldn’t make out her features, all I could tell is she was female. I could also tell by her voice that she was worried. Whatever she had seen had frightened her. I was curious as to what it was, but I didn’t have the strength to ask.

          “Miss? Can you hear me? My names Debra and I’m here to help you! Everything’s going to be okay, I promise!” Debra, her name was Debra. My hearing was becoming clearer, and I could tell she was shouting. And she was here to help me. I was grateful for that. I wanted to tell her, but I couldn’t put the words together. It was as if I had forgotten how to speak. The words were there, but I couldn't get them out.

          “Alex!” Debra shouted to someone I couldn’t see. “I need a stretcher down here and some help. I found a girl.”

          Moments later I heard the sounds of footsteps crunching over leaves and sticks until finally I could hear them right beside my head. “How bad is she?” asks a male voice I assume to belong to Alex.

          Debra sighs. “She’s alive. That’s all that counts right now… But she appears to be disoriented due to the blow to the head and her arm is broken. Other than cuts and bruises, her other injuries we won’t be sure of until we get her to the hospital. The rest may be internal.”

          As the paramedics worked on me and loaded me onto the stretcher, Debra kept talking to me, willing me to talk. I wanted to talk. I really did. But I still couldn’t get the words out.

          When I was finally in the ambulance, the bright lights inside the ambulance blinded me. I heard an intake of breath the moment Debra was by my side. “Oh, God,” I heard her say to herself, in a terrified voice.

“No... No. Lena. No.” She ran her hand gently through my hair, tears falling from her eyes. “You're gonna be okay, sweetie. I promise,” she said in a cracked and shaky voice.

“Deb−” I heard a voice say, but immediately stop. A short moment passed before he spoke again. “Are you okay?”

“It's my nephews girlfriend, Alex.” Her voice was still coming out a rattle, and she still hadn't made eye contact with him. As she blinked more tears came pouring out of the corner of her eyes.

“I−” Alex started to say, but was cut off.

Her voice came out even more panicked and shaken. “What...” she took in a breath. “ What kind of truck was she in?”

“It's a little hard to tell exactly because of all the damage, but it was definitely a Ford.” he said.

“There's another passenger, isn't there?” she asked in a small voice.

A silence passed. It was easy to tell he was hesitant to tell her, but he did.

“Yes, there was. A boy. We just found him.” Debra didn't say anything to this new information. She continued to cry. Alex spoke on.

“I have his ID, right here.” he said, waving the blood stained wallet at her. He opened it and began to read. “Everett Je−” He stopped in sudden realization. His eyes were were wide with fear.

“Please tell me he's okay. Please!” She pleaded desperately.

“I'm so sorry, Debra. But there was nothing we could do.”

The world stopped. Then re-winded.

At the sound of his name, everything came rushing back. The party. The dog. The wreck. It hit me all at once.

          I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. Something. But I couldn’t. I was just getting dizzy.

          Everett was dead. My Everett.

          And it was all my fault.

          The sound of Debra’s cries were the last thing I heard before the world went black.

When it’s all over, it never seems quite real. You want someone to wake you up from this dream. This nightmare. To end it all. But they never do.

          They never do.

There it is! I hope you all enjoyed the beginning! I'm so excited for this book! I need to send out a huge thanks to IsASecret for the perfect cover! So thank you so much for it! It suits the story sooooo well! Well, thank you all for reading! Let me know what you think. I hope you all decide to give this a chance like you all gave TGITSB a chance! I think you all will love this just as much or more than that one!

- Kelly