Octavia (Completed - 2018 Watty's Longlist)

Chapter Four - Edmund

     I jerk awake, gasping for air to fill my lungs. Ripping off my covers from off of me I immediately  jump out of bed. I go to my door, throwing it open and rushing my way to the bathroom. I'm not sure if Jamie has gone to work yet, but if he was still sleeping I am pretty sure I would have woken him up.   
      I turn on the shower, not even bothering to add the hot water. The cold water runs down my body immediately making my body suddenly alert. Goosebumps cover my skin as I stand under the cold water. I would add hot water but I feel as though I somehow don't deserve it.
    I rest my head against the cold tiled wall of the shower, the water running down my back.

    My nightmares are the exact reason why I don't sleep anymore. I've had those nightmares ever since my Mom died. They torment me everything, neither one making it any better.
     I was hanging out with my friends at the beach that day and needed her to come pick me up. We were driving home when we turned down our street and. . .

     The doctors said she died instantly from the impact of the car. She copped the hit the hardest. The other car crashed mainly into her side and basically crushed her.
     The doctors tried everything they could to save her. But as they said, she died instantly. They also said that she wouldn't have felt anything.
      It happened so fast that I didn't even comprehend what was happening whilst the police were asking me questions.

     The driver of the other vehicle suffered from severe brain damage, though died a few hours later in the hospital. I wouldn't say that karma is a bitch. I mean, I know that he practically killed my Mom but he didn't do it intentionally. But that also doesn't mean I don't hate him for it.

    The doctors told me that he was suffering from severe depression after his girlfriend was murdered a few months ago. Said that he was over-dosed on anti-depressants.

     The funeral was a few days later. It was a beautiful ceremony. A closed-casket, the cuts and bruises were. . . I decided that they shouldn't be on show for everyone to see. Mom definitely wouldn't of wanted that.
      Dad came to the funeral. When I called him a fews hours into her surgery after the doctors told me that they couldn't save her Dad and I cried and spoke about Mom together for hours. It was really good to see him, a familiar face among the doctors, police, and extended family that I've never met before.
      After the funeral I decided to move to Seattle to be with Dad. Dad didn't have to force me, I chose to move on my own. There were too many memories and it hurt way too much to stay. I needed him now more than ever, just how my Mom needed me.

    Every time I wake up from those   dreams I'm always covered in sweat and tears from crying. When I'm sleeping, the sweat dripping down my body felt like the blood covering my body from head to toe. The tears made it seem more real. Every time the dream feels more real and every time I wake up and have to mourn her all over again.

    I run my hands through my hair and turn off the cold shower. I step out and grab a towel from the towel rack, wrapping it around my waist. A thousand tiny scars catch my eye in the mirror and I can't help myself but stare at the small, scattered lines that cover my chest from the glass that had cut me.

    I throw on a dark pair of jeans, a black shirt that seems to smell okay and a red flannel. Pulling on my black converses, I grab my bag and check the time before leaving my room. School starts at eight-thirty in the morning, and it's current ten-past-seven. I start making my way down the stairs when I realise what the time actually is.
     I stop dead in my tracks, dropping my bag to the ground and sigh in annoyance as I realise that I have gotten ready too early. I am practically ready to go to school with an hour and twenty minutes left until school starts.
     "Oh my god!" I groan aloud, picking my bag up and walking back to my room.