Ace's Raine

Chapter One: The Accident

                  

Flashback...

I stare at the window of the diner where I currently work. I'm looking at the reflection of the big neon sign that reads "The Lovely Cup".  The sign is so old, the words are blinking in and out a couple time's.

"Still not here?"  Asked my boss, Mrs. Armstrong.

"No, but I think I'll just walk home. It's no big deal."

"Are you sure? I can probably lock up early and take you?"

I take a good look at her and know for a fact I won't accept that.  Mrs. Armstrong is a very beautiful elder lady. She has platinum hair, and bright blue eyes. She is very skinny and I worry, but she takes good care of herself. She looks really tired, with the sweat on her brow and the way she's slouching. She lost her husband a couple years back, and her son left without telling anyone where he went.  She doesn't have any more family, which is why she treats me like one of her own.

"No, I need to stop being so lazy anyway." I say while laughing. "Plus, I only live 5 minutes away."

"What about your friends you're always with? There's like five of them, I'm sure one of them can pick you up?" She presses further. She's never liked me walking alone, especially at night.

"No Mrs. Armstrong, I always ask them and I'm sure they're tired of it. So I'm just going to walk, but thanks anyways!"

With that I walk away and out the door before she can say anything else. I live in a small town in Georgia, so it's not hard to know everyone and everywhere you're going.

I walk by High Hope High School, the place I hate the most. Now I don't hate school. No, what I hate is that this high school is the most cliché high school there is. You have the queen bee, the players, the nerds, the preppy cheerleaders, the bad boys, and the occasional bad girls.

Quickly passing the horrid place, I'm almost home. I'm two blocks away, but I don't get any farther.  I notice my mother's car on the sidewalk .Not parked next to the sidewalk, but on the sidewalk. I run over thinking she wrecked, but found the car empty and is in perfect condition. The driver's door is wide open, car still on. I hear a high-pitched scream that sounds oddly like my mother.

My heart stops. For a second I stop breathing and try to recollect what I just heard. Once I unfreeze, I drop my bag and take off running down the alley way I heard the scream come from. I was not expecting what I saw next.

My mother lying on the ground, clothes torn, bleeding.

"MOM!!!!" I scream. Then I notice the two men wearing all black. The only thing I notice is one of them has dark brown almost black eyes. They are standing a couple feet away from her, and then they notice me and look like deer caught in headlights.

"Baby, run go get help! Please!" she begs on the verge of passing out. She looks pale and cold, shaking and bleeding.

Then one of the men swiftly walks up to her, crouches down, and stabs her right in the chest. They immediately start running away.

I froze.

"MOM!! I scream, running to her side, pressing on her chest wound.

I look up to find the two men are now nowhere to be seen, I can hear sirens in the background.

There too late... She's gone already, she's so cold and she's not moving.

By this point I'm sobbing and can't move. I can't feel my body; the only thing I do feel is numbness. The police and paramedics are talking to me but I don't hear them. I can't hear them, I try so hard but all I can see is my mom lying on the ground begging me to get help. But I was too late...

If I had gotten help maybe she would be fine, but I didn't...

I killed her...

That is all I think as my world seeps into darkness.

-THE NEXT DAY-

My mind is foggy...

It feels like someone is throwing up rocks in my head. My body feels like there are weights holding it down. I move my hands to feel the soft material beneath them. I'm lying in a bed, that's for sure. This is definitely not my bed though. This one doesn't feel as cushioned; this one kind of feels rough under my back.

What happened? Why do I feel so sore?

I try opening my eyes but the room is so bright it hurts. I'm in a hospital, I think. I squint and slowly open them to see my dad sleeping uncomfortably on a chair and my five best friends arguing in the corner.

First there's Liam and Lenard, the twins. They're arguing on who gets to hug me first, being goofballs as usual. I met these two in middle school; they were being bullied for looking alike. One day some kids tried to gang up on Lenard by shaving his head. That way they can tell who is who. Before they could even come close, I stepped in and bluntly told them who was who. The twins were marveled at how I could tell so easily. And since then they've been friends ever since.

Then there's Ryan who is quietly reading in the corner in a chair. He never talks much, I met him this year. I saw him sitting on the sidewalk and he looked very sad, so I sat with him. We didn't talk we just sat there in comfortable silence. Ever since that day he sat with the twins and I at our lunch table.

Next is Oliver who is amused watching the twins fight; now he's another story. I saw him picking on Liam once and blew up on him. After that he said "I respect you" and BOOM we were friends.

Then finally there is Raine, who is silently watching me. I have known Raine since we were little, he lived next door. His parents and mine have been friends since high school, so we've always known each other. Raine knows me better than anyone; he knows when I'm sad from miles away. He's the only one who's seen me cry. He's the only one who makes my heart skip a beat or make my stomach have butterflies. So yes, I've also had a little crush on him since diaper days. But I would never jeopardize our friendship.

Right now he's staring intently at me, almost waiting for a reaction. What is he doing? Wait! Why am I in a hospital? What happ-

Suddenly it all comes back, rushing in. It's like a lightning bolt hits my head.

My Mom! The two men! The knife! The blood! The sirens!

Raine seen my panicked face. He jumped up from his seat and ran to me, engulfing me with a bone-crushing hug. I start to remember the images of my mom, and begin to sob.

...Flashback)