Don't Save My Life

Chapter 13

Emmett

School had been dismissed for more than an hour when I gave up waiting and decided to leave the school parking lot. I was late for my first delivery of the day, rumors about me and Willa were flooded around the entire school and to make matters worse, that creepy girl Patricia had found out I lived in the same neighborhood with her.

            I pulled out of the parking lot and drove in silence, not even wanting the radio for companionship. It was stupid to think that Willa would help me. She was selfish and rude and too caught up in herself to care about anyone else.

            I glanced at the sparkling silver necklace resting on the dashboard. It was twinkling at me proudly as if to say, “I told you so.”

            Thinking this, I moved my hand from the steering wheel to swipe the necklace to the ground in a fit of frustration. It disappeared quickly, hiding underneath the mess of baskets that littered the passenger seat.

            Just as I’d looked up, my eyes caught hold of someone standing in front of my vehicle. I stomped the breaks hard, sending my entire body smashing forward until my nose had gave the steering wheel a nice hot peck. Now blood was gushing from my second breathing hole, and a deranged psycho was opening up the passenger door.

I heard the voice of Willa Haldon, though barely recognizable in this strange angry tone, speaking a single command.

“Drive.”

            I didn’t move. My nose was throbbing and there was blood all over my shirt as I tried to hold my head back now. I strained to see her from my peripheral vision; puffy red eyes, delicate fingers gripping that same small leather bag.

“What’s wrong with you?” I fought the feminine shriek rising in my throat.

            Here’s the thing, I had an issue with blood. A really bad issue with blood. I didn’t realize it before but now that the strong copper scent was ingrained in my nostrils and the gushing scarlet stained my fingers, all I wanted to do was shout. I had to admit, if being hemophobic made the old Emmet a wuss, then right then, I was on eight year old girl status. In moments I would probably be sick. The blood was getting everywhere.

            From beside me I could see that she wasn’t fazed in the least by this little scene. In the next instant a foreign expression flashed across her face. Before I could react, her thin leg had slid into my seat next to mine. I didn’t have time to respond, in the next moment she was stomping a booted foot onto the gas.

The car jerked forward at a gut wrenching speed and now I instinctively threw my drenched hands on the wheel to keep from crashing from oncoming traffic.

            At this she nodded calmly, moving her entire body back to the passenger side where she began adjusting herself within the mess of baskets. I recall hearing someone say it’s always the calm ones that are the deadliest, for this reason, I couldn’t help but feel intimidated watching her situate herself in my car.

“What’s wrong with you?” I said, trying to translate my fear of the blood into anger for this psycho.

She didn’t face me; just looked ahead, clutching her bag to her chest in a way so timid, you’d think a whole new person was there.

“Why did you spread that rumor about us?” she demanded in an accusing tone. ‘You just made me loose my best friend. Do you realize how hard it is for me to come by friends? Turn right.”

            I did as I was told, juggling the steering wheel while holding my head back as safely possible. She thought that I’d started the rumor about us? I wanted to tell her that I was just as outraged as her but I was kind of distracted by the red mess settling in to my cotton t-shirt. The second my mom saw e she was automatically going to assume the worst. I could picture it now, me walking through the front door and her calling up her publicist to let everyone know that whatever had happened to me, it wasn’t my fault.  I was the dream son with the perfect parents.