Please stay...for me

That one small mistake

Laura....

Mom started the car and took another huge gulp of her wine bottle that was already half empty. The car started moving slowly but got faster and faster as we went down the highway. I could feel the bumpiness of the car going on and off the road. The darkness of the night made me anxious, I was too tired to worry.

"Mom, maybe you should pull over and let me drive," I said quietly.

"Oh, shut up," Mom said drunkingly. 

I sighed and closed my eyes. The radio blasted heavy metal music that made the car shake even more then it already was. I felt the car swerve off the road and into the grass. I opened my eyes and saw the car going down a hill, tumbling. 

The car must've tumbled 6 or 7 times before coming to a stop up right. I could feel myself being crushed. I looked over to my mom, she lie unconscious, head in the airbag, glass all around. Blood spread out of the airbag like a slow falling rain, so thick and dark you could drown in it. 

I tried to move but pain spread through my body, like a wild fire. I looked down. My arm was crushed between the now in caved car door. I moved my hands that felt wet and gooey, blood. I pressed my hand against my side and felt the blood poor out of me like a waterfall.  My head felt like it was exploding, my eyes fell heavy. I could hear sirens and people yelling. Then everything fell dark.

Preston...

Jacob, my brother, shook my shoulders. I kept my eyes closed but he knew I was listening. 

"Hey, dad wanted me to check your temp again, make sure the meds are working."

I opened my eyes and saw a thermometer in my face. I sighed and sat up, he put the thermometer in my mouth. My head felt heavy, I wanted to lay back down and sleep forever, I wanted my flu to go away, I wanted to be better.

The thermometer beeped and Jacob took it out of my mouth. I fell back against the pillows and looked at Jacob. He was smiling weakly at me.

"You're fever went down, its only 100.4 now. You should be better in a few days, I hope."

I nodded in agreement. I closed my eyes and I heard him get up and leave. 

I tried to drift back to sleep, but something was keeping me up. Something was wrong, I just didn't know what. I rolled over and looked at the clock on the side table. 3:17am. It was Christmas Day. Monica, my younger sister, loved Christmas, she wanted presents from Santa Claus. No one told her he wasn't real. She's only 6, let her keep her imagination longer. Unlike Jacob who's 19 and thinks Santa is a zombie. 

I sat up slowly and went out the room to the kitchen. My parents were sitting at the table, talking. I coughed loud enough for them to be able to hear me and know I was there. They both looked at me, worryingly. 

"What? What is it?"

My mom sighed. "Honey, something happened."

"To who?"

"Laura."

My heart stopped. I knew what the bad feeling was. 

"Is she-" I couldn't finish my sentence.

"No she's not dead, sweetie," my mom sighed.

"Can I....can I go see her," I asked, barely audible.

"Do you feel well enough to go," my mom asked.

I nodded.

Waiting was the worst part. Every second felt like hours, it was agonizing. I needed to know what  happened, how it happened. I paced back and forth for what felt like years. My parents waited with Laura's dad, trying to comfort him. 

Jacob stood in front of me to keep me from pacing any longer. I looked at the ground and sighed. Jacob wrapped his arms around me, I didn't struggle or move. 

A doctor walked out of the room and walked over to Laura's dad. I pushed Jacob off of me and walked over to the doctor. I came over right when he started talking.

"I'm so sorry but your wife didn't make it....your daughter is very lucky to be alive. She has 3 broken ribs, a shattered wrist, a fractured knee, her spleen ruptured, and she has 12 stitches in her stomach. She should make it ok but we wanna monitor her for the next few days just to make sure."

I looked over at Laura's dad, tears ran down his face. I sighed and looked at the ground. Jacob patted me on the back.

"Can we see her now," Jacob asked.

"Only two people at a time."

Everyone looked at Jacob and I. We followed the doctor down a plain and depressing hallway. He opened the door to a room that had the label A14. Jacob grabbed my hand and rushed inside. The doctor closed to door. 

I looked towards the beeping machines and saw Laura. She was hooked up to a bunch of machines. She had a line of stitches across her forehead, I giant bruise across the right side of her face. Her arm was wrapped in a thick, black cast. Bruises and large scratches covered her arms and neck. Her long blonde hair was pushed back behind her ears, some small strands caught in the strap that was across her face to keep her breathing mask in place. She looked so much more pale than she normally does. 

Jacob hugged me. "Hey, it's ok."

I didn't realize that he was hugging me because I was crying. I couldn't stand to see my best friend like this. It killed me. I pushed off of Jacob and stood by Laura's bed. Her hands were cold, like they always were. I rubbed my fingers through her hair. 

"Please be ok," I whispered. "Please."