From The Ashes We Rise

Chp 7: It Gets Worse

A week had passed and I no longer had to go for detention. I was also no longer grounded and could start hanging out with Sammi again.

People wouldn't stop calling me a freak now. It had been annoying me for the past few days. I tried telling them to shut up but they kept mocking me so I had no choice but to live with it.

Zachary had recovered and was back on the school team. However, every time he saw me, he will either break eye contact or flee immediately. His gang of friends have started picking on me because of this. They would force me to finish their homework or even pass them my notes for any tests coming up. If I didn't, they would beat me up. They wouldn't lay a finger on Sammi though. They couldn't hit a girl. At least there's a bit of humanity left in them.

Sammi and I were walking out of the school gate while discussing school work. We were planning to study together at my place.

"So..." Sammi started, " how are you able to deal with all this? Sorry, I can't do anything to help, I don't wanna get us in trouble again."

"I'm fine Sam, don't worry. I can take a punch or two."

"Are you sure? Every day I see new bruises on you. Those guys hit you like there's no tomorrow. I can't bear seeing you getting beat up every day."

"I'm fine, don't worry about it. They'll leave me alone...sooner or later."

I stopped for a while to get out my earphones. "But anyways, I ha-"

"Ash, look out!" I was pushed onto the sidewalk. I scraped my arm but that didn't matter. Just as I got up, I saw a car colliding into Sammi, sending her flying a few metres away.

"Sammi!" I rushed to where she landed with tears in my eyes.

"No, no, no, no..." I muttered to myself. I was panicking again. I got down on my knees and cradled her in my arms. This can't be happening.

A pool of blood started forming around us. Her arms and legs had scratches from the road. She had a giant gash on her forehead. One of her legs was twisted in an abnormal way. It had to be broken. I put two fingers to her neck. She's still alive, just unconscious. My clothes were getting stained red by her blood. I held her hand close to my face as I sat in the middle of the road, holding her lifeless body.

The driver of the car got out and asked if she was okay. All I did was glare at him before breaking down again.

"C-call the ambulance," I stammered.

Within minutes a crowd started to form. I heard people ask one another 'What happened' and 'Is she okay'. A few people at my school were also at the scene.

"It's going to be okay, Sam. I got you...I got you..." I whispered in her ear while cradling her, waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

When the paramedics arrived, they took Sammi from my arms and checked her vitals. According to them, she's still breathing but losing blood quickly. She needed to be operated on as soon as possible.

I got into the ambulance with her and dialled her parents to inform them of what had happened. After that, I informed mine.

The hospital was located in another town in Minnesota and it took us at least 2 hours to reach by car.

After arriving at the hospital, Sammi was wheeled out on a gurney to the Emergency Room. I texted her parents to inform them of her location and proceeded to the waiting room.

About an hour later, Sammi's parents arrived. Her mum was distraught and her husband was trying all he could to comfort her. She kept muttering 'How could this happen?' as she paced the room.

They were soon called to handle some paperwork regarding Sammi's operation and all that. Meanwhile, I waited for my parents.

My mum and Nick burst into the room. Dad wasn't with them, thank god. My mum went over to the Raymonds while Nick sat beside me.

"Mum told me what happened. I'm sorry Ash...must've been disastrous." I remained silent.

"Where's dad?" I couldn't care less if he came but I was curious.

"He dropped us off and drove back to work. He said something about not wanting anything to do with you." My dad's changed. Doesn't he love me anymore?

Nick and I sat in silence for a while. Many thoughts flooded my mind.

It's all my fault. I caused this. Why can't I just be...normal? I'm a walking disaster...it should've been me. I shouldn't be here...

I felt tears threatening to pour out.

"Ash, it's not your fault. Never was. It's just an unfortunate chain of events. Life is unpredictable. You'll never know what happens next. At least Sam's still alive, right?" consoled Nick. He has a point but deep down, I still feel like I caused all this.

"Look Ash...it's okay. What's important is that doctors are saving Sammi in the operating room. She'll come out soon. All we have to do now is wait."

After a few minutes of waiting, mum came over. She sat down beside me.

"The doctor came as well to tell us, well, that she's in critical condition. She...lost a lot of blood and they don't know whether she'll live. All we have to do is pray."

Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't lose my best friend like this. I loved her too much to let her go. I couldn't bear to see her gone while I still walked the earth.

"Because her operation might take a couple of hours, her parents offered to send us home, since your dad doesn't bother to pick us up. I'm sorry, Ash but we'll have to hope she will survive."

•••••••

I stayed quiet throughout the ride. I couldn't help but think that I caused all this to happen, and it had barely been a month! I couldn't stop thinking about the chances of Sammi living.

I peered out the car window. The sun was setting. The sky was a mix of orange, red and yellow, like as if some artist had been experimenting with the colours. I could sketch the skyline but I didn't bring my sketchbook or my art materials. What a waste...

"Hey...uh, Ash? You okay?" Nick snapped me out of my thoughts again.

"Huh? Oh, yeah...yeah..." I sighed, thinking about today. I turned back to look out the window again. Cars passed one another as we zoomed past. I really had to do my homework later, with or without Sammi.