On The Corner of 44th

5:30 PM

"Miss?"

"Miss?"

"Honey, are you alright?" My eyes snapped over to a lady in a skirt. Her hair was frazzled and her eyes were dark. She had been squatting down next to me for a minute or so before I realized she was actually there. I nodded at her. "What are you here for?"

"Uh-I... I'm here for the accident. My friends were hit, I'm here with Hope."

She nodded, "That's the girl they pushed out a while ago for X-rays, right?" I nodded. "Honey, you've been sitting here, just staring at the floor for ten minutes. Are you alright? Were you there for the accident?" I nodded. "Were you hit too?" I shook my head no.

The images began to race through my head, a slide show of awful events. The dust, the screaming, the crying, the blood. Hope's hand squeezing my own as we waited for help in the hot asphalt.

Tears sprouted from my eyes. "I don't know where my other friend is... where my friends are!"

"Are they here?"

"Francesca was hit. She...she was hit really bad. I don't know where she is. My other friends are here, waiting."

She nodded and helped me out of my chair, handing me tissues. "Let's go find them."

First, we ended up finding Hope's mother and family sitting there waiting. Her younger sister, her uncle and aunt all sat in a small circle, quietly waiting. As soon as her mother saw me, she stood up and hugged me. For some reason, I thought she'd be mad at me. I thought she would be questioning why it was her daughter hit and not me. I thought she would be hoping that I was hit rather than her daughter, so that Hope was still standing strong.

I was. Why was it her? Why wasn't it me? I could take it... probably. Hope would be okay if I was in her place. It should have been me.

Hope's mom was thinking otherwise. "I'm so glad you're okay! Thank you! Thank you so much for all you've done!"

"I-I haven't done anything. Really. I couldn't leave her, I wouldn't." I forced a sad smile, but I really wasn't fooling anyone. I was broken.

"That's why I'm thanking you. You are a hero in my eyes. When no one was there, you were. You were scared, but you stayed strong for her. I really..." she let out a sob. "I really can't thank you enough." She stood there hugging me for a moment, then they took her to see Hope.

As soon as I saw Xavier, I ran to him. I crashed into his chest, our arms wrapping around each other for life. I sobbed into his shirt, letting everything out. Grace, Henry, Noah, and Aaron were there, silent. Xavier's mother and godmother stood in the background, watching me as if I were a glass doll falling off a high shelf. They all were. Henry began to run my back soothingly, Grace reached for my hand. We were together, and together our lives were changed.

Ten minutes later, I was informed that my mother arrived with Fran's mom. She walked up to us, her eyes red and swollen for crying. She pulled Xavier and I aside with his guardians. "Fran is here, they confirmed it. She was just under Jane Doe until someone could identify her."

My body stiffened. My emotions went out the window. I felt numb.

"She's in the operating room, critical condition. They had to remove her spleen, her stomach is being sewn back together as we speak." From the corner of my eye, I could see Xavier's godmother watching me. She pulled at Xavier's mother's sleeve, getting her attention, and motioning her eyes to my hands. I myself looked down and noticed how hard I was squeezing them shut. My palms began to bleed under the pressure of my nails but I didn't feel it. I felt nothing. I wanted to cry, but nothing came out. My mother looked at me, expecting me to say something. Nothing came out.

I felt like nothing. Nothing at all. Because Francesca was not okay, so neither was I.