Burned and Scarred

Chapter 1

I can't remember last night. I try to, but it only comes back in bits and pieces. It was hot; too hot. There was smoke. I was drenched, but that didn't stop the intense heat from burning me. I could hear my parents yelling at me, to stop and to hold on. Stop what? I could hear banging as I look around, my vision blocked by the flames. I heard something about 911, something about an ambulance and the fire department. What was going on? What was happening to me? I remember coughing; a lot. At first from the smoke, but then because of something else. Water? Why was there water? Then, my parents stop yelling at me and start screaming. First my mom, and then my dad. Soon they stop. It was then I realized that they were dead. I can hear the sirens in the distance, but they're not close enough. The pain is now unbearable. I soon stop, giving up. Then it all goes black.

I try to move, but it hurts. I try to open my eyes, but I can't. I feel overheated and cold at the same time, a numb feeling all over my body as I try to pull myself from unconsciousness. I can't. All I can do is listen to the sound of my heartbeat on the monitor.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

My eyes shoot open and I slam my hand down on my alarm, making the annoying beeping stop. For a brief second, I attempt to remember my dream. It only comes back in pieces, but I know what happened, and I know what it means. I've been having the same dream for the past six months; four actually. I was in a coma for the other two while it seemed like I was living in the dream on repeat.

I've gone over it so many times it almost seemed as real as it was when I was in it. And it seems as if it's my subconscious was either saying that I couldn't have done anything, or that I should've been able to; which is weird because those two phrases contradict themselves.

I get up from my bed, and look around my room. Nothing. Nothing of mine, at least. Everything was destroyed in the fire. A few clothes that my aunt bought me, my backpack, and a couple photos of my family from family reunions when I was a kid.

"Aiden! Are you up yet? Hurry or you'll be late for school."

"Yeah, okay. I'll be ready in 10." I say to my Aunt, Kate as I rub the tiredness from my eyes. I get up and walk across the small room to my dresser and grab a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans. I quickly change out of my sweatpants and into my other clothes and rush to the bathroom, continuing my morning routine. I look into the mirror, and quickly looking away, disgusted by what I see; hideous burns covering the left side of my face that stretch down to the back of my neck and all the way down to my upper back.

I quickly finish up in the bathroom and check my watch. 7:34. I then run back to my room to put on my boots and leather jacket as I sling my backpack over my shoulder and rush out of the room. I head into the kitchen to grab my bagged lunch from the fridge that I made the night before. I see my Aunt sitting at the dining room table reading the newspaper, eating her breakfast.

"Ready," I say, getting her attention. She nods and sets her fork and newspaper down and grabs her keys. We both head out to her car, not saying anything. This is nothing uncommon; not talking. I can't blame her. Her sister and her brother-in-law died in a fire and she's stuck taking care of their grieving teen. I open the door to her navy blue Mazda 5 and get in, and put my seatbelt on. She does so to, and turns on the engine.

The ten minute drive to school is coated in a heavy, awkward silence. In the three months that I have been in her care, I don't think I've ever really had a decent conversation with her. I know she blames me for what happened, and that's understandable, because I blame myself as well, and I don't want her to know what really happened that night.

The only positive thing that has come out of me being here is that when someone calls in sick, I can fill in for free. My Aunt owns a diner on Bellefonte Avenue called Kate's. She's had the stereotypical american diner for almost twenty years, and it's pretty well known and popular.