Lost Souls (Completed)

Lost Souls - Chapter One

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Dylan's POV

     As I sat on the bench, I looked around at the trees swaying in the wind, taking in the smell of the autumn air. The crisp brown leaves falling to the ground as they were shed from the trees. I looked over at the old couple sat next to me and smiled.  

      “So, how are you doing, then, son?” The man asked, sounding concerned. 

      “I’m fine, thank you, Granddad.” I replied sighing. I looked down at my hands. The truth was, I wasn’t fine. 6 months earlier, I’d been driving down the motorway and had a head on collision with a truck. Two people had died that day. The truck driver and my wife, Annie.  We’d been married less than 24 hours and were heading on our honeymoon. 

      Today, I was getting out of hospital. I’d been seriously injured and had been in a coma for 5 months. The doctors and nurses were great, but I really couldn’t wait to get out of this place. Staring at the same four walls everyday was getting tedious and annoying. 

      “Are you ready to come home?” my Granddad asked. My Grandparents still lived in the same place they always had, and when my parents had died, they’d promised to keep an eye on me.  I thought back to my hometown. Did I really want to go back? There were just too many painful memories there. And what about Casey. Would she want to see me around all the time? I was so horrible to her the day we’d left. 

      “I don’t know, Granddad, what about Casey? I’ve avoided going back all this time because I know she won’t want to see me. I was awful to her the day we left; I don’t want to upset her again by having to see me around all the time”

      My Granddad sighed and paused for a moment “Just for a couple of months, Dylan.” We want to make sure you’re okay.” He urged. “Give it a couple of months please, and then you can leave if you wish” he reassured me. I thought for a moment. I could go back, stick around the house and just leave after a few months. I nodded. 

      “Okay, Granddad” I muttered. “Just for a couple of months, though. I don’t want to upset Casey. She won’t want me around all the time.” 

      I stood up, hugged my nana and Granddad and promised to see them later and made my way into the hospital and back to my room and lay down on the bed. My thoughts drifted to Casey and then to the day my parents had told us we were moving. They’d asked us to meet them in the house and had told us together. 

     “Dylan, Casey” That was my dad “I know you’re not going to like this, but we’re moving.” I was shocked. I looked over at Casey who had gone pale. 

      “What?” I’d asked. “You can’t be serious?” 

My parents had insisted that it was for the best, and we’d get better lives away from that town. I’d get into a better college and they’d get better jobs. I hadn’t cared about that, I just wanted to stay with Casey.

      “Are you ready to go, then?” I heard a voice. I looked up and Dr Hunter was stood over me, smiling. I sat up and shuffled to the end of the bed. 

      “I think so.” I replied. “My Grandparents are around somewhere, they’re taking me home.” 

      “And you have someone to look after you?” he asked “You’re going to need some emotional support at home for a while”

      I nodded and he wrote something down on his notepad. “Okay, well, it’ll take about half an hour for the nurses to sort everything out for you and then you’re free to leave.” He said. “Good luck, Mr Price.” He held his hand out for me to shake it and I obliged. 

      “Thank you.” I replied, gratefully. The hospital had done a lot for me the last 6 months; I was surprised the nurses hadn’t got sick of seeing me every day. As the doctor left, I started to pack up my things. I’d accumulated a lot of stuff in this room in 6 months. There were Get Well cards from my family and Annie’s family. And there were Good luck cards from the staff. Then there were the flowers that my nana had insisted on putting in here. 

      “They make the room look brighter and more cheerful” she’d said. I didn’t mind either way. 

      It took me the whole half an hour to pack everything into a duffel bag, a rucksack and several plastic bags and was just finishing when a nurse came in with my discharge forms. 

      “I’m going to miss you” she said, chuckling. 

      “Me, too” I sighed. “But I can’t say I’m not pleased to be leaving.” She chuckled again and left the room.

     A few moments later, my nana and Granddad came in and grabbed some of my bags. Before leaving the room, my Granddad turned round to me. 

      “I’m glad you’re coming back with us, son.” He looked genuinely pleased to be saying that. I just smiled and followed him out to the car.  

      I said goodbye to all the nurses who had looked after me over the last 6 months and then headed back out to the car.  It would be weird leaving here. It had been my home for so long, and I had barely left the building. It felt strange just being outside, never mind leaving altogether. I got in the car and suddenly felt panic wash over me. I hadn’t been in a car since the accident and it was slightly nerve wracking. I opened the window to get in some air and it felt better. 

      “Are you okay, Dylan?” My nana asked, noticing the worried look on my face. I honestly didn’t know how I was going to survive the 4 hour drive back home. But I nodded

      “Let’s just get home”

      As we pulled into the street; I noticed that nothing had changed. It all looked the same as it did 8 years ago.  When the car stopped, I didn’t get out straight away. 

      “Let’s just leave him to think” I heard my Granddad say as my nana went to open the door for me. He placed his hand on her shoulder and led her inside. I didn’t really want to think, I’d done enough thinking over the last 6 months to last a lifetime. I just couldn’t bring myself to step out of the car. I hadn’t been back in 8 years and I hadn’t really wanted to come back, I just wanted to keep everyone else happy. I only had to be here for a few months, and then I could leave again and never come back. After about an hour of sat in the car reasoning with myself, I got out and ran towards the front door. As soon as I could get inside, I would be happy. But something made me stop at the front door and turn round. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, standing out here. I wanted to stay out here a bit longer, so I shouted to my nana that I was going for a walk and started down the street. 

      I walked down to the park, past the lake and back again. By the time I got back, it was starting to get dark. I walked in through the front door and heard my nana and granddad talking. 

      “Is he going to be alright?” I heard my nana ask. “He’s hardly said a word since we picked him up this morning, and when we got here, he went straight out.” 

      “He’ll be fine” I heard my Granddad reply “He just needs to get himself sorted. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s got a lot of thinking to do. His wife’s just died, Lil” 

      I couldn’t listen to them talk about Annie, so I went straight upstairs. My Granddad must have heard me because a few minutes later, he came up. 

      “Do you want something to eat?” he asked. “We’re doing Spaghetti Bolognese.” I looked up at him and smiled. He remembered it was my favourite. I nodded and followed him back downstairs. 

      When we’d finished dinner, I excused myself and went up to bed. I was tired. It had been a long day and I was ready to get some sleep.

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