Best Enemies

Rubi

The sirens compose a soundtrack to the haunting inside my head. The red and blue lights dance behind my disembodied eyes creating figures and choreography to the horrific play that I am directing with my imagination. Absently minded I stare out the window and barely see the luscious countryside hills race past or the rain that spits at the glass.
 When the fields are replaced with parking lots and sushi shops I bounce back to reality. Where am I? 

I see two people in the seats in front of me. A man and a woman. They talk quietly and often gesture back to me. My ears unblock and my eyes come into focus but my mind is still violently whirring. I begin to hear snippets of their conversation,

"Rehab might be necessary...Depression and anxiety is clearly present in this situation...closely monitor...tell her parents." The voices go back and forth for what seems like days.
Am I the "her" they're talking about? I'm not crazy, I don't need rehab, do I? I need to get out of this car. Everything is going too fast and I am being left behind. In a time where Shay is still alive, is still breathing. 

I begin to stir from my comatose state and the paramedics look up from their conversation. I struggle against the blankets and clear tubes that feed and stretch across my body. All I can see is white, the bright lights pound a steady rhythm against the walls of my head. I feel grasping hands forcing me back down and a plastic oxygen mask is pulled down over my nose dragging on my hair.

+++

I wake up to someone stroking my hair. I can feel soft, gentle hands laden with large rings tugging on the knots in my hair. The muscles around my eyes twitch and squirm as they flicker open. Eventually I focus my eyes and I can see a shadowy silhouette against the white lights. Her hair is tumbling in peroxide waves and I can just about make out her iconic "Lady Danger" lipstick.

"Mum...?" I ask. The figure laughs,
"Rubi" she whispers "I'm so sorry, for everything. I missed you so much and when they pronounced you missing I went crazy with worry..." I don't let her finish her sentence.
"Missing, they knew we were gone. Didn't anyone come to look for us?"
"The news broadcasted a message that some children had gone missing from 'Serenity High' school camp so I called the school and asked who was absent. They told me who and pointed out that they had searched the area around the camp thoroughly, yet they found no one. So I went to the police and they sent out a search party but I doubt they found anything."

I can't believe it. All those people you see on the news that go missing you never think that you could ever be one of them.

"Anyway darling, how are you feeling?" she smiles down to me and fusses with my pillow muttering something about how she should have booked a private room.
"I feel..." 

I hadn't really thought about what had happened since I had got back. I feel tired, sore, angry, weak, lost, haunted...
"Drained" I say simply. Mum's eyes go wide and fill with tears. Her voice breaks as she whispers
"They want you to do an interview, with the others."
"They're my friends Mum, you can call them that." A silence fills the room.
"Friends..." She smiles.

My head pounds and I close my eyes for a moment. I want to block out everything that just happened, I want to forget all of it. I open my eyes slightly when I feel my mum getting up from the bed.

"You must be so tired, I'll let you rest. Is there anything I can get you? Tea, coffee?" She asks.
"Water would be fine, thanks Mum." 

I lay back down against my pillows and close my eyes. I don't hear mum come back so I assume that I fell into a light doze. And just like that, as if someone cut a string holding a heavy weight. I collapse into a dreamless sleep of cascading waves of bottomless exhaustion.  

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Hey guys,

I'm back!!

It was so hard to right this chapter and get back into the swing of things. 

I am so happy that I could right this and launch back into my fictional world of "Best Enemies"!!

I have some really awesome news as well.  As I was writing this I hit... 20,000 WORDS!!!

2 years of hard work have been put into this book and while it may have been unbearable to read at first you guys have seen how much I have changed through this book.  I want to say thank you so much for sticking with me across this journey and never giving up on me.  :)

I love you all so much :))

MOZ xx