Trapped

Chapter 4

Overwhelmed with a mixture of happiness, joy, and pain I clung onto Kaleb for my life. I hugged him like he was the last being on earth and he did the same. "Kaleb" I whispered into his chest taking shallow breaths of his cologne. I remembered all the times we stayed in this position for hours and it gave me a feeling of warmth and protection. A feeling I desperately needed.

He heard the trouble I had breathing and sat me down next to him. I knew he had so many questions for me- I could see it in his uneasy expression. He rubbed my back, uncomfortable with what seemed as to be blood dripping down my cheek, so I wiped it. Despite the pain- I felt happy. Happy he was here, happy I was alive, just happy. Or, maybe I was going crazy.

"I don't think I've ever been so thrilled to see you." I said looking at him despite the pain.

"Don't talk, you'll make it worse" he said towering over me.

He picked me up in one swift motion, lifting up 125 pounds of dead weight. I coughed slightly, and before I could stop what was happening I vomited. Kaleb stopped quickly and thankfully I didn't get any on him. "I need to get you to a hospital." He said putting me in the front seat of his pickup truck as I wiped my mouth. I relaxed for a moment and the smell of Kaleb hit me. It smelled of nice cologne. Not like the cologne that floods the halls of a middle school after gym class, but a good cologne.

He went to the drivers side to get in. I debated on putting my seatbelt on, in fear of the pain. Then I remembered if I didn't have my seatbelt on twenty minutes ago- I'd be dead.

I put it on slowly, thinking about the likeliness of getting into another crash. That'd be my luck. Oh the irony.

The truck jerked forward which caused me pain. "Sorry." Kaleb mumbled, clearly caught up in his own thoughts.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

"Am I okay?!" He said surprised. "No Grey, I'm not." He said almost frustrated but clearly just nervous while he accelerated faster. Instead of giving me an explanation he pulled down the visor in front of me forcefully. I jumped when I saw myself- I thought there was some kind of demon in front of the mirror, but it was just me. My hair was in a curly wet mess, my eye makeup smudged down my face, blood dried on my cheek, and dried and fresh drool on my chin with dirt clump. I now understood why Kaleb was afraid of me. I was a dead man walking. I got a pit in my stomach when I saw the drool because I didn't even realize I was drooling... I couldn't control it. That's when I knew something was wrong with me.

"Stop" I croaked.

I flipped the visor above my head firmly and he turned his attention back to the road.

"What? Stop what?"

"Stop looking at me like that Kaleb, please. I don't need to go to the hospital" I said, my voice sounding like I've smoked for sixty years.

"I'm going to take you to the hospital. I know you hate them, but I have too. Because I love you and don't want you to die, and right now you're well on your way." he finished, and that's exactly what he did.

Then... I got that feeling. When you're like "what if I die?" But you know you really won't and you're just saying that to explain the severity of the situation. But this time I wasn't exactly sure I wouldn't die, so my eyes filled with tears. Tears of self pity. I thought about my mom and brother, how their life would be without me. I thought about all the dreams I had that I wouldn't get to complete. In those moments as we were driving my life, honestly, flashed before my eyes.

We arrived at the hospital shortly after, and the Emergency Room Receptionist looked utterly confused at the fact that we hadn't called anyone for help.
Her confused look only lasted for seconds after she saw me. Then her face turned into a deep panic.