Black Into Gold // Demi Lovato // 3

Prologue

Demi's POV

"Maia was what?" I asked again in disbelief. I had just woken up and my mom had come early. It wasn't time for anyone to visit, so something was up.

I just hadn't expected her to tell me Maia had been in a car crash. I couldn't believe it.

"She's hurt, really bad from what I heard, but nobody is allowed to see her yet. Her mom is flying in today."

Maia's mom still lived in Texas, close to where Maia's dad was buried. She was supportive of Maia's moves to New York and Los Angeles, but she liked where she was. I hadn't seen her since I was about 17 or 18, before I went to rehab and was cut off from Maia.

Her mom was a little stubborn sometimes, but it was only because of what she'd been through with her husband's death. She just wanted the best for her only child. I understood that, because I felt like my mom was a bit like that as well.

"W-What happened?" I asked. There was a crash. Maia and the other driver were hurt. That's all I knew.

"Someone ran a red light. I think they said she was a drunk driver-"

"Maia doesn't drink," I said, cutting her off.

Mom shook her head. "No, the other driver. But they said something about Maia being under the influence of something."

My mouth hung open. I feared something like this would happen. Her getting hurt because she was high. Ugh, I knew I was making a mistake telling her it was okay, but I was trying to help. She was stressed about me, so I budged and said it was okay, as long as she was careful. I fought back tears, waiting for Mom to tell me about her injuries.

"I know she's really cut up and I think her... left leg is broken? That was the side that the woman hit." She noticed my tears and stopped. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry." She hugged me, and I began sobbing into her shoulder.

"Is she stable?" I asked, pulling away. Mom handed me a box of tissues and I blew my nose.

"I'm sorry, I don't know." She sighed. "I'll keep you updated and I'll make sure you can visit her as soon as possible."

I nodded. "Thanks, Mom."

"I love you, honey. Maddie and Dallas are stopping by today."

I nodded. "I love you too." I glanced at the clock. "I have therapy soon so they're probably gonna kick you out."

"I'll see you later," she said, and I waved as she left.

~//~//~//~//~//~//~

During therapy, I only talked about Maia. Nothing else. It was understandable, but still. We were supposed to be talking about me. My recovery.

Then again, Maia being okay was a part of my recovery now.

I was blaming myself for not pushing hard enough to get her to stop smoking, but I had felt backed into a corner. It felt like everything was my fault. My overdose had led her to start to begin with. What had pushed her to drive while she was high?

I sat and talked with my sisters while they were visiting, trying to put on a brave face for them. Maia had been so worried about me she had to smoke. I didn't want to worry my sisters too much. Just in case they might do something life threatening.

My bravery faded as soon as I was alone again, and I cried for hours, continuously blaming myself.

I remembered the day I saw Maia at the hospital when she was in that crash with her dad. She was shaken up, but she only seemed to have a couple bruises. She had been so lucky then, so why not this time? Then, she was just checked to make sure nothing was broken, but now she was in the ICU.

And no matter what I tried to do to convince myself it wasn't my fault, it felt like it was.