It's a Cold World Without You

It's a Cold World Without You 2

Hailey was upstairs, in one of the massive bedrooms of the huge house. It never ceased to amaze her that people actually lived in houses like this, let alone invite other people in to trash it in a single night. Oh well, she figured they would probably have it professionally cleaned before any parents got back.

She was with some guy that she'd met downstairs not too long ago. Okay, so it was half an hour ago really. But he was cute and she was drunk so everything worked out. On her way up the stairs with him, she'd caught sight of Kyle. She winked at him and he looked over the guy that she towing behind her. Kyle smiled and gave her thumbs up before blending back into the crowd. Probably in search of someone for him to take upstairs, she thought, laughing silently to herself. It was while she was upstairs with this guy, what was his name again, when she heard the sirens. They both cursed, thinking the cops were coming to bust this whole thing up, and pulled any discarded clothing back on before hurriedly climbing out the window and sliding down the drain pipe. It was just no fun being busted at these things. She couldn't help but wonder where Kyle was.

They quickly glanced around the corner of the house only to see that the siren didn't belong to a police car at all, but to an ambulance. Hailey immediately panicked as she searched the crowd for Kyle. She didn't see him standing in the growing crowd and it was terrifying her. She joined the group and asked the closest person to her exactly what is was that was happening. He said something vague about one kid getting a little too trashed. A girl turned around and agreed saying that she also heard that he fell from the top of the stairs. Neither of them knew who it had been exactly, though.

The paramedics were rolling a stretcher out of the house now, and everyone turned to see. A nearly lifeless figure lay down on it. As it was wheeled by her, Hailey gasped and then stared. Suddenly she was numb, she couldn't feel anything; she may as well not have had a body at all. It was only as the ambulance had its siren back on and was speeding away that she realized what was going on. But that realization was slow and excruciatingly painful. The body on the stretcher, that 'kid' who had just gotten a 'little too trashed'; he was Kyle. And she had to get to the hospital. She had to get there now.

***

Why wasn't her mother answering the phone? Hailey had been sitting in the waiting room for hours now, waiting on any news about Kyle. Her stupid mother would not answer her stupid cell phone. Hailey knew she was annoying the nurse at the desk, every time she came inside after another attempt at contacting her mom, she would ask the same lady the same question. 'Have you heard anything about Kyle Shever?' The answer was always the same, but Hailey willed it to change. So it went on, about every ten minutes, the same thing. Yes, it went on for about four hours. Still no word from her mother and no word about Kyle.

By now it was about five am and Hailey had been awake since 6:30 the previously morning as she had had school. Well, she obviously wasn't going today. She gave up on phoning her mother about an hour ago. A doctor was walking down the hall, in Hailey's general direction. Hailey paid him no mind because, at this point, it couldn't possibly be about Kyle. But the doctor stood in front of her awkwardly. She looked up and saw the pained expression he wore. A silent 'no' formed on her lips. "Miss Shevor?" the doctor asked, slightly unsure. Not able to speak, Hailey simply nodded. The doctor squeezed his eyes shut tight before continuing, "Kyle Shevor didn't make it. We did everything we could, but..." Hailey no longer heard anything the man said; she could no longer see him as black dots consumed her vision. 'This can't be happening', was her last thought before she lapsed limply into the darkness.