Second Chances

Chapter 2

I wake up to a beeping machine. It doesn't take me long to realize that I'm back in the hospital. I quickly shut my eyes when I hear voices.

"I don't get it." Someone, my mom, says.

"I do. It's her life. She can't live without it." Someone, my dad, says.

"But is it really worth killing yourself over?" My mom asks.

"To her yes. When all you do is live, breathe, play the sport. When you live on the court, it's your entire life. Without basketball, she has no life. According to her." My dad says.

"Ugh. Why can't she be normal? She is only friends with guys, she sits with the FOOTBALL team at lunch, she never dresses up. She's so boyish." My mom complains.

"Marie. Aubrey is herself. Some girls are more comfortable hanging out with guys all the time. And the way she dresses doesn't matter!!!" My dad argues.

"I wish she would've been more like me." My mom complains again. My mom is a fashion designer. So she doesn't get my whole sports obsession. She's always on trips and she never wears anything casual. My dad, on the other hand, is just like me.

We're both athletic and he gets my whole sports obsession. He almost never dresses up unless its a basketball game. He is my coach. Or the varsity girls basketball coach.

"Marie. Stop!!! She is laying right there because of a suicide attempt that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't of insisted that she'd be fine if both of us went to the store." He yells. Then the door slams.

I open my eyes and try to sit up. But I'm restrained. I literally cannot move. The call button. I look around until I find it. It's by my hand, the only thing not restrained. So I press it really hard. Nurses come rushing in.

"Good you're awake!!" They gush.

"You've been out for about 2 days. You're really lucky your friend found you and stopped you when he did. One more of that type of pill, would've made your entire system crash. And you would've died." One nurse says.

"I wish I had taken them faster." I mumble. The nurses don't look very surprised. They must hear it a lot from other people who tried to commit suicide

"I'm Amber. I'll be one of you nurses." The blonde says.

"I'm Alexis. I'll be another one." The brunette says.

"And I'm Taylor. I'll be the one who's in here most of the time. They're just here when I need help." The redhead says.

"Oh joy. Why am I restrained?" I ask.

"To keep you from hurting yourself." Taylor says.

"Well, when can I be unrestrained?" I ask.

"When you're stable." Alexis replies.

"Well, when is that?" I ask, starting to get annoyed.

"When you show us that you're not gonna try to commit suicide again." Taylor replies. I sigh and put my head back down.

"When can I leave? Like go home?" I ask.

"When all traces of those pills leave your body and you're stable." Taylor says. This time I groan.

"I'm really sorry, but you did this. Not us." Taylor says, then my nurses leave. I sigh and lay down, trying to sleep.
**********

"...move." Dad says. I keep my eyes shut and listen.

"I don't know if we should tell her." My mom says.

"Well, she's the reason why we're moving. Well, we aren't moving. She is." My dad says. I gasp. They both look over at me.

"We're moving?!" I yell.

"Yes. We're moving to California. Well, you are. There's a really good boarding school there and we think it's best." My mom explains.

"Wait. Boarding school? California? What about Cole? What about the football team? They're my friends." I yell.

"Aubrey. You need to stop yelling. Cole and the...football team are staying here. California. Yes. There is a very good boarding school there. They have all kinds of sports. Including basketball." My mom says.

"But my school already has basketball." I argue.

"Yes, but we think you need a fresh start." My mom explains.

"I don't need a 'fresh start'. I'm 16 years old. I'm going off to college soon. I don't need to change schools. No matter where I go, everyone will know me. So this isn't much of a fresh start." I argue.

"Aubrey. We already sent your paperwork in. And they accepted. We can't do anything now. And you may like it. Give it a try." My dad says.

"But. Cole. And are you guys coming?" I ask.

"No. We are staying here. But we will see you on holidays. And the summers you'll come home." My dad says.

"Wow. So you guys are shipping me off somewhere. Right after my career ending accident. And my suicide attempt. You guys are the best parents ever." I say sarcastically.

"Aubrey. We love you. So much. But we think you need some time away from everything." My mom explains, again.

"What about Cole?" I ask.

"He's still going to be here. You can see him every summer and when you have breaks." My mom smiles. I glare at her and shut my eyes.

"Out. I'm sleeping." I order. My dad laughs and then they walk out, shutting the door behind them.