Gossip Galore

Injuries and Love

They say everything happens for a reason.

But this- there can't be a reason for this. No, there can't. And I know this from the second I step foot in my home, that something was wrong.

There are three police cars parked in front of my home, an ambulance, and a gurney with my little sister lying on it. She has tubes sticking out of her nose, and blood gashing down her cheeks. My mother is watching at the doorsteps, dabbing her eyes with a tissue, the way they do in the movies. "Oh dear," she is saying over and over and over again. I watch two policemen walk over to her. Suddenly, I am aware of the awkward position I am in.

I run to the first person I see. "What happened?" I ask a random officer. She looks up at me, unsurprised. Her hair is dyed a dirty blonde shade, and her eyes are covered in black mascara.

"And who are you?" she asks, whipping out her notepad.

"I'm Lauren," I answer nervously. I wonder if it's possible that she was writing down every word I said. Did police officers do that?

She looks at me from under her sunglasses. "Lauren Pacheco?" she asks. I nod my head.

"What happened to my sister?" I ask, my heart racing.

"She was riding her bike without a helmet and lost control. She fell head-first onto the concrete and split her head open. We believe she is in a coma right now. You best go with them to the hospital."

My head whirls with unanswered questions. I watch my mother climb into the ambulance. Snapping back into reality, I run to her. "Wait!" I yell, reaching them just before the doors close.

One of the doctors glares at me. "We don't have much time for waiting," she says, turning back to my sister. I watch the doctors talk quickly to each other, watch random tubes get poked into my sweet, innocent little sister. My mother is bawling in a corner, and a policeman is trying to calm her down.

Heaven knows how fast we were driving, but we managed to arrive at the hospital in little less than ten minutes. The paramedics give no time to waste, rushing my sister to a room that is empty except for a hospital bed and some medical supplies. They then ask us to leave, telling us they have important tests to run and can't have any distractions.

My mom drags out of the room. We make our way to the waiting room and sit down on the sofa. I awkwardly put a comforting arm around her. She cries harder.

"It's gonna be alright," I reassure her, although I'm not so sure that's true. She lets out a sob so huge, her body shakes violently.

"How can you be so sure?" she asks, looking up at me with her giant blue eyes. "How can you be so confident?"

I pat her back gently. "I can't," I say. We leave it at that.

***************************************************************

"Lauren. Talk to me." Lissette is at my locker, refusing to leave. "I know you can't stay mad forever."

I turn to her. "I can do anything I set my mind to," I respond defiantly.

She rolls her eyes. "Oh please, Lauren. This isn't Disney, and we both know we're going to make up sooner or later."

I put my back to her. "How about later?" I ask, my high heels clicking away from her. I catch one last glimpse of her, and her face is twisted into an expression of hurt.

I eat lunch alone, in the back of the school. Normally Lissette and I would make up around now, but she was too busy with Matt, so I knew there was no chance of that happening.

I'm in a part of the school that no one really visits, let alone knows about, so of course, you'd understand how surprised I was when I see Miami heading my way. Flashes of last Friday night flood my mind, and I want him to leave that minute, and yet I want him to stay. There's something about Miami and his friendliness that makes you want to laugh after a hard day.

Which is why I find myself laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. He sits down next to me, and I get a whiff of his cologne.

"I don't know" I respond, and laugh again. "More importantly, why are you here?"

He raises his arms, offended. "You don't have to be so mean about it," he says. "I mean, geez Lauren, I can leave if--"

"No!" I blurt out. He looks at me, and I blush. "I didn't mean it like that. I mean, like, how did you find me here?"

"I was watching you," he makes a creepy face, and I laugh.

"Are you stalking me?" I joke.

"Yeah," he admits, then wrinkles his nose. I notice there are some cute freckles around it. I hold my breath. We talk about random things for a while, and I find myself happy with his company. He made me feel special and just plain out good, and goodness, he was adorable.

The rest of the day, I can't concentrate on anything but Miami. His smile, his eyes, his freckles are clouding my mind.

At the end of the day, I'm about to start walking home when his car skids to a stop in front of me. He rolls down the window and grins. "Need a ride?" he asks, and I want to run up to him and kiss him all over.

"Yeah," I reply. I climb into the passenger seat. He turns up the radio, and Secrets by One Republic starts playing. I sing along. You know this song?" he asks.

"Know this song?" I repeat. "This song is only the best song ever!" I turn it up, and he sings with me. Soon, we're both singing at the top of our lungs and I don't have a care in the world, because nothing can matter as much as being with Miami does.

"Where are we going?" I ask. He looks puzzled for a second.

"Shoot," he says. "Where are we going?" I laugh, and he laughs with me.

He makes a turn, and we find ourselves in a busy street. Spotting a McDonald's, he drives up to the drive-thru.

"Two strawberry banana smoothies," he orders, and I wonder how he knew that strawberry banana was my favorite smoothie flavor.

We sip our smoothies in silence for a while. I give him directions to my house, and can't help but notice how sad I am to be leaving him when he pulls into my driveway.

"Thanks," I say. "That was really fun." More fun than a drive with Lissette, even.

"Anytime," he says, then drives away.

So sorry about the amount of time this upload took. I know I keep on saying I'll upload, but let's face it, I'm a liar. (SORRY). If you're still reading this (I think I'm the only one who reads author's notes xD), thanks for reading my story! I love your feedback, so comment and let me know what I can do to make it better! :).

Thanks,

ChocolateReader x.