What She Was

Chapter One ~ What A Smile Can Hide

My heart pounded and my mind raced. It was like I was standing at the edge of a building, not watching my best friend die before my eyes. A mixture of fear and adrenaline pumped through my veins. Olivia let out a hoarse cough. Her palms faced upwards and she sat with her head hung over. Her hair was a piled mop tied atop her head. Her black t-shirt canvassed her and her sweatpants made her look like she had legs made of clouds. With lips cracked and dry, her mouth gaped open. Tears rushed from her bloodshot eyes down her cheeks. I racked my brain for solutions. Help.

"Olivia, hold on! I'm calling for help!" I looked around the bathroom for my jacket.

"No, don't! Alissa, let me die," she croaked. Her body was propped against the bathtub and pills were strewn across the floor. I could feel my heart pound. My eyes searched the room. Finally they met a familiar gray vest hanging from the doorknob. My hand lunged into the pocket and I instantly felt a cold metallic rectangle. I fished it out and dialed 911. Right as I was about to press the dial button, Olivia hit my phone out of my hand. I instinctively hit her back. I knew it must've hurt, Olivia shot me a pained look. I stood my ground. My eyes locked in with hers.

"Olivia, stop! I'm not going to let my best friend die."

"It's scary what a smile can hide. I don't want to hide it anymore. Alissa, let me die." I raised my voice and almost screamed.

"Olivia, this is no time to be childish! You need help, and that's what I'm getting."

I grabbed the phone again and hit dial.

"Hello, 911. What is your emergency?"

"My friend, she's dying, send help, please." I saw Olivia start to tilt over. I grabbed her before she hit the cold bathroom tile. I took her by the shoulders and rattled her.

"Is she breathing?" I tried to feel for a pulse, but I didn't know how to.

"I don't know please send help!"

"Help is on the way. Just stay on the phone." Realizing my uselessness, hot tears started rushing down my cheeks. My body slumped against the bathroom door. Olivia's eyes fluttered and she started teetering. She started coughing and her body jerked.

"Tell me what your name is, where you are, and what happened." I spilled out everything as fast as I could.

"My name is Alissa Jackson, I'm fourteen, and so is my friend Olivia Verring. We are at 144 Fern Rd. I was coming over to her house, because her parents weren't home. I thought we could hang out. I rang the doorbell, but no one answered. I knew that she had to be at home, so I took out her spare key. When I went inside, I heard groaning from her parent's bathroom. I ran upstairs and the door was wide open. Olivia was sprawled on the floor with pills. I think she tried to swallow them. I don't know how many." Olivia started to twitch inhumanely. My eyes widened. Oh no, oh no, oh no. My chest felt heavy and I could barely speak.

"Can you read the labels of the bottles?" I scrambled over to Olivia's side. I grabbed her and tried to sit her still.

"Something's happenning, just hurry!" In that split second I heard the front door burst open. A team of two men and two women rushed up the stairs. It was all a blur after that. My eyes clouded with tears and time seemed to slow down. I saw men pick Olivia up and carry her out. I was partially in a daze but some thought returned to me.

"Is she breathing?" I tried to reach for the man who had picked her up but he shuffled out and knocked me back down. One of the women came over to aid me.

"Are you Alissa?" My eyebrows furrowed and I nodded slowly. I felt my own body feel loose and my head was spinning. The woman helped me up. I regained some stability, but I still couldn't believe this was all happening. Shie escorted me to the ambulance. The light outside was bright and my eyes were strained. She led me to the vehicle and looked at me as if asking if I wanted to go in. I nodded and slid into the back of the truck.