How to Survive to 18

5 Days Prior

I am woken up by sirens, blue and red lights flash across my rooms wall from the outside, I hear a lot of talking. I turn my body over to face the alarm clock on the nightstand, and it reads 4:57am. What is all this noise so early in the morning? Not long after I hear footsteps nearing my hospital room. Theres a few, maybe 3, they are heavy and speed walking. I turn my body toward the door to see who is approaching, they come in and turn on the lights in my room. 

"There she is, our night-shift managed to spot the culprit in time. Right before any damage was done" Said a man dressed in a white robe, the same man I saw the day before in my room when I woke up. 

"Hey there, Im Detective Romarly and this is Detective Sushove" Said a women while coming closer to my bedside. She had a loving smile, and the face of a doll. I couldn't imagine her being a Detective, she looked barely 24. A man standing behind her, Detective Sushove, looked to be in his late 40's. 

"What's happening? What are you guys talking about?" I say, Im still very much sleepy but alert.

"You don't remember waking up tonight?" says Detective Romarly while sitting on the end of my hospital bed. I shake my head no. 

"Do you remember any disturbances?" Detective Sushove said, his voice is deep and rigged. I can tell he smokes just by the way he talks. He looks tense, maybe because it's early in the morning. Honestly if I were him I'd be grumpy too.

"I guess the only weird thing was the nightmare I had, I don't usually have them" All of their heads turned to me, paying attention. They ask me a few questions about the dream. Detective Romarly asking more emotional questions like; Where you scared? How did you feel? Are you okay? Do you need a hug? While Detective Sushove asked me more inquisitive questions that where harder to answer; What was the person wearing? What where their hair like? Did they say anything?

After this short interview they explained that they actually found someone in my room at 4:13am. So it wasn't a dream. They told me that they have the intruder in custady and that they will take me to the police stationing after I get dressed, I asked if my parents will meet me there and they nodded. 

So I get dressed, I put on the hoodie from the day in that bathroom and the sweatpants my mom brought me. Dark grey in color with bright white lines on the bottom of them. I slip on a pair of sneakers and throw my hair into a ponytail. I realize I haven't showered in three days. 

I walk with Detective Romarly to the police car, I duck my head and slide in. Both Detectives sit in the front, Sushove at the steering wheel, and we drive through the night to the police station. It only took us about 15 minutes to get there, but in that time I got a little nap in the back seats.

As they are taking me through the doors of the station I see my parents standing there, they jump up and run over to me, hugging me. Im so happy to see them, I open my eyes and see my two aunts standing there as well. They brought their son with them too, his name is Timothy. After my parents let go of me I go over to the rest of my family and kneel down to Timothy, who is only 4, and give him the biggest hug. I love this kid so much. I remember when my aunts where choosing a sperm donor. I helped them with it, I liked interviewing the different potential donors, I asked them the dumbest questions. And oh, when he was born, his hair was as red as fire and as curly as can be. He was the sweetest little baby, and still is, and always will be.

Everyone asks me if I'm okay, I say yes to everyone and reassure them several times. Turns out the police called them and informed them about everything that happened. I was thinking in that moment and realized that the Detectives had said that they got the culprit, so why am I here? I asked Romarly, the nice one, about it while she was filling in some paper work.