The Story Of Daniel

/f i f t e e n/

Chapter 15

Seven Years Before

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Why are you crying?" He went to go wrap an arm around her shaking shoulders.

"I didn't want to ruin your happiness earlier," she replied

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You were enjoying school so much, I didn't want to ruin it."

"How would you ruin it?" What was she talking about?

"If I told you I was being bullied again." Daniel froze. Amelia was being bullied again? He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Who is it?" he asked, anger spiking his voice.

"Danny, just leave it alone. You'll only make it worse." She sounded desperate.

"What are they doing?"

"Same as before. They tell me my parents are never coming back, they call me names. I thought it would stop. Everyone thinks I'm weird."

"Is that why you got angry when I said you were acting weird earlier?"

Amelia nodded. Daniel was just about to ask her who it was again when he heard a noise coming from his room. "Daniel?" his mom asked.

"I'm out here," he called. She came over to the window.

"Daniel Thomas Johnson! What are you-" she stopped when she saw Amelia crying. "What's wrong?"

"It doesn't matter," Daniel said. He knew Amelia wouldn't want his mom to know. "Can she sleep here tonight?"

His mother looked shocked, but quickly recovered. She nodded and beckoned for them to come back inside.

They laid out blankets on the couch for Amelia to sleep on. She said thank you and Daniel saw his mom kiss her on the forehead. "Anytime, sweetie."

Now

Daniel closed his eyes tightly as he waited for the impact.

If he was going to die, he didn't want to see who was behind the wheel. It would only give him someone to blame instead of himself. And this was Daniel's fault. He had every reason to take the blame.

It was crazy how ironic the situation was. Ever since the accident that put Daniel into the coma, he had been scolding himself about it. He kept telling himself that if he had just looked before he crossed the road he wouldn't have been in this horrid situation. And yet here he was, about to get hit by a car for the second time in his life. Surely he wouldn't be lucky enough to survive two car crashes.

Daniel didn't know what dying felt like, his coma was painless. He hadn't even known he was in a coma until Amelia told him as he fought to regain consciousness. But he imagined death as a painful thing. Pain was a gift, it's better to feel pain then nothing at all. Pain and suffering are the final gifts life gives you before you die. You may not want it when you're alive, but when you're dead and can't feel a thing you're going to miss pain. Daniel waited for the impact, for the pain. But nothing happened.

Time must slow when you're about to die. The seconds stretch out so it seems like you're living just a little bit longer. A sudden thought came to Daniel's head.

I haven't got a will.

What was he going to do without a will? Who would take all his possessions?

Calm down, Daniel. You're only twenty four and you live with your parents. You don't own anything that would really matter where it went. You don't have a house or a ginormous bank account.

And that made Daniel even sadder. He would never have his own house. He would never even get another job. He would have no family of his own. He would never get to grow up and live his life properly.

Daniel wished it was over already. He hated thinking of all the things he would never be able to have. Never be able to live for.

Am I dead already? The voice inside his head asked.

No, I don't think I am, it answered

"Hello? Daniel, what's wrong? Daniel, what was that noise?' His mother spoke to him from his phone. Daniel wasn't dead after all. Time didn't slow down when you're dying. He was just standing there in the middle of the road. He must look so weird; a boy standing in the dead center of the road, cringing away from the death he was sure to come with his eyes squeezed shut in anticipation. Wow. Just wow, Daniel. Add that to the never ending list of embarrassing things that have happened to you, well more like embarrassing things that you have brought upon yourself by acting stupid.

Daniel reluctantly opened his eyes. A car was stopped less than a foot in front of him; the car had slammed on the breaks. That's why he was still alive. The driver must have had more sense than the one who had hit him seven years ago.

The driver, who he didn't recognize, stared at him. He stared back.

Daniel's mother yelled through the phone that was lying on the road. "Daniel?" He didn't answer. "Daniel?" He stooped over and picked up the phone, breaking ye contact with the driver. And instead of reassuring his mother that he was okay, Daniel pushed the end call button.

The driver got out of the car and came over to him. "Sir, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you crossing! I'm so, so, sorry!" Daniel didn't say anything, unable to comprehend what had just happened. He was so close to death. He was ready to accept death. He looked at the man for a few more seconds before sprinting off. Down street, after street. Looking for Amelia.

***

Daniel was sure he had checked every street in Grey Pond. His throat was raspy from where he had been calling Amelia's name. He stopped at a bridge crossing a small stream that ran through the park. How far away could Amelia be by now? It had been two hours. If she had gotten a vehicle, she could be miles away. That thought made Daniel want to cry again. But he didn't. Instead, he ate a granola bar that he had put in his backpack for his day of 'job hunting'. Then, he stood up and leaned against the railing of the bridge. He watched the dog that was sitting at the end of the dock, all alone. That's how Daniel felt at the moment; all alone. He watched the geese as they pecked at the ground, searching for the nonexistent food that people had left for them. That's how Daniel felt; like he was reaching out for something that wasn't there. He listened to the sounds of the early afternoon.

A/N: hello, readers. if you enjoyed this chapter, would you mind clicking the star icon to register a vote for it? it would mean a lot :) also, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you guys are thinking