Dying to Forget Read Online Free PDF Page B

voice.
    Mom.
    For what seems like hours, the walls flash vividly around me with every monumental moment in my life…from my birth, to my first birthday; the hospital visit after falling off my bike when I was eight, followed by a trip to the ice cream shop to celebrate my first cast; Dad hugging me to his chest every night for a month after Mom left; my Tumbling performances; Bree smiling; Ryan Burke dumping something into my beer at the party; Bree flying through the windshield because I didn’t tell her to put a seatbelt on…and the last day of my life. I see it play out in slow motion, me tossing back handfuls of Dad’s sleeping pills, me staring out the window, me taking my last shallow breath. The last thing I see is a close-up of Dad as he kneels at my bedside, crying into my hair as I lie motionless in my bed.
    The walls are suddenly just walls again and my body is shaking violently. My face is wet with tears that I wasn’t even aware I was shedding, the front of my shirt damp from them. The door opens and the man in black takes my limp hand tugging me from the room. This is why everyone is crying when they leave here. I don’t look at anyone as I stumble down the aisle, wanting nothing more but to get the hell out of this place.
    Outside, the monotonous white around me suddenly makes me angry and I step back into the slightly darker Admissions Department hallway. I slide down the wall, crumpling onto the floor in a heap of skinny limbs and ash-blonde hair. I stay like this until I hear the soothing and gentle sound of Niles Abbott’s voice above me.

CHAPTER 5
     
     
     
    “Piper, come walk with me. You’ll feel better soon.”
    I try to nudge his hand off my shoulder but Niles lifts my arm and pulls me to my feet. My face is still buried in my hands and I don’t want to look at him.
    “Everyone here has been through this, trust me, you’ll be okay,” he says gently.
    I finally glance up at him. “Really…everyone here has…” My voice trails off as he nods.
    “Yes, dear. That is what we all have in common here.”
    “Oh.”
    He nudges me again and I follow him back outside…though I’m still not sure what to call it because there’s no sky and no ground besides the cold milky glass that I am still walking barefoot on.
    “Where can I get a pair of shoes?” I ask, embarrassed.
    “Shoes?” He stops to look down at me. “Are your feet uncomfortable?” He asks carefully.
    “Oh…” I blink up at him, and then down at my feet. Are they uncomfortable? “No, I guess not.”
    Niles smiles and starts walking again. I realize he’s guiding me toward the smaller building on the end with the children inside, just pass the Consignment Department. I still don’t know what all the buildings are for, but I feel relieved when I hear children laughing. He walks straight up to one of several large bay windows and leans forward. I copy him and peer into the room behind the slightly rainbow-tinted glass.
    The smallest child I see looks to be about ten years old and he is chasing an older girl…maybe twelve, around the room while singing a lullaby. They look happy, content; not at all busy and rushed like the adults I’ve seen around the rest of the Station.
    Why are there children here? Niles said everyone here has died…from suicide…did I understand him correctly? Suddenly, I need to know.
    “Niles, you said everyone here shares something in common. What exactly did you mean?”
    I ask the question without taking my gaze off the small boy running around the large room. I hear Niles sigh softly before he speaks.
    “Piper, everyone here at the Station has committed suicide. We’ve all chosen to end our lives. And even children as young as Victor there can make that choice.”
    “That’s so… sad .” My eyes fill with tears again.
    “Yes, it is. But it’s different for them. We call children under thirteen Ones . They will move on from this place after only a little while. Honestly, I think