behind his words. It nearly killed me to say the things I said to him. Maybe you all just need to sit down and have a talk. I could mediate it for you."
I shook my head. "Talkin' to Madison is the last thing I want to do right now. I just need a day or two to get my shit in order, before I try to figure things out with him. I'm gonna head home. It's gettin' late and I don't want the grandparents to start to worry. Not only that, now I get to break the news to them."
I stood to say good-bye to Cami, but was shocked when she started sayin' good-bye to Glenn instead of me. "Cam, you can stay, it's not a big deal."
"Nope, my best friend needs me and she comes first. No offense baby, but I will see you tomorrow when you take me to the airport. Love ya."
I gave a small wave in Glenn's direction and scurried out the door to my truck. I was about to jump in the driver seat when Cami snagged my keys from my hand.
"I'll drive. No need to put you and that baby in any unnecessary trouble." I couldn't help but smile at how attentive and sweet she was being.
We sat in silence on the short ride home. When we stopped at the four way stop at the edge of town, I was about to ask her how things were going in the Glenn department, when I heard the sound of shattering glass all around the cab of the truck. I could feel the cool metal crunching against my body as my head jerked forward, slamming into the deployed airbag. Everything began moving in slow motion and I watched as my best friend found herself being ejected through the windshield. I could feel my limbs reaching out for her, but I was stuck. I sucked in a ragged breath tryin' to scream her name. As my arm reached for her motionless body, everything went black.
*****
My eyes fluttered open and I couldn't make out anything around me. I was confused and in a foggy haze. I was in a small room, but it wasn't mine. When I heard faint voices coming from outside of the claustrophobic room, I tried to scream, but nothing came out. I lifted my heavy arm up to my throat, trailing the large plastic tubing that lead to my mouth. I felt as though I was drowning and an overwhelming fear fell over me.
I was choking. There was a large foreign object obstructing my breathing and I quickly began to panic. What the hell had happened? Where the hell was I, and why was there nobody around? I started pulling the large blue tube from my mouth and instantly began gagging on whatever it was I was removing.
Seconds later, about a million people dressed in blue scrubs came rushing through the door, holding down my arms and legs as I thrashed about. A tall man in a white coat gently began removing the tubing and what felt like an eternity later, I was finally able to breathe normally again. My body instantly relaxed and I took in a long deliberate breath before the other nurses lifted their grip on my limbs.
"Wh...wha.."
"Don't try to speak yet, Miss James. Just relax. You were in an accident. We had to put you on a breathing machine when you came in with a collapsed lung. You're gonna be okay, but it's going to be very hard for you to speak for a little bit."
"Ca...mm..i?" I could barely croak out her name. My throat burned as though I swallowed a gallon of salt water.
The doctor gently laid his hand on my shoulder and I could feel the salty tears fall from the corner of my eyes. Oh my god what happened to her? Is she alive? I was having a hard time remembering anything, and now I wasn't sure if I even wanted to.
"There's a man here insisting on seeing you. Just nod your head if that's okay."
I nodded my head faster than I ever had before. The only thing I could remember was the horrible fight I had with Madison, and I needed to see him. I needed to know that we were okay.
"Okay, I'll go grab him now. You just rest."
My eyes were beginning to get extremely heavy and I knew sleep would soon take over, but I tried my damnedest to wait until I could see his face. I must not have done a good job,
I shook my head. "Talkin' to Madison is the last thing I want to do right now. I just need a day or two to get my shit in order, before I try to figure things out with him. I'm gonna head home. It's gettin' late and I don't want the grandparents to start to worry. Not only that, now I get to break the news to them."
I stood to say good-bye to Cami, but was shocked when she started sayin' good-bye to Glenn instead of me. "Cam, you can stay, it's not a big deal."
"Nope, my best friend needs me and she comes first. No offense baby, but I will see you tomorrow when you take me to the airport. Love ya."
I gave a small wave in Glenn's direction and scurried out the door to my truck. I was about to jump in the driver seat when Cami snagged my keys from my hand.
"I'll drive. No need to put you and that baby in any unnecessary trouble." I couldn't help but smile at how attentive and sweet she was being.
We sat in silence on the short ride home. When we stopped at the four way stop at the edge of town, I was about to ask her how things were going in the Glenn department, when I heard the sound of shattering glass all around the cab of the truck. I could feel the cool metal crunching against my body as my head jerked forward, slamming into the deployed airbag. Everything began moving in slow motion and I watched as my best friend found herself being ejected through the windshield. I could feel my limbs reaching out for her, but I was stuck. I sucked in a ragged breath tryin' to scream her name. As my arm reached for her motionless body, everything went black.
*****
My eyes fluttered open and I couldn't make out anything around me. I was confused and in a foggy haze. I was in a small room, but it wasn't mine. When I heard faint voices coming from outside of the claustrophobic room, I tried to scream, but nothing came out. I lifted my heavy arm up to my throat, trailing the large plastic tubing that lead to my mouth. I felt as though I was drowning and an overwhelming fear fell over me.
I was choking. There was a large foreign object obstructing my breathing and I quickly began to panic. What the hell had happened? Where the hell was I, and why was there nobody around? I started pulling the large blue tube from my mouth and instantly began gagging on whatever it was I was removing.
Seconds later, about a million people dressed in blue scrubs came rushing through the door, holding down my arms and legs as I thrashed about. A tall man in a white coat gently began removing the tubing and what felt like an eternity later, I was finally able to breathe normally again. My body instantly relaxed and I took in a long deliberate breath before the other nurses lifted their grip on my limbs.
"Wh...wha.."
"Don't try to speak yet, Miss James. Just relax. You were in an accident. We had to put you on a breathing machine when you came in with a collapsed lung. You're gonna be okay, but it's going to be very hard for you to speak for a little bit."
"Ca...mm..i?" I could barely croak out her name. My throat burned as though I swallowed a gallon of salt water.
The doctor gently laid his hand on my shoulder and I could feel the salty tears fall from the corner of my eyes. Oh my god what happened to her? Is she alive? I was having a hard time remembering anything, and now I wasn't sure if I even wanted to.
"There's a man here insisting on seeing you. Just nod your head if that's okay."
I nodded my head faster than I ever had before. The only thing I could remember was the horrible fight I had with Madison, and I needed to see him. I needed to know that we were okay.
"Okay, I'll go grab him now. You just rest."
My eyes were beginning to get extremely heavy and I knew sleep would soon take over, but I tried my damnedest to wait until I could see his face. I must not have done a good job,
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