Young Writers Society

*Candy's point of view*

Chapter 3—Blood

I must’ve blacked out, because the next thing I knew, I was being lifted onto a stretcher and gently slid into an ambulance.

I was still the entire ride to the hospital, not because I was strapped to a gurney, but because I was scared out of my mind. The trip didn’t take long, and before I knew it, I was being pulled out and rolled into the ER.

Then everything went fuzzy again.

Beep. Beep. Beep. My head was throbbing, and I was aware of a sharp pain somewhere near my ribs.

“I contacted her mother. She should be here in a matter of minutes.” I couldn’t see where the voice came from, but I sure didn’t like what it said.

“No…” I mumbled. “Mom….”

“Shhhh. Honey, it’s okay, get some rest. You need it.” It was the same voice as before, but now I could see that it belonged to a grandmotherly looking woman in Elmo scrubs.

“But…”

Beep. Beep-Beep. Beep. “Calm down, honey.” She picked up a weird looking syringe and inserted it into a bag above my head. She squirted out what was left of the small tube and gave me one last smile before walking away. I didn’t realize what she had done until the throbbing went away, and my body went slowly numb before I passed out completely. Again.

Someone was stroking my hair. I looked up to see myself staring back at me. Well, not really myself, but my twin sister, Mandy. We were identical, but only on the outside. Same dark brown, curly hair, same chocolate brown eyes, same pale skin. She was the good twin. The twin who got good grades and didn’t sneak out at night, or go to wild parties. I sighed. I guess she was smarter than me all along. I mean, look where parties and sneaking out got me. A dinky little hospital room with a very annoying beeping sound. Hmph.

“You okay?” Her eyes were wide with concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Well, except for the fact that I can’t move or feel anything from the neck down.”

“Look, Mom told me not to tell you this, but um, you’re uh…” Her brow wrinkled with frustration at disobeying our mother.

“Come on, out with it!”

“You’re-“

“Candy! Thank God you’re awake! We’ve been up all night, hoping and praying.” My mom strolled in, interrupting my sister. She had this look on her face that made me think she might cry, or had been crying.

“Mom? Is there something you need to tell me? What happened?”

My mother turned to look at Mandy. “You told her, didn’t you! Even after I specifically said not to!?”

“No, she didn’t.” I said, my voice weary. “But she did say there was something.”

“Thanks,” Mandy mouthed at me.

I smiled weakly back at her.

“Honey, you have to understand, we only want what’s best for you.”

“Uh huh, well I want answers. What happened?” I said this as forcefully as I could, but it still sounded wimpy to me. However, if I knew my mother, she would most likely give in right about now.

“Okay fine. You win. I’ll tell you. But you won’t be happy about it.”

Of course, the nurse had to pick that particular moment to bustle in. “Ready for some more medication, sweetie?” She didn’t wait for my answer, just added whatever was in the syringe to my IV. Her bouncy black curls blurred as she made her way out the door.

And then, once again, I became unconscious.

There was an intense gnawing in my stomach when I woke up, but when I asked the nurse if I could have something to eat, she looked at me like I was stupid. “You’re in intensive care, honey. That IV line should be giving you all the nutrition you need. But if you’d like, I’ll call the doctor in to check on you.”

My eyes grew wide at the mention of intensive care. So that’s what my sister was trying to tell me. I was in serious condition. Hmm… That didn’t seem that bad, actually. I wonder why my mom was all teary eyed.

The nurse frowned at me, then walked out of the room. Not long after, I heard voices in the hall, and a man with blonde hair and green eyes came into my room. He wasn’t gorgeous, like the doctors you see on T.V. shows. Instead, he had a beer belly and an extremely pudgy face. “Candice Lissy?”

“Yes sir.” I said weakly as my mother came into the room behind him.

“Feeling any better?”

“Sorta.”

“Well, has anyone told you exactly what happened earlier tonight?”

“No.”

“I see. Do you mind if I tell her, Mrs. Lissy?”

My mother looked unsure, but nodded anyway.

“Okay. How much do you remember?”

I winced as my memory took me back to the party, then to the car, and finally the moment I saw the headlights coming at me in the darkness. “Pretty much up until I saw headlights.”

He frowned, deep in thought, muttering, “Must have passed out…”

My mother piped up from the uncomfortable looking hospital chair she was perched on, “Excuse me?”

“Sorry. I was saying that she must have passed out.” He turned back to me, “The headlights you saw were from an oncoming car. You crashed head-on.”

I gasped, realizing with horror what I had done. “Was there anyone in the car?” I asked slowly.

“Unfortunately, yes. Mr. Matthews is no longer with us.”

“Oh, God!” I cried out as the beeping machine speed up, faster and faster, and my breathing became more and more shallow.

“Ms. Lissy, please! Calm down!”

I tried to, but this new realization was too much. It swept me up in a tornado of self hate, spinning me around and around, until it was all I could do not to throw up. My vision was fine, though, so I saw the doctor reach into a drawer and pull out a syringe that was identical to the ones the nurse had inserted into my IV earlier.

“No, wait! I’ll calm down. Don’t drug me yet!” I tried to push him away, but something was keeping my arms from doing what I wanted them to. Luckily, he backed off anyway.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am,” I replied, getting a hold on myself.

“Okay… Then they brought you here. Your injuries were pretty extensive. You were wearing your seat belt, though, so it helped. Basically, the airbags saved your life but broke both of your arms and several ribs, you had some pretty severe cuts on your face from the broken windshield, and the seat belt bruised your chest pretty badly. However, your worst injury didn’t come from the crash itself. You were drinking tonight, weren’t you Ms. Lissy?”

My face turned scarlet and I kept my eyes on my fidgeting hands as I confessed, “Yes sir.”

His face turned sullen. “Then what we have found is true. Have you ever heard of alcohol poisoning?”

My brow wrinkled. What was he trying to say? I got alcohol poisoning from that little bit of vodka I drank last night? “Uh, yes.”

“Well, your body has an extremely low tolerance for alcohol, and when you got drunk, your liver didn’t take it well. We did what we could, but the truth is, if you leave this hospital, there is a 9 out of 10 chance that you won’t make it.”

“And if I stay in the hospital?” I croaked.

“You have an 8 out of 10 chance of death.” His voice was sullen.

My heart rate sped up, and the beeping machine went crazy again. I was dimly aware of my mother crying, but didn’t know how to console her. The doctor came at me with his syringe again, but stopped when I gave him a dirty look. I took a deep breath, and slowed my heart. Then I turned to my mother. “Mom?”

She paused, and I took that to mean keep going. “If I don’t make it, tell Mandy and Dad that I love them. I’m so, so sorry for what I’ve done tonight. And never forget that I love you.”

She smiled through her tears and said, “I love you, too.”

I signaled the doctor that he could put me back to sleep now, and he stepped forward. I didn’t know how, but somehow I knew I wouldn’t be waking up again. And I was right.