Page 130 of Habits

“I have to go.”

Those words snap me out of the bubble I’m stuck in and I run.

I don’t turn back, not even to sneak one last glance at the woman standing there.

She calls my name, but I ignore her. Everything that a few minutes ago seemed important lost all value. My past and my future. Nothing matters anymore.

I run hard and fast, my legs eating the distance between me and the car.

And when I jump inside, I don’t wait. I press the gas and drive like my heart will be ripped out of my chest and cut into pieces if I don’t move.

If something happens to Jeanette, it just might.

Jeanette

Noise wakes me up. I want to groan in protest, but can’t find it in myself to move, my limbs feeling numb and heavy. I try to blink, but even my eyelids ache.

Why does my whole body ache?

Murmuring voices and beeping machines fill the otherwise silent space.

“Will she be all right?”

Dad?

I frown, trying to hear better. Trying to understand what’s happening. His voice seems distant. Panicked and stressed out.

What’s going on?

Where am I?

I try to turn my head, but something’s preventing me from doing so. Sharp pain shoots through my neck and into my skull, making my entire head throb.

“It’s hard to say. She fractured her forearm, a couple of ribs and she has a concussion because of the hit to her head. That’s if we don’t count all the scrapes and bruises. We’re monitoring her brain in case the swelling increases.”

Who are they talking about?

Did something happen?

I force myself to open my eyes. Is it me? Are they talking about me? What happened? My brain is screaming at me in pain, but I push it back, forcing my lids open. I manage, only barely, but the bright lights and white ceiling are just too much.

My headache becomes worse, so much worse. It feels like somebody is banging my head with a hammer.

I want to scream because it hurts. It hurts so much. And maybe I do. Maybe they know because soon after, there is nothing. Only blackness.

* * *

Before

“What the hell is wrong with my sister?” Max demands quietly, but with no less force and authority in his voice.

I try to relax my muscles, keeping my eyes closed. My whole body is tense, stiff. My head is throbbing painfully.

Where am I? What happened to me?

“She’s stable right now. We gave her IV fluids to help stabilize her condition,” the other voice says calmly. “I need to ask you a few questions. Did you notice anything strange in her behavior lately?”

“Strange like what?”

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