Brinley Peterson

A Midnight Surprise

period: 4

A loud noise wakes me up in the middle of the night, I hear my dad getting home. I hear him and this girl laughing... my mom isn't supposed to be home for another few days so I go down stairs to see who it was. As i walk down the stairs i see my Dad and Jessi my moms best friend, kissing and on top of eachother.

As i said " Dad, what the hell is this?" 

He jumps up looking surprised and guilty "uh what are you doing up?! it's not what you think."

" if you were trying to keep this a secret, you shouldn't be so loud and maybe consider your daughter is here trying to sleep. Also yes it is exactly what I think you two faced lil cheating b***** . You were just telling mom all this crap before she left about how much you loved her and that you're willing to do anything to make this work and anything for her and our family. How could you do this to her? how could you do this to your family, dad? I can't even look you in the eye." 

" Honey, i'm sorry I don't know what else you want me to say. Me and your mom were having issues yesterday. Please don't tell her please! Can we please keep this between us?"

" Heck no. but I can tell you this; i won't tell her you will. You had one freaking issue yesterday, and you choice to jeopardize our family. I can't just let my mom live in lies and deceit. You just threw it all away. Your wife and your family. How pathetic are you?" 

Then my moms best friend jessi gets involved and says " Honey this isn't your problem. Just stay out of it. You're a big girl now so go mind your own business" 

" It's you who should be minding your own business instead of posing as my mom's friend so you can exploit their relationship the first chance you get. This is my family we are talking about. My mom trusted you. You're just as disgusting as he is! I cant even im done talking about this i'm out have fun you two". 

I walk away, headed to my room feeling broken and disappointed knowing that my family is falling apart. ..."I never liked that b**** " I think to myself.

while walking back to my room all I hear is my dad yelling at me, telling me i'm a mistake, a disappointment and that I wasn't supposed to happen. Im disgusted at his weak attempt to make me feel like i'm the one who is wrong. Not tonight dad what a coward i mutter to myself. 

I went to my room and grabbed my backpack and a few things and drove to the nearest bar. Now that I have some distance from the confrontation, my thoughts start flooding in and all I want to do is drown them. So I order two shots and a beer. While i'm drinking away my feelings, I call my best friend Blake. Ugh, I could really use somebody to talk to. He doesn't answer and i'm not surprised. I begin to leave a message but I start breaking down so I just hang up. It wasn't long before I get drunk and very emotional. The bartender starts looking at me weird and so does the jocky looking jerk at the end of the bar. I sense it's just a matter of time before one of them starts hitting on me so I figure it's time to go. 

I don't want to go home and I don't want to drive either so I call a cab."downtown" I tell the driver, not really knowing yet where i'm going. I just want to get out of my head all of it… and boom....... everything happens so fast. My body hits the top of the car as it flips, over and over. As the weight of the car pressed on my body Not feeling a single thing because my body became numb.I start to close my eyes. I can't even scream. All i hear are tires screeching and class breaking. The last few days flash through my mind and I begin to wonder if maybe I was wrong..

"honey? can you hear me?" I hear my mom's shaking voice and I feel her stroking my hand. I can hear the fear in voice. I try to squeeze her hand back but I can't move. "mom, its okay,im here. im going to be fine". " I'm so sorry ma'am, we did everything we could. Really, she's lucky to have made it this far. The drivers of both vehicles didn't make it . At this point it's a waiting game but i'll be honest with you, things don't look good. There's so much swelling and bleeding that's the worst thing that could happen. We're going to keep her in a coma until more time passes and we run more tests. I suggest you keep praying but do keep an open mind. You may need to think about making arrangements soon. "

"what? wait! no! i'm right here! I can hear you, I can see you! i'm looking right at you guys!" 

I try moving again but I still can't. Oh my gosh, they can't hear me! What am I going to do?

"Veronica? oh my gosh..is she going to be okay? what did the dr.s say? what can I do? Are you okay? what happened? i'm so sorry Veronica, this is all my fault. I pushed her." I can hear my dad starting to panic. He's sobbing in my mom's arms. Im filled with mixed feelings now. I'm still a little angry with him though that hardly seems to matter anymore. Im relieved he's here with my mom but i'm also terrified I won't wake up. i'm beginning to realize the horrific truth that my fate may be. That I could lay here for years, awake but nobody would ever know. Trapped inside my head forever. Or I could be left to die...what if they decide to operate on me and i'm awake for all of it?" stop it" I tell myself. I've got to get control. I've got to wake up. I have to take charge of my mind and push through this. My dad always told me I could do anything I put my mind to. That's why he made my middle name 'Hope'. I suddenly really miss being his little girl. my world was so much better then. Simple, happy and easy. He was my hero and could do no wrong. Things were certainly different now.

My thoughts turn to my mother. She looked so sad and small now, sitting next to my dad. they'd been having problems for a while now. Thats was easy for me to figure out in the short time i was back home from school. I felt so sorry for her. I realized now neither one of them had ever talked to me about their relationship and that I had assumed that it was all my dad's fault and that my mom needed my protection. I had taken her side and it really wasn't any of my business. I had made it my problem...'ugh, what's wrong with me? do I not have enough things to worry about?" watching them sitting together now made me feel so small. How I wish I could just hug them both and tell them i'm sorry and that I love them. I may never get the chance to.

As I hear people talking to my parents asking if it was okay to be here or if it was a bad time. As my mom say “no, no please, come in”. Footsteps walking up to my bed, disrupt my crazy train of thought. Jenn, Cody and Faylnn ! My mom starts giving them updates as I watch their faces fall. Things really are serious..they each walk up to my bed and take my hand, kissing my forehead. Tears are falling slowly down all of their faces. There are so many injuries, wires and i.v.'s thats its hard to find a place to touch me. Hearing their voices makes me think of all the time we missed with each other the last few years since i've been school. yeah, there's some real literal distance between us all but come on, right? Why can't we ever manage to follow through on any plans we make? I've missed weddings, birthdays, holidays, everything. Geez, it's really is me, eh? I've been so caught up in myself I never saw it. The bigger picture, you know? I promise myself right then that'll I make a better effort if I get through this. I want to live life and not just get through it anymore. What's a big fancy degree if you're alone,with nobody to share anything with? I want to slow down, and smell the roses. I know that sounds cliche but really, there are roses right outside my dorm room. All these images are going through my head right now. 

Again, my thoughts are stopped by a few dr.'s walking in. They start to talk to my parents but are interrupted by the machines going crazy. Alarms are going off everywhere. My mom screams and nurses come rushing in. The dr pushes my friends and parents out of the room.

"oh no, whats happening to me? am I going to die?" I can hear shouting and somebody pushing on my chest. "Please god, don't take me now. I swear, i'll live a better life. Please don't take me from my mom. She doesn't deserve the heartache. Please god--'' As I say to myself. 

The light starts to fade and I can feel a wave of calm come over me. Slowly my body goes numb starting from the tip of my fingers to the bottom of my feet. The whole room suddenly feels cold. As the doctor grabs the defibrillator andi hear them say “ clear charge to 100!” then again “ Clear charge to 150” then again “ clear charge to 200. My heart rate finally rises very slowly.