Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Saved By You Teaser! - Chapter 1!!

Hey everyone! Thanks for all of your support. Ruined By You will leave you on a doozy of a cliffhanger, so here's Chapter 1 of Saved By You to keep you held over until the 25th!

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!



Don't read this if you intend on reading Ruined By You! ;)





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Chapter 1


Mom.
“What’s wrong?” I said, urgently. Lightning crackled all around us. The storm raged in full force. “Where is she?”
Aunt Denise gave me a stern look.
“Green Falls General,” she said. “It’s only a few miles away. I’ll drive.”
Before I could respond, hands tugged at me and led me toward the Escalade parked under the car porch — the same one I’d nearly run the ‘Vette into. Sarah piled into the truck next to me, and Aunt Denise fired up the engine. I stared at my younger cousin, disbelievingly.
“What happened to her?” I said.
Sarah’s face pinched together, and she shook her head.
“I don’t know,” she said, shrugging.
I glanced at Aunt Denise for answers, but she was focused on the road. The rain was coming down in thick sheets outside, and everything was dark.
Thoughts raced through my head, filling me with an unease I’d never felt before. I wanted answers, but everything was happening so fast. I didn’t even know the questions that needed asking.
Why is she in the hospital?
Sarah wrapped her hands around mine, and scooted in close to me.
“Everything’s going to be alright,” she whispered, squeezing my hand.
How can she say that if she doesn’t even know what’s wrong?
We drove on in silence. The darkness outside was all consuming. The lights from Green Falls were drowned out by the thick, gray haze. Thunder blasted through the sky like I was in a scene from some scary movie.
This isn’t a movie, this is your life.
How could something be wrong with Mom? She’s the strong one — nothing goes wrong with her. She was the one that had to be there to protect me — to catch me when I made a mistake. My head sagged forward, and I stared at a spot on my lap. I’d made plenty of mistakes that night, and I had the feeling that things were only just beginning.
The truck bumped along until Aunt Denise pulled into a huge parking lot. A group of three large buildings all clung to each other, with a sign over the one in the middle that read “Great Falls General”. Arrows pointed us toward the visitor parking lot, but Aunt Denise pulled into a circular drop-off area and let Sarah and I out.
We huddled together while Aunt Denise parked the car, the silence only interrupted by the fierce pattering of the rain on the concrete. Wind whipped violently, bathing us in a cold mist. Sarah’s eyes searched me, and her mouth moved like she wanted to say something - but nothing came out.
What was there to say?
Aunt Denise led us through the lobby, and back into the hospital. It was like she knew exactly where she was going. There were few people around at that late hour, and a heavy silence loomed along the corridors. Flashes of a distant time came to me — the only other time I’d been in a hospital. I had been there to visit my mom that night, too. Hospitals creeped me out. There was too much quiet. It reminded me that there were people all around me who might not wake up in the morning — who might leave behind friends and family, all huddled around each other for protection from the horrors of life.
Would Mom be one of those people?
A fiery lump surfaced in my throat, again. It had made its home their all night, and there was no sign that it was going away anytime soon.
Aunt Denise led us up a flight of stairs, and around a few turns to a closed door. Without pausing, she tapped it lightly and poked her head in. There was a shuffling from within, and then Grandma emerged. Her eyes found me, and the steely resolve she was wearing slackened. Pain erupted in both our faces, and I felt the tears stream down my face.
She wrapped her arms around me, and pulled me in, tightly.
"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."
I hugged her back, not knowing what to say.
"Can I see her?" I managed, when we finally pulled back. My voice came out pitched and shaky. I didn’t remember ever seeing Grandma cry before.
She regarded me for a moment, then nodded.
The room was dark; quiet. Something told me that I shouldn't make a peep. It was the kind of silence that shouldn’t be broken. I shuffled my feet along as quietly as possible, not wanting to disturb a thing. A privacy curtain cut the room in two, and I could see the edge of a bed just on the other side.
Are you ready for this?
I took a deep breath - gathering any strength that might be hidden inside of me - and pushed forward. As I walked past the privacy curtain, I saw her. My hand clutched my mouth, stifling a gasp. Her body was thin — thinner than I remembered it from earlier in the day. Machines surrounded the bed. Tubes snaked and tentacles out of them and hooked into her, like they were trying to hold her in place. Beeps and buzzing thrummed and made the air vibrate.
Oh, Mom. What have I done? Why wasn't I here for you?

1 comment:

  1. Oh my gosh, that is a teaser, just as the tears started to fall it is over, I can't wait for the book to get here, it is going to be great.

    ReplyDelete