Try and Catch Me: A Young Adult Fiction

by Sarah Kirchner

  Chapter 31

  Thanks for Nothing

  Everything around me was blackness. My head pounded constantly. It was as if somebody took a shovel and began beating my skull with it. It wasn’t just my head that hurt though; my leg was in agony as if something was piercing through it.

  My eyelids adjusted themselves, but still I couldn’t quite open them fully. It felt like some force was shielding my eyes from whatever was out there. Wherever I was, I could hear faint whispers surround me. I couldn’t make out all the words; they were all muffled. But there was one line I could hear.

  “It’s my fault.”

  Somehow, those were the only words that I could make out.

  “It’s my fault.”

  The words bounced through my head, and I tried to force myself to open my eyes. Who did the voice belong to? I couldn’t make out the voice. They were the only words that had seemed to come to me. Maybe they were my own words. What was all my fault though? Everything in me was fuzzy. I didn’t even know where I was. Blackness was everywhere. Maybe I was sleeping, and the words were just a part of some weird dream I was having.

  “It’s my fault.” The voice grew louder and more aggressive, but still I couldn’t attach the voice to a person I knew.

  “It’s my fault.” Now it was soft, almost as if it was said as a cry, as if it was said accompanied with tears. A voice finally came into focus. It was familiar, but I still couldn’t figure out who it belonged to.

  “It’s my fault.”

  My eyes shot open.

  The voice was Aspen’s.

  “Ella!” I heard him cry and suddenly he came into focus. I looked at the white ceiling above me, the light attached to it blinding my eyes, making it hard to see everything. Aspen was only a small figure bobbing over my head. I could barely make him out, but I knew it was him. I could never forget his chocolate eyes.

  “We need a doctor in here!” he shouted. Doctor? Why did I need a doctor? Where was I?

  My body shook, and pain continued to flow through me. His eyes never left me. Slowly, I felt his hand slip into mine. Warmth began to spread all over me, but it was overpowered by the pain. The doctors must have been there for the pain I was having. I had no recollection of why I was hurting so much, but for some reason everything ached.

  “Hurts,” I mumbled.

  “I know, baby. The doctors are coming.” His voice was soothing, and his hand brushed my forehead. Pain suddenly shot out of my head, and I screamed out. My eyes closed and I tried to block away the pain. It was too powerful, though. Whatever was pulsing through my head hurt like a bitch. “Hang in there, Branson,” Aspen whispered. “Everything is going to be okay.”

  Why was Aspen even with me? Hadn’t I broken up with him? Last thing I remembered was driving to Starbucks, but then everything around me seemed to have just shut off.

  And just like that, everything went black again.

  ***

  “You need to give her some room,” a voice said. I actually heard the voice, but it wasn’t one that I recognized.

  “I’m not leaving.” Now that was Aspen.

  “Aspen, please.” And there was Sam.

  “Why don’t we all just leave? It can give her some time to relax.” This voice belonged to Mom, and I wanted to run up to her and wrap my arms around her more than anything, but the pain in me was too much. The pain had gone down just a little, but it was still hurting every part of me.

  “Mom,” I murmured and my eyes slowly peeled open.

  “Oh, baby!” she exclaimed and I felt her hand slip into mine. “I’m so glad you’re now awake.” She knelt down and pressed her lips against my forehead. I was still in the same room I was in when I had woken up earlier. At least, that what’s I assumed. The ceiling above me was the same pale white ceiling as before, but that was the only thing I could remember then. Everything wasn’t all in focus last time. Now, I could see everything. I heard the beeping sound next to me and I saw every outline on the tiles above me. I tried to lift my head and see in front of me, but that hurt too.

  “Moving is going to hurt at first,” said the unknown voice. Yeah, no shit it hurt.

  “Thanks,” I groaned and continued to try and pull myself up. My mom’s hand rested on my back as I scooted up against the bed. Now I saw everything.

  Aspen and Sam were both sitting on chairs against the wall. Sam’s eyes were puffy and her cheeks were red. The unknown voice I presumed that belonged to the doctor was standing in the corner. He was tall and had skin as dark as Aspen’s eyes. He stood firmly with his hands behind him. His white coat hung loosely on him.

  “What happened?” I finally said and pressed my hand to my head. A cloth had replaced the top of my head and was wrapped around my hair.

  Everyone’s mouth started opening, but the doctor spoke first.

  “I’m Dr. Mark Hensing. You’re at St. Michaels hospital. Do you know why?” he asked and walked closer to me. Every step he took, his shoes squeaked. I shook my head slowly, making sure not to hurt my head more. “Now, Miss Branson, you were in a car accident.”

  My lip began to quiver. Now I remembered. Once those words left his mouth, memories of that day flooded my mind like a nightmare. Aspen had called me, and I answered only to tell him to stop, but before I got to tell him, my car flipped. Several times.

  “Oh God,” I whispered. My hands covered my mouth so my cries couldn’t escape. Mom’s hand still clutched mine.

  “You ran through a red light, sweetie,” Mom whispered. I looked at her. No, I couldn’t have. My eyes only left the road for less than a second. When I looked down at the phone, the light was still green, wasn’t it?

  “Aspen was calling me at that time.” My voice shook. I closed my eyes and tried to wake up. This was just a dream. It was all a nightmare, and at any moment, I was going to wake up in my own bed.

  “I’m so sorry,” Aspen cried out. “When you didn’t pick up, I should’ve stopped calling, but I had to hear your voice. I needed you to hear me out.” Aspen went silent after that, his voice trailing off. “I heard the entire accident,” he whispered.

  “We had to give you eight stitches in your forehead.” The doctor continued as if nobody had spoken. How could he keep talking? Aspen heard my entire accident. He heard every scream and moan that I let out, and he couldn’t do anything to prevent me from getting hurt. The helplessness he must’ve felt during the entire accident.

  “Now, your leg is a tricky situation,” Dr. Hensing proceeded. My eyes finally opened, and I sneaked a peek at my leg. Something was definitely inserted through it. A thin metal rod stuck out of my shin and continued until the beginning of my ankle. “You severely fractured your tibia. I expect it to take at least eight weeks to heal.”

  “At least?” I moaned.

  Dr. Hensing nodded. “You’ll be needing two months of physical therapy after that and then you are as good as new.”

  “Yeah, only she’ll have one leg,” Sam mumbled and stared at the floor. My eyes practically bulged out of me. Who said I was losing a leg? My leg was right there attached to me. It hurt, but I could deal with the pain. There was no way I was letting anyone take away my leg.

  “She’s not losing a leg Samantha!” Mom shouted. Her eyes were steaming with anger, and Sam shut up immediately. Mom didn’t yell like that often, and when she did, she meant business. Mom looked at me again, and her eyes now soft. “We’ll all be here to help you throughout this time. We just want you to get better.”

  The doctor nodded then left the room. Some doctor he was.

  “Where’s Dad?” I asked.

  “He just went out to bring us breakfast.” Mom checked the clock next to the TV. It was only seven. “He should be back any minute. He’ll be so happy to know you’re awake.” She smiled before leaving the room. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, probably to call Dad.

  “How long was I out for?” I asked Sam.

  “Ella, it’s been almost a month,” Sam said, her face
deathly serious.

  There was no way that was true. Had I really missed a month? I couldn’t believe Christmas had passed without me even being awake. A month was ripped away from me, and I hadn’t even noticed.

  “Knock it off, Sam,” Aspen said. For the first time, I looked at his face. His hair was in disarray, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked exhausted. “You’ve only been out since the accident yesterday afternoon. They brought you into surgery and fixed you up for about six hours, and you’ve been asleep ever since.”

  “Thanks for making me look like a loser,” Sam hissed at Aspen.

  “Maybe you should learn when to joke and when not to,” Aspen spat back. Sam stuck out her tongue and Aspen did the same.

  “Where are my friends?” I asked, ignoring their little fight.

  “Caleb’s right here, baby!” Suddenly Caleb barged into the room wearing his usual gamer t-shirt.

  I burst into laughter, even though it hurt to do so.

  “I have been waiting out there for hours for you to say that,” Caleb said. “You know how I like to make an entrance.” Caleb winked at Sam and then proceeded toward me. “Honey, you look great in that gown. I think you could rock that in school any day.” Caleb smiled and pecked my cheek.

  “Oh yeah, definitely with my ass hanging out.” I laughed and rolled my eyes. It was good to joke again after everyone being so serious.

  “That ass will look smoking underneath the gown.” Caleb nodded.

  “Watch it,” Sam and Aspen both said at the same time. Caleb grinned even more and turned to the two of them.

  “She’s not even yours, dude,” Caleb said to Aspen.

  “Yeah, but I still care about her, and I don’t need asshats like you making those comments.” Aspen sneered and stood up from his chair. I had to let a giggle out after that. Asshat was just too funny of a word to ignore. Aspen smiled at me laughing. He looked proud to make me laugh again.

  “Oh, and Sam,” Caleb said, ignoring Aspen’s outburst, “you’re still the one I want,” he said with a wink.

  Sam rolled her eyes, but a faint smile was spreading across her lips.

  “Where’s Quinn and Becca?” I asked.

  “Right here!” they shouted and ran through the door just like Caleb.

  “Were you guys all just standing out there listening?” Sam asked with her eyes narrowed. “That’s kind of creepy.”

  “You’re just jealous you couldn’t make an entrance.” Quinn snorted back with a smirk.

  “Well, it’s nice to have you all here,” I said and smiled at all of them.

  “It is very nice, but would you mind giving us a moment alone?” Aspen asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. He looked nervous, embarrassed even.

  Everyone looked at me, waiting for a response.

  “It’s okay guys.” I nodded. They all nodded back and slowly left the room.

  “We’ll be watching from the window,” Sam said and pointed to the window in the hall.

  “We’ll be doing this then.” Aspen walked up to the window and shut the blinds, followed by the door despite the glares from Sam.

  I smiled, but I was still nervous. I wasn’t quite ready to listen to him, but I guess after hearing the car accident, he deserved it.

  “I want to talk to you about what happened at Caleb’s.” Aspen sighed and pulled his chair up to my bed. I nodded and made myself comfortable as well. “You didn’t hear me out, and I really needed that. Sam was manipulative, and she got me to do things that I honestly would never have done. You were so innocent, and she took advantage of that.”

  “You took of advantage of that,” I corrected.

  “Right, me, but—” Aspen let out a groan and rubbed his hands on his face. “Sam knew exactly what to say to get me to do it.”

  “Stop blaming this on my sister. You were just as involved as she was,” I said.

  “And you forgave her!” Aspen shouted and stood up quickly. “She made me do it, and you forgave her with no problem. Your sister has been nothing but cruel to you your entire life, and yet after one week you forgave every little thing she did to you in the past. But me? I have been nothing but loving and caring towards you. I told you the truth because we were becoming too serious for you not to know.” Now Aspen sat down again. He brought his chair real close to the bed. “Do you know how awful I would feel if we had sex without me telling you?”

  I let out a cry in reply.

  “I know! The thought is awful!”

  “But it’s okay to kiss me and lie to me and say that you love me? All that’s okay, and only sex was what crossed the line?” I asked him even though this talk was not making me feel any better.

  “You’re not listening to me.” Aspen sighed.

  “Oh, I’m listening.”

  “I love you,” Aspen said and wrapped his hands around mine. “It’s insane how much I’m in love with you. Everything that you do drives me crazier for you. Sam wanted me to date you and then break your heart.”

  “Well congratulations because you did exactly that, Aspen.” I scoffed and forcefully ripped my hands away from him.

  Aspen shook his head. “I was supposed to break up with you after Halloween, but I couldn’t. You intrigued me so much, and I just couldn’t leave you like she said.”

  “But you could do everything else?”

  “No! Ella, she wasn’t the base of everything in our relationship. Most of things we shared were purely me.”

  “Was it purely you who agreed to the plan? Or was that your evil twin?”

  Aspen stood up and pushed his chair away. “I really thought you would hear me out. I’m in love with you, Ella, but this isn’t the girl I fell for.” He shook his head and left the room just like that.

  Aspen was wrong. It wasn’t me who had changed. It was him.

  Chapter 32

  In a World of Jerks

  A day later, I was let out of the hospital. My head was still pounding and my leg still felt like it was being ripped off every time I moved, but all in all, I was perfectly capable of going home. I wasn’t so sure how much I believed that.

  “You go rest immediately,” Mom demanded as soon as we entered the house. I barely had time to take a breath. “We’ll see how you feel in the morning about going to school.”

  “Mom, I can go to school. I only have a broken leg,” I said as I tried to bring myself up the staircase, but secretly I hoped she would keep me home. I didn’t want to see Aspen. And more than that, my head felt like someone was bashing my brains in.

  “Yeah, sure you can. You can’t even get up the stairs on your own.” Mom laughed and joined me, holding me by the hip to assist me as I walked up the steps. “If you want to go tomorrow, then I’ll just have to get you an aide to walk around with you.”

  I rolled my eyes. The last thing I wanted was someone glued to my side whenever I took a step. “Mom that is so not necessary.”

  “Yeah Mom, I’ll just do it,” Sam interjected.

  My head craned backwards. Sam stood at the bottom with a smile on her face, swaying back and forth on her toes. “Hell no,” I said, shaking my head.

  Sam’s eyes widened, looking confused and shocked. “Why not?”

  “I don’t want you anywhere near my leg,” I said sternly.

  Something about what Aspen had said the day before made me rethink of my newfound friendship with Sam. Maybe she did have an angle, or maybe she genuinely wanted to become friends. Whatever game she was playing with me, I couldn’t tell, but I knew that I didn’t want to be a piece in it.

  “That’s so not fair! I have been nothing but nice to you. I even allowed you to drive the car on Friday!”

  My mouth gaped. Did she really just say that? “And look at me now Sam! I have a rod holding my leg together!” My hands lifted to my head and I pointed at the stitches to the right on my forehead. “I have a hole in my head! If you haven’t noticed Samantha, the car ride was not fun! And you want me thank you for that?”

&nbs
p; “Girls,” Mom warned.

  Sam’s face started to turn red. Her eyes lingered to the floor and she watched her one foot dance around the floor. She whispered something, but I couldn’t quite hear it.

  “What?”

  “I’m sorry!” she screamed at me. “I’m sorry for making your life a living hell! I’m sorry that I was a shitty sister! I’m sorry for Aspen and everything I did to you! I’m just sorry, Ella, okay?” She screamed out everything she had in her and then stormed off toward the living room.

  “She seems sorry.” Mom nodded next to me, a tiny smile resting on her lips.

  I looked at her with wide eyes. “This isn’t funny Mom,” I snarled and pushed her hand off me. “Please don’t bother. I can get up the stairs on my own.” Slowly, I dragged my heavy leg up the stairs on my own. A slight pain spread through my leg, but I didn’t want Mom’s help. I could do it all on my own.

  “Honey, you’re being ridiculous.” Mom shook her head and took a step up the stairs. “I was only kidding!”

  My eyes met hers. I opened my mouth to say something, but I only shook my head before dragging myself up once again.

  ***

  To tell the truth, I was nervous about going to school the next day. My leg was busted, and I definitely didn’t want special treatment because of that. The bad leg just reminded me of that awful day: Aspen calling me, answering his call and running through the red light. It reminded me of everything, and I couldn’t handle that. Of course, I needed to ride the elevator because my leg was so screwed up and if it were up to me, I would not want a person with me at all times, but I really needed one, either a friend or a teacher, so special treatment—no matter how much I didn’t want it right now—was out of the question.