You Could Have Saved Her

by Elizabeth Ballew

  Rinsing off, I wrapped the robe around myself, not bothering with drying off, and grabbed all of my things before racing out of the bathroom without so much as a glance in the direction of the occupied stall. When I got back to the room, Jaelyn was already in bed, but she’d left a light on for me so I could see, and I silently thanked her for not being one of those boy-crazy girls so I didn’t have to deal with what just happened in the bathroom.

  A loud shriek pierced my sleeping state, shocking me awake. I jerked upright, trying to figure out why I’d set an alarm for Saturday morning. When I looked at my phone, it was only two o’clock in the morning. It took a moment for it to register that it wasn’t my alarm but someone actually screaming down the hall.

  Looking to my right, Jaelyn appeared just as disoriented as I was. Together, we stumbled out of bed to see what all of the commotion was about. It came as no surprise that when we opened the door, the hallway was filled with girls who were there to investigate the noise just like everyone else.

  One of the RAs came rushing down the hall, yelling at everyone to go back to their rooms, but when no one moved to do so, she gave up trying and started shoving them against the walls instead as armed policemen and EMT medics raced down the hall with bags and a stretcher.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, mostly to myself because it looked like everyone else was just as lost as I was.

  “Someone said a girl tried to kill herself in the bathroom,” Taylor, a girl I’d met only briefly, said. Her room was on the next floor up, but the loud scream must have attracted girls from the entire building. There were even some boyfriends in the hall who were curious enough to risk getting in trouble for being in the building after curfew.

  “Are you serious?” Jaelyn asked. “Who found her?”

  The girl shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it was a girl from this floor though.”

  “It was Zoe.” I turned to see a man that I hadn’t met but had heard enough about to immediately know who he was. James, her boyfriend looked white as a sheet as he stared after the EMTs retreating forms. “She got up to use the restroom, and next thing I know she’s screaming from down the hall. When I ran down to find her, she was covered in blood.”

  “Was it hers?” I asked.

  He shook his head, appearing unable to speak. He swallowed hard. “There was a girl in one of the showers. I think she slit her wrists. They forced me to leave so they could work, but Zoe had to stay… said she was covered in evidence or something.”

  My eyes widened. A girl tried to commit suicide in the bathroom? When? If the EMTs came that meant she was still alive right? And if she was still alive that meant it couldn’t have happened that long ago right? How long did it take for someone to bleed out from something like that? What if it was the girl from last night? I shook my head. No, that didn’t make sense. She wasn’t alone in the shower. It had to be someone else. It had to be… but why couldn’t I shake the fact that if I’d just looked in the stall I could have stopped it from happening.

  “Are you Calla Carmichael?”

  Jerking out of my thoughts, I turned to face the police officer. I’d been so lost in my reverie that I didn’t notice the man approaching, or the looks of shock on everyone’s face as they stared at me. Great, just when I thought this might turn out to be a good year.

  “Yes,” I said with a nod.

  “Can you come with me please?”

  The officer didn’t wait for my reply, expecting me to follow as he walked back toward the bathroom. Yellow tape had been placed across the door, denying anyone entrance. Several other officers stood watch, making sure no one tried to do anything to disrupt the investigation, but when they got to the door, she ushered us in.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, my heart beating loud in my ears.

  “I want you to look at something. I know it’s hard, but this is important,” he said, and I nodded, swallowing hard. “Do you know this girl?”

  Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for what I was about to see. I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw that her wrists had been bandaged, and she was laying on the stretcher inside a large black bag. Stepping closer, I got a good look at the girl’s face. She was pretty. She had shoulder length blonde hair and smooth, pale skin. She couldn’t be more than fifteen, definitely not old enough for college. My stomach rolled as my mother’s face appeared in my head, and I shoved the image away, focusing on the here and now.

  I shook my head. “Sorry, I don’t know who she is. Why did you want to know?”

  Instead of answering, the man held out a small white envelope, on the front was my name, Calla Carmichael, written in beautiful calligraphy. Inside was a single sheet of paper. Taking it out, I flipped it over, and froze, my lungs seizing in my chest. On the front were five words chilled me to my core.

  You could have saved her.

  “Where did you find this?” I asked.

  “It was taped on the wall above the victim’s head,” he said. “I’m assuming you didn’t write it. Do you have any idea as to why it was left there, addressed to you?”

  My stomach dropped. I could have saved her? What was that supposed to mean? That I was there? That didn’t make sense. No, that couldn’t be true, could it? They would kick me out for sure. Is this saying I was alone with this girl? When? Memories of last night flashed through my mind. Wait, no. That wasn’t right.

  I shook my head. “I have no idea, but I do know she wasn’t alone last night.”

  “What do you mean?” the officer asked.

  “I came back late last night and took a shower after everyone else had gone to bed. At least that’s what I thought, but then someone came into the bathroom after me and started to… um…” I huffed and shook my head. “They were having sex in the stall next to mine.”

  His eyes widened, but he schooled his features quickly. “And you’re sure she was the person you saw?”

  Glancing at the black bag, I swallowed. “No, I didn’t see anyone. I just heard it, sorry.”

  The man nodded, taking the note and slipping it into a clear plastic bag marked ‘evidence’ before handing it to one of the guys to put it in with the other collected evidence. I couldn’t stop my eyes from straying to the young girl as they zipped the bag closed, hiding her beautiful sleeping face. Why would she have written that note for me, and how did she know my name when I knew for a fact that I had never seen her before today? These questions swirled through my mind as I walked back to my room, ignoring the stares of everyone I passed.

  Jaelyn tried to question me about what happened, but I didn’t have the energy or emotional stability to answer her at that moment. Knowing she would find out anyway, I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to call Dr. Carter tomorrow and tell her what happened; I got back in bed and shut my eyes. I pulled the blanket over my head and shut out the world. I could deal with everything then.

  THREE

  The sudden shaking of my bed made me think there was an earthquake until I heard the loud shrieking next to my ear.

  “Calla, wake up! We’re going to be late, and you’ve been sleeping all day!”

  Wincing at Jaelyn’s loud, high pitched voice, I reluctantly squinted open my eyes to see that there was barely any sun shining through the window. Why was Jaelyn waking her up so early? They weren’t supposed to leave for the party until nightfall anyway. My eyes popped open. Wait, did she say I’d slept all day? Like it was so dark because the sun was going down not coming up?

  “What time is it?” I asked.

  Jaelyn rolled her eyes. “It’s almost eight thirty. We agreed that we were going to leave at nine. I figured you might want some time to get ready and stuff or I wouldn’t have woken you up. You looked like you needed the extra sleep.”

  “Thanks,” I mumbled as I rolled out of bed.

  I considered bailing on the trip altogether, but I needed this trip, and not just because I’d had a stressful week. It would be good to get away and act normal for a change. I
wouldn’t have to think about my mother’s death, missing work, studying for tests, or mysterious notes while I danced and had some fun.

  Getting dressed, I threw a change of clothes and shoes in my bag before quickly running a comb through my hair and throwing it up in a bun on top of my head. There would probably be girls dressed to the nines, but it was supposed to be a camping trip after all, and I didn’t really care what others thought of the way I looked. Besides, I was going there for Jaelyn anyway.

  “Is Zoe still going?” I asked, remembering how distraught she’d been over finding the girl’s body in the bathroom.

  Jaelyn shrugged and shook her head as she waited for me to finish getting ready. “I don’t know. The police asked her to come to the station for questioning this morning, but she should be done by now. Her parents came to pick her up, so she said we could leave without her. I’m sure she’ll catch up with us later though.

  Nodding, I slipped my phone into my back pocket. “I’m ready.”

  We left the room right at nine on the dot, and I was impressed that I was able to get ready considering I didn’t get up until thirty minutes ago. We stopped at a gas station on the way to the campsite so Jaelyn could fill up the car, and I ran inside to get some pain reliever and a couple bottles of water. I didn’t know what kind of drinks would be available at the party, but I wanted to at least be prepared. Tossing the two little pills back, followed by half a bottle of water, I prayed they kicked in by the time that we got there. Apparently, sleeping for almost eighteen hours straight came with a massive headache.

  They turned into a campground about two hours later, the sign at the front entrance read Camp Overlook. It occurred to me that if Jaelyn drank, then we could end up spending the night because there was no way I would be able to find my way back. Not to mention, my cell phone was currently useless as they hadn’t had signal for the last fifteen or so miles, talk about horror movie vibes.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked as she pulled into the parking lot in front of the main office.

  Since it was so late, none of the community facilities were open except for the public restrooms. At the front, there was what looked like a large RV and camper parking area that led up into a woods with trails branching off in several different directions. This was supposed to be one of the biggest parties of the year – at least that’s what Zoe and Jaelyn said – and yet there wasn’t a soul to be found.

  “They are at the Overlook. We have to hike up to the top to get there,” she said as she opened the trunk and pulled out a pair of boots and a walking stick.

  “And you didn’t think that was something that might be good for me to know?” I asked, feeling more than a little perturbed that she wouldn’t think to mention that I might need to bring something more than a pair of sketchers to walk in.

  Wincing, Jaelyn looked at me with a pout. “Sorry, I didn’t think about it.”

  I sighed. “Well, there’s nothing I can do about it now. Don’t get upset if I slow you down and complain that my feet are hurting every five minutes,” I chuckled, sounding more forgiving than I felt.

  “Deal!”

  We set out up the trail, and I almost immediately regretted it. My shoes were no match for the wooded area and steep inclines, but I was glad I’d decided to get extra bottles of water to bring with me. On our way up, we passed a few people who were gathered around campfires or lying in their open tents gazing up at the stars. That is one thing I would admit, the sky looked beautiful up here.

  “Aren’t there supposed to be cabins up here? I was promised running water and air conditioning,” I said, knowing I was complaining more than was necessary, but I wasn’t an outdoors person in any sense of the word.

  Jaelyn laughed, and I could feel her eyes rolling. “There are cabins, I promise. You have to hike up to them. Well, I guess you could take the lift, but I’m pretty sure it closes around five or six,” she said, and I bit my lip to keep from uttering more complaints. There was a freaking lift we could have taken?

  The trail increased in intensity the farther we traveled, and the only light available was provided by the full moon. This late, nobody was out on the trails, and the myriad of noises around us weren’t comforting. I considered asking why we were the only ones out here if there were supposed to be hundreds of people at this party, but I refrained. Eventually, Jaelyn’s patience would run out.

  We continued forward without stopping, however, because the party was already in full swing, and I didn’t want to spend the night in the middle of nowhere. After walking for what felt like an hour, we arrived at a rope bridge that made my heart drop into the pit of my stomach. Doing my best to hide my sheer panic, I fought to keep myself from my arms and legs from shaking. I hadn’t thought to ask if there would be any bridges to cross, but I also hadn’t thought we would be hiking up a freaking mountain to get to a party in the middle of the freaking woods either. My fear of heights started to take over the closer we got, and when it came time for me to cross, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

  “What’s wrong?” Jaelyn asked. “Aren’t you coming?”

  Taking a deep breath, I tried once again to step onto the bridge, only for it to move slightly under my weight and send me into hyperventilation.

  “Um, you go ahead. I’ll catch up with you after I take a break,” I said, not wanting her to know how close I was to tears.

  She frowned. “Are you sure? I can wait for you.”

  “No, it’s fine. I don’t want you to miss out on anything. Besides, I can just follow the trail signs the rest of the way up,” I said, waving her to go on.

  “If you’re sure,” she said, hesitating a moment longer.

  I forced myself to smile. “I am, really. I’ll be fine.”

  “Alright. I’ll see you in a little bit, I guess,” she said before continuing on up the trail, and I let out a sigh as I dropped to my knees on the dry dirt.

  If Lily could see me right now, she’d be laughing her ass off. My fear of heights was extreme, almost to the point of a phobia. She joked about how if we were ever in a situation like this, she would blindfold me and carry me across. Otherwise, it would never happen.

  I stopped and took a deep breath of the cool night air as I wiped sweaty palms on my jeans before clutching them together to keep them from shaking. The thought of crossing that bridge made my heart speed up, thumping loud in my ears. Closing my eyes, I tried to slow my breathing. This was a test. Someone somewhere in the world was testing my ability to overcome. It was going to be fine.

  If God wanted me to die, it would have happened in the fire, right? I sighed. Maybe if I kept my eyes closed, I could pretend I was just walking down the hall in the dorm. Yeah right, if I wanted to fall right over the edge, that was the perfect plan.

  Rustling in the woods made my eyes pop open, and I squinted into the darkness past the bridge.

  “Jaelyn?” I called.

  “Jaelyn is that you?” I asked again when I received no answer.

  The sound came again, and this time my body froze as a chill ran down my spine as I realized it hadn’t come from across the bridge, it came from behind me. Spinning on my heel, I turned to face whatever was coming out of the woods. Preparing myself to fight some rabid animal, my pulse raced when the path was clear. Not being able to see what was in the trees made it even more terrifying.

  “Hello?” I called, not expecting an answer. Animals couldn’t speak after all.

  A twig broke to my left, and I turned. Leaves crunched in a steady rhythm as if they were being walked on. Animals didn’t move at a steady pace like that did they? Unless it was a tiger or something stalking its prey, I doubted any animal would make a sound like that. And I was pretty sure there weren’t any tigers in the woods.

  “Hello? Is someone out there?”

  Again, my question was met with silence, and my panic began to rise. My mind had to be playing tricks on me, there was no reason for someone to be hiding in the shadows of the trees trying t
o scare me. Of course, I was just letting my imagination get the better of me.

  Another twig snapped, this time it was directly in front of me, and I took a panicked step back, my heel hitting one of the posts holding up the hanging bridge. Eyes wild, I focused on the spot the sound originated and swore I could see the outline of someone or something standing just on the edge of the trees.

  “Hello?” I called again, not sure why I expected the outcome to be any different. What was the saying about fools? “This isn’t funny!”

  The figure moved, disappearing into the shadows, and I had to force myself not to scream. It was probably just a deer or some other animal curious about the girl who was standing in the middle of the trail. Yeah, that had to be it.

  “Run,” a guttural voice commanded, coming from my right, and couldn’t be any more than a few feet away.

  I didn’t even bother to look and see who it was, I just turned and ran. The bridge bounced beneath my feet, but I didn’t have time to worry about what I would do if it collapsed under my weight before I was on the other side. The sound of heavy footsteps behind me made me keep going. I didn’t know how much further it was to the cabin, but the fact that I still couldn’t hear anyone terrified me.

  My heart raced, pounding in my ears as I ran, too afraid to look behind me to see if I was still being followed. I didn’t even have enough breath in my lungs left to scream. So, I focused all my energy on running. The footsteps got louder as they closed the distance between us, and I forced my legs to move faster, carry me farther. Just a little more. If I just ran a little bit more then I would be surrounded by other people and safe from this madman’s intentions. Hopefully there would be a landline in the cabin and I could contact the police. For the first time in my life, I realized the horrifying feeling of not being able to use my cell phone.