Page 7 of Monster
She wails at the top of her lungs once the words leave my mouth, but I can’t look at her. I can’t focus on a damn thing other than freeing her. She begins to sob, repeating the same thing over and over, but with the blood rushing in my ears and the adrenaline pumping through my bloodstream, I can’t hear what she’s saying. I finally free her from the seatbelt, but the moment I yank through the very last of it, she drops to the roof of the car with a thud, and she gets knocked out.
Shit.
I shudder as reality comes crashing back. The sky is much darker now and the breeze has picked up quite a bit. I shiver as I stand, stretching my limbs before dragging my feet back to the hospital. I don’t want to go back in and face Essa’s anger, but I also don’t want to go home—I can’t go home. So, much to my lack of options, I force myself to move forward, step by step.
“Awake and Alive” by Skillet blares through my earbuds as I step into the elevator. I push the number three before stepping back and leaning against the wall. I stare at the numbers as they slowly tick up until it reaches the third level and it dings, the silver doors opening with a light creak.
I step out and walk down the hall, passing the nurses’ station with a slight wave as Joyce peeks her head up to see who it is when it’s past visiting hours. She gives me a sad smile with tight lips before focusing back on her computer screen. When I make it to the end of the hall, I stop—right in front of Essa’s room. 313.
The curtains in front of the sliding door are closed and I can only assume she’s sleeping, but when I put my hand on the door to slowly push it open so as to not disturb her much needed sleep, it doesn’t budge. My brows pull together as I try to push it open again but to no avail.
What the fuck?
I knock on the door. “Essa, can you please open the door? I know you don’t wanna see me, but I need to see you, just to make sure you’re all right, okay?” I plead with her and the longer I stand here with no answer, the more dread seeps into my every pore.
Something is wrong. I canfeelit.
Without a second thought, I rush to the nurse’s station and Joyce stares up in alarm when she sees me running toward her, my footsteps pounding against the linoleum—sounding very similar to my heart beating against my ribcage.
“What’s up, honey?” she asks. Her eyes are wide with concern as she roams her eyes over my body, making sure I’m not physically hurt.
“Joyce, Essa’s door is locked,” I spit out.
A mumbled, “shit” leaves her mouth before she races from behind the counter, but not before hitting a button on the desk. An alarm sounds throughout the halls, but all I focus on is getting to Essa.
Joyce gets to the door and shoves a key in the lock, quickly turning it. I push past her, shoving it open the rest of the way, and when I step into the room, my eyes dash across it at a million miles a minute searching for Essa, but she’s nowhere to be found.
“Where the hell is she?!” I yell out, my panic taking over. I haven’t been this fucking scared in a long time and I can’t stand it. I feel like I’m crawling out of my own skin. Joyce doesn’t answer, but instead pulls the blankets on the bed back and searches under the bed. I lock my hands behind my head as I take a deep breath. Right as I do, I notice the bathroom door is cracked, but the light is off.
I turn to it and take a step, but instantly stop. A sense of foreboding washes over me.
Oh no, no, no, baby girl. What did you do?
I take one step at a time, my feet dragging along the linoleum floor the closer I get. The urgency I was feeling moments ago now quickly replaced by dread. I reach my hand out and the moment it touches the door, a chill slithers its way down my spine and I shudder as I push it the rest of the way open.
My entire body jars as my knees slam with brutal force into the floor beneath me as they give out. A howl leaves my mouth, but I have no recollection of making any noise.
Everything around me turns to static as I stare at the girl I care for, unconscious and bleeding out on the floor of the bathroom. Her complexion is as white as a ghost, and the corners of her beautiful lips are pulled up in an almost unnatural way. It seems as if she’s smiling… though it’s more sinister than anything. All I know is it’s a look that will haunt me forever.
