I sit up, groaning from the pain of being dropped and have a hand to my head, the other resting on my back.
"L-Libby, are you okay?" Mitchel stammers while Veronica just looks frightened beyond belief.
"Yeah, but you both dropping me hurt."
"Sorry!" They both panic. Looking at them properly, I utter the words that have been sitting on the tip of my tongue. "What happened? Where's... Becky? Are you both okay?"
"Uh, we're fine! Escaped unscathered luckily." Veronica finally speaks.
"That doesn't help me. What happened? I kind of blacked out for parts."
They look to eachother, sharing a glance and then look back to me. "Becky just got mad at us which is understandable based on our past history. She... You... You talked her down into sparing our lives. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be alive now, Libby." Veronica responds.
"And where did she go? I can't feel her!" I cry, starting to break down into sobs. "No, no! Come here, it's okay, I love you!" Veronica says, pulling me close for a hug and Mitchell joins in.
We sit like that for a few minutes, tears still pricking my eyes. "I didn't realize how much I missed you guys. You were there for me and took care of me when I had no one. I want to stay with you guys forever!"
They look shocked, but then their expressions soften and turn to saddness. "Were afraid that's not possible, were wanted, Libby for escaping the cop shop. We'll go to Juvie if were caught-" Mitchel begins.
"Take me with you, please!" I cry. I can't tell them Becky had us flee from the hospital. "Let's leave, we'll become a family again, our lives are our choosing, let's go to the city! O-or somewhere that just isn't here! I beg them.
They look hesitant and then agree. "Alright." They tell me. "Do you understand why?" I ask.
"Yes, and we can't possibly begin to imagine how hard on you this is, living a life that isn't your own." Veronica answers. "Exactly! Kacey and Ian are Becky's life, mine is with you guys and Zekey!" I tell them. They look down.
"Sorry!" I appolgize.
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I'll get you another dog, I sware."
"I don't want another dog if it isn't Zekey! And, Zekey's actually your dog. You took him with you when you and Mitchell had to dissapear for a bit.
Your parents dumped him at the pound, neither of your parents want you back."
"We know... I was told they sent Zekey there. Both out parents handed us over to the state, claiming we we're beyond redemption. They are kind of religious... and don't like me and Mitchell together.
We'll tell you more about the lives we came from, Libby once we're far away from here." Veronica says while crying a little, Mitchell rubning her back. and then she turns back to me, focusing her attention on me again.
"And for the record, I love meat. I'm not a vegetarian and I'm sorry I fed you and my boyfriend vegetarian meals for weeks. I... didn't want to make you throw up accidentally, Libby or anything. Becky was a vegetarian so introducing meat... bad idea."
"It's okay." I laugh.
Come on, let's help you up from that scruffy, dirty ground." She says, pulling me to my feet. We make our way over to the truck together, but I begin to stumble, legs weak that they have to support me on both sides.
"Are you okay?" Mitchell questions. "Feeling like- I'm having- trouble breathing." I cough and they help me into the back of the Ute and I lie there limply as they climb in the front.
"That's understandable after what you've been through. Just take it easy, we'll both handle this." Mitchell tells me. Where is our puffer? How am I supposed to tell them about our slight heart condition?
Guess I'll tell them later when we're out of here and likely get fake I.D's and stuff. We'll need them.
Veronica places her hands on the steering wheel while Mitchell picks up a map, having a quick glance over it for how we get out of these woods and likely onto a highway.
We drive onto a main road, passing trees after trees, Veronica stepping on the gas more and more as we see a sign up ahead saying, 'Thank you for visiting, Ender Falls'
When I see blue and red lights in the rear view mirror. "No, no, no!" Veronica panics and Mitchell looks back while she focuses on putting the pedal to the metal.
"It's just one cop car."
"Still doesn't mean I can out run it, Mitchell!"
They start arguing with each other and I see a police car hiding behind the leaving sign pull out. "Veronica, watch out!" I scream, and the look of terror passes over their faces just like mine as Veronica swerves, trying to go around it when I feel the Ute tilt, rolling onto it's side.
I see colors blur, feeling us being bounced around and hear glass shattering, then it goes dark. When I come to, I see I'm in the car alone. A wave of red and blue lights outside now, can hear lots of people talking.
I reach to undo my seatbelt, but it's cut? Wait, I'm lying flat- "Don't move your neck. We c-spine collared you till we can get you to the hospital and do some xrays." Says a voice.
I shake a little realizing there is two woman in the car with me, paramedics. "How's it going?" Someone calls out. "We able to transport her now?"
"Yeah, carefully though. This might hurt a little bit, Libby. We're sorry." And I feel myself pulled out from the wreckage. There is a sheet with straps underneath me.
When I'm pulled free, I see the night sky above me. One moon, just one moon.
"There's one moon." I murmur, shaking from the cold. "Huh, you're right." Says one of the paramedics with me. I notice police, ambulance and even a fire engine is here, the scene secured.
"Where is Veronica and Mitchell?" I manage amongst shaking, I see Aiden's dad come over.
"They're on their way to the hospital, it took longer to get you out of the Ute. What the hell we're you thinking, Becky? Escaping? And you hate them, why we're you with them-"
"Becky is dead! She's gone! She's gone forever!" I yell at him, banging my fists while tears slide down my face, desprete to get my point across when I feel a sharp pain in my neck, spine and chest while the paramedics tell me to stop.
The worst pain ever, and I scream out before I can't talk let alone breathe. I am trying to breathe, but it's getting hazy and everyone is springing into action to help me. Everything goes dark.
---
I hear beeping, and feel a tube in my nose, something on my finger. I'm in a hospital bed and there is an IV drip beside me, connected to my arm.
It's very hard to move, all I can reach is touching the thing on my finger which sets off a small chime. It's a few minutes before someone comes in and when they do, it's Mel.
"Mel?" I choke out. She sits beside me.
"Easy, Libby. You're okay, you don't have to say anything. But there is two things I need to inform you about.
One, you went into cardiac arrest. We had to give you the heart transplant..."
"A-Aiden's?"
"Yeah... It was a little big, but was implantable. He was brain dead, but on life support. You're going to need to take it easy for a while and take anti-rejection medication."
"And the second thing?"
"You've been comatose for almost two weeks."
"What?"
"It was medically needed, I'm sorry."
"....I don't care."
"Is their anything I can do for you, Libby?"
"Where is-"
"Veronica and Mitchell?"
I nod, it hurting to talk.
"Juvenile centre in a big city. They we're transferred out of Ender Falls a day after you went into surgery and a coma. I'm sorry."
"Z-Zekey."
"The twins have him, it's okay. Do you want me to call them? They can visit and bring him? I'll allow... a dog I guess..."
I nod very weakly, feeling tired. "It's okay, you can go rest more."
I feel anxious. "Am I going to psych?"
"No. No, you're not. You're not a danger to yourself, Libby. But your social worker, Dewey does want to meet with you and organize therapy for you as an outpatient...
But you can recover from your heart surgery first. No worries."
"It hurts so bad."
"I-I'll get you more pain meds!"
After a few hours pass and I've had more meds, Mel brings me a mobile. It's a brand new one, never seen it before. It's not a fancy one, but it's a good one.
Turns out Becky's, well ours? got busted beyond it's state of disrepair it was in already, the crash snapped it well in half. The memory card and sim card was savalgeable luckily though.
It's from Dewey, and then I see multiple texts come in. Gwen, Maple, the twins. Even Shelby... from the last two and a bit weeks while I was out.
Looks like I have some texting to catch up on.
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