Wide-Awake - Mercades Licht (books for 8th graders .TXT) 📗

We run past a street sign, 'Wilder street. We're on the streets in Lington! I  live here! What's going on?' I think to myself as this girl I'm in runs to a section of the wall, right under go camera.

"Open the door! You have to let me out! Please! Don't let me die in here! Please!" She screams as she starts punching the wall. Under all the dirt and blood, I can clearly see bite marks. I hear a gunshot go off nearby and the body I'm in jerks and everything goes black.

Gasping, I sit up and a small series of coughs hit me. Once I can breath normally I half expect to start vomiting up blood next.

"Are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you." I hear a small voice say. I look up and see Tina looking apologetic and tearful.

"It's okay. I know you didn't do it on purpose. I'll be fine." I say to her as I pull her in for a hug. 'I am going to be okay. I'm back at the hospital. What I saw was nothing. Please let it be nothing.'

"I see that your awake. How are you feeling Griff?" Tina jumps at the sound of the nurses voice and almost falls over the side of the bed. I laugh at her and then groan in pain. "Careful with your stitches now." Says the nurse as she rushes over.

"Stitches! You had to get stitches!" Exclaimes Tina.

"Apparently so." I say to her.

"Do they hurt?"

"Yes."

"Does it feel weird?"

"Yes."

"Can I touch them?"

"No."

"Would it look gross to me if I looked at it?"

"Probably."

"EW!" Shouts Tina as I answer her last question and I try not to laugh at her.

“No bleeding, that’s good. That means you haven’t broke your any of your stitches.” Mumbles the nurse mostly to herself.

“Blood!” Screeches Tina. Touching the back of her hand to her forehead she falls to the floor and pretends to faint.Now I can’t help but laugh even if it hurts my stomach.

“Tina! What are you doing on the floor child?” Says an elderly women as she walks into the room.

“Shhh! I’ve fainted so I can’t talk.” Says Tina in a hushed tone with her eyes closed. The elderly women shakes her head, but can’t hide her smile as she walks towards me.

“Hi grandma!” I say with a smile on my face. She leans down and kisses my forehead.

“How are you doing sweetie?” She asks with a concerned look on her face.

“Not gonna lie, I hurt badly, but I’ll be okay.”

“Did you hear about Emily?”

“I didn’t need to.” My voice catches and I clear it before continuing, “I knew she was already gone before I passed out, I just couldn’t accept it. My instinct was to try to get to her and if I could just reach her, I’d be able to save her. I-I-I just couldn’t get to her. I couldn’t walk and I was surrounded by too many people. A-and I just couldn’t reach her. I c-couldn’t save her even if I wanted to. I couldn’t…..I just co-” Without my consent, the tears just start falling from my eyes and I can’t seem to stop them.

My grandmother takes my hand and squeezes it and starts stroking my hair and hums softly. I feel the bed dip and Tina curls up beside me and starts humming softly as well, the same tune as our grandmother. As I lay there and listen to my grandmother and my cousin humm, I slowly start to calm down and relax. I’ve never been able to understand what it is about the melody that seems to sooth my family whenever someone is grieving, but it always seems to work. Anytime Tina or I ask Grandma Lucy about where the melody came from she only ever tells us that it’s really old. That it’s been passed down throughout the Spire line and that it needs to continue.

As Tina and Grandma Lucy continue to hum, my eye lids slowly start to droop and then everything goes black.

Chapter Two

I ended up having to stay at the hospital for a couple of days and had Tina and Grandma Lucy to keep me company while I was there. My mother was still on her honeymoon with the lawyer she’d recently married about a week ago. Ever since my father left her for a younger women she’s been desperate for someone to fill the void that my father left in her.

After a year of nothing but drinking about a bottle or two of wine a night and crying herself to sleep, she started dating again. And after the divorce was filed and signed I never saw or spoke to my dad again. He just left.

About four months ago is when my mother started to date her divorce lawyer. Two months into the relationship and he proposed and another two months after that they were married. And lets just say that Fred and I, yeah we don’t get along. He does whatever he can to try to push my mom and I apart and she doesn’t see it. Anytime I bring it up we get into an argument and she just thinks that I don’t want her to be happy. I gave up trying to talk to her once they got married and she seems to have forgotten about me.

After my accident Grandma Lucy tried to call her daughter and Fred picked up. He said he’d tell her, but I doubt he ever relayed the message. He probably wishes I’d died in the car wreck with Emily. Emily. Just thinking her name makes tears spring to my eyes. Her funeral is in a couple of days. Two days before her eighteenth birthday.

“Okay we’re all set, Grandma Lu-......Griff are you okay?” Asks Tina as she walks in. It takes me a few moments to realize that I’m crying.

“Oh! This is nothing.” I say as I use my sleeve to wipe my face,”I just have something in my eye, thats all.”

Tina looks at me unconvinced but she doesn’t pry. I can tell by her eyes that she’s sad to, but instead of showing it, she puts a smile on her face.

“Grandma Lucy is already in the car and ready to go. She also got your pain meds even though you told her not to.” Says Tina with a slight giggle.

“She’s gonna make sure I take them for about the first week I bet.” I say with a groan. Tina laughs. Hobbling over to her, I hit her with one of my crutches.

“Ow! What was that for? You know I’m the one that will be pushing you around in the wheelchair. Grandma Lucy even lent me the chair she had to use back in her child years when she broke both her legs.” Says Tina while grinning evilly.

“Nah. I think I’ll just use these crutches and hobble out.” I say as I go past her. The left crutch hits the door frame and I fall to the floor.

“On second thought, I’d like you to push me in the wheelchair.” I say to Tina as she helps me up. I sit down in the wheelchair and put the crutches across my lap.

“The rides gonna be bumpy!” Says Tina as she starts pushing me forward really fast.

“Don’t push me into a wall and I’ll give you twenty bucks!” I yell. Tina jerks the chair to a stop so fast that I almost fall out of it.

“Twenty bucks and a tub of twix ice cream and you have yourself a deal.”

“It’s either the twenty dollars or the ice cream, so take your pick.” Instead of answering she starts pushing the chair forward again, this time heading straight for a wall.

“Your not really gonna push me into a wall are you?” I get no response.

“Tina.” No answer. “Tina!” Still no answer. Closer and closer to the wall we get.

“Alright! Okay! Deal! Deal! You have a deal!” Tina jerks the chair to a stop again and the crutches fall off my lap. Walking around the chair she picks the crutches up and lays them across my lap again.

“That wasn’t so hard now was it?” I give her a death glare and can’t help a small smile.

“Your evil, you know that?” I ask as the chair starts moving forward again.

“You love me so your the one that’s got to deal with it.” She says with a laugh and I just shake my head at her.

Once out the doors I see Grandma Lucy sitting in the driver's seat. Tina pulls the chair to a stop by the passenger seat door and opens the door for me. Once I’m seated in the car, she puts the wheelchair in the trunk and jumps into the backseat.

Imprint

Publication Date: 06-11-2018

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
Thank you to everyone who has helped me in writing this story. You've all been supportive and have helped me out a lot. I thank you for it!