Gem

Chapter 1

A hurricane was approaching yet Sapphire sat on a lonely bridge, her feet hanging dangerously over  the edge. 

She felt the wind rock her forward, her heart raced, but she ignored the urge to back away. She was unable to ignore her discomfort yet she refused to get up, getting up would mean she'd have to head home and she didn't want to do that.

She glanced down at the dark water far beneath her, the Rain and wind caused the water to rock back and forth dangerously. She briefly thought about what would happen if the wind pushed her a little too hard and she ended up in the rough water. She imagined what it would feel like, she imagined the water would be freezing cold as it was February, would she die instantly when she hit the water or would she die slowly, drowning since she couldn't swim, or would something within the water kill her. 

She came here a lot to visit her parents and her sister. Although their bodies were laid to rest across town in a cemetery, she believed that if someone died sudden and tragically, then their spirits remained where they were last alive. 

So, she would visit this old bridge a lot, sometimes wishing that she was with her family the morning they died.

Suddenly, light blinded Sapphires vision so she held an arm up. Soon realizing it was a car driving her way, she prayed not to be spotted. Squinting her eyes a bit, she watched as a black car speed past her, splashing her with water before coming to a stretching's halt at the yellow cones that sat as a warning for anyone unfortunate enough to get to close and fall off the side. 

She gasped in shock from the cold water running down her back, the puddle being a lot colder than the rain. She stood up shivering, turning towards the car, thinking for a second to go over and give them a piece of her mind, but being a February Pisces she did not fancy the idea of a confrontation unless it was absolutely necessary. Surely it was an accident, besides Sapphire's intuition was telling her that something wasn't right. Maybe it was the fact that no one in their right mind would be out on an abandoned bridge in the middle of a hurricane, Sapphire being the exception, she always did things that other people called crazy or stupid but she was lucky, always just managing to miss being apart of tragic events - or maybe, it was because the driver was doing things that were suspicious, or as GenZ would call it, 'sus'. 

She stood watching disbelievingly as the driver pulled something long and black out of the trunk of their car, Of course people came out to dump their  unwanted trash of the side of the bridge, it just made sense. Why wait until trash day or drive around town looking for a dumpster when you can just throw it away here. The problem was, the long black thing, Sapphire was sure it was a trash bag -  was moving as it landed hard on the concrete. It could be one of two things, a large animal or a human, A swift kick from the driver quickly answered the question as a cry of pain could be faintly heard over the sound of the rain that had just began to pickup. Sapphire was frozen, but not because it was 30 degrees outside and dropping and the fact that she was wet, but because of fear. Who ever was inside the bag was making their way outside of it, She didn't know whether to be rooting for them or against them. Needless to say, it was dark and the rain clouded her vision, she wore glasses because she couldn't see without them, but right now they made her ability to see under the circumstances more difficult, she could only imagine  who ever it was -struggling to pry the bag open with their fingers. A arm was free they reached out trying to fight off the driver. The driver dropped the body and stood  patiently as the person managed to free their head. 

As soon as a head became visible, so did a gun. What happened next, happened so fast. Sapphire couldn't contain her scream as she watched a person get shot in the head, the once struggling body now laid motionless on the ground. She imagined blood running from some poor man or woman's  head getting diluted by the rain. Yet another soul trapped on this bridge. 

Sapphire covered her mouth but it was too late, the driver was now looking at her. She couldn't see any features, but she hoped - not  prayed because she didn't believe in prayer, that she didn't know neither the driver nor the person on the ground, though it was a long shot. Here everyone knew everyone, that was just the way small towns work. 

The driver was now walking towards her, but she was rooted to the ground. She felt like one of those dumb girls in the movies because instead of moving, she just stood sobbing and shaking her head no. The driver raised their gun and aimed it towards her. She squeezed her eyes shut as her heart raced. This was it, she was going to die, and all she did was stand frozen in fear, like a coward. She would suffer a tragic end just like her mom, her dad and her sister, ironically in the same location as well. 

But - as fate would have it, Sapphire began to hear Sirens  in the distance and since this was the only bridge and road for miles, Sapphire knew that the ambulance was headed in her direction. It brought her some relief, at least there would be a chance that her murderer would go to jail - unless they ended up killing  rescue as well. She opened her eyes expecting to see the driver in front of her, but they had turned around, now walking back to the body. She watched as they were rolled over the edge of the bridge. 

Turning around she saw the ambulance approaching in the distance, with a sigh of relief, Her body finally returned under her control as she jumped and cried out for help, almost slipping and falling in the process. 

"HEY!" She heard behind her. It was the driver and they were now running towards her. Her eyes widened and she decided to  run towards the ambulance, hopefully they could see her,  She kind of blended in with the scenery with her dark grey clothes. 

Luckily the ambulance did stop, she watched as the back door flung open and shortly after two guys came rushing to her with a giant yellow blanket. "Young lady, are you-" 

"Sapphire!" 

She froze, she knew that voice, turning around her eyes widened, bright blue eyes met hers and she could feel her insides melting. Not literally of course, that's just how she felt whenever she looked at her math teacher. She had a crush on her since the first day she laid eyes on her, that only seemed to grow daily. 

"Ma'am are you alright!?" The guy with the blanket asked her as she was wrapped in the blanket. She'd seem him plenty of times, but didn't know his name. She watched as her teacher was wrapped in one as well by the other fireman. 

"Yes, I'm fine" She responded immediately as she looked in her teachers eyes. Though now, their relationship was beyond just student and teacher, no it was more than that, it was beyond love even.

It was deadly and it was all Sapphire's fault, but to understand, you'll have to hear their story from the beginning.