Call of the Mountains

Chapter One - Ashes

**This chapter contains some mature themes and hospital scenes. Trigger warning: death, hospitals, loss, abuse, domestic violence.

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I watched as the rain pattered on the window. How fitting. I thought to myself watching the droplets fall. I looked up at the grey sky, straining against the glass as the skyscrapers loomed in the near distance. The city bustled down below as if nothing happened in this damp, dingy room. 

I could hear the chatter of the hospital just outside the old wooden door. I could hear the wheels of a wheelchair, the light tap of shoes, and the medical talk of people as they passed the door. Ever so faint above the beeps and sound of the fluorescent lights straining to stay on. 

I glanced over at the now-empty bed, neatly made. As if he never was there. As if the last week and a half had never happened. It was all a blur, but all I knew is that the abuse had stopped, so why was I feeling lost?

I touched the cold blankets, running my fingers over the patterned quilt. He's gone. I repeated to myself. 

He can't hurt you anymore.

A soft knock on the wooden door made me jump back, a slight feeling of guilt and sadness falling over me as the nurse stepped in. What was her name? Jacquie? Her pink scrubs looked frayed and her loose curls looked flat against the darkness of the fluorescent lights.

"Are you ready to go Mrs. Alexandria?" 

"It's Miss. And yes, I'm ready..." I trailed, taking one last glance out the window, the streams of water falling with the city lights slowly becoming brighter as the night approached.

"Right, sorry Miss. We're all wrapped up with the paperwork. Again we're sorry for your loss." she said as she opened the door indicating for me to get out. I gave a slight smile, I was not sorry, I was thankful. But she didn't need to know that.

It had been over a week since I lost my boyfriend of 3 years, Jamie. His death was sudden and unpredicted, but I knew he owed people money. I knew he was getting himself into trouble. 

I had just finished the paperwork, making sure we got the last of his things from the hospital room. I should be relieved, but I somehow felt shame and fear roll through me. I knew he was abusing me mentally and physically, yet I still stayed.

Jamie was like fire when I met him, and I was like his fuel. He was sweet, charming, and daring. At first, his gambling wasn't an issue between us. He would win and I would get flowers, a date, or something nice. He would lose, he would get angry, short, and...well..you can guess the rest. I'll spare the details.

He was the only person I had any kind of intimate relationship with when I moved to the city. He would show me things like hidden sectors of the park, hole-in-the-wall food stalls, and more. A refreshing and bright light for the girl from a small town in the middle of nowhere.

At first, everything was great, he was your ideal 'perfect' boyfriend, taking me on dates, showing me love, and our deep talks about the future and what we want in life were my favorite. Not all that glitters is gold, however. Jamie loved hard and fiercely, physically and emotionally. It was like were soulmates at one point. We just understood each other. 

One day, something turned in Jamie. He had come home from a trip with some of his friends, friends he never let me meet. He was angry, having lost a lot of money at the casino. That was the night he hit me for the first time, drunk and high off something. He apologized the next morning, blaming the alcohol and drugs, promising to never do it again. Which I soon learned was a lie.