My Absence (Revised)

4 - Aiden

*TRIGGER WARNING - ABUSE AND MENTION OF SUICIDE*

"What the heck happened to her?" The nurse insisted, her complexion suddenly going pale white. 

"Some students were beating up on her. Please, call the ambulance. We need to get her hospitalized right away!" I urged. The nurse called the ambulance. I overheard some of the conversation between the nurse and the dispatcher. The dispatcher mentioned that there would be a 45 minute wait, since all of the ambulances were already dispatched, even the ones from the neighboring towns and counties. 

"45 MINUTES?! WE HAVE TO DRIVE HER NOW!" I tried to go over to Nala, but the nurse held me back. 

"Now young man, we can't drive her to the hospital. She doesn't have any of the right paperwork that protects us from a lawsuit if one of her parents were to-" 

"SHE'S OVER HERE FUCKING DYING FROM BLOOD LOSS! WHO KNOWS HOW MANY INTERNAL INJURIES THOSE ASSHOLES GAVE HER! WHO CARES ABOUT PAPERWORK, WE HAVE NO TIME TO WASTE!"

"Young man, don't you dare raise your voice at me! And don't cuss-" I shoved past her. We don't have time to fuck around. Now's not the time to 'fuck around and find out'. To 'find out' is to have Nala die. 

 I gently picked Nala up, and as I turned around, I faced Mrs. Jensen standing, blocking the doorway. 

"Please, can everyone just get out of my way?" I pleaded out of desperation. Mrs. Jensen sighed, and as I approached her to shove her out of the way, she whispered, "I'll distract the principal." I was thankful she was on my side and listened to me. If one more person gets in my way, I'm going to lose it completely. 

I didn't know why I cared about Nala. Was it because she was the first person I met at this school? Was it because she looks like she's been through hell? Or is it something else? I noticed during the duration of the tour, she tried to keep her head down, obviously trying to hide something. The few times she did raise her head, I managed to get a few glimpses of bruises all over her face and a bruised handprint around her neck. 

I rushed past the secretary who was standing over the loudspeaker microphone, announcing a low level lockdown. No one in the office stopped me, thankfully, and I made a clean break to my car. I gently laid Nala down on the backseat, and called my parents. 

"Mom, dad? Meet me at the pack hospital. I don't have time for questions, just please meet me there and fast." I hung up as quickly as I called. I don't have time to dawdle. I have to get Nala to the hospital as fast as I can, and if I don't... Well I don't want to think about that. 

Once I was out of the school parking lot, I drove as fast as I could to my pack medic. 

---

'Nala.'

I heard someone call my name in the distance. 

My body felt so heavy, and I felt an insurmountable amount of pain. What happened? Why do I feel this way? I thought back to the last thing I remembered: getting beaten by a few of my many abusers. 

Where was I? All I saw was black. 

Am I finally dead? After so much wishing, did my wish come true? After years of hoping? 

'Nala.' I heard someone call my name again. I looked around to see if I could find the source of the voice.

'Nala.' 

Suddenly, my body felt lighter, I wasn't in pain, and I wasn't surrounded by darkness anymore, I was now in the middle of the forest. 

It was dark, and dusky, but I could see trees and moss all around. I could hear the distant sounds of owls, coyotes, and raccoons. Even though there was much reason to think the forest was creepy, it was quite calming to be in. Above, the stars shone bright and the moon twinkled through the slight moving of the tree leaves high above.