Too Good To Be True?

Chapter 1 Ⅰ

It's okay, you can do this. Just press the button and everything will come naturally, it always does. Deep breaths... that's it. Calm... and 3, 2... 1...

I forced a sad smile as I looked into my phone's camera, ignoring the dark circles under my eyes and trying to be my usual, peppy self. "Hi everyone..." I started, giving the camera a small wave. "It's Squiddy here... I guess I'll start this vlog by saying I'm sorry that I haven't been active for a few days. Something's happened..." I closed my eyes and took a slow breath, preparing myself for what I had to say next. I'd told my friends, her parents... but telling the world was so very different...

"I'm sure you've noticed that Elsie has also been inactive for a little while... Well, that's because... because..." I bit my lip, my small spark of courage quickly dissipating. "There's been an accident," I decided to say, figuring it would be best not to go into detail. "There was a car crash... I got out okay, but, Elsie... she..." My breath shuddered and I forced my eyes shut, straining to hold myself together. "She's been unconscious since it happened... The doctors say she's okay and that she should wake up soon... I... I just wanted to let you know what's going on... Let you know that... everything's gonna be okay..." A tear slipped down my cheek and with it, any and all strength I'd managed to keep up for this short video.

"I'll keep you posted," I whispered, pressing the stop button and letting my arm fall to my lap. My head drooped forward and I caught it in my hand, broken sobs escaping my lips once again. I'd lost track of how many times I'd cried over the past three days. More than I'd ever cried my whole life, I'm sure.

Why did it have to be her? I kept asking myself. It should've been me, not her. It's all my fault. It's all my fault...

I'd been beating myself up over it since it happened. The crash kept replaying in my mind over and over again. I took my eyes off the road for one second... one tiny second...

It's all my fault...

They told me it wasn't, though. They said the other car's brakes had given out, that there was nothing I could've done. But there was. I could've seen it coming, could've stopped and let them pass. Could've done something, anything differently, and she would be okay. She wouldn't be laying in that bed, her arm in a cast, a heart monitor beeping next to her to make sure she doesn't die.

She could die. They said it was a very small chance, but it's still a possibility. If that happened... if she died because of me...

My breath shuddered out of me and I forced my head up, blinking back the tears that were stinging my raw cheeks. I looked over to her bed across the room, her eyes closed, her body relaxed under a thin sheet... she could've just been taking a nap. She looked so peaceful... but she was completely unconscious. She'd hit her head in just the right way on impact that it knocked her out cold. For three. Days. Straight.

I sighed and painfully stood up, but only because of my emotional pain; my twisted ankle didn't have a single effect on me. I slowly plodded over to the door, stopping to rest against the frame. I had absolutely no energy left. I'd hardly slept since we got here. I'd stayed in that room with her, talked to her, watched her. Always watching. Waiting. Waiting for anything, any sign that she was waking up.

There never was one. But I'd never stop watching.

I glanced over my shoulder as I stood there, simply out of instinct, just to make sure she'd be alright while I went to relieve myself, but something stopped me. I stared at her, furrowed my eyebrows, rubbed my eyes and looked again.

Did she just...?

There it was again. She... she moved! Her finger, it... it twitched, I'm sure!

She's waking up...