Tears or Blood

She held my shaking hand so tight that I felt safe and sorry at the same time. The tears trailing down my face were cold, leaving a line of salt on my cheek. I lay limp in her arms, my small frame trembling from shock. I tried to inhale, but as I did my ribs began to throb. I tried to breathe lightly from my nose to stop the pain but no matter how hard I tried the pain wouldnt go away. I tried focusing on the sound of sirens approaching, but that only made it worse. She brushed my hair out of my face and smiled weakly at me.

Theyre almost here, itll be okay.

But no matter how many times she repeated those words, they didnt make a difference. I took a deep intake of air, deciding that breathing is more important than staying out of pain. My eyes were dry, making me want to blink but no matter how hard I tried to blink, I couldnt do it. The image of a car running straight at me kept replaying in my head every time I shut my eyes, and no matter how many times I tried to blink that image just wouldnt leave. My breathing was shallow, my fear dissolving with each breath.

My head was pounding, a trickle of moisture trailed down my face, I couldnt tell if it was my tears or blood. Both my elbows were locked, the thick red running down my arm, the numb feeling leaving tingles in my arm was killer. I winced as I tried to sit up, my ribs began to burn even more and I crumpled down to the cold concrete. As I laid there, looking at the light blue sky, I felt calm despite everything that was happening around me. None of my normal nagging thoughts are pestering my mind, instead Im aware of the steady rise and fall of my chest and the quiet sounds of birds chirping above me.

As the sirens got closer, my eyes began to shut, this lull surrounding me making me drift off. The ground felt as if it had molded so that my body fit perfectly, and as I laid there, in the weirdest of circumstances, I felt happier than I had felt all year. I was content.