Iced Tea is Better Anyways

A Night Never Forgotten

Chapter 3

I hear a knock on my door but I ignore it and snuggle farther into my covers. The door is unlocked anyways if they want to walk in they can.

"Kathleen." I hear my mom say softly as she opens the door. I ignore her again and feel weight on the end of my mattress. She sighs and starts to smooth down my hair. "Honey, I called Sheila and she told me what happened. Do you want me to explain things more clearly?"

I don't really want to hear more about the accident. I can't really understand everything it feels too surreal, but then again I want to know how she is doing. So without thinking I nod my head but keep my face in the pillow. I haven't cried yet but I don't want to look at my mom's face.

"Well the accident happened when Gabby was riding her bike back home and she had stopped at the crosswalk. She was sitting on her bike waiting for the red light when a semi was turning to the right. The semi's back wheel popped onto the curb and the back corner of its load smacked her. She rolled of her bike and hit the stop light. The semi kept driving because he did not know he had hit anything and once he got a call he was devastated and apologized profusely." She took a deep breath and was about to start talking when I interrupted.

"I don't really care who did it. All I want to know is if Gabby will be alright." My voice was muffled by my pillow but she understood because she turned me over and looked into my eyes.

"At the moment she is stable but she has a punctured lung, a broken leg and minor brain swelling. She passed out once at the scene but is now awake and talking. Even though all seems to be going fine they are moving her to Winnipeg tonight just to be safe."

She must be in so much pain but at least she's stable. I can't believe it happened to her she never deserved but then again, no one ever really does. There was one question I was dying to ask but before I could my mom spoke again.

"She doesn't want any visitors." She said sadly and I knew she saw the question in me. My body deflated and I turned back into my pillow. "Oh no darling the only reason is because they are moving her right away and they don't want any delay."

I nod my head but don't look up again. She sighs and I feel her weight lift of the end of my bed. She pats my back and her light steps cross the floor, then stop.

"Why don't you get some rest, then in the morning we can call Gabby and talk to her." I don't want to sleep or really do anything but I nod my head to satisfy her. "Okay well goodnight honey and she will be fine ok."

She shuts the door and I finally turn around welcoming the cooler air from my room. I search for my iPod and look through Instagram. It's filled with pray for Gabby and other sympathetic messages written by people who barely know Gabby. Half of them just want attention and the other half are just ones who are following the trend.

The only people who haven't posted things are my friends because they actually know her and are probably upset and confused. I open up a chat with Skye, Nina, Amberley, and Liberty to explain what happened.

Kathleen: You guys must have heard about the accident by now right?

Skye: Yeah. How ru?

Kathleen: I'm good but I feel tired and all those bitches with their posts on Instagram who didn't even know Gabby are giving me a headache. What about you guys, how are you feeling?

Liberty: Yeah I know and I'm tired as well but she's strong and can get through this. Is it true that she's stable?

Kathleen: Yeah she's stable but heading to Winnipeg tonight just to be on the safe side.

Nina: Ok thats good and maybe you should go to sleep Kat.

Kathleen: Yeah I am I just wanted to tell you girls whats up.

Skye: Ok well thanks and have a good sleep we will come to your house in the morning.

Kathleen: Goodnight

I shut off my iPod and curl into my bed some more, shutting out all thoughts of today and falling asleep easier then I thought.

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Knock Knock

I slowly open my eyes but close them almost right after, because of the bright light shining in to my room. Slowly my eyes readjust at the same time as I recognize someone sitting at the end of me bed.

I sit up and look at my mom on my bed with my dad standing behind her. She gives me a small smile but I can see her puffy red eyes, so I know she's been crying. I look up to my dad and see he looks the same, oh no something really bad must have happened because my dad never cries. I look away from them, it's too hard to look at the strongest people in your life crying.

What could be so bad? Is someone dying? Then I remember what happened last night and the air rushes out of my lungs. I still don't understand why they are crying though. I mean my mom promised me she would be fine and she was stable last night, so what happened?

My thoughts must have distracted me so much because when I look back at my mom, all I see is a look of concern and she crosses my bed to hug me. I don't respond but she hugs me tighter, then lets go.

"Honey," she takes a shaky breath and fresh tears spring to her eyes. "As you know Gabby was being moved to Winnipeg last night just to be safe, right?"

I nod my head but don't understand why she would be telling me this since I already know.

"Well on the way to the hospital she went into cardiac arrest and died around midnight." My mom begins tearing up and pulls me into a hug but I can't move. She wasn't supposed to die.