It started out with a kiss,

How did it end up like this?

It was only a kiss,

It was only a kiss...

(Mr. Brightside - The Killers)

_

____

Fifteen:

I woke up to the sound of my alarm.

Only that it wasn't my alarm.

The first thing that gave it all away was the blinding neon light coming from the ceiling.

My eyelids opened, an instant headache making my head go numb. I groaned and slowly raised my hand closer to my face, rubbing my temples as to try ease the pain from springing further into my head.

I was laying in a medium sized bed with white sheets and covers, and a strangely hard mattress that made my back hurt.

Where was I?

My eyes roamed around me, taking in my surroundings.

The room was pretty simple, with few decorations and furniture. Pale green tiles on the floor, bright white walls and large windows with cream colored curtains.

But the weirdest things that sat in this room were the beeping machines placed next to my bed, their loud sound ricocheting across the room.

Oh God.

I was in a hospital.

Sure enough, I was covered in a white robe which hung lazily across my body. I could feel my bare legs shiver underneath the covers.

My mouth felt dry.

What on earth happened?

Then it all rushed back to me.

The park. The meeting. Michael. Marie Elizabeth. Michael and Marie Elizabeth kissing. The car. The ride back home. The noise.

And that's where the memories interrupted, leaving me with a giant hole in my mind.

How did I get here? And why was I here?

The door sprung open.

"Bree, oh my God," mom flew in my direction, her hands cupping my face as she came next to my bed. "Are you okay? The doctor told me you woke up and I rushed in here as soon as I could. I was so worried, God, don't you ever do this to me, I swear I was so scare -"

"Mom," I cut her off, managing a small smile at her sight. A warm feeling settled in me. Seeing her made me feel so much better. She made this robotic room much more alive. "I'm fine. Okay? You don't need to worry anymore."

She gently kissed my forehead and gave me a warm smile. "Oh, Bree... I barely even slept last night, knowing that you were here alone... "

"Wait... Last night? How long was I here for?"

She thought that through. "Approximately eleven hours."

My eyes widened. "What? No, no, this can't be right... It can't be... I mean, I don't even know how I got here, and what happened..."

"You had a car crash, Bree..."

"... What?"

"That's what the doctor said. Unfortunately I wasn't there to... help..." Her voice cracked. "Someone from the neighbourhood found you, passed out in your car... They called for an ambulance to take you, and... Well, here we are. Thank God you got away with only a few cuts and bruises."

My right hand instinctively went to my forehead, where it met the dried surface of a cut. I was sure I had more of these, possibly in an even worse condition, but I wasn't eager to see them. As long as they didn't hurt, I was fine for now.

My reaction to her words didn't hesitate to come, though.

"Oh my God..." I didn't even know what to say. My tongue felt heavy in my mouth. My pulse beat lazily in my veins, the wire connected to the beeping machine projecting the sounds through the whole room.

I'd always been a lousy driver. I knew that. It had always been hard for me to focus on the road and switching gears and pressing on the pedals and all the other stuff at once. But having a car crash...

"How did it happen? The car crash, I mean."

Mom swallowed, her eyes staring at the wall behind me. "Apparently you hit a lamp post, or-or a traffic sign..."

I slowly nodded. That explained why I'd felt my body being squeezed. It was because of the impact the car had had when it hit the lamp post, or whatever it was. My car was probably badly damaged now. "Okay, but - "

"Look, as long as you're okay, that's all that matters. Please don't stress over this thing, honey. Just rest a little more. The doctor said you're free to go home in a few hours, after a few more check-ups."

I nodded a little more. "Okay, mom. Thank you."

"No problem. Please rest, okay?" She smiled. "Love you, Bree."

"Love you."

She gave me another peck on the cheek and left.

I heaved a sigh and hid behind the covers. My head still felt numb, and different thoughts and questions flew inside my mind like a hurricane.

This was probably the most inopportune moment for me to sleep, but I decided to give it a try nevertheless. My eyelids felt heavy on my face too. And sleep was maybe the wisest thing one could do in a hospital.

With that thing in mind, I propped my head onto my pillow and let my thoughts slip into nothingness.

_______

"Thank you again, doctor," mom passed a smile in the doctor's direction, to which he nodded politely and waved goodbye.

We exited through the hospital door and faced the vast parking lot dotted with cars.

I breathed in the fresh air. I didn't want to come back to this place... Ever. Of course, it wasn't really my choice now, was it?

Hospitals were depressing. Quite a shocker, right?

"How are you feeling, Bree?" Mom asked as the two of us reached the car.

"I'm good," I said sincerely, my lips curving into a smile. "I know for sure that I won't miss this place."

She chuckled as she slid in the driver's seat, while I sat in the backseat. "I don't blame you. I really hope you'll be careful in traffic now. And... I-I  actually think you should take a break from driving... At least for a couple of weeks."

"What? No, I can't do that, mom," I shook my head, convinced, "I need to drive to school, it's a pretty long distance. Plus to all the other places, and -"

"Bree," she turned around in her seat so as to face me completely, "Why did you have the accident?"

I frowned. Her tone of voice made it sound like it was a rhetorical question. "...What? What do you mean by why did you have the accident? It just happened, like any other accident, I mean -"

"Bree," she cut me off. She turned on the car engine and glanced at me once again, a grim expression on her face. "You know you have trouble focusing... I admit it, this is why I hesitated when I'd bought you your car, but if it comes down to car crashes -"

"Mom, I don't get it," I protested, folding my arms over my chest in the process, "What are you saying? You're forbidding me from driving me anymore?"

"No, of course not, honey," she shook her head, wrinkles appearing on her forehead, "I'm just worried about you..."

"Mom, there's nothing to be worried about," I insisted, "I'm fine. Okay? This thing, it won't happen again. I'll be extra careful. I promise."

I flashed her a convincing smile. She passed me a dry smile in return and turned back into her seat. "Alright..."

I could see that she was still not fully convinced by my pledge, but I was glad she let the matter go anyway. For how long, though, I didn't know.

The drive back home was quieter. I glanced through the window, the sound of the music coming from the radio echoing through the car.

I felt relieved. I was so glad I'd got only some small wounds from this accident... It was as if only now I began to realize the importance of one's health, the importance of life itself... Things could've got so much worse, and yet here I was, in an almost perfect state of health.

I guess it was true what they said... You only realize the importance of something when you almost lose it.

"By the way, Bree," mom's voice broke me out of my trance, "You've got some unread texts on your phone."

Surprise flashed through me. "Really? From whom?"

"I'm not sure. I don't remember the name. Take a look yourself. Your phone is in my purse."

I frowned. "Your purse?"

"Yeah, the nurse gave it to me. She found it in your jacket pocket. It's amazing how it survived the crash with no scrapes or marks."

"See? Smartphones are totally worth their money, " I joked as I took mom's purse and rummaged through it.

I fished my phone and unlocked it, checking my text messages.

Chloe: Bree pleaasee answeer!! Omg what happened? Why aren't you answering my calls? Are you ok?  - 11:32 a.m.

Please talk to me. Call me. Text me. Anything. -2:37 p.m.

A feeling of guilt settled in me as I read Chloe's texts. She seemed like she was pretty worried about me.

She worried about me... And I hadn't  been able to answer her call nor her texts.

Well, I kind of had a good excuse.

Deciding that I would call Chloe as soon as I got home, I was about to shut my phone, before I noticed some other series of texts.

My eyebrows knit together as my gaze landed on his name.

Damn...

Just the last person I wanted to hear from.

Michael: I saw you when you ran away from the park yesterday.. Why did you do that? I waited for you for like 30 minutes.

What happened? You finally showed up and just decided it wasn't worth it and went back home...? - 10:43 a.m.

Ok so now you're not even answering my texts. Thanks...  -1:17 p.m.

You know - maybe I shouldn't even have called you yesterday... - 2:05 p.m.

My stomach twisted and my feelings filled with anger. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

My eyes roamed over the black words on the screen, which were supposedly from Michael. But the more I read them, the more I couldn't process their meaning.

He was the one who had been a jerk to me ... He was the one who had been sucking Marie Elizabeth's face while he was waiting to meet with me, and now he was mad at me?

If it were because of the blog thing, I would've got it. Quite frankly, I would've gladly taken the full blame for it. Because that was indeed my fault.

But -but this? I've had a bloody car crash because of him... Yeah, I realised now... Because I'd been mad at him while I was driving and I hadn't been able to focus on the road.

Good choice, Bree. Blaming the accident on Michael. Very smart.

I mentally punched myself for acting like this. It hadn't been his fault I had that accident.

It was still all mine. Ugh.

My mind tied itself into a mess of arguing thoughts, each one holding a different hypothesis for who's blame was for what. (Yes, I was an overthinker.)

Needless to say, I wasn't going to apologise for running away the other day from the park. It wasn't fair... The sight Michael had made me see. It wasn't fair.

But still, I could as well explain myself to him, you know, give him a hint of why I hadn't been able to reply to his texts.

The Princess wants an answer, the Princess shall get one, my inner voice joked.

My fingers run over the keyboard, letting my anger blacken the words on the screen.

Me: I had a car crash, Michael. Excuse me for not being able to reply to your texts earlier, but I was in the freakin' hospital. Oh, and by the way, I hope you'll bring Marie Elizabeth again to our next trip to the park. I was really looking forward to seeing her, but unfortunately I could only see her profile when she was making out with you. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

Oh, yeah, nerds are good with comebacks, too. All the name callings and potential bullying acts does that to a nerd.

But as much as I liked to believe that Michael just got burned, the only burned thing in this mess was me.

______

Oh my gosh what is even going on?? Phew it was much tension here I swear I could cut it with a knife. Btw this is the longest chapter I've written so far 😅

Lol hope you guys enjoyed this anyway, don't forget to press that little star in the corner and comment down your thoughts :3

So do you like more intense chapters or do you wish they were more relaxed? Also what about my little cliffhangers? :>

Please comment what you think. Thank you!

See ya to the next update with a supposedly more chilled chapter and with more Michree in it XD

Cheers✌