Live For the Sake Of Living

"So how was school?" my dad asked when I came in through the door.

"Hell," I replied shortly. He looked at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"Why? What happened?" he asked as he stood and came near me.

"People at school talking shit.... one of my ex-friends harassing me. And then the dealer that got me into the heavy shit was harassing me. I kinda wanna go take a shower to get his filth off me," I shuddered.

"...He didn't--"

"No, but he wouldn't take his hands off me," I cut Brian off. He seemed to sigh in relief that what he thought had happened really didn't.

"Still, that's sexual harassment. He could go to jail for shit like that. Do you wanna call the cops or--"

"No, it's fine. I'm fine," I shrugged, cutting him off again.

"No, it's not fine. No one puts their hands on my daughter and gets away with it," Brian said, his anger showing.

"Alright, alright. If he does it again, I'll let you know and we can call the cops," I said, knowing that there would be a next time, just not knowing when.

Brian sighed. "Okay, but you better tell me," he warned. I nodded. "Did anything good happen today?" he asked, calming down quite a bit.

I smiled slowly. "Actually... yeah. I got my best friend back."

"Oh really? And who might that be?" Brian asked, grinning as well.

"Rhiannon. You've met her. Remember the suck-up?" I asked.

He had a look on his face like he was thinking hard. "...You're hanging with a druggie again?" he asked, starting to fume again.

"Dad, chill. She's not like that anymore. She cleaned up her act after she saw what happened to me. We had a whole long talk about it this morning when I ran into her," I said, calming him again.

"Oh. Well, I guess that's good," he mumbled. "Oh! We're going out to dinner tonight, you wanna come with?" Brian asked, his mood instantly picking up.

I smiled. "Okay, sure. When 're we leaving?" I asked.

"Not til later. And you can take your car."

"What? You don't want me in yours?" I joked playfully.

"No, you're right. I don't," he smiled back. "No, but seriously, it'll be good practice for you driving at night."

"Alright."

Brian, Michelle, Jack, and I stepped out of the restaurant into the dark.

"Jeeze, it's been raining. The roads are probably slick. You wanna come with us amd we'll get your car tomorrow?" Brian asked. It was still raining.

"Nah, I'll be fine," I shrugged.

"Are you sure?" Michelle asked, with Jack in her arms.

"Yeah, I'll be fine guys, don't worry," I smiled before stepping into the parking lot, the rain dripping down my face. I ran to my car and unlocked the door, getting in and out of the rain. I sat there for a bit until I saw Brian's Escalade engine start up, and then I backed out of my spot, leaving the lot first with them right behind me.

I pulled back ono the small highway and turned toward home. I was driving for about ten minutes before the rain started to come down heavily. I turned the wipers on high, but they still didn't do much good.

Then the car felt like it was flying. I knew I was hydroplaning and I saw Brian's headlights flash at me a few times through the rearview mirror, warning me to slow down and gain traction. I pushed onto the break, waiting for the pressure under the pedal to give way.

But it didn't. The pressure of air under the pedal was locked and no matter how hard I pushed, it didn't move. I started to panic. What if we can to an ---

Intersection. Right ahead of me. I had the red light. It was close enough that I'd still be going at least 45 mph even after coasting. I just had to pray that the light turned green before I got there.

Still red. A few more seconds and I would be there. There was nothing I could do. I tried the brakes but they still locked up. So I did the only thing that came to mind; I turned on my warning emergency lights, and prayed for the best.

"....Oh God."

---------------------------------

I watched as Charlotte gradually slowed down; she was coasting. She put on her blinking emergency lights.

"What is she doing?" Michelle asked.

"I don't know but she better slow down before she runs the light," I said, trying to stay calm when really I was panicking inside.

"...She's not stopping. Do you think maybe something is wrong with her? Or maybe the car?" Michelle asked. I could hear she was starting to panic as well.

"I don't know..." I said. And then I just about died.

That little red car hit the intersection hard, slamming into a tractor trailer that had the right-of-way.

I slammed on the breaks. "Oh my God!" I shouted in disbelief. I pulled to the side of the road quickly.

"Stay here with Jack. Don't let him see this," I said quietly. I jumped out of the car, heading in a dead sprint towards the accident site. When I got closer, I put my hand to my mouth. The entire front of the car was destroyed. It'd have been a miracle if Charlie was still alive.

I instantly whipped out my cell phone and dialed 911.

"911 Medical Emergency Services, please state your emergency."

"I need an ambulance here, my daughter... She -- she's been in an accident," I said, stuttering in my hysteria.

"Sir, calm down. I need to know where you are," the man's voice said calmly.

"I -- um," I said, looking up to see where I was. "I'm on the intersection of Route 6 and Route 42, in Huntingont. Please... hurry.... she crashed with a tractor trailer," I said, trying to stay as coherent as possible while trying to not scream.

"Alright, we'll have a squad there soon," the man said, and I hung up.

I rushed closer to the car, not knowing if I dared look inside at Charlie or not. I didn't want to see a mangled body or something like that. To my relief, Charlie's body was still in tact, the air bag helping to resist any head trauma or injury externally as far as I could tell.

I tried to open the door on the driver's side, fearing it would be jammed, but thankfully after a few good tugs, it opened. The front of the car absorbed most of the energy, leaving the door accesable. I kneeled at the side of th car, reaching across Charlie's lap to unbuckle her so I could get her out and once the airbag started to deflate I got a good look at her face.

There was blood dripping from her forehead, either from the impact of the airbag or the shattered windshield, and there was blood all down the front of her shirt.

"Shit... shit," I whispered to myself repeatedly, trying to keep myself from crying. I couldn't tell if she was dead or alive. I slid my right arm around her back, placing my other arm around her thighs, and tried to pull her out. Charlotte's body didn't budge, at least not anywhere lower than her knees. The impact to the front of the car had crunched her legs with the plastic of the dash under the steering wheel.

"Is she alright?" I heard a voice from behind me. I turned and saw who I could only assume was the truck driver becayse he had a logo on his shirt to match the company logo on the side of the trailer.

"I dunno. I can't get her out," I said, I was able to steal a quick glance around. People were getting out of their cars and forming a crowd. I looked back at the man. "I need to get the dashboard off her legs to get her out," I explained quickly. The rain had continued to fall all around us.

"Shouldn't you wait for the paramedics to get here?" he asked.

"There's no time. She could be alive, but if that car blows up, she's dead. I can smell the gas leaking," I breathed, forcing out the reality I was trying to ignore.

"Well is there any way I can help?"

"Yeah, pull her out while I pull the dash up," I replied shortly and then scrambled over to the car. The truck driver situated the body so she was in his arms and out of the car from the torso up, and I crawled over her, getting into the best position to grab under the steering wheel where Charlotte's legs were trapped. I braced myself and grasped the plastic, pulling up as hard as I could. It didn't move an inch, but I keept pulling, feeling like I was gaining strength. My sense of danger and panic and wanting to save Charlie was sending my adrenaline production into overdrive; I could do anything.

I groaned as I felt the hard plastic start to give way and the car made a strange noise.

"Pull her," I said through gritted teeth, and the driver was able to get her out. As soon as they were clear of the car, I let the dash back down. My arms ached. It wasn't every day you had to pull a car apart. Humans aren't meant to do that.

I jumped out of the car and rushed to Charlotte's side. The driver had placed her face-up lying on the pavement a good hundred feet away from the car. The falling rain mixed with the blood on her face and made it spread. I sat down and picked Charlie's head up, placing it in my lap as I felt my eyes finally fill with tears.

"Charlie, sweetie... wake up. Please, wake up," I said as I stroked her cheek, my voice coming in sobs. She remained motionless. And then her eyes moved. They were shut, but they moved. "Come on... answer me," I said to her. Her eyes flickered open. I felt a sad smile come to my face, at least happy she wasn't dead. But that could have been the last time I ever got to see her alive.

"D-Dad," she whispered hoarsely and then coughed.

"Shhh... it's okay baby, I got you. The ambulance is on the way," I said down to her.

"Im' so....c-cold," she shuddered and then coughed some more. My heart dropped and my partially good spirits were killed; there were droplets of blood coming out her mouth every time she coughed until finally a large amount came up. I heard it gurgling in the back of her throat before it spilled out the side of her mouth.

"Oh God.... please, no," I cried. There was a lot more wrong with her internally than I had thought.

"Am.... I dying?" Charlotte wheezed, her eyes starting to close.

"No, you're gonna be okay. Just stay with me Charlie. Don't close your eyes," I whispered.

"I love you Dad," she said before her eyes finally shut.

"I love you too Charlotte," I said in return. I saw red flashing lights nearby out of the corner of my eye, and when I looked up, the ambulance was there.

The medics were making their way through the crowd of on-lookers. When they reached me, I let them take Charlie from me and prayed she would be okay before I ran back to my car.

"...Brian...." Michelle said quietly from the backseat, where she was distracting Jack. I could hear the tears in her voice. "...Is she okay?"

"I don't know. I don't know.... she's bleeding a lot... internally," I said, trying to push the words past my lips.

I heard her intake of breath and I started the car, following the ambulance all the way to the hospital. When the three of us entered the waiting room, people gave me weird looks. I looked down and saw I was covered in blood. Charlie's blood.