Chapter 1

Crash

Jade pulled herself out of the ruin that once was her car, wiping the water and blood from her face. She looked over to find the other car that she hit. It was in the ditch, flipped over on its top. Moving over to the twisted mess, Jade stared down to see if anyone was still in the car. Sliding down the embankment, she bent over, wiping the mud away from what was left of the windshield. Seeing two badly injured people in the car, Jade quickly wrapped her hands around the broken glass and pulled her way into the car. She wiped her hand across her face, flicking away the blood and rain running in muddy rivulets from her hair. Jade looked, stunned, into the face of her best friend, Cat. Slowly turning to the driver, she sees Tori's apparently lifeless body. Jade pulled her scissors and franticly cuts at the seat belts that hold her two friends captive.

Jade pulled Cat free of the car first. Dragging Cat a short distance from the wreck, she laid her down on the cold ground. She turned and crawled back into the car to free Tori. As she worked to get Tori out of the metal prison that was holding her, Jade could hear the sound of help on the way. Then, looking back through the jagged hole that just minutes before was a windshield at Cat, she started to cry. She couldn't believe that this has happened. That out of all the cars to hit in the whole city, she hit Tori's. "Jade," a voice whispered. Surprise chased through her hammering head, leaving darkness behind, leaving Jade slumped unconscious against Tori with her scissors still on the seat belt. Tori reached her hand up and placed it on Jade's arm. "Jade, please, stay with me," Tori breathed to the dark haired girl trying to save her. Her fingers tangled into Jade's filthy hair, holding her weakly. She sighed painfully and slipped into unconsciousness.

Jade looked around the room, trying to remember what happened. The door to her room was open about three quarters. Jade squinted at the light pouring into the dark room. She saw a nurse coming through the doorway. Over his right shoulder, further down the hall, she could see David Vega holding his wife as she cried into his chest. The nurse walked all the way in, neglecting to close the door behind him. Moving to her bed, the nurse checked her vitals, saying nothing. Jade rolled her head back to the doorway. Looking to the hallway, she saw all the people she thought were her friends crying and holding one another. Tears slipped down her face as she realized that it was not her they were crying for. It was not because she was lying in this bed that they had gathered around. They had all come to the hospital for Tori and Cat. She knew that not one of them cared if she lived or died that day. After the nurse had left, still leaving her door open, Jade turned over in her bed, looking away from the sight

of the people that she cared about and let the darkness claim her again, hoping it would never give her back.

The next day, Tori finally woke up. Looking around, she found her mother, father, and sister all sleeping in her hospital room. Closing her eyes, she pieced together what she remembered, and took stock of her injuries and was dismayed how painful her body was. She made a noise, waking her family. Trina was the first to her side, smiling down on her. "Hey sis," she said as she took Tori's hand. "Do you need anything?"

"Where is Cat?" Tori asked through dry lips, her voice raspy enough that Trina grabbed a cup of water from her bedside table and held it out to her, straw first. Tori took two swallows gratefully and slumped back to her bed.

"She is in another room, and the last time I was down there, she was talking non-stop with her brother," Trina said with another smile for Tori.

"Jade? Is Jade okay?" Tori asked, looking at her family. They started looking between themselves guiltily, no one knew how Jade was. Not one had bothered to look in on her.

"I'm sorry, Tori, we never looked in on her," Holly told her youngest daughter.

"But someone did, right?" Everyone once again looked to one another for help remembering. "Did anyone call her family? Her dad, her mom, or her older brother?" Tori could see that no one had bothered to contact the girl's family. They didn't know if she had even lived through the night and there was no one here to sit next to her, hold her hand. If Jade had died, then she was alone. "I know she was driving the other car…I saw her right before we hit. But it wasn't her fault…don't blame her," Tori told her family, in the hope that they would do something to help Jade. She hoped that they really didn't blame her for hitting them; Jade had swerved out of the way of the same drunk driver that Tori had been behind. When he had drifted into Jade's lane she had swerved out of his way into Tori's lane, hitting them head on.

Trina was mortified that not one of them had thought about checking on Jade. "Damn it," she cursed as she hurried from the room down to the waiting room where she knew everyone would still be. "Hey guys, Tori is awake," she called before she even reached the waiting room itself. She walked over to Andre, who was the first to raise his head from his chest to look at her. "Hey Andre, do you know how Jade is doing? Tori asked. I never went to check on her. Do we know anything at all? Is she…alive?" Trina looked into the young man's eyes steadily to hold back the tears fighting to fall.

"I'm sorry Trina, I don't know. Remember, I had to get Robbie, so I haven't been here that long." Andre looked down at his feet, knowing that there was a chance that Jade had died.

"Hey Beck, hey man, you have to get up." Andre leaned over the dark haired boy, shaking his shoulder. "Beck you have to get up now, man."

"What?" Beck yawned, sitting up, stretching. His bleary unfocused gaze sharpened quickly when he saw Trina there, eyes glimmering with tears. He rose to his feet with alarmed speed.

"Beck, did you see Jade at all?" Trina asked, walking closer to him with Andre working his way to Beck's other side.

"Yes, of course I did. I checked on her right after she got here and a few times afterward. Every time I checked she wasn't awake. Why?" Beck ran his hand through his hair.

"We never did and Tori is asking about her." Trina said as tears came to her eyes. Sure, Jade and her had never gotten along but she still had some feelings.

Back at Jade's hospital room, the phone began to ring. "Well, Miss West, you have a phone call," the nurse said while he moved the phone closer to Jade.

"No kidding, I thought I was whistling Dixy out of my ass." Jade reached over and grabbed the phone. "Hello," she snapped into the receiver. Her crabby mood fled at the sound of the voice on the other end.

"Good to hear that you're okay," Tori said as she wiped a stray tear that had fallen when she heard the other girl's voice. Trina had brought back her room number from Beck, and Tori had called soon after.

"So you're doing all right then? Tori, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you…the other car and…oh god, Cat, is she okay?" Jade babbled into the phone, on the edge of tears.

"Yes, as far as I know she is okay her brother is with her right now." Hearing Tori's voice, Jade felt a hard cold lump in her chest dissolve. She let out a shaky laugh.

"Oh God, that can't be good. Frankie hates hospitals and will do something stupid."

"He always has hated them," a voice came from the doorway. Looking up, Jade squealed at the sight of her brother.

"Jade, are you okay?" Tori asked, worried something had happened to her. She had never heard Jade squeal before.

"Yes, my brother is here. I got to go." With that, Jade hung the phone up, ending the call with her friend.

Tori lay back on her pillows and smiled, happy that Jade and Cat were okay and going to make it after the terrible car accident they all were in. She lay there, looking up at the ceiling, and Tori felt her head start to hurt. She told her father that she was suddenly tired and would like to take a nap. He smiled, and Tori's family left the room to get some food from the cafeteria. Tori closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. A blood clot was forming in Tori's head and as she slept she slipped into a coma.

A/N***To start off I know I used Ariana's brother's name but I couldn't think of anyone else. Now for the blood clot and coma yes I know that it is unlikely for a blood clot to come on that quickly. I think writing it this way is easier and it won't ten pages to get to this point.

Please review I really like to know what you think.