Chapter IV: Hold on

I hadn't expected this day to go down the way it did. I don't think anyone could have seen it coming. Now that I think about it, do we ever see anything coming? It was a normal day.

Normal.

It's funny how a normal day can easily turn out to be the best or worst of your life. Truthfully, this day hadn't been either but the speed at which things escalated was truly shocking.

"Hey girls!" John yelled from somewhere in front of the house.

I caught the ball Issy had bounced back to me and looked over at John to see him leaning on the door-frame and waving.

"Hi Daddy!" Issy yelled back.

"Ha! Minus five points for Rose!" I turned away from John and looked across the yard to see Isabella doing a happy dance.

"But she caught it." John said.

"She was supposed to bounce it back not catch it Daddy." Isabella explained.

"Oh I see." John chuckled while I shrugged.

"You girls have been going at it for a long time. How about a small ice cream break? do you want ice cream?"

"Yes please!" Issy screamed and I nodded.

"Alright. Stay together, I will be right back."

As he headed back into the house Issy and I continued our little game. I raised the ball up with my left hand and shot it at her with my right fist. She hit it back with her two palms and back and forth it went.

I'd been staying with John and his family for a little more than two years now, slowly integrating myself into their lives. It was perfect. John was perfect. He was such a good dad and was basically my favourite person in the world. Lillian was almost too sweet and caring, and Isabella had a way of brightening up my life with her sweet innocence. I had initially found it tiresome having to lower my IQ to hers and play silly games, have make believe tea parties and braid her doll's hair but with time, I stopped minding and even started to like it a bit. It made me feel normal.

Lost in my head as usual, I didn't notice on time that Issy passed the ball so when I tried to hit it back I used a little bit more force that I intended.

"I'll get it!" Isabella shouted as she ran out of the tiny gate separating the yard from the street to get the ball which landed on the road. For someone with keen senses like me, I felt foolish for not noticing a car pull up round the corner of the street and rushing towards Isabella.

My heart began pounding in my ears as I watched in horror as she picked up the ball and only then noticed the car. Her eyes widened just like mine as the car drew near. Just as it was about to hit her, the driver honked and as if sound brought me back to my senses, a shiver went down my spine and a force I can't even begin to describe came exploding out of me and pushed the car aside to smash the curb but also hit Issy and she ended up hitting her head on the sidewalk.

"Isabella!" A blood curdling scream ripped from my throat as she lied still on the pavement.

My quivering legs pounded the ground as I rushed towards her in panic. As I got closer and saw blood dripping down on her head, my vision began to blur.

Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up.

The thought of losing another person, the thought of me being the cause of another person's death crushed me, I didn't know when the tears started falling.

I lifted her up and brought her face up to mine as I distinctly heard footsteps rushing towards us.

I slapped her cheek gently and she opened her eyes a little and it connected with mine. "Stay with me." I croaked out and furrowed my eyebrows as her pupils dilated and her eyes began to widen.

"Oh my God, Isabella!" Lillian's scream ripped me out of my dazed state as she and John came running towards us.

John took Issy out of my arms and I heard him and Lillian silently thank God as they saw her eyes wide open.

"I will grab the keys. Lillian, quickly check on the man in the car." John ordered.

These people were almost too good to be true. Their daughter is hurt and here they were still worried about the reckless driver that could have killed her.

Lillian rushed over to the black car to do as he said and when she pried the door open I saw a young looking man groaning in pain with nothing but a small bump to the head.

"I'm fine. Just get the girl to the hospital." he said without even looking. She nodded and rushed back to me, we got in the car and rushed to the hospital.

**************

"She has a bit of a concussion, she hit her head pretty hard and we had to give her a stitching but other than that she's completely fine." The doctor said.

"She was very lucky."

It had nothing to do with luck. I was in a ward sitting beside a peacefully sleeping Isabella and listening to the conversation between her parents and the doctor.

I could still feel the static that ran through my body as I pushed the car away from Issy's path. I feel like I tapped into something in my body and that scares me. To think that aside from the prospective of an external force out to get me, I myself could be a danger to everyone around me.

John and Lillian walked in once they were done talking to the doctor.

"Rose, I know you were scared but Isabella will be fine." Lillian said as she patted my hair gently.

John nodded in agreement and knelt down in front of me. "In fact the doctor said she can come home with us tonight so you can stop worrying okay?"

I looked between him and Lillian and nodded gently.

"Issy Is-" John suddenly paused and furrowed his eyebrows.

"You spoke." he said slowly.

"What?!" Lillian whisper-yelled in an attempt to not wake Issy up.

"Yeah. You did, didn't you? You spoke- well, screamed actually."

I nodded slowly. Even I had failed to realize that I said my first words in almost four years while I was in my frantic state.

John's eyes widened at my confirmation and he shared a look with Lillian who covered her mouth with her hands and looked between John and I with blurry eyes.

"Yes!" John silently exclaimed while shaking my shoulders in pure glee. Slowly I shared their smile. I felt calmer now and I knew things would be okay.

Lillian joined John on his knees and gave me a bone crushing hug. "You're getting better." she whispered in relief.

I really was.

"Will you try saying something for me?" she asked gently. I knew she didn't want to rush me but was just curious so I nodded.

She clapped her fingers and let out a tiny squeal.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything but my voice was stuck in my throat. I cleared it and tried again but all that came out was a tiny screeching sound as I try to force a word out.

They both frowned. "Hey take it easy." John said.

"I guess it makes sense for it not to be easy for you." Lillian nodded in understanding. "You'll get your voice back. One step at a time okay?"

I rubbed my hand up and down against my aching throat and looked up at John and Lillian- my parents, smiling at me. I smiled back and nodded happily.

This feeling of warmth and wholeness, I'll hold on to it.

Once Isabella was awake-albeit a little disoriented and drowsy from all the pain killers- she was discharged and we went home.

John laid her down in her room, while I followed Lillian to the kitchen to get some food for myself and Isabella.

"Rose, can you please take that tray up to your sister?" Lillian asked.

They'd been calling me rose for more than two years now and I still wasn't used to it.

I grabbed the tray from her and started heading out of the kitchen. I paused as I got right in front of the doors and took two deep breaths and cleared my throat.

"Prime." My scratchy voice croaked out.

Immediately I said that I heard Lillian gasp. I turned around to look at her and smile before leaving the kitchen and her in her dazed state.

I carried the tray of food to Isabella's room. John had left and she was still asleep. I sat beside her with the tray resting on my lap as my thoughts drifted back to the power that I used to push the car and the way I felt when I used it.

I closed my eyes raised my hand slowly trying to feel that power again. As I opened my eyes I watched the tray of food dance over my fingers and suddenly I heard a gasp from behind me. I turned my head to Isabella watching me in shock and heard the tray crash on the floor.

My eyes widened in horror while she was in shock.

I immediately moved my face closer to hers and looked at her eyes directly.

"I tripped." I forced the words out of my throat and watched her pupils widen like they had earlier that day after the accident.

I pulled back and she blinked a few times in confusion while I crossed my fingers behind my back.

"Are you okay? Hope you didn't get any of that mess on yourself."

I nodded.

"That's good." her relief matched mine.

"Isabella! You're awake." John entered to room.

"What happened here?"

"Rose tripped." she answered.

"You okay Prime?" I smiled at the name. Lillian must have told him.

I nodded. Better than okay.

"Don't worry, I'll get this cleaned up. Just stay with your sister." He said and left the room probably to go bring stuff to clean up my mess.

Issy tapped the space beside her on the bed and I went over to lay down beside her.

"I remember hearing your voice." she said drowsily. "You screamed and told me to stay with you." she held my hand in hers.

"And so I did." She smiled at me. "We're sisters now. I always will be with you. Okay?."

I returned her smile.

"Okay."

Okay.

I was glad nothing serious happened. Little did I know that this day would come back to haunt me.