Happy belated birthday Needle20 ❤️😘

Veronica's POV

8 Hours

2 People

1 Surgery 

A disastrous night

Thats what it took for my life to completely turn upside down.

It was a casual Friday night for me where I completed my homework and made some popcorn for a warm, fun-filled movie night with my parents. 

Mom was working late and my dad was telling me about how stressed she seemed these days to which I nodded and agreed. He then instantly got up and decided to treat my mom with a sweet little 'Late date night'. It wasn't new to me, they used to do mushy stuff like these and I secretly admired it.

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"Are you sure you're going to be fine all by yourself hun? because you damn well know that I can make a U-turn right away and we can watch the movie you've been wanting to watch"

"Ugh I'm 17 dad!!!!! I can take care of myself and what did I tell you about talking while driving?"

"Who's the parent here? Anyways we'll be back in a few hours, make sure you keep the doors locked and you obviously know where we keep the baseball bat don't you? don't miss us too much. Love you sweetpea"

"Love you too dad" I sighed.

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little did I know, that was going to be the last conversation I was going to have with him because the next call I received at exactly 11:53 PM shattered me to the core. It was the Paramedics saying my parents met with an accident.

I remember Leo bringing me to the scene, the red-blue light illuminated the wrecked car. I sucked in cramped air when I saw a body laying there, pool of blood surrounding it. The grey blazer, the pepper grey hair, the wounded face made my motion static. I saw spots in the corner of my vision, I sat there screaming, screaming at him to wake up, screaming at the person who did this and most importantly screaming at myself for letting this happen. I felt like I was there for hours, fading and waking. A buzzing noise bought me out of the zone and I noticed them taking my mom to the hospital. She was pretty badly injured too but they said there were hopes of her surviving, I sensed relief but when I asked them about my dad, they remained silent and that was an answer itself. That was the moment I died,
Because agony was the only thing that kept me alive.

Turns out, the 7 hour surgery could not save my mom and I was left all by myself since the accident.

I shifted to my grandmother's place because she was my legal guardian after my parents. Months after their passing are still blur to me because I spent days grieving, mourning, I felt dead from the inside. Every memory played like a song in my head on a repeat mode, for what felt like forever. The emptiness in my heart, numbness pounding my brain, salty tears and the shear nothingness completely engulfed me, to a point of no return. Panic attacks, OCD, anxiety attacks, sleep apnoea worsened my state. I remember Leo being there for me, every second but I sent him away to college, I couldn't let him miss out on any aspect of his life because of me and thats when it all went downhill.

I found my boyfriend cheating on me with my cousin. sad, I know but it didn't really hurt because I had become used to people leaving and dealing with the after- effects of it. My Grandmother, started using foul language with me ,berating me on any and every chance she got, it affected me on a mental level, but I dismissed it because  I knew different people have different mechanisms of coping up with a loss. Maybe this was hers.

My birthday went by unnoticed too, not that I cared but I spent it at the cemetery, sinking into the ground my parents peacefully rested.

Days after that, I received a call from a Lawyer to confirm if I received the cheque and the last letter from my dad he wrote to me which was to be given to me in his absence. That was the first time in months I could feel my heartbeat, the first time I recognised happiness. The happiness of connecting to my dad, to claim the last memory of his existence. The lawyer informed me to collect it from my grandmother.

"Oh! are you talking about this my dear?" She showed me an envelope with my name written on it and I instantly recognised the handwriting. Elated, I extended my hand when she ripped the paper into millions of pieces, right in front of me.

"You don't deserve this. You don't deserve a closure! not after what you did. YOU KILLED MY SON. You should be ashamed of yourself, he did everything for you, provided you with all the happiness, all the love you could ever receive and what did you give him in return? death!. A simple NO could stop him from leaving the house, what did you do instead? You encouraged him to go ahead. YOU KILLED HIM!" I flinched.

My brain kept repeating the words she said and then-

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I paused and took a deep breath, Atlas slightly squeezed my hand, telling me I can stop if I wanted to. 

I could see him struggling to control his anger and distress. His light smile encouraged me to continue.

I showed him the faint scar line that decorated the palmar side of my right wrist.

"A maid found me laying unconscious, in my own blood when she immediately alerted 911. I still don't regret doing it because all the pressure, pain, grief took a toll on me to a point I couldn't handle it anymore. My Grandmother told people I experienced a mental disorder when they asked her for the reason of my trip to the hospital to save her 'reputation'. I immediately moved out the moment I recovered because the house started suffocating me and I could never face the woman who devoid me of the last memory of my father."

I could see Atlas's hand balling up in a fist. I quickly released his fingers from the state contracting, relaxing them and continued talking before he could go all hulk again.

" I started afresh, with the little savings I had left. My grandmother used up all the funds my dad had kept aside for me, saying I didn't deserve it. I worked at the grocery store and worked my ass off graduating high school. I got a full scholarship for the medical school and that's when things started aligning. I met Emma and Ariel, two of my best friends who understood me, helped me, healed me, they even hooked me up with therapy. I have been very grateful to them ever since."

I could feel a smile making up to my lips when I spoke of them.

"Distractions like work, studies, friends, internship helped me in burying the past deep inside me. No, I haven't forgotten them, I never can but the only thing I remember of them are good memories. I distanced myself from my grandmother and it really helped me in moving on. She still tried ruining the peace but I didn't let it affect me until-"

"Today"

Atlas finished the sentence for me.

I looked down, playing with my fingers. 

He suddenly got up and was about to pace out when I tightly grabbed the hem of his blazer.

"Where do you think are you going?"

"I'll be back in a few" his jaw tightened and I could see fire burning in his eyes. The atmosphere changed to a cold, thick, dangerous one.

"You are not going anywhere. This is between me and her, I don't want you getting in the middle of this and can you please let go of this anger?"

My words didn't affect him at all.

"I'm scared"

His gaze immediately held mine and I saw his eyes giving up the rage, his tight straight demeanour loosening up. He sighed.

I slightly shifted, patting the space beside me.
He looked unsure but got in anyway.

I rested my head on his shoulder. "You have done enough for me today. I know you want to say plenty of things. I know you want to yell at me, comfort me, help me. You can do all that later but right now, just be here with me,next to me." I whispered.
I felt his head nodding.

"I know a thank you is not enough for what you've done but thank you. For everything."

He rested my head on the pillow and started stroking my hair. I could feel sleep engulfing me instantly after that but I swear I heard him Muttering

"You deserve the world, and I'm going to make sure you get it"

I even felt a light feathery touch on my forehead right after that. But that could my imagination, right?

Right?

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Necrosis -  death of body tissue. It occurs when too little blood flows to the tissue.

Talking really helps. You get to share your inner turmoil with a person and it lightens you, makes you feel much better. No, I'm not asking you grab a random stranger and start telling him your life story.
You can talk to a person you trust, a person who understands you.

Merry Christmas guys🌟🎄☃️🥳

So I'm not a huge fan of this chapter but I tried.
I'll try to make the next ones better.

Have a great day/night ✨
Keep smiling ❤️
Stay safe 💫