"From what I figure, his bike flipped over the hood of the car, crashed through the windshield, and knocked her out bad. She hasn't regained consciousness since. The boy, he flipped off onto the pavement. A few cuts and bruises, there's the possibility of a broken arm from how he landed but nothing too serious."

That sentence is the first thing I remember paying attention to after arriving to see Matt and my mother. Jacqueline looked as if she could break down at any moment. Me? I was more stone faced. I couldn't bring myself to care about either of them- Matt, for hurting jacks, and my mother, for hurting me. Neither of them really deserved another chance at life. It sounded bad, but I couldn't wait to hear the announcements of death. Part of me wanted to just get it over with, both for my sake, and for Jacqueline's.

"Eddie?"

Hmm? Oh wait, that was Jacqueline.

"Hmm?" I mumbled.

"You doing okay? You've been pretty quiet."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I responded.

"Oh, okay. Sorry."

"You're fine," I muttered. She gave me a worried glance. I gave her a look. She quickly turned away.

"Why aren't you upset?" She asked softly.

"Because I don't care."

"Oh."

"Thomas?" A nurse looked up from a clipboard. "You can come in to see your mother now," she stated. I got up from my chair, and followed her down an almost empty hallway. It was your standard type- dirty white tile, white ceiling and walls. The kind that makes you uncomfortable in if you're there too long.

We rounded a corner, and turned left into a curtained room. It was bleak. Some monitors hooked up to my mother, a small television in the corner, and two uncomfortable-looking chairs near the bed. I sat in one of them. My mother looked halfway dead, and I can't say I minded seeing her like that. She deserved all of this. Every bad thing that happened in my life- it was her fault. She never even tried to be a good parental figure for me. It almost gave me pleasure to see this, the ending of her life.

I chuckled to myself, and the nurse looked at me strangely.

"Sometimes, when in a coma, they can be drawn out by people they care for talking to them," she offered. It made me laugh a bit.

"Why bring me in then? She never cared." I smiled to myself, a psychotic smile.

"I think we should get you back to the lobby," she said uncertainly. I mean, I was acting like a psychopath. Was I really surprised she wanted me out of there?

I stood up, and began walking out. However, there was a noise that stopped me in my tracks.

Beep.

She was flatlining.

Doctors and other nurses rushed to her side, and another nurse escorted me out of the room. I smirked. I was smug, but most of all, I was satisfied.

~~~~~

"Well, I suppose this is it," Jacqueline said as they raised her body into the morgue wall.

"Exactly. This is it! No more troubles, no more pain. Life will be so much better now." I smiled to myself. Everything was taking shape. Pretty soon, I'd have a nearly perfect life.

"Eddie?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you so happy? I know you didn't like her, but aren't you at least a little bit upset?" Jacqueline voice cracked. She sounded like a door that hadn't been properly oiled in about fifteen years, and her eyes showed a deep level of pain that only few can understand. It takes a special set of circumstances to break a person that much.

"My life is going to be worry free." I stated simply.

"Eddie, even if your mother died, that doesn't mean all your problems are going to go away at the press of a button. Life is going to throw stuff at you no matter who you are, or where you are in life."

"So? Life can at least be good now." I was getting annoyed now. Jacqueline seemed to be slowly boiling over herself.

"You know, if you don't realize this soon, one day, you're going to wake up and wish you had listened. I can't make you, I can only tell you and hope for the best."

I chuckled. "There's nothing wrong."

"Eddie, you need to get your act together or your life is going to slowly but surely become so much worse than it ever was." This time she didn't sound angry, moreso concerned. I should've listened, but I was busy thinking of my own witty remark to piss her off. I couldn't stand the whole "what you're doing is wrong" talk. Not after years of my life hearing that over and over again. I was done with it. To hell with this stupid thing.

"Mhm. Say, should we get some ice cream? Perhaps to celebrate?"

"You aren't listening, are you? I can't even be surprised."

"Strawberry ice cream sounds fantastic right now."

"When you realize it, I'll be here for you. Until then, have a nice life." She was so upset. Did I care? Not at the moment. She stomped off to her car and drove away. I stood there, laughing like a cliche movie villain. Of course, at that moment, the earth decided it would be a fantastic time to start raining. Thanks again, life! I walked home with a smug smile on my face.

When I finally arrived home, soaking wet, I took a look in the mirror. It was difficult to see myself clearly, there were miniature raindrops all over my glasses. I wiped them off, and replaced them. Oh God. I looked horrible. Did I really look like this talking to Jacqueline? That's can't be right. Nothing to stress about though. As we've all learned, a good nap can fix anything.