Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

The sound of a heart monitor slowly breaks down the wall of sleep in my mind, bringing me to the real world. I open my eyes, then slam them shut against the onslaught of white.

White wall, white sheets, white gown, white table...white room. A white hospital room. I see a white fabric partition separating my part of the room from another person's.

"Where am I?" I utter the words to check my voice. It's croaky and dry, like sandpaper rubbed against a rock. It feels like it, too.

"You don't remember? Nothing?" The answer jolts my mind, and my body twitches in response. I wasn't expecting any .

I scoot backward toward the headrest of my bed, propping myself up on my elbows. Why is there somebody in my room? I don't have a sister or a girl cousin old enough to sound like this girl, and those things killed both of my parents. Who is she?

"Of course I remember. But we crashed in the middle of an empty stretch of highway. So where am I? It doesn't look like the main hospital in town."

She laughs, the sound tinkling and happy. "It's not. It's one of the larger clinics. My aunt works here, and she let's me see some of the people my age that come in here. By the way, how old are you?"

I narrow my eyes suspiciously. "You mean you didn't read my file? I'm actually pretty sure you read my file."

She huffs and flops back onto the plush chair she's sitting on. "Okay, geez. I read your file. You're sixteen, turning seventeen tomorrow. So what? I was just trying to break the ice."

I slip my legs over the side of the bed and hop off, ignoring the rush of vertigo. "Where are all my clothes?" I stoop down to search a small bureau artistically positioned diagonal to the bed. All I find is a bible and a small bag of generic toilettries.

She ignored me and continues to sulk. "Obviously never going to happen, since you're an iceberg. But whatever. I'm Teresa. But call me Tarra. Don't call me Teresa, or I'll erase the word from your memory by sheer force." She smiles happily like she just announced she was accepted into Harvard. "Nice to meet you, April."

"Nice to meet you too, Tarra." I spot a door inlaid into the wall and push it gently to one side. It easily opens, revealing a bag of my tattered clothes and backpack. I rip open the bag and slip on my clothes, barely giving Theresa time to turn her back to me.

I brush out a slight wrinkle in my shirt and realize the neckline is burned to about an inch lower. Oh well.

"Um...you know both of your parents are missing, right?"

"Dead." The word slips out of my mouth before I can bite my cheek, and I instantly regret it.

"How do you know? When the cops found you, you were passed out outside the car. You had blood all over your arms and clothes."

"I saw my parents die. And how are my clothes clean if they were covered in blood? And my arms..." I roll up my sleeves. My skin is its usual smooth porcelain.

"They had it cleaned, and a nurse cleaned you up." I'm too scatterbrained to realize that if I'm clean, someone saw me naked.

"If both of my parents died...who am I living with?"

"I saw something about grandparents on your father's side. Or mother's side...I don't remember." She shrugs nonchalantly, stoking a fire of unease burning in the pit of my stomach.

"It was father's side. My mother's parents did in a house fire."

"Oh. Well, my mom's taking me to school in a half hour. Think you're up to it?"

"Do we go to the same school?"

She nods her head happily. "Oh yeah. And you are my new best friend." She lays her arm over my shoulder, the gesture almost laughable because of her height being almost three inches less than mine. And I'm average. "I take any acceptable candidates for friendship under my wing. Now let's get some food in your enviably flat stomach." She leads me out of the room, my backpack barely finding it's way into my hand before she leads me out of the room.

She sees something and ducks her head, and I follow her lead. "What is it?"

"A stupid boy looking for me. Keep walking." The boy sees her and runs over. He does not look like her type, but what do I know.

His hair is a dyed scarlet, clashing with his bright blue eyes. "Tarra, wait." His voice is the perfect medium tone, soft but sort of gravelly.

"No, Maddix. We have nothing to talk about. You won't agree to my terms, so no. Goodbye."

She stomps away, and I give the boy a sympathetic grin. His expression stays steely, though, and I run after Tarra.

"Who was that? What terms are you talking about?" She slows and waits for me, her face calm and collected.

" Maddix Renolds. He wants me, but he won't get me."

"Why? What? I'm confused."

"You will learn, Grasshopper. He wants to be in a relationship, but he won't let me be the boss. Like I'd let him be the boss of me! Hah."

"Um...okay?" I'm beginning to think Tarra may have a bit of a Napoleon complex.

"Damn right okay. Now let's go eat some donuts and coffee. Breakfast of champions."

She leads me to a small cafeteria and checks her phone clock. "Oops. We got a problem. We have to leave in two minutes, not twenty two. So grab a donut and eat. Now!" I slip my hand into a box and pull out a simple glazed donut. I shove nearly a quarter of it into my mouth at once, and chew as Tarra leads me to a set of double doors that lead outside, where a beige station wagon is idling. She jumps into the passenger's side, and I climb in the back.

"Hi Mom. This is April Davis. She was in a car accident two days ago, and we now go to the same school. Can she catch a ride?" Tarra looks at her mom with puppy dog eyes.

"Sure. April, be prepared to ride with a crazily driving driver. Buckle up, girls." We follow her directions, and she pulls out of the roundabout in front of the clinic at breakneck speed. She cranks up the stereo, and a song starts up, shattering my heart into a thousand pieces.

"I'm waking up
To ash and dust.
I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust.
I'm breathing in the chemicals..."

A tear slips down my face, but I swipe it away before anyone can notice. Tarra's mother pulls into the drop off lane of the high school, and we thank her before climbing out and joining the throng of students milling around the main area sidewalk.

I recognize the boy named Maddix. How couldn't I? His red hair could probably stand out in Hell.

Tarra yanks me inside, and it takes my eyes a moment to adjust to the artificial lighting. She leads me into the main office and smiles at a secretary. "Ms. Mitchell, could you please give April here her schedule?"

Recognition dawns on the secretary's face as she reaches into a file cabinet and pulls out a small manila folder. "Here it is. April Davis. My deepest condolences, sweetheart. No child should ever have to lost their parents before their time." Her empathetic smile soothes my heart, making me instantly like her.

"Thank you." My voice cracks as I answer, but I feel like the woman doesn't care. Neither do I.

Tarra's hand loops into my elbow as she drags me along. We pass clusters of people, until we stop in a large room, probably the multipurpose room. She sits at a small circular table and plops her bag onto the seat next to her, claiming the seat. I do the same and reach into my pocket for my phone.

I dig in all of my pants pockets, but come up empty handed. "Do you know where my phone is?" My heart sinks as I realize that it must have fallen out of my pocket during the ordeal with the...things.

She grins evilly and waves an "EVIDENCE" bag slowly. I snatch it and fumble with the zipper, grabbing my phone and shoving it into a pocket in my backpack. "How did you get my phone from a crime scene?" My voice is a harsh whisper, meant to scold her, but she just laughs it off.

"I'm special that way. Ooh, here's the other members of my super special little group. Hey, Madisen. Winona. How's life?"

A girl with creamy caramel skin speaks, and her melodious voice makes mine sound like a clogged garbage disposal. "Pretty good. Winona went to Pasadena and brought me back a souvenir. She brought you one too. Um, sorry...we didn't know who you are, so we didn't get you one. But you can have mine!" The girl, Madisen, holds out a shimmery rainbow keychain with a picture of a palm tree and a pair of sunglasses.

"No. It's fine. really. I lived there a few years ago. Plenty of memories." The girl shrugs and sits down next to me, dropping a Gucci bag carelessly onto the table. I cringe at the unfairness being shown to the designer handbag, and she laughs.

"Oops. I forgot I'm the only one with Gucci. It was pretty cheap for the collection. I got, like, five. The other four are still in the boxes."

A bell rings, resounding deep in my chest. "Oh. Is that the bell?"

Tarra nods and smiles. "See you at lunch, April."

"Okay."