CHAPTER 15 | GUILTY OR INNOCENT?

ZAIAH DOLIVO

No, no, no, no, no. That can't happen. Nevaeh can not die.

In an attempt to get up, a pain in my leg causes me to stop and groan from the pain. I try again but the pain stops me again.

"Fuck!" Pain is replaced by anger and frustration.

Through the broken windshield, I notice the hit silhouette of Nevaeh and a shudder of fear engulfs my body.

When I move again, I ignore the pain in my leg that gets smaller and smaller when I see Neve's blow-filled body.

The sharpening sound in my ears does not stop me from hearing the screaming of people around me who say that the ambulance must be called.

Somehow, by some miracle, I managed to open the car door and get out of it.

I'm not looking around me, I'm just focusing on the blonde girl. The blonde girl wouldn't have suffered anything if I had stopped the car.

"Sir! Don't move. The ambulance is on its way." someone screams from the sidelines but it's just a fleeting sound beside my ear.

I need to make sure Nevaeh is okay. I have to help her in some way.

"Neve! Open your eyes, please! Please open your eyes." But despite my pleas, Neve does not open her eyes.

"Please!" My voice breaks in the middle of the word and tears run down my cheeks.

Blood.

I see blood around her.

I need to stop her bleeding.

I start checking her whole body until I find the worst wound on her head.

"Just breathe!" I whisper to myself. "You have to be calm to help her."

I ripped off a piece of my T-shirt. I slowly lift her head and press the cloth onto her wound.

"If you hear me, Neve, please give me a sign. Move a finger, open your eyes, hit me. Do anything! Just do it! Please!" You can hear the despair in my voice. Desire and hope.

But Nevaeh does not move.

My tears fall on Neva's face and I wipe them away immediately.

"Sir!" A voice close to me makes me look up. "She's not waking up," I tell the man next to me who looks just as worried.

"Your girlfriend will be fine. The ambulance is coming now, okay? You'll both be fine."

Now I realize how many people have gathered around us and the sirens in the ambulance can be heard close to me.

"Are you hurt?" the man in his 30s asked me and suddenly I realized the pain in my leg.

"I think I broke my leg." But that doesn't matter. Nevaeh was in a much worse condition. And it's all my fault.

"Everybody get away!" I assume the ambulance arrived because of the sound of sirens.

"Please stay away from the girl, sir." one hand touches my shoulder but I don't move.

"We need you to move so we can help her." I don't think twice before I walk away from her.

"You have to take them both to the hospital." The gentleman tells the paramedics.

Arriving at the hospital, Nevaeh and I are separated. I don't know what's going on with her or if she's still alive.

"Is Nevaeh Stolly okay?" I'm asking the nurse next to me.

"Miss Stolly is OK. She woke up a few minutes ago." At these words, all my worries disappeared and my heart was able to beat normally again.

"She's okay," I repeat the words, wanting to make sure everything is true. "She's okay."

After the nurse leaves, I take the cannulas out of my hand and start looking for my Neve in the hospital. I search for about 5 minutes until I find her door. Her mother and Tamara were there beside her, tears streaming down their eyes.

"But I beg you, don't hurt her." Neve's mother's words echoed in my mind, and I realized I had hurt her. Not intentionally, but I did. And I hate myself for that.

"Get in," Carl says back to me and I turn my head towards him. I can't move because his arms wrap around me.

"Thank God you're okay, Zaiah!" Carl's voice is as calm as it has ever been. "I'm sorry! It's my fault. I shouldn't have asked for your motorcycle. It's all my fault."

"Stop it, Carl! It's not your fault." I tell him when I walk away from the hug. "It's just the fault of the madman who came into us." It's mine. But I'm not going to let Carl know that.

"Our mother is on her way." He changes the subject. "Now let's go in."

I hesitate. What if she doesn't want to see me? What if she hates me?

"Don't worry. The first thing she said when she woke up was to ask if you were okay."

That reassured me.

Carl opens the door and I move hard because of the cast on my left foot.

I feel all eyes on me, but I only focus on Nevaeh. Her eyes are now open, her blood is no longer flowing and her wounds are being cleaned.

"Zaiah. You are OK! Thank God." Her thin voice tickled my ears and a thought flashed through my mind.

I'll never get tired of her voice. Of her gentle laughter, of her theories, of her strange questions, of her obsession with pancakes and Lucifer, and of her motivational quotes.

I'll never get tired of her.

"Oh, dear. Come and sit down. I bet your leg hurts." Neve's mother offers me the chair, but I'm surprised she doesn't hate me. How could she not?

"Umm. I'm fine. Don't bother." I try to explain, but she already gets up and puts me in her place.

"Now we're going to leave you alone for a few minutes." Tamara is talking this time and the others nod.

"Are you sure you're OK?" Neve tells me.

"I should have asked you that, Neve," I say from her left.

"I'm OK. I'm alive. Thanks to you." How can she say that? I'm the reason the accident happened. How can she thank me for being alive?

"The doctor told me that because you stopped the bleeding, I'm not in surgery now. So you're my saviour, Zaiah." I can see her eyes full of tears.

"I'm not, Neve. I'm not. If I stopped that damn car when you told me then we shouldn't be here."

"Don't blame yourself, Zaiah. Please. I beg you! I chose to be in that damn car. I chose to be with you. So if it's your fault then it's also my fault."

I will never get tired of her stubbornness either.

Her hand wipes away the tears that began to flow from nowhere. "See the good part, Zaiah! We're not going to school for another two weeks. Isn't that good?"

A laugh leaves my mouth. I adore the way she finds the strength to see the good in all situations.

I adore her.

"I won't be able to see you in those two weeks. That's not good." Of course, I wouldn't say that. I'd think it's too romantic and shit. But I realize that tomorrow may not exist. And I'm going to regret not telling her some things.

"Yeah, that sucks." She let a disappointing air out of her mouth. "May I hug you?" Her words made me relieved because I didn't know how long I could last without hugging her.

I get up from my chair and she sits on her ass. I put my arms around her waist and she puts her arms around my shoulders.

I see a wound on her shoulder and I remember the moments when her head was on my feet and the blood was on her new skin. I get the picture out of my mind.

Without thinking too much, I touch my lips with a fine wound. I lift my head from the hollow of her neck and start kissing her every wound.

On the forehead, near the temple, on the nose, near the eyes, on the cheeks, close to the lips, on the neck, and on the hands.

"I think they're kissing now." I can't recognize the voice, but I know it belongs to some of our friends.

Neve starts laughing slightly and I get out of bed and head for the door. When I open it, Carl, Tamara, my mother, and Neve's mother fall on top of each other.

"I told you to speak more quietly!" Carl tells his girlfriend.

"Oh shut up!"

"I can come back later if needed." An unfamiliar voice says from the door and we all turn our heads towards him. The doctor hides a smile.

"Oh boy. That's really embarrassing. Hello doctor! You don't have to leave." My mother is the first to get up and the rest follow her.

"I came to look for this troublemaker." He says and turns to me. "You should be in your hospital room, young boy."

"Well, see, things happen and somehow I get to her hospital room." I nod innocently and the doctor smiles softly at me.

"Young love." When I hear those words, I look back at her. And she looks at me but quickly turns her gaze to something else.

"You can only stay 10 minutes, okay?" I nod again.

The doctor leaves and I close the door behind him.

"My handsome boy. I'm glad you're fine!" My mother hugs me and I don't hesitate to do the same. Her hug charges me with the energy I need now.

"You should be careful on the road from now on, okay? I won't let you drive any more cars or motorcycles." Her tone is serious and I know she's telling the truth.

"But Mom ..." I'm starting to complain like a little kid.

"No buts."

"About not seeing you for another two weeks. I have an idea." Neva's mother tells us.

"I could bring Neve with me to work. And you can spend time together. You really have me more than usual. If you and your mother agree."

"yes" I want to answer immediately but I remember my father and the fact that he can't stand Nevaeh.

I look back at my mother. "He's gone on a business trip. He'll be back next month." She whispers to me and I breathe a sigh of relief.

"We agree. How about you, Nevaeh?"

"Of course!" but a sneeze took her by surprise.

"I told you would get sick!" I say with a proud voice.

Did I add the last part because of xeniasparacosm? Yes, I did.