Chapter 66: Chapter 66

The words hit me hard. Kill. Attempted murder.

"Mia, is there anyone you need us to contact..."

Gang raped. Three different men.

"Mia, do you know anybody who would want to hurt you, anyone..."

The words are blurring out around me. How could this have happened?

Just then, another police officer walks in. This time a woman. She has dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and judging by the full on police gear, she is not a detective. She starts to say something to officer Chandler. I make out a few words.

"Can She remember anything?...Will

She...interrogated?...Parents ...Flying in..."

Obviously, they're talking about me.

They start to whisper to each other about some girl they found dead at a party.

I glance around the room and suddenly I'm struck with a memory.

Laughing. I'm getting ready for a party with my best friend Jade. I borrowed one of her dresses. Jade!

"Where's Jade?" I can barely yell.

The officers stop talking to look at me.

The detective rubs his head and the women officer raises an eyebrow at him.

"You remember something? Who's Jade?" The detective asks.

"Jade Butler. She's my best friend, we were getting ready to go to a party together last night," I respond.

"Do you remember what she was wearing?" The women cop asked.

"Uh..." I start to jog my memory. I close my eyes trying to remember and restore what I just saw. Laughing. Me asking Jade to borrow her blue dress. Me calling her the devil's dirty mistress because she was wearing a red revealing dress.

"Red!" I cry out. "She was wearing a red dress."

The officer gives the detective a look.

She hands him the cellphone. He approaches me. "Is this Jade?"

He shows me a picture of a beautiful blond girl laying motionless. Her closed eyes are hiding the deep blue eyes she possesses. Her skin tone looks so pale against the torn red dress barely covering her body, however still flawless. Not even death can hide her beauty.

I can't hold it in anymore. Tears start streaming down my face. Sob sounds escape from my mouth. Finally, the reaction everybody has been waiting for has come out. With the headache and bruises all over my body and Jade dead, the amount of pain I'm in is unbearable. The detective takes my reaction as confirmation that the girl in the picture is indeed Jade.

The woman detective takes the cell phone and exits the room.

"What happened to her?" I can barely whisper.

The detective sighs. "She was found dead this morning. She was wrapped in a carpet and dumped near a dumpster behind a residence on campus at..." He flips through a page in his notepad. "Pineridge University. Is this the university you attend?"

"Yes," I reply.

"Is there anything at all that you can remember Mia?" He asks.

I shake my head no. It's too painful to speak.

"Okay." He jots something down in his notebook, closes it, then says, "through your contact list on your cellphone, we were able to contact your parents. They should be here soon. Until then, I'll let you get some rest. We'll pick this up later." He tips his hat to me and leaves the room. The nurse gives me two painkillers and exits the room with the doctor. In a few moments, the room is empty and I'm left alone to be haunted by my thoughts.

Soon enough, the fatigue takes over me and I fall asleep...

Jade's bright blue eyes are looking at me. She's in a lot of pain. She's crying for help. I'm trying but I can't get to her. Her red dress is torn over her body. Her mascara is dripping down her face. She gives one last breath and suddenly stops moving. She stops screaming. She's dead...Gone.

I wake up abruptly. Was that a memory or just a dream?

"Where is she? I want to see her!"

I hear yelling in the hallways.

"Misses Wilson, she is resting. Please let her rest a little while longer." It's the nurse from earlier.

"I want to see my daughter now!" I can recognize my dad's voice anywhere. He's using his stern voice. The tone he uses when I am in trouble. The voice he uses when he tries to hide and control his anger.

I try to speak to let the nurse know that I am awake, but the words can barely come out. My throat is still sore from the strangulation. I look around the room and see a button I can push for assistance. A few moments later the nurse comes in and my parents storm in right behind her.

"Oh, my baby!" My mother runs towards me, tears fall from her eyes.

My dad is frozen at the door. He looks like he is about to break down in tears. The look on his face makes me want to cry myself. I am so embarrassed. I never imagined that he'd ever see me hurt like this. I don't think he has either.

"I knew I never should've let you live out on you own," she starts.

I have to say something before she starts going on a rant. "Mom.." I clear my throat. "Jade is dead."

The news shuts her up. She brings me closer and hugs me tightly. She cradles me and it surprisedly feels good. My dad still hasn't said a word. It seems like he's avoiding making eye contact with me.

After a few hours of my dad's silence and my mom telling me how much she regrets sending me to a school so far away from home and how I should come home to Alberta, the nurse comes in.

"Hello, Mia." She starts. "I just wanted to update you. Tomorrow you will be discharged. The bandage can come off tomorrow morning and the bruises should be able to heal on their own. During the rape kit, we tested for any possibilities of STIs and HIV. We will call you in a couple of weeks to tell you the results."

My father looks very uncomfortable.

The nurse continues. "I will give you some painkillers to take home. That will ease the pain of the headache as well as the bruises." She unclips a card from her clipboard and gives it to me. "And finally, doctor Benson. She is an amazing therapist. She specializes in short term memory loss situations and PTSD. She will be expecting you."

The nurse smiles and leaves the room. My mom takes the card from my hand and exams it.