Chapter 1

            Rain hammered against the windshield, overworking the wipers, the wind shoved at the car. Rachel gripped the steering wheel, and she swallowed hard focusing on the mountain ridge before she spoke.

            "Jade, why can’t you just accept your new school, and get along with people there. I'm tired of trying to make things work when you're being impossible," she said. "You used to get good grades in school. What happened why are you failing now?"

            “Mom I'm not failing; my grades are my business. Me impossible? Look at you moving from one guy to the next.” Jade snapped back. She couldn’t stand her mother always whining about her not doing good enough.

            Rachel tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, the heat on her neck. She looked in Jade's direction before she spoke.

            “If I didn't love you, Jade, I'd just dump you on your father’s doorstep.” Rachel looking back at the road. Damn this rain, she just wanted to get where they were going. She wanted her daughter to do better and stop fighting with her so much.

            “Maybe you should, it might give you more time to chase guys,” Jade said. “Do you even know where he is?” She said looking out the window. She’s never met her father, she wished that he was around, he probably was a lot nicer and didn’t care too much if Jade wasn’t doing good in school.

            She cleared her throat, “No.” She said hoarsely. Rachel looked at Jade. Rachel knew her father was a bastard. He wouldn’t want to be around her anyway. Rachel ran when she was pregnant, and she was glad she did.

            “Mom watch out!” Jade screamed.   

            Headlights coming towards their car made Rachel jerk the car to the right. The car slid and spun. Rachel tried gaining control of the car, she gripped the steering wheel. Jade screamed and held onto the door. The car slid down the mountain ridge, flipping over and over before it came to a stop upside down.

            Jade opened her eyes, she looked over to her mother. Shattered glass littered the car, Jade’s door was jammed. Blood rushed to her head, Jade unbuckled her seat belt and crawled out the window. A distant bark startled her, it got closer and closer. The rain was cold on her skin, it was a light mist now. She opened her eyes, and saw boots, and then passed out. Between going in and out of consciousness she heard voices.

            “The girl is hurt pretty bad; the woman is dead.” He spoke. “She’s losing a lot of blood.”

            “You think she will make it?” Another said.

            “Hopefully if we hurry.”

            Jade felt a pair of hands pick her up and carry her to a car before she passed out again.

            Jade moved her head around the softness below it. She opened her eyes a little bit, the light was bright. She quickly shut them.

            “Ms. Hewsen can you open your eyes for me?” A man's voice said.

            “No, no the light is too bright.” She complained. Her head hurt; her body even worse. “My body hurts.” Putting her hands to her head, she noticed a bandage there. It hurt when she pressed down.

            “I need you to open your eyes. I need to see if there is any serious damage to your eyes.”

            She took a deep breath, and slowly opened her eyes. The light was still bright, but her eyes quickly adjusted. The doctor flashed the light into her eyes, she blinked.

            “Follow the light please, Ms. Hewsen.” He said moving the light from one side to the next/

            She followed the light with her eyes, “Call me Jade.” She said closing her eyes. “My head hurts.”

            “Ah you remember your name, that’s good.” He spoke. “Well, it looks like you have a concussion, no major damage it appears.” He said writing down something on the clipboard. “I will tell the nurse to get you some pain medicine.”

            “What happened, why am I here?” she said opening her eyes again, she looked around to see if her mother was there. “Where is my Mom?”

            He cleared his throat. He didn’t want to tell her, but he didn’t have a choice. Her mother came in dead. “You were in an accident; your mother didn't make it.” He finally spoke. “I'm Doctor Michael.

            “What! She died?” Jade couldn’t believe his answer. She remembered someone picking her up and saying her mother was dead. But she was hoping her memory was wrong. She felt an emptiness in her heart. She couldn’t take back what she said to her mother, and that made everything a little worse.

            “Yes, I'm afraid so.” He spoke. “You almost didn't make it.”

            “Almost?” she said looking at the Doctor. She swallowed hard.

            “Yes, you lost a lot of blood. When you were brought in, we had to give you a transfusion.” He said looking at her. “But you are stable now.” He half-smiled. “Might want to calm yourself down the monitor is going crazy.” He said silencing the annoying beeping from the machine. “I’ve already called some family that your Mother had listed on her emergency contact list.

            “How'd I get here?”

            “Well, a couple of hunters heard the accident, you were lucky they were leaving.”

            She didn't say anything, the doctor checked her changed the dressing on her hands and head before leaving. The room was a cream color, with pictures of the ocean, she smiled. Doctor Michael came back with a tray of food, Jade was starving.

            “I think you might want something to eat?” he put the tray in front of her.

            “Yeah, I'm starving.” She spoke. She looked at the food it looked good. Her stomach growled.

            “Enjoy, if you have any pain let me know.”

            “My head does hurt, normal right?” she said looking at him. She already knew his answer.

            “Yes, it will hurt for a while, but you will get better. You want some medicine?” he said. “Wait I already said I was going to tell the nurse. Silly me.” He laughed.

            Michael left, and Jade dug into the mac and cheese in front of her. Her first bite made her gag, she coughed the noodles landed on her plate. She wiped her mouth and set the tray aside. She pushed the button for a nurse to come in, she waits.

            “You need medicine Jade? The nurse asked.

            “Yeah, my head is really hurting.” She frowned. She didn’t want to be drugged up, but the pain was horrible.

            “You didn't touch your food?” She questioned pointing to the tray of food. “I’ll get that out of here too.”

            “Yeah, it hurt to eat,” Jade said looking at the food and then the nurse.

            “Okay, I will be back in a moment.” She said taking the tray of food with her.

            “Okay.” Jade closed her eyes, she didn’t what was going to happen now that her mother was dead, and she was alone in this world. The accident played over and over in her head like a bad nightmare. She opened her eyes. She wasn’t sure who was coming to get her, she hoped it was someone she knew. Most of her Mother’s side lived in Europe, they wouldn’t come to help her out.