Sue.
"Sue!"
The voice was distant.
But that was not what made my heart start racing.
I was breathing.
I froze.
Slowly, carefully, I took another breath. Air filled my lungs as my chest rose and fell.
No.
That was impossible.
The last thing I remembered was the road, the blinding glare of headlights cutting through the darkness and the deafening screech of tires as a car swerved far too late to avoid me.
Then the impact.
There was no way I survived that.
I remembered the cold pavement pressed against my cheek and the strange calm that followed, the feeling of death like a deep, heavy sleep as darkness slowly overtook me. I was certain that I had died. I even remembered thinking that it was finally over.
Panic rushed through me.
So why was I breathing?
My eyes opened abruptly.
The world spun violently the moment I moved, sending a sharp wave of pain through my skull that forced me to squeeze my eyes shut again as nausea rolled through my stomach.
Too bright.
Everything felt too bright, too loud, too real.
When I tried again, opening my eyes more carefully this time, the ceiling above me slowly came into focus. It was unfamiliar, slightly cracked in one corner, with a faded glow-in-the-dark star stuck awkwardly near the edge.
That alone was enough to deepen my confusion.
I slowly looked around.
A strange but oddly familiar bedroom surrounded me. Colorful posters covered the walls, ribbons hung from small hooks, and a corkboard overflowed with participation certificates.
This was not the road.
It was not a hospital either.
And it definitely was not where I had died.
My heart began to beat faster.
Where am I?
"Sue!"
The voice came again, much closer this time, sharp and impatient, banging loudly on the door.
"Sue Heck! If you miss the bus again I swear I am not driving you!"
I frowned weakly.
Sue?
Who is Sue?
Are they calling me Sue?
My body felt heavy as I tried to move, every small motion sending another pulse of pain through my head.
The cold floor pressed uncomfortably against my cheek, making it painfully obvious that I was lying on the ground.
Slowly, I shifted my hand, my fingers brushing against something hard beside me.
Metal.
I blinked several times until my vision sharpened enough to recognize it.
A gymnastics baton lay next to me, resting awkwardly on the floor beside my arm.
My mind struggled to understand why it was there.
Before I could think any further, hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway outside the room, moving quickly and with clear impatience.
Then the bedroom door burst open.
"Sue! We are going to miss the—"
The woman stopped abruptly.
"Sue?"
Her voice changed instantly as irritation vanished, replaced by alarm.
"Oh my God."
She rushed forward without hesitation and dropped to her knees beside me.
"Sue, what happened?" she asked quickly, her voice filled with concern.
I tried to push myself upright, but the moment I lifted my head a sharp explosion of pain shot through my skull.
"Ah—"
My hand instinctively moved to the side of my head, and something warm and sticky coated my fingers when I touched my temple.
When I pulled my hand back, red stained my skin.
Blood.
The woman gasped softly.
"Sue, honey, talk to me," she said urgently, hovering her hands near my shoulders as if she was afraid to move me and make things worse.
I looked up at her, my vision still slightly blurred.
Brown hair. Worried eyes. A face filled with panic and concern.
I didn't recognize her, even though something about her felt strangely familiar.
Automatically, a single thought surfaced in my mind.
Mom.
The word appeared naturally, instinctively, as though it belonged there.
And that terrified me.
Because I had never seen this woman before.
My heart began to race again.
"Who… are you?" I whispered weakly.
For a moment the woman simply stared at me.
Then the color drained from her face.
"Sue?"
Panic flooded her expression.
She turned toward the hallway and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Mike! MIKE! Get in here right now!"
Her voice echoed through the hallway.
For a moment there was only silence.
Then a man's voice answered from somewhere in the house.
"What?"
"It's Sue!" the woman shouted, panic rising in her voice. "Something's wrong with Sue!"
Heavy footsteps approached quickly.
Before the man appeared, another voice groaned from farther down the hallway.
"Can everyone stop screaming?" the boy complained. "Some of us are trying to sleep."
"Not now, Axl!" the woman shouted.
A tall man appeared in the doorway a moment later, clearly confused by the chaos.
"What happened?"
Frankie pointed toward me on the floor.
"She's bleeding!"
The man rushed forward immediately and crouched beside me, his expression sharpening as he examined the blood on my head.
"Sue?"
I stared up at him.
Just like with the woman, I didn't recognize his face.
But again the same strange feeling appeared in my mind.
Dad.
The thought slipped into my mind so naturally that it made my stomach twist.
Something was wrong.
"I… don't understand," I whispered.
Mike frowned.
Frankie's voice trembled behind him.
"Mike… she didn't recognize me."
His expression darkened immediately.
"Hospital. Now."
He lifted me carefully from the floor.
My body felt weak and heavy, and I didn't have the strength to resist.
"Brick! Axl! I don't care if you're not dressed, get in the car now!" Frankie shouted toward the hallway.
"Sue! Stop being dramatic!" another voice complained.
"Not now, Axl!" Frankie snapped.
A moment later the boy appeared in the living room, and the moment he saw me his expression changed.
"Sue! Mom, what happened to her?"
"Head injury," Brick said quickly. "She might have a concussion. The mortality rate is forty-six percent in severe cases and thirteen percent in moderate traumatic brain injuries."
"Move!" Frankie said urgently. "Your sister could be seriously hurt!" As urgently the car Keyes and wallet dumbed it inside her bag.
The front door flew open as they rushed outside.
The morning air hit my face as Mike carried me toward the car.
The boys ran after us, one of them barely dressed and still pulling on a shirt. And the other in his underpants, not even bothering to get dressed.
Mike placed me in the back seat and climbed into the driver's seat not even closing the house door.
The engine roared to life.
The car shot out of the driveway before everyone had fully settled.
The last thing I remember before slipping into a familiar darkness again was the sound of another car rushing behind us and the man's voice shouting urgently.
"Sue, stay awake! Stay with me!"
And the world faded into darkness again.