I Was Born For Their Mistakes, Not For Love Chapter 05
My soul stood off to the side, silently watching everything unfold.
Mom froze in the doorway. Every trace of color drained from her face in an instant.
Caleb and Maya let out raw, broken screams that barely sounded human.
“Hazel!”
The two of them rushed forward at the same time, collapsing beside my body.
Maya cradled my head against her chest, sobbing uncontrollably. “Hazel, wake up… I’m here now. Please open your eyes and look at me. Please…”
Her tears splashed onto my face, but my skin was already cold.
Caleb dropped to his knees and carefully pried Mom’s fingers from my throat orte by one. By the time he pulled the last finger away, the bruises underneath were fully exposed. Ten dark purple marks wrapped around my neck like fingerprints burned into flesh.
Dad was still in the back of the hallway, unable to squeeze through the crowd.
Annoyance lingered in his voice, thick with the irritation of being dragged out of bed.
“What now? Why’s everyone freaking out again? She was only locked in there for one ni…”
Then he looked inside.
The rest of the sentence died in his throat.
“Hazel?”
He saw my swollen, purple-red face.
For a second, he went completely still. Then he shoved Maya aside, scooped me into his arms, carried me out into the living room.
and
He laid me flat on the floor and started CPR immediately, pressing down on my chest with frantic force. Every compression looked desperate enough to break bones.
He turned and roared at Mom, veins bulging in his neck, eyes bloodshot.
“CALL 911! NOW!”
Mom still stood there like she’d turned to stone.
Dad’s scream finally snapped her out of it.
She spun around and bolted toward the living room, but her slipper slid across the hardwood floor. She crashed hard onto the tile, her knee slamming down with a sickening thud.
Still, she scrambled back up and kept running, one bare foot hitting the floor as she stumbled toward the coffee table. She grabbed her phone with shaking hands, missing the screen several times before she finally managed to dial.
Dad never stopped compressions.
Sweat streamed down the sides of his face, dripping onto my skin.
But my body gave no response.
No breathing.
No heartbeat.
No sign of life.
Maya knelt beside me, both hands covering her face as sobs tore out of her chest.
“I’m sorry, Hazel… I came too late. I should’ve come sooner! I shouldn’t have been such a coward! This is my fault… I’m so sorry…”
Caleb lowered his head until his forehead rested against the back of my hand.
“Hazel… I failed you. I couldn’t save you. Hate me if you want.”
I wanted to tell them I didn’t hate them.
Not even a little.
I opened my mouth to speak, but they couldn’t hear me.
I reached out, trying to pat Caleb on the shoulder.
My hand passed straight through him.
Mom finally ran back over with the phone still clutched in her hand.
She stared at my purple, lifeless body in Dad’s arms, her eyes darting wildly.
“Stop saying nonsense! Hazel just passed out! She’ll be fine once the ambulance gets here! Nobody’s allowed to cry!”
Her voice kept rising higher and higher, as if acting like a strict mother could somehow stop her entire world from collapsing.
Dad ignored her completely.
He kept pumping my chest.
By then, his arms were already trembling.
Finally, the ambulance arrived.
