The Night That Changed My Life

TW: Shootings, drinking, blood

I walked through the doors of my friend Luna's house. She was hosting a party today, and even though I didn't want to go she somehow managed to get me to go. Something felt wrong, so horribly wrong. I couldn't place my finger on it, but it just didn't feel right.

"Hailey, you're finally here! I thought you weren't going to come since you arrived a little late." Luna said. She greets me with a hug and she smells a little like alcohol. She was a black skimpy dress, something I would never wear. "Hey. So where's the party?" I ask. I don't see anyone around us. Odd. It was probably just my instincts telling me something was wrong.

I mean what could possibly go wrong at a party? Not all parties are safe but, I probably know the people at this one. "Follow me. It's in the backyard." Luna says. Luna's family is really rich and own a mansion. I have only been in her house a couple of times, so I don't really know my way around it. We walk all the way to the back of her house, on the way we pass big, extraordinary rooms. How could her family afford all this?

We get to the back of the house, there was a glass door leading to a huge backyard. I could hear people laughing and playing music from behind it. "After you." Luna says. Should I be here? I didn't want to go in the first place. I reluctantly opened the door leading to the backyard. When I opened the door, the smell of food, alcohol, and bleach hit my nose. They were probably cleaning before the party.

For the next two hours, the party was going normal. Everyone was drinking, dancing, having food, and in general having a good time. But then something changed, the sense that something was wrong came back. Except this time, I don't think it was nerves. Then a scream broke out, and the sound of two gunshots filled the air. Everyone started running, some people got hit and some got pushed down by everyone running.

I tripped over a chair, and hit the ground face first. Then I see the shooter, I try to scurry away, but something hits me in the leg, stopping me. The pain was the worst thing I ever felt in my life, I see blood run down my leg, I can't run and I can only crawl or stay there. I look over and the shooter is gone, I think I'm safe. I grab my phone out of my purse and quickly dial 911.

The only noises I can hear are sirens and screaming. I shouldn't have went to the party. I had felt that something was wrong and I ignored it. My mother had always taught me to never ignore my gut, and the one time I ignored it, this happened. I'm never going to another party again. I see paramedics coming over to me and 3 other people. The world starts going dark, I try to force myself awake. I can't die here, I'm too young, not yet. Then everything goes dark.

I can feel my arms and legs, so I'm not dead. I open my eyes and see the ceiling of some sort of room. I realize where I am immediately: I'm in a hospital. I look around the room, I don't see my parents. I look to the glass wall next to me, there they are. My parents are talking to two police officers, my mom is clearly crying and my dad has a worried look on his face.

My mom looks over at me and notices I'm awake. She immediately starts crying harder and rushes over to my bed. "Are you okay, sweetheart? Mommy's here, you're okay." She says. I haven't heard her say these words since she comforted me after a nightmare when I was little. I nod. My dad walks in the room and sits on the side of my bed. "You okay, kiddo?" He asks. I nod again. They're treating me like an 8 year old, I just want to shout 'Stop treating me like an 8 year old, I'm 16 for God's sake.' "Well you should get some rest, okay?" Mom says.

"Okay." I say. Surprisingly, I don't feel any pain at all. That must be from all the pain medicine, though. I wonder how much pain I'll be in after it wears off? I see a big bandage on my nose, it must've been from when I tripped over that chair. I look down at my leg, it was also wrapped in a cast. How long have I been out? I got to the party at 6:30, and everything was normal for about 2 hours, so it was after 8 o'clock. I look around for my phone, I can't find it, I must've dropped it after a dialed 911. I look at the clock across the room, apparently it's 2:39 A.M. I must've been passed out for a very long time.

A surge of tiredness hits me, even though I just woke up, I'm still tired. That's probably from all the pain medication they have me on. So, I lay my head back and shut my eyes. Sleep found me faster than I thought, but it wasn't peaceful. I kept on having a dream about the party and the gunshots. I jerked awake at the sound of a knock on the door to my hospital room. I look around the room and check the clock on the wall in front of me. I wasn't asleep long, it's about 7:18 A.M.

There are 2 nurses, and a doctor. The two nurses have rich, brown skin and wavy black hair, they could almost be twins. The doctor was an old, man with balding hair and his remaining hair was snow white. "How are you feeling?" The doctor asks. The pain medicine was starting to wear off, there was now an ache in my leg and nose. "I'm feeling fine, a little bit of pain, but not too much." I say. When I spoke my voice sounded nasally, I suppose it's from the broken nose. "You're a very lucky girl. When you got shot, the bullet only missed an artery by a few centimeters. If it had hit that artery, you might not be alive." He said.

Well, that's just great. I don't know how to react to this, should I just stay quiet or nod in agreement. I chose the former. "Well, there are two police officers who would like to talk to you. Is it okay if they come in?" The doctor asks. I don't really feel like talking to them, but I know I have to, it's important. "They can come in." I say. The doctor looks at one of the nurses and bends his head a bit, the nurse got the message and went to tell the police officers they could come in.

When the police officers came in, the nurses and doctor left. "Hello, I'm police officer Daron Zalwenski. I'm just going to ask you a few questions." Daron says. I nod. Daron pulls out a notebook and a pen. "So, first question did you have any alcoholic beverages that night?" He asks. Why would this help at all? I think the bullet in my leg and many others would be enough proof that it actually happened. "No, but how is this going to help the case?" I say.

"I was just asking." He said defensively. Sure he was. "Anyways," He continued. "We have a man in custody and we want you to identify if he was the one you saw." I nod. Officer Daron pulls out a photo from his pocket, it was definitely the guy with the gun. His cold face was unforgettable. "That's him, that's definitely him." I say. Officer Daron nods. "Well that was all I needed. Get well soon." He says and walks out the door.

I think I learned something from that experience. Always trust your gut, that's what I learned. It's never just nerves or anxiety, okay sometimes it is, but sometimes it can save your life. Mom was always right after all these years. I'm never going to another party again. Maybe I will, but not any time soon.