A Bad Decision

Author's Note: This story includes killing.

The alarm clock rang and woke me up. Shocked by the ring, I half-jumped and fell off the bed. I groaned and rubbed my head, trying to get back on the bed to go to sleep. But as hard as I tried, I could not.

Suddenly, I remembered what happened the day before. What I had done. I didn’t want to think about that memory but it kept crashing back to my mind. Finally I gave in.

~~

It was a calm evening. I decided to go to the park to feed the ducks. I loved the ducks. I could tell them anything and they would always give a response in their reassuring quacks.

I went to the bakery and bought a baguette. Taking a bite of the baguette, I walked to the park where the ducks greeted me. I threw a hunk of bread to them who greedily gobbled it.

“Hi,” came a voice. It was Eva. We used to be best friends but after the incident we didn’t want anything to do with each other. So why was she here?

“Nora,” she said. “I want to be friends with you again.”

Remembering what she did, I turned around and walked away from her, the ducks trailing after me.

A month ago, Eva invited me to a sleepover at her dad’s. Her dad who was a policeman, had many guns. At around midnight, I woke up to go to the toilet. Eva woke up and wondered where I had gone. She went into her father’s bedroom and found him dead. Eva thought I was the one who killed him. I argued and said that I didn’t. She lost her temper, grabbed a gun that was lying around and without hesitating, shot my shoulder.

I ran out of the house and fainted on the road because of the pain. A guard called an ambulance. A week later, Eva found out that a robber had broke in on our sleepover and killed her dad. I was taken to a hospital where they treated my shoulder. Until now, it still hurts.

“Hey, Nora!” she called, running up to me and grabbing me shoulder.

A sharp pain emerged from it.

“Ouch!” I yelled.

“I just touched you,” said Eva, confused.

“Did you forget that was the shoulder you shot a month ago?” I shouted.

Eva gasped and started crying. “I’m sorry Nora, I shouldn’t have done that. Can we please be friends again?”

“No!” How could she think I would be friends with her again? “You shot me!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think!”

Suddenly, Eva tripped on a rock and fell. A gun flew out of her pocket.

As quick as lightning, I snatched it.

“What is this?” I said in a dead tone.

“Nothing!” said Eva getting up. “I haven’t come to hurt you-”

“Why are you carrying this?”

“I just thought I should have a gun to defend myself,’ she babbled.

“Like from robbers or anything.”

But I didn’t believe her. I thought she wanted to finish me off. My thumb pulled on the trigger and screaming, she fell to the ground. A second later, I blinked. What had I done? I threw the gun and the baguette down and called my parents who let me stay with them.

~~

I felt a tear trickle down my face. How could I have killed her? I closed my eyes and sobbed, thumping the ground for a good five minutes.

“Nora?”

I felt numb as I looked up. It was my mom and dad.

“Yes?” I sniffed, wiping my eyes.

“We need to talk to you.”

I followed them to the living room where they showed me a newspaper.

“The police are looking for you, Nora,” said my dad. “They’re going to be here soon.”

“What?” I said, started at that news.

“You should move.” said my Mom.

“Huh-?”

“Here,” she said, handing me a card. “It’s your plane ticket to Utah.”

~~

I stood facing the door as it shut. I went to my house. There were yellow tapes everywhere. I ran to my room and quickly shoved stuff into my suitcase. I heard police sirens and ran out of the house. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I hastily called a taxi.

“Hey!” yelled a cop. “Stop there!”

The taxi arrived and I jumped in and slammed the door hard.

“Watch it!” cried the driver.

“I need to get to the airport.”

“No problem.”

We reached the airport and I gave some notes to the driver. I entered the airport and went over to a counter.

“Passport please,” said a woman with dark hair.

I handed it over along with my ticket.

“I need to go to Utah,” I said.

“That will be flight 0007. You can find it in Aisle B. It’ll be taking off shortly.”

“Thank you,” I said, taking my passport back from the woman.

“Wait-” she murmured, looking at a screen. “It says here that your name is Nora Riggs.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Aren’t you the girl who killed someone?”

“I-”

“SECURITY!” screamed the lady.

I ran into Aisle B with the guards after me. I boarded my plane just as it took off. I dumped myself in my seat and pulled out my phone. It was December 31st. It was the New Year tomorrow and I hadn’t even written my resolutions yet. Oh well, maybe it can be try not to kill anyone. With a sigh, I close my eyes.

~~

When I opened them, the plane had reached. I left the airport and inhaled. So this was my fresh start.

~~

TWO YEARS LATER

~~

I was living a good life now. I had a job, a house, a car and good pay. I also bought five ducklings to keep me company. One evening, I needed to take out the trash as it was piling up and the smell was unbearable. I tied up the bag, and held it at arm’s length as I brought it outside.

“Nora?” came a voice.

It was a girl. A very familiar girl. I turned around and let the bag fall, the contents everywhere.

Eva?