The traffic on the road was intensifying at every minute. Anna got to know there was an accident by the roadside. An excuse to tell a policeman if they ever stopped her. She turned and looked at Jason again.

She had to get to a hospital and drop the body before anyone could suspect anything. What if they called the police the moment she got there?

 Anna drove looking hopelessly and thinking of different excuses to come up with. It would be best to go to a hospital she knows because there will be less suspicion so she took a diversion and headed to her uncle’s hospital.

When she got to the hospital, she turned off the ignition, put the keys in her pocket and went to open the back seat.

As she dragged the body from the car screaming and crying a group of nurses quickly came with a stretcher and carried Jason to the OR.

“Will he be alright?” Anna asked the doctor

“Yes he will Anna but for now I just want you to run a quick checkup to know if you were hurt anywhere” The doctor said, concerned. Anna’s face looked pale and scared. She placed her hands on Anna’s shoulder trying to guide her to sit

“No…I’m fine” Anna shouted as she shrugged off the doctor’s hands from her shoulders.

“Um…ok I’ll just get you some change over clothes” Anna looked down and saw her blood soaked cloth cleaned her eyes. “And another thing”

“What?” Anna asked with an exasperated look on her face

“I called Larry” and with that the doctor quickly raced to the emergency room.

Larry was Anna’s father’s best friend and after they passed on Larry couldn’t bear to ship Anna off to her wicked uncle so he decided to take her in as his own. Larry also took charge of all Anna’s father’s businesses and managed all the affairs whatsoever.

They were very close like father and daughter but despite all the effort to behave like a real father to Anna, Anna never accepted him as one and called him uncle.     

Anna finally sat down putting her hand on her head. What was she going to do? What if they call the cops? She can’t end up in jail. What about her 20 year plans and her investments in real estate. What will happen then? She had to get out of here and fast.

“Here” a man said while handing her a cup of coffee and dropping changeover clothes on the chair

Anna thoughts were interrupted by the doctor’s secretary. She stared at him wondering why he was holding a cup

“Doc said I should make you a cup of coffee, so here. And your changeover clothes” As he walked away Anna noticed a small tattoo on his neck. She shrugged it off, drank the coffee and changed her clothes.

 A few minutes later, Anna decided to leave the hospital quietly before the doc could call the cops. Moving quietly seemed almost impossible as her eyes suddenly became very dizzy.

Her body became weak and heavy but Anna relentlessly struggled and made it to the entrance of the hospital. She saw a nurse walking in with a cart full of drugs and proceeded to greet him but her wobbled legs prevented her from moving.

Instead, when she realized she was going to fall she tried to grab the cart and ended up falling the drugs and prescribed medication on the floor before drifting off to a deep sleep.

The nurse shouted for help and tried to get a pulse. While she did that, a group of nurses approached with a bed. They lifted Anna up, put her on the bed and took her into an executive room.

The birds on Anna’s window chirped louder than Anna’s phone alarm. It was as if they came to watch a spectacle.

A nurse walked in and tried to give Anna and injection but when she noticed that Anna was going to wake up soon, she bolted out. Anna woke up putting her hand on her head trying to subdue the rising head ache.

“Ughh, where am I?” She looked around her surroundings and realized that she was still at the hospital. Anna tried to remember how what happened before she passed out but she couldn’t.

Thankfully, Larry hasn’t arrived yet which gave Anna a cue to leave. She quickly checked her pockets for the keys and realized that it wasn’t there. She changed her clothes.

Anna made her way to the doctor’s office. As she walked past the rooms she noticed that a door was left open.

Her first thought was to close the door but the moment she tried to do so she regretted. There laid Jason, head covered with bandages laying there as if in a state of coma.

Anna moved to his side quietly as tears began to fill her eyes. She grabbed a chair nearby and sat beside him holding his hands and crying profusely

 “I didn’t mean to. I swear. I was just scared.”  Anna said as she wept. ” I saw an email and all and I just felt choked and I just couldn’t tell you because I was so unsure of everything.” She moved closer to him and laid his hand on her face

“I’m very sorry for leaving you, believe me I am. I love you so much, you know I do but I can’t go to jail. And I’m sure uncle Larry will take care of you. I feel hurt knowing that your condition may never improve. I’m sorry I’m leaving you to deal with this alone when I know you’d never do the same if you were in my shoes. I’m so deeply in love with you but I can’t be with you. Please greet mom and dad for me”

She removed the necklace from her neck and placed it in Jason’s hand before bolting out. A tear drop came out from Jason’s eyes.

Jason couldn’t move. Jason couldn’t speak but Jason could hear

Anna ran down the corridor puzzled with tears in her eyes wondering if she had made the right decision.

Jason had been her best friend for the last 15 years of her life. Her first friend, her first kiss, her first play date, her first boyfriend, her first everything.

 He has always been by her side ever since she moved opposite his house back in middle school. They did everything together. Went to school together, play together, went to the same university, rented a shared apartment together…in fact they were inseparable.

Now, in the moment he needed her the most, the one time he needed her to stay by his side she vanished. Why?