Chapter Text
A sharp metallic smell claws its way into her nose with an almost mockingly sweet undertone to it. The smell is so overwhelming it makes her nauseous and she suppresses the urge to gag. After some effort she manages to open her eyes and look around. The car looks… wrong, there’s glass everywhere, metal bent at odd angles they weren’t before, almost as if it’d been crushed slightly, and she realises the car has been turned upside down with her in it.
“Dad..?” Her voice comes out hoarse and quiet, and she coughs with the effort it took to say just one simple word. With a grunt of effort she manages to get up to her knees. As she lifts her head she sees her father, lying completely still with his back to her in the front of the car. She freezes, and a belated sense of panic sets in. “Dad!” She says with more urgency this time as she crawls towards him. A sharp twinge of pain stops her, and as she looks at her leg to investigate, all she sees is red.
A choked cry of panic and pain escapes her before she, as quickly as her injury allows her, crawls to her father. With tiny sobs and hiccups she finally reaches him, and desperately tries to wake him by shaking him and crying out to him. “Dad! Wake up!” She yells with her trembling voice. When she is met with silence her attempts only become more desperate, but to no avail. The silence only grows thicker as she continues in her efforts to wake him.
She eventually stops shaking him and resorts to grabbing onto his shoulder to turn him over on his back. With as much strength as she can muster she finally manages to turn him so he lays on his back. She leans over to look at his face, but all she is met with is dull vacant eyes.
His deep brown eyes that always looked at her with such warmth and affection, are now nothing but empty husks, devoid of any life. His eyes don’t crinkle at the corners in the way they used to and his skin has taken a much paler and ashier tone than it used to have. A trail of blood runs from his mouth down to his neck, like a noose. She freezes at the sight.
“Dad..?” She tentatively calls, but she is only met with his silence.
Time slows to a crawl and almost seems to stand still. She barely registers the sound of sirens approaching as she silently stares at her fathers vacant expression. She curls up on his chest seeking comfort but his gentle arms never hold her, his soft voice never consoles her and there’s no heartbeat to calm her. All she is left with is an empty shell with no warmth.
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“Over here! Check for survivors!” A gruff voice yells out.
“Yes sir!”
The sound of heavy boots on wet concrete can be heard as a few firefighters quickly, but carefully approach the vehicle. One of them bends down to look through the cracked window of the upturned car.
“I’ve got eyes on two victims, a man and a girl. We need to get them out to assess them. Help me open this door.”
The firefighters carefully pry open the door to reach them without causing further harm. One of them crawls in to pull them out and quickly realises the man has died. He sees the girl curled up on the dead body, luckily still breathing, but she seems injured. He calls out to her clearly but with enough gentleness to not frighten her.
“Hey there, can you hear me?”
The girl nods almost imperceptibly, but hangs on tighter to her dead fathers shirt. The firefighter senses her apprehension and tries to build some rapport with her.
“Good. Don't worry we’re here to help you. My name is Hugo, what’s yours?”
At first the girl doesn’t respond, Hugo waits anxiously for her to respond. After about a minute she finally responds.
“Verity.” she sniffles quietly.
“What a pretty name.” Hugo keeps his tone serious, but with enough lightness to not intimidate her accidentally. “Listen Verity, I know this is all very scary, but I’m gonna need you to come with me ok? I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. Can you take my hand?”
Hugo reaches his hand towards Verity with a gentle and reassuring expression. Verity looks at his hand and then back to her father. She shakes her head vehemently.
“No. I’m staying with dad.” She states resolutely.
Hugo can’t help but look at the heartbreaking sight with a solemn expression.
“I know you wanna stay with your father, but it’s not safe here. Just come with me, we’ll get your dad out of here too, I promise.” He keeps his hand stretched out to her. She turns slightly towards him.
“Do you promise?” She gives him a hard stare. Hugo smiles at her earnestly.
“I promise, just take my hand. I’ll keep you safe.”
Finally Verity puts her hand in his and he starts helping her out of the car. She winces in pain but they make it out quickly. When she doesn’t stand immediately, Hugo kneels down.
“Do you need some help? I can carry you over to the ambulance.” Hugo gives her the option to decline, so she feels more in control.
When she nods to let him help, he carefully picks her up and carries her towards the ambulance with the paramedics so they can give her first-aid. He gently sets her down on the gurney as they begin to assess her condition. When Verity looks at them slightly more anxiously than before Hugo is quick to reassure her.
“Don’t worry Verity, these doctors are really nice, I’ve worked with them for many years. They’re gonna make you better.” He nods to the paramedics and gives her a reassuring smile. She looks a bit more calm and the paramedics start checking her injuries. Hugo decides to stay nearby to make her feel more secure, as Verity seems to trust him, even if it’s only a little.
The paramedics clean her wounds as gently as they can and wrap them up. Taking extra care of the big laceration on her calf. She winces in pain throughout it but ultimately doesn’t protest.
Hugo wraps a blanket around Verity’s trembling frame as one of the paramedics look at Hugo. “She appears to be mostly okay, save for the bigger laceration on her calf, but it would be best for us to take her back to the hospital as quickly as possible to check for possible internal injuries.”
Hugo nods. “Of course.”
“He’s dead isn’t he.” Verity suddenly states, more than asks.
Hugo is caught off by the finality of her question but nods solemnly.
“Yes.. I’m sorry, Verity..”
“It was stupid of me to hold onto him like that.” She furrows her brows as tears fill her eyes “As if it would change anything. I knew as soon as I saw his face. He was gone.” Her voice breaks as she finishes berating herself for her reaction.
Hugo's heart breaks at the scene in front of him. “Verity..” He hesitates, unsure of what to do or say to comfort her, but reasons she could probably use a hug now more than ever. He hugs her slowly, giving her time to pull away should she want to, but to his relief she accepts his attempt to comfort her and leans into the hug. He slowly rubs her back to soothe her as she cries.
Her sobbing slowly reduces to sniffles and hiccups and Hugo pulls back. He decides the trip to the hospital shouldn’t be delayed any longer and looks at Verity.
“I’m sorry to cut this short, but the doctors really want to take you to the hospital to get a better look at you. They’ll take good care of you, I promise.” Hugo gives her a small reassuring smile. She nods quietly.
“Is there anyone we can call so you’re not alone at the hospital? Your mother perhaps?” Hugo questions her gently. She shakes her head.
“Mom left.” She fidgets with the blanket draped around her. Hugo sighs sadly.
“How about another family member then?”
“My brother.”
“How old is your brother?” Hugo asks carefully.
“17.. No 18.” She corrects herself.
“Is there another adult I can contact?” Hugo asks, but isn’t convinced he’ll get the answer he hopes for.
“No.. it’s just us three.” Verity sniffles. “Is that a problem?”
Hugo shakes his head. “No, not at all. Just making sure.” He decides that’ll be a problem for later, as he doesn’t want to stress her out needlessly. And with any luck, her brother is mature enough to give her the support and security she needs right now. Luckily he’s at least old enough to take care of her without any legal issues. “Do you have his number memorised?” Verity nods and recites the number to him.
“Good. What’s his name?” Hugo asks as he writes down the number.
“Raymond. But we mostly call him Ray.”
“I see. Last name?”
“Garnett.” Verity sniffles.
“Alright.” Hugo looks at her with compassion before adding, “You’ll be okay, they’ll take care of you, alright?” She just nods silently in response. Hugo waves at one of the paramedics and jerks his head towards Verity so they can get moving. He then looks back at Verity.
“Now, I’ll call your brother and make sure he comes to the hospital, are you gonna be okay until then?” She nods slowly with a little reluctance. “Good, you’ve been very brave today.” He smiles at her one final time before turning around and walking away. The paramedics load her into the ambulance and start driving.
He dials in the number and waits. The phone rings for a few seconds before he hears a voice on the other end.
“Hello?”
“Hi, this is Hugo speaking. Are you Raymond Garnett?”
“I am.. What’s this about?”
“It’s about your father. I’m afraid there’s been an accident.”
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“-rity. Verity!” The voice of the teacher pulls her out of her daze. Now of all times. She grumbles internally as she clears her throat quietly.
“Yes?”
“Did you hear anything I just said?” The teacher, Catherine, asks with impatience in her tone.
“Uhh..” Drat. Verity glances at the board behind Catherine. “Yes?” She answers hesitantly, as a few of her classmates laugh quietly. Why’d this have to happen in Catherine’s class? She laments as Catherine smiles smugly.
“Then I guess you won’t have any issues with answering a question for me.”
Verity has to suppress a sigh, but keeps a polite smile on her face. Why couldn’t she just have left me alone? “Of course, not a problem at all.” Problem. Very big problem actually.
Just in time the clock strikes 3 with a ring and it’s time to go home. Talk about being saved by the bell. Catherine sighs slightly but ultimately lets it go. She claps her hands together to have everyone's attention. “Alright, have a good weekend everyone, but remember you have a test next week, so don’t go slacking off.” She warns, but without any real heat, so Verity can tell she means well.
Verity packs her things and slings her bag over her shoulder with deceptive ease. I cannot wait to finally be home again. She thinks to herself as she makes her way through the door and into the hall. I wonder when Ray will be home.. He’s been coming back late more often than not these past few weeks..
As she exits the school she takes a deep breath to appreciate the fresh air. It’s still early autumn, so it isn’t too cold yet. She starts walking back home with renewed vigor. I miss Callisto. She inwardly whines. I just wanna curl up with her and nap in the sun, is that too much to ask for? She quickens her pace slightly. My life would be so much easier if I was a cat. Callisto has no idea how easy she has it.. I should probably stop spoiling her so much shouldn’t I..? She kicks a rock on the sidewalk as she walks. Who am I kidding, I can’t resist her cute little face.
Verity finally reaches the apartment complex, unlocks the door and enters the stairwell. She climbs the stairs with haste and finally enters their apartment. She locks the door behind her and takes off her shoes, kicking them haphazardly to the side. “Finally home again.” She sighs as she hangs her jacket in the entryway, and readjusts her bag on her shoulder.
Before long Callisto trills and trots towards Verity. “There’s my pretty little kitty.” She coos at Callisto as she crouches down to scoop her up. She scratches her belly while holding her as she walks to her room. She puts Callisto down on the bed and shrugs her bag off her shoulder before laying down next to her.
“Finally.” Verity sighs contently as she pets Callisto who purrs loudly in response. “You have no idea how much I needed this.” She mumbles mostly to herself.
The sound of her bag suddenly hitting the floor startles her slightly.
She lifts her head to look at the bag on the floor. Oops.