13

Two days later and I was still lying in my hospital bed, the beeping of machines and the constant chatter of busy nurses echoed through the sterile walls.

Despite the constant activity around me, I felt dreadfully alone. My phone sat on the bedside table, buzzing with incoming messages, but my fingers were too weak to pick it up and respond.

I had no idea when they had brought it here - or even how, to be honest - but the last thing I wanted to do was talk to anyone. I was wallowing in regret and self pity, my thoughts constantly circling back to Zack, the last few days, and what he had done to me no matter how much I tried not to think of it.

The only person I had any thoughts of talking to and sharing my burdens with could not be contacted at all. My calls to Jessica were not connecting, and although I had tried multiple times to reach out to her, she was nowhere to be found.

She didn't pick up on her house line, nor did she respond to any of my text messages or voicemails. It wa