• Maggie 12:03 A.M.
    You never thought that learning to forgive someone would be this hard. It’s an easy enough idea to grasp, but actually doing it, is another idea entirely. You sit at your desk, pulling all of your papers for school back into a neat pile. You think to yourself about how horrible facing Jeremiah at school tomorrow is going to be.
    “I can’t believe this…” You mumble quietly.
    You get up from your chair and head to your bathroom to get ready for bed. You grab your pajamas from the hook behind the door, exactly where you hung them the night before. They’re nothing special, just an old t-shirt and a pair of ratty, gray sweatpants. You never really believed in paying a lot of money for pajamas that were frilly and ridiculous. It seemed pointless, at least to you. You knew no one would be seeing them but you, so why bother?
    You finish brushing your teeth and pulling your hair back into a ponytail. You hate it when your hair gets in your face while you are trying to sleep.
    “I don’t know how I could possibly sleep tonight,” You say.
    You have a pretty strong feeling you wouldn’t sleep, but the familiarity and comfort of your nightly routine gives you a tiny flicker of hope. You jump into bed, your mind racing with thoughts of Jeremiah. All of the old memories come flooding back, filling your head with a drowsy, swimming feeling, and you’re reminded of things like the time Jeremiah saved you from Alex when he was coming on to you way too strongly at the Halloween party, and especially the memory of when you first met, both of you at the same Laundromat, unable to sleep. It was that time that you were glad for your inability to sleep. Your late-night trips to the Laundromat never seemed to produce anything good except for a constant, low humming in your head from the sound of the driers, lulling you to sleep.
    A tear rolls down your cheek, as your heart breaks. The hurt you felt after what he did to you was just too much for you to bear. But at the same time, your stubbornness refuses to let you look sad in front of him. You begin to feel angry, twisted with fury at the idea of passing by him in school.
    “He’ll probably just smile and act like nothing happened,” You say aloud.
    So you just continue to lie in bed, not sleeping, and letting your anger build.
    Jeremiah 12:03 A.M.
    You just sit there, staring at your computer screen. You think, "Maybe she’ll get online or send me an e-mail or something.”
    You know that no such thing will happen. This was by far the worst thing that has ever happened to you. All you could think about was Maggie, and how angry she is. She is so stubborn. She refuses to listen to your explanation at all, instantly judging you and drawing her own conclusions. Maggie with her long, blonde hair… She is so beautiful. That night you wandered into the Laundromat, unable to sleep, she was the first thing you noticed. She was just sitting there with her eyes closed, a look of deep concentration on her face. Even so, she still looked so peaceful.
    You’ve known each other for a while now, and you never thought that something like this would happen. Everything was going so well. It’s eating you away inside.
    “She’ll probably never talk to me again,” You thought.
    You have to make it right though. This girl with the angel face means everything to you. You don’t know if she’s awake still or not, but you get up and put your coat on anyway.
    “I have to fix this. She has to know the truth, and she needs to hear it from me,” You say.
    You pull on your boots, grab your car keys and head out the door, careful not to wake your mother. You head out into the snow and ice, unaware of what actually waits before you.
    Jeremiah 12:26 A.M.
    There’s blood on your hands, your head, everywhere. The pain…you’re in so much pain. There must be a gash on your head, the blood is pouring down your face and onto your shirt. You can’t remember what happened… What did happen? You can feel the panic creeping up on you as the realization that this could be it came to you. You can’t move your legs, and your left arm is twisted and broken to the point that it’s almost backwards. You can’t even feel it anymore. The pain you feel is coming from inside of you. The impact that hit you crushed the left your left side, and you were sure that you had suffered major damage in your insides, that had to be it. Blood is beginning to seep out of your mouth, and your breathing is becoming jagged and short. Fear is becoming more present in your mind. In fact, you’re terrified. You know that you’re going to die. You can feel it. Why….
    Maggie. This one word comes into your mind and fills it up with so many happy things, but also sad things. Tears begin to escape your eyes. You’ll never see her again. You’ll never see that big smile she gave only you. You’ll never hear her laugh or get to watch her as she pulls her hair behind her ears. It’s crushing you. It feels like someone has placed a car on your chest. Breathing is so hard… your vision is becoming less sharp, doubled almost. She hates you. She probably hates you more than anyone in the world right now. You can’t take it….
    The bitter cold wind is pouring into your car where the glass used to be. The other driver hasn’t come to check on you. Nothing. You wonder if he even called 911. You’re so cold. You can feel every freezing gust of wind on all of your wounds. You’re becoming numb to the pain. You can hardly feel anything anymore and you know it’s bad…
    Red and blue lights, you can see them turning around the corner. The same corner you wrecked on. You finally see the other driver, just now getting out of his car, completely okay. You just close your eyes thinking that maybe somehow you deserved this. You hear footsteps approaching you, crunching in the ice-covered snow.
    “Son, son can you hear me?” One man asks.
    You don’t have the energy to answer. It’s taking all you have to stay awake. Your life is out of your hands now. Maggie. Oh, Maggie. You hear the paramedics in the background, but you can no longer make out what they’re saying. You open my eyes, but see nothing. You feel a rolling in your stomach, and a bout of nausea comes over you. You try to hold it back, but you can’t do anything about it. You throw up everywhere. Even without sight, you know it’s not what it should be, it’s blood. A groan escapes your lips as someone tries to pry the door open. “Someone help me. Can no one help me?”
    You’re still crying, you feel the tears falling down your cheeks, mixing in with the blood on your face. You know there’s nothing that can be done now. Another burst of nausea and you’re throwing up blood again.
    “Just hang on! You’re going to be okay!” Someone yells.
    But it’s too late. Too late……
    Maggie 1:15 A.M
    A phone call. Your life is changed forever. All the hate you felt just minutes before is gone, replaced with the knowledge that nothing will ever be the same again.