Chapter One ~ The Call
1224 Words
The rain had softened into a thin mist outside the precinct windows, glazing the glass and blurring the city into smears of neon.
Inside, Detective Rebecca Reyes sat behind her cluttered desk, wrestling with a stack of unfinished reports. The whole room felt like it was holding its breath, as if it knew what was about to happen next.
She didn’t notice Tyson at first—Tyson Davis, her oldest friend since highschool and practically a brother, he was standing at the door. Tyson’s knuckles were white as he clenched a cell phone.
“Detective Reyes...”
Rebecca turned. Tyson’s voice wasn’t its usual light, teasing tone. for some strange reason, It was flat and thin.
“Yeah, Tyson?” Rebecca pushed a file aside, swiveling slightly in her chair.
Tyson didn’t step into the room. He just stood there, his eyes fixed on Rebecca with something tight and afraid behind them.
“It’s…it’s a call. From the hospital.”
The pen slipped from Rebecca’s fingers, clattering across the table. She didn’t reach for it. Her gaze sharpened, locking onto Tyson’s face, curiosity and unspoken questions flickering in her eyes.
Tyson swallowed. “Your sister had an accident.”
Rebecca's chair shot back before the words finished landing. “What? An accident?” Her voice cracked, disbelief twisting through each syllable. She was already reaching for her jacket, shoving her arms through the sleeves as she stormed past Tyson.
“Which hospital?” she demanded, sprinting down the hallway, her chest heaving as panic clawed at her lungs.
“Foster’s Medical Institution” Tyson answered, hurrying after her.
But Rebecca was already gone—out the doors and into the storm, sliding behind the wheel of her car. The tires screamed as she tore out of the precinct lot, heart pounding so loudly she could barely hear the engine.
****
FOSTER’S MEDICAL INSTITUTION
The automatic doors burst open as Rebecca shoved through them, she was soaked from the rain outside, her breath ragged.
“Vanessa! Vanessa!” Her voice ricocheted off the sterile walls, drawing startled looks from nurses and visitors.
A doctor rushed toward her. “Ma'am... Ma'am, please you can’t enter with her. She’s severely injured...”
“Get out of my way!” Rebecca’s voice cracked into a roar, raw and shaking. “I want to see my sister! Vanessa!” she screamed.
Two nurses reached out, hands firm but gentle, trying to restrain her. But the fire in Rebecca’s eyes refused to be contained. Tears streamed down her face, turning the sterile white hallway into a blur of streaks and shadows.
“Becky!” Tyson appeared behind her, grabbing her arm and hauling her back. “Stop...you need to stop. Let them do their job.”
Rebecca shoved against them once, twice—then collapsed into Tyson’s grip, her chest pounding. "I can’t just stand here and do nothing” she choked out. “She’s my sister.”
“I know...” Tyson whispered, steadying her. “She’ll be fine. Nesa’s a fighter. You know she is.”
But Rebecca covered her face with both hands, shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Her breaths came in broken pieces. Tyson held her there, anchoring her while doctors rushed in and out of the emergency room.
Seconds stretched into minutes. Every tick of the clock seemed louder and heavier, until finally—the elevator dinged, breaking the unbearable silence.
Sheriff Andre Reyes stepped out, he was out of breath, his badge reflecting under the harsh hospital lights. He scanned the hall until he saw his daughter crumbling in Tyson’s arms.
“Becky!” the sheriff called, hurrying forward.
Rebecca turned as she heard his voice, her red eyes looking lost and terrified. “Dad…Dad it’s Vanessa.”
Andre pulled her close, his heart pounding with a fear he refused to show. Rebecca buried her face in his chest, her words coming out in broken gasps. “They won’t let me... they won't let me see her, Dad... She won’t…”
“I know...” Andre whispered, his own voice trembling too. “I know dear, the hospital called me. My poor Nesa…” He didn’t finish. He couldn't. He closed his eyes, the weight of the moment pulling his face into something older, something broken.
Another stretch of silence followed, then the OR doors swung open.
Dr. Philip Moore stepped out, surgical mask dangling from one ear, his face a grave map of exhaustion. Rebecca and Andre rushed toward him. Tyson followed.
“Doctor?” Andre asked first, voice barely holding itself together.
Dr. Moore exhaled heavily—too heavily. And right then, Rebecca’s heart stopped. She could feel it: the truth before the words even came.
“I’m… incredibly sorry.” Moore’s voice was soft and apologetic in a way that made it worse. “She couldn’t make it. She lost too much blood before arriving the hospital, we tried everything. There was no other way to revive her. I am so, so sorry, Mr. Reyes.”
Rebecca didn’t hear the rest, her mind detonated.
“No… no, no, no…” She staggered back, shaking her head violently. Then the denial exploded into a roar.
“Noooooooo!”
The sound ripped out of her—raw and devastated. She shoved past the doctor and burst through the OR doors before anyone could stop her.
Inside, the air was cold. Unnaturally cold. She couldn’t believe her sister had been kept in a room like this—Vanessa had always hated the cold.
Her sister lay on the table, small and still beneath a white sheet. Rebecca’s breath hitched. She took a trembling step toward her. Then another. She reached out and pulled the cloth away from her face, and the world collapsed.
Bruises mottled her skin. A swollen cut split her lower lip. Scratches trailed down her cheek as though someone had dragged her across something rough. Her hair was damp with dried blood, strands sticking to her temples.
Rebecca’s knees buckled.
“Vanessa…” Her voice broke into shards. “Nesa…no…no...no...wake up. Please wake up, come on...” Her hands hovered over her face as though she was afraid to touch, hoping it'd be a lie. But she was already gone.
Tyson entered slowly, eyes wide and shining. He approached Rebecca, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder. Rebecca didn’t respond. She stared at her sister as if staring long enough would undo the truth.
Sheriff Andre stood at the doorway. His hand covered his mouth, his shoulders trembling despite every effort to stay composed. When he finally stepped inside, he walked around the bed, stopping beside his daughter’s still form.
He touched her hand gently—almost reverently, then bowed his head.
“My Nesa…” he whispered, with a cracking voice. “My sweet Nesa…”
Rebecca tore her gaze away long enough to look at her father—and the sight gutted her even more. Andre Reyes, the sheriff everyone feared and respected was crying helplessly.
Tyson tightened his grip on Rebecca’s shoulder, whispering. “I’m here, becky. I’m not leaving you.”
But Rebecca could barely breathe. Her chest caved in. Her throat closed. Everything inside her screamed, yet the room stayed silent.
Silent except for the steady, merciless beep of the machines that would never help her sister again.
- Writer
