A nurse quickly ran in behind the policemen, trying to stop them. �I told you, she isn�t even awake yet. She can�t have visitors. You�ll have to leave.�
My father glared at them sternly, saying, �Haven�t we been through enough? I gave you a damn report, it was an accident. Can�t you leave us in peace?�
�We just have a few questions for the young lady, if she feels up to it.�
�Well, she doesn�t feel up to it right now. Now get out of here and let...�
�It�s ok, Daddy. I just want to get this over with so I�ll talk to them now. What do you want to know?�
�Well, if you could just tell us what happened...�
�Ok�, I broke in, �Well, after I went to bed I remembered some clothes I had forgotten in the washer so I went to put them in the dryer. The laundry room is just to the left of the front door and I thought I heard something outside, so I went to the door to look, but I couldn�t see anything. I don�t really know what was out there, because my feet got tangled in the quilt I had wrapped around me and I fell through the door and down the stairs. I think Mom must have heard the noise, cause she came outside and found me lying there. She helped me up and put me in the car. I kept trying to fall asleep, but she wouldn�t let me--she just kept talking to me and--and I told her I hated her...� I paused for dramatic effect and burst into tears. �It�s all my fault.� I gulped out the words and sobbed inconsolably.
�Shhh, hey, take it easy there. Nothing is your fault. No reason to get so upset, just try to tell us what happened� One of the officers said soothingly.
�Well�, I started again, �She just kept talking to me, making me tell her what day it was and stuff like that. I just wanted to go to sleep, and she was looking over at me, trying to keep me awake. I told her there was something in the road, and she swerved to miss it, but hit the tree instead. The last things I remember are hitting the tree and knowing she was--dead and then I woke up here.�
The officers looked at one another with raised eyebrows, and then one of them turned to me. �I know how difficult this must be for you, but it�s best to get these things out while they�re still fresh. Amanda, your mother went through the front windshield, but she had bruises on her back, buttocks and thighs. We are pretty confused about that.�
�Well, a few days ago, I think it was Saturday - no, it was Friday, because she went to the chiropractor on Saturday, she fell off her horse. She was tumbled between his hooves and the ground for quite a ways.�
�I see� he said with a shrug to his shoulders. �Well, I think that�s all we need here. Thanks again for talking to us, Young lady. You rest and get well soon, y�hear?�
�Yes, Sir� I replied weakly.
The officers turned on their heels and left the room as quickly as they had entered. The nurse followed them out, telling us she was off to find the doctor and would be back to check my vitals after she made the call.
My father turned to me, his eyes filled with emotion. �Mandy�, he said, and reached for me.
I glared at him with the fury of 1000 angry wasps and shrank back from him, turning my face away. �Murderer.� I spat at him again.
That time passed quickly. I was released from the hospital just in time for my mother�s funeral. Two months later, I turned 16 and got a brand new car for my birthday. My father stopped drinking. He tried to be a new man, and I used that to my advantage while ceaselessly reminding him he was a murderer. I would never forgive him.