Saving Sybil Cornwall

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

☆☆☆

The smell of sewer drainage filled my nose, and best believe it was absolutely horrendous. I was around friends I didn't want to be around. Everything seemed kinda hazy. Percy was talking to me about how many chicks he was gonna get with over the weekend at all the frat parties he planned on attending. I didn't really pay attention to what he said, I didn't care anymore anyways.

My life was perfect three weeks ago, and now... nothing was the same. I didn't want to be around people anymore. I used to love being around people. Socializing. Making friends. And now, people were just bothersome.

My loose curly black hair hung in front of my gray-blue eyes, impairing my vision, making it harder to see things around me. I didn't mind. Not anymore. My hands were shoved into my dark blue hoodie, with the "THRASHER" logo on it. It had a hole in the pocket and a permanent oil stain on the left sleeve from leaving it in the mechanic shop I work at. Well, worked at. I quit the other day, put in my two weeks right after the accident happened.

Lorelei was mocking Tange for not liking popsicles. Good ol' Tange got that nickname after having an allergic reaction to a citrus. We teased him and gave him the nickname Tangerine for it, but his real name is Beau.

The sound of the next subway train screeching to an agonizingly long stop could be faintly heard in the distance. I still had two minutes before ditching my friends to go only god knows where.

I sighed, before pulling the pack of Marlboro cigarettes from my back pocket, along with the blue mini lighter I had. I lit the cigarette before bringing it to my lips and inhaling the toxic smoke. I remember the first night I brought a pack home after finishing another long day at work, Dad lit a fire under me for it and I got reprimanded for at least two hours.

I was pissed about the lecture back then, but now I'd do anything to hear his voice again. Even if he was shouting at me for my lack of responsibility.

There's a lot of things I regret now, since the accident happened. Sometimes living is one of them. Depression quickly clouded my mind after I got that dreaded phone call from St. James Memorial Hospital at 4:32 in the morning, on a rainy Sunday, saying that my family had been killed in a car accident by a drunk driver.

Millie, my 13 year old sister was dead on impact. My mother, Leslie, soon after from brain damage. My father, Peter, died on the way to the hospital from blood loss. And my older brother, Hugo, died from a collapsed lung, he suffocated because of his ribs getting crushed in the accident. A little Toyota Camry versus a drunk driver in a 18-wheeler semi-truck. Odds weren't in my family's favor.

"Hey, Sybil, when'd you start smoking?" Tange asked.

My dull blue-grey eyes looked down and met his energetic and very lively golden brown ones. He stood at about 5'8 while I averaged around 6'3. I gave a faint chuckle, before replying. "You're just now noticing?"

Tange's smile faded a bit, realizing I hadn't done it before the car accident that took my family. He stepped closer to me, ignoring Lorelei's mockery and took the cigarette from my grasp, before throwing it on the ground and putting it out.

"Dude, it's a bad habit, you gotta stop. I know that things hurt right now, trust me, I know. But shutting yourself off from the world and picking up bad habits is gonna wreck you." Tange said, his voice filled with concern. "We don't even gotta hang out with Percy and Lorelei tonight, we can head back to my apartment and play games or something."

I thought his offer was kind, but it wouldn't ever fill the constant void I had left sitting in my chest. After all, what more did I have? I was completely undeniably alone.

"Thanks for the offer, man, but I gotta take a rain check." I reply.

Tange nodded as I stepped away from my friends and said goodbye, before making my way up the steps into the crowded New York streets. Little did my friends know, that would be the last time they'd see me. I didn't want to be around anymore, I just wanted my family back and this would be the only way how.

I inhaled the New York air around me, before pulling out another cigarette and lighting it, walking home underneath the dark thunder clouds rolling into the evening.

Welcome to the story of my life, or well, how it ended. I'm Sybil Cornwall, nice to meet you.

☆☆☆