𝔊𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔣 𝔱𝔬 𝔊𝔞𝔦𝔫

𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬

It's been hours since they called.

My parents told me they would be home 2 hours ago.

Why aren't they answering my calls?

I should stay calm, Maybe there's traffic, or something happened at work.

You're overthinking Athena.

I try to reassure myself by thinking: They're probably on their way home, stuck in traffic. 

They're alright.

But I can't help but feel worried. They've never been this late before.

What if they're in trouble?

I decide to take a walk outside to clear my mind. Fresh air usually helps calm down my nerves.

I put on my favorite pair of shoes and jacket and step outside, feeling the cool night air on my face.

As I walk, my mind starts to race. I try to think of all the possible reasons my parents haven't come home yet, trying to reassure myself everything is fine.

Then, an image of my parents crashed car appears in my head, which only made me more anxious.

I shake my head, trying to push the terrible image out of my mind. I don't want to think about that.

They're fine. They have to be.

I keep walking, trying to focus on anything else.

I pull out my phone to find some distraction. Scrolling on  YouTube to watch some book recs  seems like a good idea.

I start scrolling through the recommendations, trying to find something interesting. Eventually, I stumble across a video that catches my eye: "Top 10 Dark Academia book recommendations".

I click on the video and begin watching it, trying to immerse myself in the discussion about my favorite genre. The YouTuber, a young woman who clearly knows her stuff, passionately describes the book covers and explains their stories.

I can almost imagine myself in the scenes described in the books. The video takes my mind off of my parents for a few minutes.

But suddenly, I feel my phone vibrate. I quickly answer the call, hoping it's my parents.

But when I look at the caller ID, I see that it's a call from Aunt Julie.

Why is she calling me?

Maybe she has news of my parents.

The anxious feeling immediately comes back. I hesitantly accept the call, holding the phone tight.

"Hello?" I answer

Aunt Julie's shaky voice speaks back to me.

"Hi sweetie..."

There's something in her voice, something worrying that instantly sets a alarm off in my mind.

"Aunt Julie, is everything okay?" I ask anxiously.

There's a pause before she answers.

"Sweetie... I don't know how to tell you this but..."

Why is she speaking so nervously? My heart starts beating faster as I wait for her to continue.

Her voice trembles even more.

"It's about your parents..."

A feeling of fear immediately washes over me. I feel my body stiffen.

"What... what about them?" I asked, my voice cracking.

There's another pause, and I can hear Aunt Julie struggling to keep her composure.

"There was an accident... "

No. this can't be happening.

My mind starts going blank, trying to deny what I think I'm hearing.

My hands start shaking, and I hear my own voice saying, "What kind of accident?" even though I know deep down what she's about to say.

Aunt Julie takes a deep breath before continuing.

"A car accident. Due to a...a drunk driver."

I feel myself going into shock. It's as if my mind is completely shutting down. I can hear Aunt Julie speaking again, but her words are coming as if from a distance.

"...your parents didn't make it."

I stop breathing for a second.

No.

This can't be happening. They can't be gone. They can't.

The phone slips from my hand and falls to the ground. I can still hear Aunt Julie's voice faintly from the phone as she calls my names, but I can't move, I can't speak.

I can feel tears streaming down my face at a fast pace.

My knees buckle, and I can't keep myself standing. My head's in a daze; 

it's as if my whole existence had just shattered right in front of me.

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