In Search of Tomorrow ✓

The Crash

It was a peaceful evening-dusk was just beginning to fall and I could see the faint shadow of the moon creeping up into the sky as the sun set. A light drizzle was falling, sprinkling our windshield and casting a reflective glow on the pavement from the street lights.

Beside me, Mom was driving with both hands on the steering wheel, set firmly in the ten o'clock and two o'clock position, her eyes fixed on the road. Her mouth was twitching, though, and she was smiling as I told her about my day in school.

"Troy actually smiled at me today!" I gushed, leaning back against the headrest and closing my eyes in memory of the amazing moment. I'd had butterflies the rest of the day after he'd turned his deep brown eyes on me and grinned. "I wasn't even making a joke or anything-he just turned around and smiled!"

"That's great, Evelyn," Mom said, flicking on her blinker and turning right. "I'm not sure I like Troy so much, though."

Rolling my eyes, I flicked open the mirror hanging from the car and began checking my reflection, smoothing down my hair. I'd just dyed my hair a jet black a few days prior, and already, my level of admiration at school had skyrocketed.

I widened my eyes to make sure my mascara was intact, then began examining the smoothness of my skin as the car kept on rolling down the roadway.

Suddenly, my body was jolted forward. The sound of tires skidding on pavement as brakes were slammed screamed so loud the noise nearly made me deaf. My heart stopped, and the world was in slow-motion as I saw the enormous SUV we were approaching.

Mom kept her foot on the brakes, hard, praying, but it wasn't enough. We collided into the SUV with such an enormous force my head snapped forward and hit the mirror. The airbag exploded and caught me in the chest, knocking the wind out of me. The car felt twisted, caved in; we'd hit the SUV at an angle so that most of the damage was done on the driver's side. I didn't think to look to my left and check on Mom.

All I felt was unbearable pain overcoming my entire body. Tears, mingled with brown-red blood, were streaming down my face, and when I looked down at my leg, it looked twisted. Dark spots overcame my vision, red on black, until I felt my head go light and passed out. Just before I lost all consciousness, I heard my mother's final scream and the sound of sirens.

~*~*~

When I woke up, all I could hear was beeping-a consistent, piercing sound as if from a machine. I squinted open my eyes and saw only white and lightness.

I tried to open my mouth to speak but found I had no voice. Gingerly, I sat up in bed and looked around.

I was clearly in a hospital. A nurse was standing by the table, talking to a tall blonde man who I could identify in my blurry vision as my dad. Machines beeped all around us, and when I looked down I saw one attached to my arm.

"She's awake!" exclaimed the nurse suddenly, rushing over to me and beginning to check my vitals. "How do you feel, Evelyn, honey?"

"Awful," I declared. Dad crossed the room and came to stop at my bedside, his eyebrows crinkled as he gazed down at me. He didn't ask how I was doing; he just stared at me with an expression on his face I had never known.

Suddenly, memories became flooding back to me, and I sat up straighter, sending an excruciating pain down my legs. "Where's Mom?" I asked.

I was met with an utter, stony silence. My heartbeat began to increase until it felt like it was racing infinitely fast. "Where's Mom?"

The nurse cleared her throat and wrote something on her clipboard before slipping out of the room. When I turned my eyes onto Dad, I saw that his mouth was set in a tight, firm line. His eyes looked bloodshot and he had dark circles, as if he hadn't slept for days.

I didn't have to repeat my question again, though I wished my father had never answered. He stared me directly in the eye and said harshly, "She's dead, Evelyn. And it's your fault."

Spots overcame me again and before I knew it, I'd slipped into unconsciousness again, an escape from the torment of feelings beginning to rise up inside me.