They say you never know what you truly have until it's gone.
To Natalie Forbes, the life of punctuality, prioritizing, and positive thinking was all but foreign. Things always seemed to work out in her favor because of the "three p's" so there was no reason to stray from them. Staring at her reflection in the finger-printed, makeup stained mirror, she analyzed every square inch of herself. She was a sweet, skinny, hourglass; her medium-length brunette curls cascaded over her shoulders and back. She stared intently into the hazel green irises of her curious eyes. Flashing a stunning, ear-to-ear smile at the mirror, she thanked God for the wonders of metal braces. She only had one dimple, at the center of her leftside cheek. Natalie pressed her finger into the dimple, and sighed. Her perfectly arched eyebrows began to curve, and her stomach churned at the thought of the next few hours. Hearing her name being called from down from the old wooden steps of her two story home, her mind became refocussed. She slipped her cream maxi cardigan over her white polo, setting off the navy blue, high waisted skirt she had bought when shopping with her mother. Putting her long chained, golden owl necklace in the side pocket of her bag, her feet danced to the smell of bacon and eggs.
Her older brother Jesse had met her gaze as he stood against the edge of her doorway. Like his sister, Jesse too had intense, hazel green eyes and brunette curls; though his were trimmed to a short, tousled style. Jesse's white v-neck and slightly baggy maroon pants semmed to hug his fit body in all the right places. He slid his copper Aviator sunglasses down from the top of his head to the bridge of his nose and grinned at Natalie.
"Are you gonna want a ride to class? I don't start 'til noon..." Jesse grumbled. He was not exactly a 'morning person.' They both walked down to stairs and headed to the kitchen.
"If that's your way of offering, I guess!" Natalie laughed.
"Are my two babies ready for their first day back at school?" Anne asked. Anne Forbes was a woman with a heart of gold. She was beautiful, and not only because of her long brown wavy hair or fiery green eyes. No, Anne's beauty was reflected both inside and outside of her physical appearance. The caring, compassionate woman's attitude was that of a kind servant. Her hands alone had bandaged every cut and wiped every sad tear from Jesse's and Natalie's eyes. She was a woman of good faith in God, even in the death of her husband James. She was also a character of trust, loyalty, honesty, and of course, love.
"Mom, we're not babies anymore," Jesse chucked. "I mean, Nat's gonna graduate this year and I'm already a sophmore in college," he explained.
"Well," Anne began. "No matter what grade you're in, y'all are always gonna be my babies, ya hear me?" she playfully scolded, gently hitting Jesse across the back of his head with her oven mitt. The three laughed as they sat at the table to eat. After holding hands and reciting their prayers, they all dug into a hearty breakfast. Anne wiped her lips with her napkin and ceased to chew.
"I love you guys..." she began, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, "...to the moon and back." In a matter of seconds, the room fell silent. And dark. And cold.
-Four Years Before-
James Bartholomew Forbes sat in his car, His wife, Anne, was by side; physically, but not emotionally, As far as he knew, everyone seated in his 2002 Honda Tiburon despised each hair on his head.
"Look guys, I know it probably wasn't the wisest decision to keep this from you for so long... but you gotta trust me," James began. It had started to rain, and the windshield was covered with a light fog. Off in the distance, James could see the beautiful ranges. "A new house out in these rural areas will do this family plenty of good. I mean, Jesse, you could get job and save up for that car you've been wanting, huh? And Natalie! You're always talking about those girls who tease you around school, you won't have to worry about them anymore." James tried to reason with his kids, but Anne had interjected.
"Yeah James? And what about me, huh? I'm leaving behind everything I've ever known. I swear, sometimes you just don't stop to think, do you..." she mumbled. In the midst of all the complaints James had heard from Anne and Jesse, the only thing Natalie said, happened to be the only thing that James really heard in all the commotion.
"I hate you dad."
Everyone else seemed to have heard the dark, piercing words that escaped from Natalie's lips. With a sad smile, James peered at his daughter, who was sitting in the backseat.
"Well that's a problem missy... See, because I love you Natalie, to the moon and b-"
James had always said those words to Natalie, but that was the first, last, and only time in which he was not able to finish saying it. In the small amount of time that James stared into his daughter's eyes, thedrunk driver of a Jewel Osco semi-truck had fallen asleep at the wheel. Peering off into the left lane, the semi truck hit the Forbes' bright red Tiburon, head on. Their car had tipped over to the right, and flipped on it's top. The car turned a bit more, and the Forbes family felt themselves falling downwards as the car began to tip off the edge of a cliff. James struggled dazily to try and get his family out of the car.
"Jesse... Jesse, can you hear me!?" he had yelled.
"Yeah, I hear you dad!" Jesse's muffled voice cried.
"Alright, alright... Anne, Natalie, are you okay?"
"I'm here!" he had heard Anne scream out. No answer came from Natalie, and James' stomach seemed to turn inside out.
"NATALIE!" James yelled out with all of his strength. The hairs on his arms stood upright as he struggled to turn his head around. There he saw his daughter, in what seemed like a pile of broken bones and blood. Then suddenly, her chest broadened and sank, repeatedly. James was grateful for a sign of life.
"Okay, Jesse..." James struggled to breathe. "How badly are you hurt?"
"I think I'm alright dad. There'll be bruises in the morning but trust me, I'm okay," Jesse responded.
"What about you Anne?" James asked.
"My whole right side hurts James, I think my arm might be broken," she sighed in pain.
"Alright..." James thought. He looked down to his lap. A large piece of the front windshield was sliced through his left calve. "Jesse, take your mother out of the car. I don't care how you do it, just don't injure yourselves any further, you got it?" I'll... I'll get your sister out." James moved gently to take his seat belt off, but the car tilted even more. James grabbed ahold of the glass in his leg, and pulled it out as quickly as he could. After letting out a scream, he threw the glass out of the window. James noticed that he was bleeding out fast. Jesse got out of his seat and began to tend to his mother. As soon as James was sure they had gotten out, he crept to the backseat to reach Natalie. He carefully took her seat belt off and maneuvered it around her fragile body. Carrying her in his arms, he thought back to when she was first born. He had carried her similarly, with her head buried into his chest as he carried the rest of her body in his strong arms. Every bone in his body ached, but he still leaned forward to kiss her on the head. Her sweaty hair was matted down to her cut-streaked face, and James found himself crying.
After an alarming, dizzy spell, James knew his number one priority was to get Natalie out of the car. As if on cue to his thoughts, the car tipped even more. James felt the car fall off the cliff and he protectively wrapped his arms around her. From above, James could hear the screams of Anne and Jesse. James then felt the car come to a shuddering halt, and realized that it had gotten stuck in the thick branches of an old tree.
"We're okay!" James yelled up to the rest of his family. Natalie's cold body began to squirm around in his arms; he knew she was also losing blood rapidly. With Natalie still in his arms, James fought his way back to the front of the car. He became dizzier and dizzier by the minute. He stood on the tire of the car and flung Natalie in his shoulder. Climbing the rest of the branches, he made his way back to the edge of the cliff. Jesse grabbed Natalie from his father's tight grip. Anne grabbed James' hands, but then noticed his eyes beginning to roll to the back of his head.
"Anne..." James barely whispered before losing his grip on her hands.
"JAMES!" Anne yelled out as he fell backwards onto the car. Anne winced as she heard the sound of cracking bones. Before she even had a chance to think, the Honda Tiburon, along with the sole love of her life, toppled over the edge into a dark pit. They never even heard him hit the ground.
