Slipping Away

Chapter 12

It was the first day of the ninth week when I heard the news. A group of people entered the room. I woke up from my doze, hearing the noises of walkie-talkies. A hush settled over the room and a person stepped forward to talk. It was a policeman. The whole group of people were policemen, apart from Liam, but he was there already. Suddenly things seemed very serious. Why were there policemen in my room? What did they want? What had happened? Too many questions. The policeman who had stepped forward had begun to speak. He was speaking directly to me. I briefly wandered whether he believed that I could hear him or not."Molly, I am afraid there is some bad news. At four o'clock this afternoon, Karen Parker, your mother, and David Parker, your father, were involved in a serious car crash with three other vehicles, one of which hit their car head on. Both of their injuries were very serious, and they was brought here, to Southampton Hospital, by air ambulance. The doctors and nurses did all they could but ... I am afraid that they did not survive. I'm very sorry." The shock hit me like a tsunami. Mum? Dad? Dead? It didn't seem real. How could they be? Sure, Mum'd been the worst mother imaginable over the past few weeks, and I hated her, but I hadn't wanted her to die. Now she was gone ... what would I do? And Dad. He was gone ... and without ever saying goodbye. An overwhelming sense of sorrow overtook my body, the kind that you can only understand if you have felt it yourself. Both of my parents were gone in an instant. Where would I live? Who would I live with? What would happen to the house? I had so many questions, so many questions I was unable to ask. Liam grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight.  My mind clouded over with despair and heart-wrenching sorrow. I hadn't even cared about my parents any more, yet I felt such despair. The human mind is very confusing and complex. I vaguely registered that the policemen had now left the room. I was left alone with Liam. I think he was in shock as well. He didn't say anything. He knew exactly how I felt and how words weren't necessary. Last year, when we were just friends, his dad was killed in a head-on crash with a drunk driver. Liam was totally devastated and his stammer got so bad he could hardly speak, not that he spoke much then. I hadn't known what to do, so I just spent as much time with him as possible, just being, not talking. He told me afterwards that that was the best thing to do. He was doing that for me then, and he was right. It was the best thing to do. All I needed was someone by my side. Someone to tell me it was all going to be all right, even when it wasn't ...