Saving Grace

Chapter One: Grace

    Tires squeal loudly and I hears the familiar sound of two cars colliding. The blue SUV squeals as it is dragged against the ground and I hear a little girl screaming from inside. But it's not just any little girl, it's my  little girl screaming. 

"Mommy! Mommy help me! Please, Mommy!" Her tiny voice screams over and over again. 

I can't move. I can only watch in horror as the SUV bursts into flames, the little voice never stopping its screaming. 

"Mommy why didn't you help me? Mommy! Mommy!" 

I scream as I try to reach out to help me little girl, but I still can't move. 

"Grace! How could you let this happen? Why didn't you help us!" His voice cried out and my whole body went numb. The voice that comforted me when I was sad, the voice that told jokes that made me laugh until I cried, the voice that whispered how much he loved me before drifting off to sleep every night. This voice now called out to me- accusing. 

"I tried!" I wanted to yell, but my voice stopped working. 

"Grace! Grace! Grace!" 

And then the whole world exploded. 

    I woke up with a start, sitting straight up in bed. Ellie whines at my feet, complaining that I disturbed her from her precious sleep. I pull my knees up to my chest and bury my face in my hands. It doesn't take me long to realize that my face is soaked from my tears. 

   I had hoped that these nightmares would have subsided by now, but they still come at least once a week. Even though they were frequent, they never got better. The fear of nightmares made it hard to fall asleep, but me more grateful to wake up. 

  I sighed and looked at the clock on my nightstand to check the time. 5:45. An hour earlier then when I would normally wake up. I throw the covers off my sweaty body and stand up. There is no way I'd be able to fall back asleep, so I might as well get up and start getting ready. 

  Ellie whines again from me disturbing her, before settling back down on the bed with a content sigh. I roll my eyes at the world's most spoiled dog. Slowly, I stretch my sore muscles and head to the bathroom adjoined to my bedroom to shower. I can hear the sound of the ocean crashing against the shore outside. Even though the storms from last night have subsided, the waves still roll. I enjoy the sound as I step into the shower. 

  As the warm water pours down my tense body, I can't help but think of what my life was like a year ago. Of what my life would be like now if that accident had never happened. He would probably be standing here in the shower with me, leaving wet kisses on my neck and making me laugh. He would get ready for his day, mentally preparing himself for the grueling day ahead at the hospital. I would wake the sleeping princess down the hall then go upstairs to make breakfast and coffee. We would all sit together at the table, eating and talking while the ocean rolled in the background. He would kiss us goodbye and leave for work. I would get ready and make sure her clothes were set aside and actually matched. We would leave the house later, her heading to preschool and me heading to the bookstore. 

   We had the perfect life-the kind that you read about in books or see in movies. We met in high school and dated up until college. He was two years older than me, so I followed him to school here in Florida. We got married spontaneously when I was only nineteen years old. He was in his second year into medical school and I was a senior in college. Only our parents were present at the ceremony, and the reverend. I wore a white dress that I bought in the mall and he wore a simple white button down and black pants. None of us bothered with shoes since we got married on the beach.