Book 1: Beyond Me and You

From the Start

We all see ourselves as the main characters of our own lives and that is true. You are the main character in your life and everyone else is just a supporting role. My name is Larkin but my family and friends call me Lark. My life use to be normal, quite cliché if you ask me. Two years ago I was just another girl, living in another small town in the middle of nowhere. Back then everything was decent, like every teenage girl I encountered my own problems with liking someone. In my case it was the most popular guy in school. He made me feel like I was not good enough or did not deserve him, well I actually convinced myself of all of that but in his defense he probably had no idea I existed. But my family helped me get through it all, they were the rock that kept my feet on the ground, they were the anchor holding me in place in the giant and often times scary sea.

My family was not big but it consisted of the three people I love the most in this world. I had my mom who gave birth to me and always gave the best advice when I needed it the most, she was like my very own philosophy teacher. Funny thing is that she actually wanted to major in philosophy but in the end she studied to be a surgeon in medical school. One night when her and her friends when out to celebrate graduating from medical school she met my dad who studied to be a lawyer. After that they got married and moved to this small town, where she became the lead surgeon in the only hospital in town, and my dad opened his own office. My dad always knew how to make me smile, he is the type to tell the cheesiest dad jokes but no matter how bad they were, I always ended up laughing until my stomach hurt. The next and final member of my family was not related to me by blood but we have basically have been best friends since we could walk. Vivian has been my best friend since we bumped heads in the sandbox at the playground, ever since then we have done everything together. We somehow managed to convince everyone at school that we were really twins when we started kindergarten.

My family was the best and all I could have ever wanted. My parents loved each other so much, they're the reasons why I have such high expectations when it comes to love. I have always wanted someone to look at me the way dad looked at mom. When dad looked at mom you could see it in his eyes how much he cared and loved her, well he still does. He looks at her with open and gentle eyes, not wanting to look away almost as if he were to, she would disappear. That is what I wanted, I wanted the genuine and true love they have for each other. I knew that they loved me unconditionally and I'm so grateful to have them as my parents.

One night my mom got a phone call from a hospital in the city, they needed her to go in to perform an emergency surgery. Oh I almost forgot, mom is a nationwide known surgeon, I guess you could say she was the best but she decided to stay here and continue working at this hospital. That same night she packed her luggage and got ready to leave with dad, I wanted to go with them but since I had school the next day mom would not let me. That night I invited Vivian over for a sleepover and we stayed up late watching "Me Before You" and crying during every sad scene. Well I cried more than Vivian, she was never the type to cry during a sad scene, the most I have seen is tears filling up her eyes but they disappear as fast as they form.

Then I got a phone call that sounded like any other phone call except it was not, it was far from any other but it was not one I ever thought I would get. I answered to hear Mrs. Blake on the other side, Mrs. Blake is another surgeon who went to school with my mom. At first her voice sounded calm but the more she tried to speak, the more difficult it was to understand her words. And just like that I felt like my world was engulfed in flames when she said that one sentence.

"Your parents were involved in a car accident"

I do not remember what happened after that but I do remember finding myself being driven to the hospital by Vivian's mother. The car ride felt eternal but eventually we made it to the hospital. I remember the sound of my feet running through the hollow corridors of the hospital, that is until I found myself in front of Mrs. Blake who was in tears as she walked away from a doctor. Her face was covered in tears and I knew from then something was wrong. She walked towards me and pulled me in for a tight hug, her grip making me lose my breath.

"How is dad?" I asked.

"He is okay" she murmured.

"And mom?" I asked causing there to be a silence like no other. After a few seconds, Mrs. Blake finally spoke.

"Your mom..is..dead"

Those four words made my world engulfed in flames turn to complete ashes. You know that weird beeping sound you randomly hear at times but no one else can hear it? That is exactly what I heard as I saw the rapid movement around me, for once in my life I felt like I could not breathe no matter how much I tried. I have always been scared of slowly suffocating in a small room but I never thought it would happen when I had more than enough space. Although the walls were far from me, I felt like there was no air. And just like that my mind went blank and the room disappeared, along with any form of light.

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