Time

~Chapter 1~

I had just pressed 'publish' to post my new story when it happened. A knock came from the door. My heart stopped. I hated when that happened when my parents weren't home. This time, they had gone out with my older sister, Maggie, for the audition to get into Julliard as a pianist.

Quickly shaking off my ridiculous fear of social interaction, I forced myself out of my chair. That was when the knock came again, except this time, a voice had accompanied it, "OPEN UP! POLICE!" A man shouted from behind the door. Oh shit, there went my heart again.

My pace quickened in fear of them knocking the door off its hinges. My parents would have been pissed if that happened, and I wouldn't blame them. I opened the door and squeaked, "Hello."

"This is the Turner's residence, correct?" He paused, waiting for me to reply. But I couldn't, I was too scared to speak. It had to be bad news when they asked for you by name. I simply nodded in reply to get him to continue, "According to my paperwork, here, there is only one other person who lives in this home. Is your name Amser?"

"Y-yes," I stammered, realizing that there would be no way that I could get through this conversation without talking. I breathed in, then out, before plucking up the courage to ask, "What do you mean by only other one?"

"This may be a lot to take in. May my partner and I come in and talk with you? Preferably a place where you can sit down." He asked, gesturing over to his partner. Her facial muscles moved slightly, recognizing that she is brought into the conversation and nodded her head in agreement with her partner.

I moved away from the door to let them in, opening the door wider to give them more room. I, then, showed them into the living room and I sat back in my chair as they took the couch, which just happened to be directly across from me.

It took a moment for the man to find the right words to put hat he needed to say as lightly as possible. Then, after a few seconds, he realized that he couldn't think of anything, so tapped his partner on the knee, signaling for her to speak instead.

She nodded at him, understanding what she was supposed to do before starting, "So, first off, my name is Agent Simmons, and this is Agent Jones. We've come here this evening to explain the recent car accident on the corner of Cedar and Washington. We don't have many details yet, but it appears that someone was drunk driving and hit a Chevy Equinox," She paused for a moment and my mind began racing. Someone had hit my family car. Was my family okay? Was anyone else hurt in the accident?

Agent Simmons cleared her throat before continuing, "In the car, we pronounced two dead at the scene, and the third was rushed to St. Mercy's Hospital in critical condition. "

My breath did a quick intake of air, making me choke. I was stunned. How could this be possible? I had always looked at my parents as people who could never be hurt and could protect my sister and me from anything. But now, at least, one of them is dead. And Maggie. Maggie had her whole life planned out for herself. She was going to be accepted into Julliard, one of the most prestigious schools in the country. Then, she would move to New York to be closer to it, meet a nice guy to settle down with. She's wanted kids forever, but now, what if she can't because of some person who decided to drive drunk.

"Who's at St. Mercy's?" I asked, " I want to see them. Now." I said. I think I was trying so hard to keep it together that Agent Jones had to remind me that It's ok to cry.

After he told me told me who I was going to see at the hospital, and on the ride there, I completely broke down in tears. When you're crying hard enough, it's not easy to stop, but I knew that I had to remain strong. If not for me, but for Maggie.

When I had found out that it was her, I couldn't help but sign in relief, as she was the one with a life ahead of her. Even though she's in critical condition, she still has a shot at getting into Julliard. She still has a shot at living out her dream life.

It had taken us 15 minutes to drive to the hospital, five to get signed in, and then for a doctor to come out and explain to me Maggie's condition. "She has suffered head trauma, several broken ribs, and severe blood loss," Dr. Nelson explained, "The good news is that she will survive. The bad news is that it will take several months for her to recover, but even then, she still may not make a full recovery."

My heart dropped. That meant there was an unlikely chance that she would make it in. But that didn't matter, not at this moment. What mattered was that she was still alive. "Can I see her?" I asked, tears still falling down my face.

"You can, but she is currently unconscious, " She replied. I didn't care about anything at that moment. I just needed to see her. And I would have done whatever it took to get in that room and see her.

I followed her from the waiting room and down several hallways until we made it to a room with the number 736 labeled on the door. This had to be her room. I pushed it open and there, to my left, played my sister on the hospital bed with bandages wrapped around her head, ribs, and arms. There were tubes sticking into her practically everywhere.

I nearly cried harder just looking at the state of her but I knew that I must be thankful that she is still alive. My hand enclosed around hers and I hoped beyond hope that she could feel my hand.

"Maggie," I whispered, "Please, I want more than anything for you to recover and get into Julliard. It's the thing that you've wanted all your life and I while I wasn't always completely on board with it before, I am now, I promise. Just please, wake up."

She didn't, however. And I was left for the next two days to plan and execute the funeral. The police allowed me to stay at home, as I was 16, but they told me that I would have to go live with someone very soon.

But, after disclosing that I had no known relatives, it was starting to look like I was going to have to go into the system. Until some unknown Uncle emailed my caseworker saying that he would take me in.

After several hours of paperwork and proof of identification, I was released to go home and pack for my eight hour trip to the middle of nowhere.