Subconscious - Awake

Adam Hayes

My busted, ancient looking, army green truck took up a whole entire parking spot, which left only a little room for me to open the driver side door to squeeze in. My birthday, being so early in the school year, allowed me to get my driving license before most of the other kids in my class. Ben threw his backpack into the truck bed and slumped into the passenger side. I've been taking him home since I could drive, seeing as his mom died when has was only five years old and his dad didn't get off work until six. Our school ended at three in the afternoon, giving us enough daylight to go outside and soak up the sun. Having to sit for seven hours a day honestly sucked. I dropped him off after inviting him to go play some basketball or go for a run, but he still hadn't finished one of his art projects and insisted I invite Reese instead. The thought of her brings a wave of questions crashing through my head again. I had only met her that day but it felt as if I had met her at the beginning of school with the rest of my new friends.

Sure, why not?

Maybe because we saw her almost explode with smoke and float more than two feet off of the ground. No biggie. I couldn't help but think, What if this is all my fault? I mean I was the one that hit her in the head and made her pass out. But what could I have hit that turned her into...that?

The small car that was in front of me ran the red light, bringing me out of my own thoughts. Fortunately, my house was only seven minutes from Ben's, so I only had to deal with bad drivers three more minutes.

When I stepped through the front door, a strange smell enveloped my nose. The air smelt savory like my favorite meal, lasagna. My mom comes from a long line of Italians, and the stereotype about how much they love to cook? Mostly true. Mom loves cooking one thing and one thing only, pasta. Every time that she tried to cook anything else besides pasta, she ended up burning it.

"Hey, I'm home!" I scream in the general direction of the kitchen while slipping off my backpack. I wandered down to the kitchen expecting to see my mom at the stove. Instead, all I found was a pot of burned ground beef. My eyes widened and my pulse quickened as my body went into panic mode. I raced up the stairs, pulling out my phone to call her. "Mom!" I bellowed while dialing her number. "Hello!" I screamed again, but there was only silence. Fear seemed to claw at my throat as jumbled thoughts clouded my mind. I put the phone to my ear waiting for her to pick up. It rang twice before I heard the sound of an incoming call coming from downstairs. Trying not to trip, I thundered back down the steps only to find her phone sitting on the sofa armrest. It was buzzing as my picture flashed on the screen. I looked down at my own phone and ended the call as my heart seemed to stop.

Where is she?