The Serious and The Stoic

Chapter 31

I'm dreaming. I know I'm dreaming I can tell the difference between dream and reality but this dream feels so real. Too real. I'm back in the car with my parents but the soft orange glow is gone. The rain is pounding on the car, my dad is squinting at the window, shoulders tense. Mom turned off the radio annoyed at the static that kept interrupting the music.

"Mom do we have anymore snacks?" My voice was small and high pitched.

Prepubescent.

"No baby, we ate them all but we're almost at the cabin and they have dinner waiting for us,"

"But I'm hungry now.."

"You know what I think I got some sun flowe seeds in the glove compartment," dad reached over toward mom.

"Honey watch out !!"

My moms sudden scream made me tense, there's a mud slide, moms scream also scared dad and he swerved off the road. For a second I felt time stand still and then we crashed down on something and I felt the seatbelt dig dangerously deep into my neck. The windshield shattered at the impact and the piece flew into the car dangerously. I felt my neck swing forward and back and I heard a deafening crack.

"Mom! Dad!" I cried out, my hands fumbling with my seatbelt, despite my pain I knew we needed to get out.

I slowly became aware of the water leaking into the car. Dad was unconscious mom was looking around in a daze her head was bleeding.

"Mommy.. mom what's happening?" No answer. "Mom!"

I reached forward to unbuckle her and dads seatbelts. Dads let go easily but moms was stuck. I yanked as hard as I could, the water already reaching her and dad's waste.

"Mom it's stuck! Mom!" At this point the fear was too much, it built up in my chest and made me feel as if I couldn't breathe.

I checked dad and I choked back a sob seeing glass all over his body and a big bloody gash on his forehead. Suddenly as if everything snapped into place in her mind my mom started struggling with her seatbelt.

"Baby hurry and get out of the car, climb into the back and open the back window while it's still above water, go baby hurry before we're all the way under and you can't,"

"But what about you and dad,"

"I'll get me and daddy out of here just go baby!"

Tears sprung into my eyes and I climbed into the back, racing the water to the trunk. Mom was staring up at me, fully submerged in the water.

"I love you," she mouthed, then she looked down and grabbed dad's limp hand.

I opened window and climbed out, water quickly started filling the car and it submerged in seconds I started floating in the water, the rain pelting the ocean surface, the cold making my body numb. I waited for them struggling to stay afloat. I couldn't stay up anymore and started to feel my self sinking and the gentle waves pulling me toward the nearby shore all the sounds crashed into my ears, my head was pounding I could barely feel the rocks against my skin with the numbness from the cold.

The waves crashing. The rain hitting the surface.

My moms last 'I love you' replaying in my head.

I woke up with a gasp, choking on my breath, tears in my eyes that feeling of fear in my chest again except different.. I'm sad and terrified and confused and so many more emotions and i can't breathe and i don't want to feel them anymore. I don't want to feel them.