Ragged Soul

"Adora!" my mother called to me from the bottom of the steps, "The charity breakfast for Open Arms starts in thirty minutes, are you sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"Mom! Just leave already. I'll be fine!" My voice was muffled slightly by my dark blue comforter, but I was content on staying where I was.

I heard the door slam shortly after, so I was confident she had heard me.

I drifted off to a deep sleep, not caring that I should get up to get ready soon.

I grimaced as the light streamed in through the window, causing my eyes to go momentarily blind due to the drastic change from dark to light.

How long did I sleep?

I peered over at my alarm clock as my eyes adjusted to the room, 8:40.

Mom and Dad left at 8:20, so that meant I only slept for about twenty minutes.

Setting my feet below my bed and onto the floor, I stood up just as the room started shaking.

I fell back to the bed with a soft thud, my mind frozen in fear.

The shaking got harder and I struggled to get a grip on the mattress. The picture above my bed that showed my parents and I, crashed down, narrowly missing my head and landing on my stomach, knocking the air out of me. I lay there gasping for my breath, my eyes darting around the room.

This was my first experience in an earthquake in Sacramento. I knew they happened often here but in my three years of living here, I had never been through one, until now.

Though the earthquake only lasted about a minute and a half, the damage was done. My room was practically in shreds. All my belongings that were previously on my dresser were now littering the floor.

Splashes of green, pink, and purple from the nail polish I used to paint my nails just yesterday had shattered on the hardwood flooring.

The walls seemed stable, but, thanks to my nanny in third grade, I knew they could collapse at any moment.

I needed to get out of the house, pronto.

I dug threw the mess on my floor until I found my shoes and slipped them on, to avoid stepping on any glass. I grabbed the picture of my parents and I before sprinting down the stairs and out of the house.

Now that I was outside of the house, I sighed, thankful I didn't get up at the time my parents left since I could have been in the kitchen or somewhere where all the sharp items are.

My parents, I gasped aloud.

Are they safe?

Did they feel the earthquake?

Are they still at the charity event?

Hundreds of questions shot through my head, but I was too shook up to think of the plus sides of this situation.

I stood outside pondering about where my parents could have been during the earthquake. I jogged along the side of the road, searching for a safe spot to rest.  

Settling on a bench next to the road, I sat down on it and immediately felt a chill run through my body, reminding me of my current attire.  

I was still wearing my pajamas which consisted of only a light blue tank top and matching shorts that reached just above mid-thigh.

I heard police sirens running by and jumped to my feet, waving rapidly.

I probably looked like an insane prostitute at that moment. I was jumping up and down waving my hands in the air, my tank top was riding up and my obliviousness to it wasn't helping.

Finally, a single cop car slowed to halt about ten feet ahead of me, the flashing lights still going until the engine cut off and the door flew open.

An officer took slow, steady steps out of the car and stared at me. He appeared in pain for a moment before he uttered out a few choice curse words and walked towards me.

"Ma'am," he stated slowly, as if he were afraid I was going to run, "I need you to head back to the station with me. We just suffered from an earthquake, no one should be on the roads."

I just nodded my head and followed him back to his car. His car was not like an average cop car, it was a dark, forest green and the curious dents in it proved the fact that it had definitely seen better days.

I opened the passenger side door and slid in the seat, just as I noticed that there was someone in the back seat.

I nearly jumped out of the car as I took notice of him. He wasn't handcuffed, but the aura he gave off emitted danger. His short black hair was ruffled up as if he had just gotten out of bed. His left ear had a small white stud at the bottom. His skin was tan and dark, in contrast to his white tank top that showed off his bulging muscles. The light green color that his eyes showed made me wonder if he was wearing contacts, but I was almost positive he wasn't. He scowled at me momentarily before shifting his gaze to the window.

I copied his movements and stared out the window as well, taking in the dusty landscape that California was known for. As I shifted, I realized I still had my parents picture stuck in the waistband of my pants. I took it out and stared at it, causing the questions I was previously distracted of to come back at full force.

Where are they now?

Are they okay?

Did they get out alright?

A sick feeling in my stomach told me that there was a high possibility that all of the questions I was wondering would not have positive answers to them.

___________

I was writing this story with my friend, but she's not going on Wattpad anymore );

I'll write some more later, but for now I'm done.

~Emerald