The Crash

I stared out the window of the car. My family and I were driving to my big high school graduation which, for some reason, was being held twelve hours away from the high school.

It was storming furiously outside, and my family was starting to freak out a bit.

“Maybe we should stop?” Mom suggested, looking outside nervously. “It’s really pouring and the roads could get slippery.”

Dad shook his head. “If we want to make it in time for River’s graduation, we can’t stop.”

I sighed. “If it’s getting dangerous, the graduation doesn’t matter.”

“It’s not really dangerous right now, it’s just rain,” Dad said, glancing back at us with a very fake smile.

My twelve-year-old brother, Andres, and I exchanged looks.

Was it really possible to have an accident in this rain? If it was, shouldn’t we stop?

Andres cleared his throat. “Dad, I really think we should stop, I learned all about how many people have crashed during big storms like this.”

A huge streak of lightning struck the ground, and less than two seconds later, a super loud thunder boomed.

I screamed, covering my ears.

Mom let out a yelp as well, and Dad tried to regain control of the steering wheel.

“We seriously need to stop,” I told Dad, but he shook his head.

I bit my lip, turning my phone on. My friends had sent a message, so I logged into my phone to see what they had said.

Man, it is raining hard, my friend, Luna, wrote.

I know, my parents already stopped at a gas station, they said the graduation would have to wait, agreed my other friend, Melody.

My internet connection faltered, so it wouldn’t let me send any messages.

I sighed, turning my phone off again.

“Thomas, we need to stop driving now,” Mom said, her voice quivering as more thunder roared.

Dad sighed. “I guess you’re right, there’s a gas station pretty near, I think.”

I watched as the rain rolled down the glass window.

My six-year-old sister, Emmy, stirred in the back. She had been asleep, and I didn’t know how she hadn’t woken up with all the thunder.

“What happening?” she whimpered, looking out the window.

“There’s a storm,” Mom said, smiling to make Emmy feel better. “There’s nothing to worry about, dear.”

Another boom rang out, and Emmy started sobbing.

Man, why couldn’t she just go back to sleep? Crying was not a good addition to what we were already facing.

Mom tried to quiet her. “Please, Emmy, it’s okay! River, get her stuffed animal!”

I grabbed her bag and dug the kitty-cat stuffie out of it. “Here, Dawnie is here to help you!” I handed the cat stuffie to her, and she quieted a bit.

I gripped my bag, needing something to hold.

Then everything happened so fast. There were headlights in front of us, coming straight toward us at top speed, and then there was loud thunder, lots of screeches, the car whirling around, and then everything going black.

♥♥♥

My eyes shot open, sound ringing in my ears. Where was I? What happened?

At first, everything was blurry, and all I could hear was the ringing, but then things cleared up a bit.

I was lying down in a car with nurses all around me. I was pretty sure I was in an ambulance, but I couldn’t be sure. Maybe I wasn’t even in a car, I was still pretty messed up.

I sat up slowly, but a kind-looking woman-nurse shook her head. She had brown hair and tan skin, she looked about my dad’s age.

“Don’t sit up, we have to get you to the hospital.”

And then they gave me something to drink, and I fell asleep again.

This time when I woke up, I was in a room, connected to machines that were beeping, and people talking in low voices.

My arm was imprisoned in a big, white cast, and I could barely feel it.

Everything was still fuzzy, and I wasn’t sure what had happened.

Pain shot through my head when I tried to sit up.

The same nurse I had seen in the ambulance was standing there, looking at me.

“What…happened?” I said weakly, squinting.

The nurse sighed. “There was an accident.”

And then it all rushed back to me. The graduation, the storm, the car coming toward us.

“Where’s my family?” I asked urgently, wanting to know if they were okay.

“They’re under treatment,” the nurse said. “You can’t see them right now. I’m sorry.”

I looked down at the white blanket I was lying on, the pain in my head increasing.

“Are you feeling okay?” the nurse wondered.

I nodded, only making it worse.

She sighed, not looking convinced. “Well, I’m Ginny.”

I closed my eyes as the world started to spin again.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

I nodded, biting my lip. “Y-yeah.”

Ginny gave me something to drink, and then I felt sleepy again, so I went back to bed.

When I woke up again, I noticed there was a window in the room, and it was beautiful out there.

“Would you like something to eat?” Ginny asked me, smiling behind her mask. “And how are you feeling this morning?”

“I’m feeling…pretty good,” I answered, but there was a tiny bit of pain in my head. “And yes, I’ll take some food. Thank you.”

Ginny went to go get the food, leaving me with my thoughts—and the beeping from the machine.

There were no other doctors or nurses there at the time, and I felt a little worried. But I didn’t know why.

Where were my parents? And Andres, and Emmy? Were they okay?

Ginny came back with some porridge and orange juice which she gave to me.

I scooped some of the porridge into my mouth, feeling surprised when it tasted really good.

“Where are my parents?” I asked once I was finished eating.

Ginny pulled her mask up a bit. “I will tell you later.”

“No, tell me now,” I said, my eyes welling with tears.

Ginny walked over to me. “It’s fine, River. Everything is gonna be alright, so don’t worry, please.”

I wanted to yell, but I was overwhelmed with so many emotions. I was mad because she was being annoying, and I was sad because I didn’t know what was gonna happen. What if my parents weren’t okay?

“Get some sleep, you need your rest,” Ginny suggested, giving me the sour thing to drink again.

The last time I drank that stuff, I couldn’t really taste the sourness, though I didn’t know why.

I fell asleep again, even though I wanted to stay awake and see my family.

This time when I woke up, there was a different face hovering over me. He was wearing a mask, he had tan skin, dark eyes, and hair covered by a blue hairnet.

“Hello, River. I’m Dr. Ryan, I’m here to make sure you’re doing alright after…the accident,” the man said.

I scrunched my nose. “I feel fine!”

“Yes, and that’s a good sign, but we just want to be sure,” Dr. Ryan said, sighing. “And we’re going to give you a CT scan, to make sure your brain wasn’t damaged when you hit it.”

I frowned. “I hit my head? I thought it was only my arm.”

Dr. Ryan shook his head. “From what we can tell, you hit your head against the seat in front of you, resulting in a concussion.”

“What about my parents?”

“Your—”

Ginny held up her hand, pulling him away. They started whispering things I couldn’t hear, and that made me feel very annoyed.

“Well, it’s fine,” Dr. Ryan said after a minute. “Anyway, we will have the CT scan later today.”

Hmm…what day was it, anyway?

“What time is it?” I questioned, glancing around the dim room.

Ginny looked at a clock that I didn’t realize was there. “12:00 noon.”

I shut my eyes, wanting to go back to sleep, wanting to go back to the dreams where nothing mattered.

♥♥♥

The CT scan went pretty well, Dr. Ryan said I looked good—or at least, pretty good. I had a mild concussion, but that was all.

The next few days were a routine of eating, sleeping, eating, sleeping. The nurses and doctors refused to tell me anything about my parents or siblings.

Then four days after the crash, I woke up at 11:32 a.m. And the only person in the room was my father. He had a scab on his forehead and his leg was bandaged with a cast, so he had to use crutches to walk. Other than that, he looked exactly the same.

I literally cried with joy. At least he was okay! And maybe he could tell me something about Mom, Andres, and Emmy.

Dad hugged me so tight I could barely breathe, but I didn’t care. Once we were done hugging, and I was done sobbing, my dad looked me in the eye.

“Where’s Mom and Andres and Emmy?” I just had to know.

Dad shook his head. “It’s better for you not to know at the moment.”

That was never a good sign. What had happened? What had happened to my mom or my siblings? Or worse, what had happened to all of them? What if they had died? What if I would never see any of them ever again?

I started sobbing again, and Dad supported me.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, smiling a little. “It’s gonna be fine. And I promise to tell you everything later.” He had so many tears in his eyes and down his cheeks, and that made me feel worse.

Something had happened. But what it was, I didn’t know.

The next few days passed quickly, and soon it had been a week since the crash. Dad had come to visit me many times, but I still couldn’t really get out of my bed.

If I tried to stand up, everything would spin and I would have to lay down immediately after.

Eight days after the horrible incident, my dad showed up in my hospital room for dinner.

“How are you?” Dad asked, sitting down slowly on a chair that had a table connected to it.

I sighed. “I’m okay, I guess. But I really, really, really want to know about Mom, Andres, and Emmy. Please, tell me if they’re okay.”

Dad sighed. “Do you think you’re strong enough to hear it?”

I nodded slowly, a bit scared of what would happen next. “Yes.”

Dad bit his lip, looking straight into my eyes. “Well…Andres is fine, though he did break his arm and his leg, that’s why you haven’t seen him yet.”

I closed my eyes, thanking God that Andres was alright. “What about the others?”

“Emmy…her injuries are a little more significant.”

“What happened to her?” I prompted when he didn’t say anything else.

Dad took a bite of food and I groaned.

“Come on, Dad. I need to know.”

He swallowed. “Okay…Emmy hit her head extremely hard, and she is having some…side effects.”

“What do you mean?” I wondered, sitting up a little more.

“She lost most of her memories, and the doctors don’t know if she will ever remember them again,” Dad blurted, closing his eyes as tears streamed down his face.

I stayed silent for a bit, processing that information. “Is she gonna be okay?”

Dad looked at his tray of food. “The doctors don’t know. They’ve been testing her left and right brain, but they just don’t know what’s going on. She woke up for an hour a few days ago, and she didn’t remember anything. And then since she went to bed again, she hasn’t woken up.”

“She’s in a coma?!” I yelled, making a fast movement that I immediately regretted when pain shot through my hurt arm.

“No, we don’t know that,” Dad said slowly. “But…the doctors said it’s a possibility. But she could wake up anytime.”

I buried my head in my one good hand.

There was a long silence, and then I looked up. “What about Mom?”

Dad looked away, sniffling. “She…”

I was pretty sure I knew what he was gonna say, but I was hoping, begging that he wouldn’t say it. That I was being stupid and it was not what I thought it was.

But then he said it, and at first I didn’t believe it. And then he said it again.

Those dreaded words echoed inside my mind, she passed away. She passed away. She passed away.

I cried harder than I ever had before in my life. It wasn’t possible, was it? She couldn’t be gone, she just couldn’t!

Dad hugged me for longer than five minutes. Then Dr. Ryan and Ginny came in, and Dad had to leave.

I had tear-streaked cheeks and puffy red eyes. Dr. Ryan and Ginny figured out what had happened without me even telling them.

I hadn’t been able to sleep that night, even with the sleeping thing Ginny gave me.

The next morning, my sadness turned to anger. If we hadn’t gone on the road for my graduation, Mom would’ve still been alive.

I punched the pillow, and Ginny rushed over to me.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“What do you think?” I snapped. “My mom just died!”

She backed away. “I know, and I’m really sorry.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sure, but you don’t know what it’s like for someone to die!”

“Yes—”

“I don’t care!” I yelled, letting myself scream and sob.

Once my fit was over, I just sat there in bed, thinking about anything other than my mom. But that was really hard.

As the days passed, I stayed in the hospital, but I could walk around a bit better. I was still sad-mad about Mom, but it was getting better.

I woke up one morning, and Ginny was there with Andres. His brown hair was trimmed shorter, and there was a scar-scab thing above his left eye. His leg and his arm were covered with a cast, just like my arm.

“Hiya, River,” he said sadly.

I got up and hugged him, ignoring the small amount of dizziness that arrived with the movement.

Something about the tone in his voice told me he knew about Mom and Emmy.

“You okay?” I asked quietly after we were done hugging.

He nodded. “I mean…” He blinked a lot, definitely trying hard not to cry. “I miss her, River!”

I squeezed him in an embrace again. “I do too. Trust me, I do too.”

I didn’t know who I hated more, the stupid guy who drove into us, or myself. Was it my fault that Mom had died?

Then an even worse thought came to mind. What if Dad blamed me for what happened to Mom? He hadn’t visited me in a while…and him blaming me was worse than me blaming me.

A few weeks passed, and all I could think about was Dad being mad at me.

Ginny walked into the room one afternoon. “How are you feeling? You can go home soon, you know.”

I didn’t want to go home, all I wanted to do was sleep forever. There was no life without Mom. Who would cook dinner or lunch? Who would wash our clothes? Who would care for me when I’m sick?

“You’re missing your mother,” Ginny said quietly, sitting down on the side of my bed. “And I know how you feel.”

I shook my head. “No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do. People die all the time in this hospital,” Ginny said. “And it’s really hard, even if I didn’t know them. But I know for a fact that your mom is in Heaven right now, watching over you. She wants you to continue your life, she doesn’t want you to feel like life is nothing without her, because it’s not.”

I stared into Ginny’s eyes. “I…know.”

And then suddenly, everything felt warm inside of me. Everything felt new, like things would never be bad again.

Three days later, we went home, and even though life would never be the same, it would still move on. And I didn’t want one thing to change my entire future, so it was hard, yeah. But the pain eventually faded to basically nothing.