Leaving Laurabelle Falls

Prologue

 Let's say that you've had a few too many drinks. Let's say you decide to get behind the wheel anyway. Let's say, and for your sake I pray to God that this is true, it is the dumbest mistake you've made in your entire life.

I wasn't sober, either. But I wasn't driving, was I? You had the wheel in your hands, Madeline had the wheel in hers. It was pouring down rain outside.

Red looks green to some people.

Let's say I don't remember the fear, or the pain. Let's say that the way the car flipped had me feeling like my life was plunged into slow-motion. Let's say I saw Maddie's lipstick flip through the air as it sunk down to the wrong-way ceiling. I thought, in that moment, that it was exactly the way it would look falling if the car was full of molasses.

It wasn't the blackout that did it to me. It wasn't feeling like I wasn't in control of my jelly arms and legs after I woke up from the two-month coma. It wasn't the sudden realization that I could die at any moment, or the stress of dealing with insurance or medical bills.

Do you want to know how you changed my life? How you completely, and utterly, flipped my world upside down? (It's okay, you can laugh at that. Believe me, laughter is the only thing that might get you through this mess. I've been in therapy for awhile now. Sharon says it's the little things that get us through the hard times).

Your court date is coming up, and your lawyer contacted me to ask about my testimony. Said you were really sorry. Said you'd found God, or something. I thought I had too, for a little while. But we'll get to that point. We're definitely going there.

The least you can do is let me tell you my story. It's a long one.

Let me tell you about what I won't be talking about on the stand. Let me tell you about how those two months wreaked havoc on my mind and soul. Let me tell you about broken promises and parallel universes. Let me tell you about how coming back from the scariest place I'd ever been was somehow harder than going there in the first place.

Let me tell you about Laurabelle Falls.