A Healing Heart - Riverview Series book 1

Prologue

The atmosphere in the Suburban was light and happy. My family and I were on our way home after a New Year's party, it was late, and I was exhausted. It was a cold night, as it often was in the mountains of northern Oregon, and a light dusting of snow covered the roads. My dad was driving, his right hand linked with my mom's. They still seemed so much in love after seventeen years of marriage.

My younger brother Brandon, who had just turned nine a few days before Christmas, had begged to sit in my usual seat behind my dad, and this time I gave in and let him.

Brooke, my four-year-old sister, was sitting in her car seat behind my mom and, after five minutes, was already fast asleep, holding tightly to her pink satin blanket that she still couldn't be without. I often teased her about it, trying to tell her she was a big girl now, but she loved that thing. I think this was her fourth replacement blanket after the many washings and adventures she had dragged them through.

Climbing into the third row in the Suburban behind my sister, I leaned my head against the back of the seat. My eyes were closed and I was thinking about the fun we'd just had with the Halseys. Getting to stay up late, shooting off firecrackers, and banging on pots and pans never got old. Our family and theirs had been friends forever, and we were always together, going camping, skiing, having BBQs. We were like family.

I'd just dozed off when I heard my parents scream from the front seat and felt the Suburban slide sideways into the oncoming traffic. The sudden impact jolted my siblings awake. A loud sound like a gunshot blasted through the truck as the airbags deployed. My brother's and sister's screams blended with my parents' as tires screeched, glass shattered, and the crunching of metal against metal sliced through the dark night.

My throat burned as I realized I was screaming as well. The Suburban slammed into the guardrail, the impact causing the vehicle to flip. All at once, everything went deathly silent, and I was numb as the truck began to tumble down the left embankment. The rotation made me nauseous as we tumbled over and over.

Shoes, jackets, toys, and sippy cups were tossed throughout the truck. There was a final loud thump, and blackness consumed me.

I was not sure how much time went by before I could hear people talking around me. I was groggy, and my body felt heavy and sore. Trying to open my eyes was near impossible; it was like they were sealed shut. Forcing them open I caught sight of my sister's beloved blanket, lying a few feet from me, splattered with blood. Stunned and frightened, I succumbed to the warm and reassuring darkness that engulfed my mind and fell into a deep sleep.