Star Child

Shooting Stars

My messy hair blows freely in the wind. The temperature outside is neutral. Where I live it varies. I bite my lip as I hesitate to get into the car. I slowly open the car door, and stare at the back seat, then back at my house. "Goodbye" I whisper to myself as I ascend into the car.

My vision goes blurry from the tears in my eyes, and the lump in my throat makes it hard to breathe. Tears were running down Mason's face like waterfalls as he climbed into the driver's seat. My Dad sat in the passenger's seat, staring down at the bottle of medication resting on his lap. As Mason starts the car, I take a deep breath and remind myself that everything is going to be okay. Knowing I'm lying to myself, this is my only option. I gaze out the window at the place I call home. It gets farther in the distance as we drive away. I can hear Mason start to sob from the front of the car.

I brush my hand against the clear window, then spread my fingers apart and place my palm against it, trying to distract myself from what's happening.

"Guys" My Dad croaks.

"Y-yeah" Mason says through sobs, wiping his tears away. I hate seeing him like this. It's so new to me. My perspective of him has always been my strong, fearless big brother, and now he's breaking down.

"Try to keep it together Mason" I say gently, choking back tears.

"There's something I've wanted to say to you guys for a while now" My Dad continues.

"I just wanted to apologize from the very bottom of my heart for neglecting you. I'm so sorry I've treated you guys the way I have been. You don't deserve it. I havn't been a responsible parent and I realize that now. I don't know how I can make it up to you, but just know I love you guys, and I really didn't mean to make you feel unloved at any point. I was the problem. I couldn't handle things on an emotional level, and I'm just...I- I'm just so sorry."

Both Mason and I turn towards him with tears running down our cheeks.

"I just can't even tell you-

Suddenly the car is steered off the road. Mason loses control of the wheel and it starts to spin uncontrollably. The car jerkingly swerves and loses balance. It then falls in a ditch in the side of the road. I tense up and try to stay together. The car starts flipping consecutively, when some of the windows begin to shatter. I can't process what's happening. It's a blur in the moment and everything around me just seems like swirls and streaks of colour. It's all happening so quickly.

The car continues to flip. Finally, it stops. The car lands upside down, when finally, the airbags fly out. At this point the car is still, and all the windows are either shattered or cracked. I look around me. I feel a sharp pain throb in my forehead. My body aches all over, and I can already tell I'm bloodied and bruised almost everywhere. My wrist especially hurts.

I unbuckle my seatbelt and hold my hands up to the ceiling, which is now the floor, and crawl over the airbag. The window to my left is cracked, so I kick it continuously until it breaks. Glass fragments lay sprawled out all over the ground and road. To my left is the road, and to my right is the desert field. I mount myself out of the upside down window, being mindful of the glass below me. Ignoring the pain, I walk to the front windows to check on my Dad and Mason. They both lay there covered in blood. The glass is already shattered, so I can clearly see through.

Mason has a gash on his head that's bleeding profusely. One of his eyes is swollen shut. I look over at my dad. All I see is blood. All I want to do is cry, but it's far from the time for that.

"Guys. You need to get out of there" I say at an attempt to be loud, but all my energy is drained. Every inch in my body hurts so much. Mason's head slowly turns towards me. He leisurely works his way closer to the window and crawls out. He walks up the road in limping movements. When I start to question what he's doing, he collapses farther up the road.

He curls up into fetal position, then continues to sob. Tears roll down his face and intertwine with the blood oozing from his forehead. I stick my head into the car.

"Dad" I say biting my lip.

"Shut up!" Mason exclaims. He takes a breathe in between sobs.

"He- he's... not b-breathing." He says more gentle, the tone in his voice revealing that he's sorry for yelling at me, realizing it's not my fault. I understand him.

"Dad" I say one more time, not wanting to believe what had Mason said. No answer.

I can feel tears start to roll down my face. I can feel blood roll down my face. The lump in my throat feels like an explosion.

"He's dead!" Mason yells. "He's dead, Anne!" He repeats.

"No" I shake my head. "That can't be." I can feel my heartbeat out of my chest.

I lock focus with the door to the driver's seat that is currently upside down. After a few seconds it flies off it's hinges. I keep forgetting how powerful I am. I leap into the car towards my Dad. I climb over the driver's seat and over to the passenger's seat. He is covered in blood. His face is painted red, from all the bleeding gashes. They continue to bleed rapidly. He must have hit his head just right. At this moment I knew Mason was right. He's dead. I still can't grasp that. I can't understand that. I stare at him for a few seconds, and put my hand in his cheek one last time.

"I love you" I whisper. "And it was never your fault." I try to wipe away my tears, knowing he hated it when I cried, not that it mattered now. I slowly crawl back out of the car, and run to the side of the road, and collapse. I look up towards Mason, who's still sobbing in the middle of the road. My mind goes blank, but my mouth opens. I'm about to say something that I'm not controlling. This is what happens to me when I'm angry.

"This is your fault!" I yell to Mason. "If you just kept your eyes on the road-

I break off into a sob. The lump in my throat is too strong, and I have no strength to fight for words. I rest my head back down on the ground. Mason continues to sob. I slowly turn my head towards him. He's an emotional wreck. I'm not judging since I am too.

About twenty minutes pass of us crying, when suddenly I see a light move rapidly at the corner of my eye. I lift my head up. I see a pair of headlights quickly driving, about to hit Mason. The car is rapidly moving. The car reaches just feet away from Mason. He doesn't seem to notice somehow. All noise must be drowned out by his sobs.

"No!" I exclaim, throwing one hand into the air. The car continues to speed. Whoever's in the car must not see Mason since he's so low on the ground.

I focus on the car. Just before it reaches his body, it shoots up into the air as if an imaginary hand had taken it and thrown it. It shoots through the air and lands metres away, slamming onto the ground with a loud crash.

I cover my mouth with my hands. That person in that car could be dead, all because of what I just did. I fearfully bite my lip and push myself up. If that person isn't okay, I don't know what I'll do.