Being Bad

Chapter 1: Free

Lia James

"Passengers, it is time to buckle up your seat belts as we begin our descent to the runway. Welcome to San Diego, California. We hope you enjoyed your flight."

Trust me I didn't. If having a good flight meant children screaming in back of you, fighting over a movie to watch, or a 60-year old man snoring his head off, and then stopping for a minute, which had me making sure he didn't die or something, then I might as well just throw myself into the sun.

Headphones didn't seem to help at all either.

I couldn't help but think about my life a month ago, and how if that didn't happen, I wouldn't be on the plane to California.

In fact, the moment keeps rushing back into my mind, all the emotions, and all the blank stares. I remembered it all:

It was July 25th, I remembering it feeling like a Sunday, but then realizing it was only a Thursday. Those kind of feelings.

I was listening to one of my favorite songs that ever existed: Solider by Gavin Degraw. My rose gold headphones sat on my ears, while reading To Kill A Mockingbird for the millionth time. It was my mother's favorite books of all time. I was never really sure why.

I sat on the island stool, while my father was still cooking dinner. It was a calm Thursday afternoon, the wind rustled against the house, making the whistling sound. My older brother was packing for his 3rd year in college, and my 2 younger siblings were fighting for the TV remote. I remember just watching them, and laughing at how everything seemed so normal.

Then, the phone began to ring on the other side of the kitchen.

The.Phone.Rang. The Phone Rang. The most terrifying phone call of my life. The one I will never forget, as long as I live.

My father just shook his head and replied "Yup." Then, his face turned flush, a scary white color. I automatically knew the news wasn't going to be good.

"Kids." He exclaimed, his arms shaking as he put the phone back on the hook.

"Your mother was in an accident." His voice broke in between words. I saw a tiny tear rush down his face.

"What kind of accident?" I asked, taking my headphones off and placing my book on the counter.

"A car accident. It was a head on collision." He began, he voice still shaking. "Kids, I'm not sure your mother was going to make it through the night."

I remember falling to the floor, immediately loosing all my balance. I sobbed uncontrollably, a pool of tears surrounding me.

My father attempted to pull me up, grabbing my arms and yanking me, but I couldn't move. Or speak. My whole entire body was numb, as my world came crashing down.

When I finally sat up, still crying every ounce of tears in my body, my family huddled up together, grabbing each other's shirts, rubbing each other's backs. We tried to soothe the situation, but we all knew this moment would affect our lives for as long as we lived. It's hard to live without a mother who you've been with for 17 years, and then see her vanish right in front of your eyes.