You Never Left

Prologue

Leaving my flat, I pull up my scarf to cinch the coldness around my face. I dig into my coat pocket and retrieve my car keys, making my way to the metallic blue Versa sitting in the driveway. Silently putting the key into the ignition, I start the car and drive to my mother's flat.

I pull up with no headlights and send a text to my sister letting her know that I am waiting outside. Not even five minutes later, she opens the car door, dressed in a short black dress and her hair pulled up into a sock bun.
"You didn't have to go all out, Quinn. It's just a normal college party," I tease. She sticks her tongue out and tells me to drive. Obeying her demand, I pull out of the driveway and speed to Cameron's dorm party.

It is chaos as we enter. Many of my peers are already drunk, others are very close. I turn to Quinn, "Absolutely NO drinking, got it? Mom doesn't need to see you with a hangover in the morning."

"I'm not a little kid, Erin. I'm captain of the varsity cheerleading squad; I think I'm capable of being a responsible drinker," she snobs off. I roll my eyes and tell her when to meet me at the car. I walk off, searching for Cameron.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I turn down the left corridor and into his room. The room is pitch black, but I have been in here so many times that I know where everything is. I walk to his desk and turn on the small lamp, letting it illuminate the room enough to see a heap of blankets on the bed. A smile plays on my lips. "Cam, you under there?"

The blankets make a muffled noise. I walk to the bed and pull the blankets off of the person laying down. Instead of Cameron, it is Tess, the cheer captain. She screeches and shields her eyes with her forearm, "Hell!"

"I'm sorry, I'm looking for Cameron," I say.

"He's down at the party. He told me to come up here cuz I'm shitfaced," she mumbles. I turn on my heels and make my way back to the party.

I search for Cameron once again, but instead spot Quinn holding a shot. "PENELOPE QUINN CASPEN! Put that shot down right now!" I yell across the room. The drink slips from her hand and shatters as it connects with the wooden floor. I grab her by the arm and drag her outside, "What the hell are you thinking?! I specifically told you not to drink. I'm taking you home."

"Erin, no! That wasn't my drink. Cameron asked me to get it for you, he was going to give it to you when he found you," she defends.

"Take me to him," I order her. She turns around and leads me through the dorm in a zig zag until Cameron is in sight, "Stay here." I walk over to Cameron.

"Hey beautiful, I've been looking for you. Your sister was supposed to bring me a shot to give you when I found you, but she's slacking," he slurs. He is obviously drunk. He takes my hand in his, leading me into the already packed kitchen, "Want a drink?"

I shake my head no once. I still have to take Quinn home and I seriously do not need to be like Tess. "Suit yourself," he says, filling a solo cup up to the brim with vodka and sprite. The music is loud enough for the campus police to hear and I am surprised that they have not shut it down yet. They could get half of these people for marijuana and the other half with being under the influence.

The dorm is unairconditioned and humid. I shed my denim jacket and fix my tank top. "You want to find a less occupied room?" I ask Cameron. He looks up, eyes bulging, and nods his head. He sets his cup of alcohol on a nearby table and takes my hand, leading me to his roommate, Jason's, bedroom.

I have never been in here before. Cameron leads me to the bed in the dark and sits on the bed, patting a spot next to him. Naturally, I obey. "Why are we in Jason's room and not yours?" I question him.

Drowsiness covers his face, "...uhm, I can't remember..."

"You think it may have to do with the fact that you have another girl in there?"

His eyes widen. "Oh shit! It's not what it looks like, I swear Erin."

I silently get up from Jason's bed and exit the room. I run down the stairs. Tears fill my eyes as I look for my little sister. She notices me from across the room and in a blink she is by my side. "Erin, what's wrong?"

I shake my head in refusal, "let's leave." I lead her through the crowd of drunkards and out into the cold weather. My arms are attacked by goosebumps as the frigid air connects with my bare arms. Stupid, you forgot your jacket inside, I think to myself. "Quinn, get in the car, I have to go back to get my jacket," I say as I hand her the keys.

I turn on my heels and head back inside. Everything is as I left it, no one even notice the little quarrel between Cameron and I. Looking around the living area, I see Tess sitting on the arm of the couch draped over some poor soul. I shake my head in disapproval and scan the area for my jacket. Not finding it in the living room, I make my way up the stairs to Jason's room.

Entering the room I had recently left, I flip on the light. Everything was how me and Cameron left it, which meant my jacket wasn't there. Exasperated, I storm out of the house once again. The car is on and Quinn is already in the car. I walk to the driver side of the Versa and sit in my seat.

"Did you find your jacket?" Quinn asks quietly.

"If I had found my jacket, don't you think I'd be wearing it?!" I thunder. At the sound of my anger, she shrinks deeper into her seat. I take a deep breath, "I'm sorry sis. I didn't mean to sound angry. I'm just upset and tired and I have a huge exam tomorrow."

I put the car in reverse and pulled out of Cameron's flat. Driving down the road in silence, I looked at the clock on my radio. 2:56 a.m. Just the thought of how late it was made me yawn. Quinn was already asleep, curled into a ball on the seat. My eyelids started growing heavy so I turned on the radio to the Christian station. The rhythm is slow and beats around my head like a lullaby.

My eyelids feel heavier than ever. I am fighting sleep now, turning the volume louder trying to stay awake. It is no use. I close my eyes for a few seconds, opening them every once in awhile. I need to make it back to mom's for the night. I drive with my eyes wide and the music loud.

Looking back at the clock, it reads 3:15 a.m. I stare a little too long, letting the numbers swirl in the air. The truck driver coming the opposite way lays on his horn. I snap my attention to the road and swerve out of his way, gaining control of the wheel again. Quinn is still peacefully asleep, snoring lightly.

The tension falls away slowly, replaced by my previous drowsy daze. The drive is a lot longer than I remember. The music fades into static and my eyes linger on the trees lining one of the many back roads I take to get to mom's. The moon disappears behind the blackened clouds in the sky, rain starting to splatter on the windshield. I flip on the windshield wipers at high speed, the sounds persuading me to rest a moment.

I concede to the whispers of the rain and drift out of consciousness. 4:02 a.m. it happens.

It all happened so fast. The jerking of the steering wheel from hydroplaning shocks me awake. I pull the wheel the other way and slam on the brakes, causing me to run off the road. As I try to get the car back on the asphalt, the car starts spinning out of control. I let off the brake and the wheel, hurling myself over Quinn to shelter her from the collision with the oak tree. It goes black.

I'm in the eye of the storm. I know this because everything is calm. The sirens are a distant chaos, something that is soon to come. I know once I open my eyes, disaster will hit all around, the storm will rage. And I'm not ready, so I squeeze my eyes shut tighter and tighter.