Five

It only takes seconds to change a life forever

When I got home, I still had a bad feeling. Juliette hadn’t tried to scare me, so she probably wasn’t here. I sat in my armchair, letting my muscles relax. I stared at the tips of my fingers, wondering why I’m still alive. I shouldn’t be, I shouldn’t be, I chant as my eyes close.

 

I never wanted to be.

~~~

 

“Where are we going?” El asks for probably the fifteenth time from her place in the back seat next to me. She has the lion hanging loosely in her hand, its marble eyes staring at me.

 

“Sweetie, we’re going to the amusement park. You know this, so stop asking!” Mum said, glancing at her children in the mirror. I stare out the window, my head in my hand. Dad’s driving and I don’t think he knows what’s going on. He likes to tune us out sometimes.

 

Elenor thinks for a second. “I’m bored,” she decides after a second turning back to me, “Make me not bored.”

 

“Play with Louie,” I say flippantly. My little sister stares at me with big reddish brown eyes, like my dad. “Fine,” I sigh. “I spy with my little eye…something orange.”

 

We play a few rounds of I Spy while my parents talk in the front. We’re finally going on some sort of vacation. Drew’s family is supposed to meet us there. He’ll probably bring his girlfriend, Mirella. I don’t care so long as Elenor doesn’t try to hang out with us the whole day.

 

For some reason I happen to look at the other lane perpendicular to us. There’s a frustrated lumberjack guy in the front seat of a big rig. He keeps glancing down for some reason. I shrug and brush it off as nothing.

 

When Dad pulls forward, the big rig starts to move too. As it gains speed, it kind of swerves toward us, and now we are directly in the path of it. I’m the only one who’s noticed. “Dad!”

 

When my father turns to look at me, surprised, everything happens at once. All I can feel is air and I think I’m spinning, but I don’t really know and I hear screaming, is that me? Gravity shifts and I slam against Elenor’s door.

 

“Isaac!” Someone screams, I think it’s my mom. I hear Elenor crying from beside me and I blindly reach out to her. “I can’t see! I can’t see! She sobs, and I panic.

 

I think it’s over, but it’s not. I was told later that the trucker tried to turn and the back tires caught us again, crushing the front of the car and it was just enough to send us down the small hill the guardrails we destroyed had previously been protecting.

I slam against everything, it feels like. When I open my eyes, there are dark spots everywhere and it makes me even dizzier. I lose consciousness on what I guess it the third roll.

 

When I wake up I’m wedged between the back seat and twisted metal. Everything is so blurry. I see Elenor. She looks scared, so scared. Miraculously, I see no wounds on her and she looks fairly clean. I think her hair’s different, but I don’t remember. “El…Elenor…”

 

“Isaac? Isaac what’s going on?” I try to reach out to the crouching little girl, but I am too weak. My arm shakes too much and I can’t hold it up for long. I’m warm and sticky and I hurt everywhere. When I breathe I can feel my chest expanding and I end up choking.

 

“Hey! Hey! Somebody help!” I black in and out, unsure of what’s happening. There’s a man, I think, pulling me and I scream because it hurts so, so much. I writhe, glancing around. I see Dad. He’s laying face down by a tree that has metal twisted around it.

 

“Da…” I can’t say it. He’s not moving. Where is everyone else? Where are they? I panic.

 

“Don’t worry son, help’s almost here. C’mon, you gotta stay with me…” The man is supporting my back and I’m leaning into him. I look down and see a lot of blood. It hurts….

 

After that it’s mostly a blur until Drew and his family arrive. It’s one of the few times I’ve seen Drew cry. I wonder how broken I look. I know how broken I feel. I still don’t know where anyone is. “Can you confirm this is him?”

 

There’s a nurse standing next to Mrs. Hanson. Her hands are shaking and her face is tear-streaked and pale. “Y-yes…Oh, Isaac!”

 

Drew was just looking at me, his mouth open and his eyes watery. I don’t remember if I tried to say anything. “What’s wrong with him? He’s going to be okay, right?”

 

The nurse sighed, and she looked a bit tired. “He’s got four broken ribs, his shoulder is dislocated and some fingers are broken. He’s got a bit of a concussion, it’s not as serious as the rest of his injuries. Mr. Payne will be bruised for a while. He also had internal bleeding but we managed to fix it.”

 

“Is he going to be okay?” Someone repeated.

 

“Physically, he’ll recover, yes.” I blacked out again after that.

 

When I woke up again, Drew was sitting by my bed. “Drew…”

 

“Isaac! Y-you’re awake!” His voice was full of relief, but even that couldn’t overshadow the…the grief in his voice.

 

“Where’s Elenor? And my parents?” I asked, glancing around the room, slightly panicking again.

 

Drew didn’t say anything and his mom walked in. “Oh, Sweetie…you’re awake.”

 

I repeated my question, trying to stifle the dread. “Isaac…I’m so sorry. They…Elenor and your parents…they didn’t make it.” Mrs. Hanson choked back tears.

 

“No! No, Elenor….I saw her! I saw her and she was fine!” I refuse to believe it. No, no, it can’t be true. It can’t.

 

“Isaac…I’m so sorry…I’m sorry,” She cried softly and I couldn’t help the tears that slid down my face, as I kept weakly protesting.

 

~~~

 

I wake up with real tears on my face. So now you know. My seven-year old sister, my mother, and my father…they’re what I lost in the accident. Elenor was dead already when I saw her. I never saw my parents in death. I got this job because of them.

 

My adopted guardian owns the land and he let me live and work here. I don’t know if I want to see them. I spent seven weeks in the hospital, so I never got to their funeral.

 

I was startled out of my thoughts by a rap on my door. Wiping my face messily, I stood to open it, wondering what whoever’s up there has planned for me next.

Author's Note

I actually came really close to crying while writing this. I hope you enjoyed :)
Who do you think could be at the door?

Reviews

[Bella Luna]

This is so sad! Poor Isaac! This is such a great story!

[Sophie]

I may have to go bawl my eyes out.
Great chapter, more please :)