In one day you can, drive to Ohio, watch the entire first season of Grey's Anatomy, a life can begin, and in one day a life can end.
8:15am
UGH!!! That damn alarm clock, why does morning come so quickly. Okay note to self, never stay up all night watching Friends marathons when you have basketball practice at 10 o'clock sharp the next day. Maybe I'll just stay asleep a little longer....nah, if I don't get up now mom will be angry. I practically pull my eyes open and untangle myself from the cocoon I've created out of my blankets. The morning greats me with a rush of freezing cold air, damn its way too cold in here. After unsuccessfully trying to warm myself up, I go into the bathroom to get washed. There is a note taped to the mirror, and I sloppily skim the familiar mix of cursive and print, “Anna B, Daddy, and I went with Isabel to her conference, we will be home at 9:30 to pick you up. Love you, Mom”. This kind of thing is very common in our house so I don't pay much attention to it and continue getting washed. I quickly wash my face and brush my teeth and head downstairs to eat my breakfast.
9:45am
Alright I'm ready to go now where are my parents, didn't that note say that they'd be home by 9:30? Where are they? I'm gonna be late and Dave is not happy when we are late. The phone starts to ring, I walk over hoping that it's my mom calling to tell me that she is turning onto our street right now, little did I know how shattering one phone call could be.
9:48am
I'm sorry who is this? Einstein hospital? An accident...what kind of accident? The car flipped? And hit a tree? Yea no I can be there in five minutes. Yes thank you. Bye. In less than a minute my entire world has changed.
9:49am
How could this have happened? What do I do now? I can't think straight, I don't know that or even how to think. I can feel the heat of the tears streaming down my face, and suddenly I start to run. I don't know how or why, but I just start running and I don't stop. It is 43 degrees outside, but I don't feel the least bit cold, in fact I don't feel anything. Right now I don't even know how to feel, I just know that I have to keep running. I am running as fast as I can, the tears still running down my cheeks and they don't stop. I am crying so hard that I can't even see. As I am running I can see through my teary eyes, the blue hospital sign that I pass by everyday on the way to school. Only today everything looks different, it doesn't look like a place for healing anymore, it is now a place where your worst nightmares come true. Some how it doesn't seem so safe anymore, although nothing seems safe anymore. Suddenly a flash of anger just engulfs me. I go into overdrive as sprint across the busy street, not ca
ring that cars are swerving all around me. I get to the sign...that damn blue sign, that fucking peace of plastic that I now trust to save my family's lives. Another flash of anger and I let go. I can't breathe...the anger is too strong and it takes over my entire body. I start kicking and hitting that sign...UGH that sign!!! Finally the anger is gone, but everything else is still here. I walk into the hospital's main entrance and I can't feel my legs, I can't stop crying and I drop to my knees and fall apart.
11:30am
After a pointless attempt to eat lunch, and an hour of sitting and staring at a plate of pasta, and wondering how and why this happened to me, and feeling nothing because I can't and because I don't know how anymore, I head back up from the cafeteria to check on my family. Everyone around me is so calm; the doctors are making small talk in the hallways and a couple nurses are laughing about a movie they had just seen. Suddenly the anger comes back, I start to yell. HOW CAN YOU PEOPLE BE SO CALM, HOW ARE YOU LAUGHING, MY FAMILY IH-...MY FAMILY...I JUS- MY-...help. I collapse on the floor in sobs as a nurse comes over to take me back upstairs, back up to that hell hole that they call a waiting room, where my entire family sits there reading about how Kate Gosselin's new haircut is giving her kids nightmares, or how some crazy little bitch of an actress ran away from home because her parents wouldn't buy her a car, meanwhile the lives of the three people I love most in the world are unknown by everyone who should know. God I would give anything to be arguing with my parents about cars right now.
12:30pm
I am allowed into the room where my sister is. I walk in all alone, and I see her lying there...although I don't even know if its her anymore. She looks like a robot...attached to all of those machines. The doctors say that she is stable...for now and that she should wake up sometime today. They tell me that I can talk to her if I want, and I tell them that I do...all the time I talk to her about almost everything, and she always has something to say. But this time I don't think that's going to happen. Hey Is, I miss you...we all do, and we- I love you, and I-I know that it takes time... for you to heal and everything, but I, I need to know that you are going to be okay. I can't lose you, not now... I need my best friend. I need you to bitch about your hair and your friends. I need you to tell me I'm a fatty and how I suck at wii sports. But mostly I just need my sister...please?
3:25pm
“Oh god”. I am awakened by the sounds of shock followed by sobs of someone outside. I walk out of my sister's room, groggy from my lame attempt at a nap to see what is happening. I see all of my aunts and uncles huddled around a tall skinny man wearing the undeniable blue scrubs. I start to panic and then...nothing. Staring at the one thing that I feared the most, and nothing. I can't breathe or move or speak or even hear what anyone is saying I am just staring. Then, suddenly, everything. Every memory and every feeling and every sight and thought and taste and touch engulfs every inch of me and swirls around me and. I. Can't. Breathe. But somehow I start to scream. MOM, MOM, NO!!
STOP WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU CAN'T- WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HER? SHE ISN'T - WHY DOES SHE LOOK LIKE THAT? STOP...SHE CAN'T...SHE CAN'T BE GONE! NO MOM PLEASE JUST WAKE UP MOM!! PLEASE!! PLEASE JUST WAKE UP...Please...please...please...please just wake up...wake up...mom...no...mom. Everything goes black.
5:00pm
I open my eyes and look up. I see my uncle, he is holding me, tears quietly streaming down his face. Uncle Greg?
“Anna...I-I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. They loved you, so much and I know wh-”
They? Wait my dad? no...no...no...NO!! this can't be-no...no-why? I-I need to go I can't be here I have to go home. I have to go home.
9:15pm
After I left the hospital I came home...or at least whats left of it anyway. I have been standing outside their bedroom for over 3 hours and, and I just can't bring myself to go in. I try...but every time I just can't do it, because if I go in there and my parents aren't in their bed, then, then I'll know that this isn't just a bad dream. I am startled by a loud beeping. I go outside and.. a tow truck with my moms car, or at least whats left of it is pulling up outside my house. I run outside and try and open the doors but they are all locked. Then the truck driver steps out “excuse me mam is this your car”
no, no its my parents but...why is is here?
“I was told to drop it off here”
Um wait what, by who and wh-
“Wait just one second Ms...McPeak let me just drop it down”
There is a soft thud as the car hits the ground.
Mom, Dad it's okay that you're late
“Excuse miss did you say something”
No, no...but um could you unlock it please. He hands me the keys then drives away. I unlock the doors and I get in the back, the front is to smashed for me to even open the doors. I put on my seat belt and close my eyes. I pretend that nothing ever happened, that we are driving to practice and everything is fine. Dad is talking about how he used to be great when he was younger and how he played for his high school team. Mom, Is and I are teasing him about being old, and everyone is happy and everything is fine. I start to cry again. I feel around in my pocket for a tissue but instead I pull out my phone, turn it on and I see I have one new voice mail.
“Anna? Hi, it's mommy, um we are running a little late, but we will be there soon.”
“Hey fatty” I laugh because I can tell that's my sister
“Oh Anna B, you should probably start stretching now so you will be ready when we get to school”
“Chris, stop. She'll be fine. Okay see you soon sweetie, love you bye”
I start shaking and sobbing all over again the hot tears dripping all over the leather seats. I lay down on the seats and try to get that picture of all of us in the car driving back I my head. I can feel the exhaustion overwhelming my body and for the first time today I feel safe, this is the last place that I know for sure that my parents were alive and I can still feel them sitting up front and laughing and I finally feel the relief of sleep was over me.
12:00am
Everything is going to be okay. My parents, they told me so.