Chapter 1: Prologue
A R I A
It is a typical Saturday morning for the Carter household, which means I am the only one who gets up and moving before 10 AM. The drowsiness epidemic began with my daughter being a typical teenager, and then it rubbed off onto my husband, who now sleeps in anytime he can. Willow, my daughter, is turning 18 tomorrow -- so I thought I should go pick up everything we need for the party, even if it’s only my husband Daniel and a few of Willow’s friends celebrating. I grab my car keys and slip on my jacket, as it is starting to get chilly outside, it is the end of August.
It’s the best time of year, in my opinion, and it is not because of the weather. The kids go back to school -- and that means empty house for Daniel and me!
You still have to work, Aria.
Anyways, the drive to the grocery store is normal, minus the 2-car accident I pass along the entrance to the interstate. I walk into the store with a list of everything I need and start to peruse the aisles, looking for the best deals. (I never said that I’m the perfect shopper). I push my cart down to the meat section and look at the different cuts of chicken displayed, ignoring the obvious stares from men across the aisles. Do I not look like a 40-year-old mother? I keep perusing through the store, scolding a couple of people, every once a while, to back off -- because I have a husband and daughter waiting at home. I find myself in the chips and cracker aisle and I see Ava, Willow’s best friend’s mother. She’s standing there in deep contemplation, looking at the different chips, who I assume would be for Elijah. She looks up and sees me walking towards her and waves.
“Hey, Aria! How’s Willow? Ready for her 18th?” Ava asks, placing a bag of chips in her cart alongside the produce.
“I assume so, but I can’t be too sure since she never gets out of bed before 10 AM unless she’s forced to,” I say, grabbing a bag of chips off the shelves and putting it in my cart.
“Must be a teenage thing, because Elijah does the same thing,” she says. We both chuckle at that thought. They are best friends for a reason. Sometimes I wish more than that, but that’s just wishful thinking.
“I don’t know, because Daniel does the same thing, but maybe he learned from our kids.”
“Maybe, anyways, I would love to talk, but I have to go drag Elijah out of bed for a dentist appointment.”
“It was great seeing you. Don’t forget to send Elijah to ours’ for Willow’s birthday,” I say, pushing my cart away.
“I will.” We both walk in opposite directions, and I continue shopping for the items on my list, even though at this point I have, maybe, looked at it once. About an hour later, I finish shopping and I pay and bag up all my items. I load up the trunk, I pop into the driver’s seat and start the car. The fan blasts out warm air as I buckle my seatbelt. I twist the radio knob and the local radio station starts to blast out the awful pop music kids nowadays enjoy. I back out of my spot and make my way out of the parking lot.
Being the first to turn after a red light, I am super cautious, because there always seems to be some schmuck who is going to try and run it. I start to pull out in the intersection to make a left, and the next thing I hear is the loud crunching of metal. I look around and I see that I had been hit and pushed across the intersection. The front passenger side of the other car is still pinned against the driver’s side of mine. I feel a warm, wet feeling along my legs and arm. My eyes shift down and a vague red color appears in my vision. Blood?
Screams fill the air as well as the smell of something burning. I try to wiggle myself out, but my body is numb. I look around with foggy vision and see blurry silhouettes of people running to help me and the other driver. I feel my eyes start to droop and then…
Everything goes black.
All I can think about is I hope I can make it home for Willow’s 18th birthday.
