1. Crash

The constant growling of an engine was the only thing keeping me from falling back asleep as many shades of green rushed through my vision. My brown eyes were shimmering in my reflection as I was caught in thought, and they were slowly drifting closed every other second. As they lazily scanned the other three people in the car, I was finally able to draw myself out of my tired state to pay attention to the conversation.

"Mama, look what I drew!" my baby brother, Samuel, chirped. The boy was a little ball of energy, but I love to see him happy. I always have the strangest conversations with my little brother, and I wouldn't have it any other way. The little boy's amber eyes were constantly shining like little gemstones, and he had a painful optimism even in the worst times.

When my mama turned around, she gave both of us a bright smile. Our mother has a lot of gray hairs from raising us two troublemakers, and her wise brown eyes could see through every false mood. The 45 year old woman was very beautiful and patient, so I was really proud to call her my mother. "It's really beautiful Sammy," she complimented genuinely, and the I couldn't help but note that the image was pretty for a 7 year old to have drawn it.

I saw my dad's eyes meet mine, and the man smiled warmly through the rearview mirror. It made my heart slightly warmer, and I couldn't help but smile back. My father has always been a role model between right and wrong, and I was always grateful to the man for loving me. Even through my hardships, I had always had the man to lean on, and the support had helped me tremendously when the whole world was against me.

As the car pulled up into the school parking lot, I picked up his typically heavy back pack before climbing out of the vehicle. "Benji! Hey!" My best friend, Connor, shouted from across the hallway. The brown haired boy waved his arm back and forth at me, and the I ran over to him with a lot of pep in my step. My friend stood over me at the insane height of 6'2", and his long, brown hair was tied back in a messy braid. I flung my arms around Connor's shoulders, and we shared a friendly embrace. "Why are you so much later than usual?"

"It's kind of funny, actually. My mom was walking in her room, and she stepped on an earring with the pointy side up. Then she started yelling at my dad for dropping them last night, and she ended up throwing a chair at him. It was really funny, but my dad was petrified of the woman." Connor laughed alongside me, and we shared an amused grin.

"The rest of them all went to class since they didn't want to be late, come on. We all know Mr. Smith would never give you of all people a detention slip, but we shouldn't miss his class." I skipped away at the words, and Connor ran after me with a small smile on his face. We have been friends since kindergarten, so we were usually partners in crime when it came to innocent pranks and random comments in class.

I had just made it across the threshold of the class when the bell rang loudly in my ears, and my friend ran in out of breath a few seconds later. "Well hi there, boys," Mr. Smith, an old, kind man, chuckled from the front of the classroom. His baby blue eyes looked up at me while shimmering, and I rushed back to my seat while blushing profusely.

"Hey Will," I whispered to the kid next to me.

"Shush, my parents will kill me if I get another failing grade!" The short boy pushed his glasses up his nose while he spoke, and his hazel eyes observed me. Based on our interaction, you would assume that we weren't friends, yet you would be incorrect. He was actually pretty kind when he wasn't focused on getting his parents off of his ass.

"Right, right, sorry."

I turned to watch whatever was happening at the front of the room, yet I felt myself begin to slowly drift off...

"Benjamin... Benjamin... BENJAMIN!"

"Wha- 42!" I shouted, and Mr Smith face palmed at the front of the room. I'm glad that this teacher likes me, or I would be in detention much more than I am now; which is a lot as well.

"They want you in the office." I quickly collected my stuff before walking out of the room, and my eyes connected with Connor's just before I left. He winked slightly since it was probably for that one prank we did involving slip and slide soap on the staircase, and we shared a smirk before I continued down the hallway.

My footsteps echoed through the empty halls, and I instantly wished I had a hall pass so no one told me to go back to class. I may or may not be famous for skipping in the small school, so when I caught sight of a teacher walking towards me, I cringed. "Benjamin Grayson."

"I swear I'm supposed to be here-"

"Oh, I know. I came to tell you to be prepared... It's pretty bad."

"Uhhh I'm sorry for putting slip and slide soap on the stairs but–"

"You put soap on the stairs!?"

"Forget I've said that!" I ran down the hall, and I only stopped once I was around the corner. If the teachers are sympathizing with me, it must be pretty bad; they hate my guts.

"Hello Benjamin." Okay, normally when I get in trouble, the guidance counselor doesn't show up. "Please come with me to my office." The middle aged man lead me to the calming, slightly dark room, and I sat down slowly. "Here are the tissues."

"Why do I need tissues?"

"Benji, earlier this morning your parents and younger brother were involved in a serious car crash on I-20. They were rushed to the hospital, but the paramedics aren't certain they're going to make it."

"W-wh-what?"

"They have them on life support so you have the chance to say goodbye, but after that you need to let them go. I understand that this is very hard on you."

"Very hard? This is a joke, right? To get me back for all of the things I did to this school... Right?"

"No, Benjamin. There's a car outside to drive you to the hospital." My whole body felt numb as I stood up gingerly, and I began to walk towards the door. I don't want to believe it; my parents can't be dead! This is the kind of thing that happens in a TV show, not my life. However, when I walked out, I saw a car idling on the side of the road. When I got into the car, I was hardly able to recognize that I was with Connor's parents over the tears streaming down my face.

My eyes jerked up when I felt a hand on my knee, and I wasn't emotionally stable enough to accept the comfort so I quickly slapped the hand away. A quiet gasp resounded in my ears and echoed slowly, but I ended up dragging my knees into my chest while looking out of the window. This can't be happening, not to me... But it is.