Prologue:
I lucked out in life. I had it all.
My parents loved me and loved each other. I had a best friend and lots of other friends. Popularity was never a struggle for me.
I was perfectly healthy, and had an above average immune system- I never missed a day of school. Ever.
I had good grades, I was star athlete, and co-captain of the debate team.
I had a girlfriend.
I was a good kid and a good student. Not one detention or overdue library book.
I was doing just fine.
But things are different now.
Almost all of that was ripped away from me.
There's a saying, You don't know what you have until it's gone. And it's the truth.
I took my life for granted. I had no struggles, and no worries.
I knew I had a good life, and I appreciated that and gave thanks, but it's easy to take good things for granted when they are all you've ever known.
My sister, parents, best friend and I were coming home from a baseball game. It was great. My parents were proud of me. My sister was teasing me. My best friend and I were teasing her back playfully. We had stopped for ice cream, because it was a tradition to do so when my team won.
It was great, Until...
...until a driver ran a red light.
Flashback:
"Okay guys, what kind of ice cream do y'all want?" My dad asks from the front seat.
"Chocolate!" My eleven year old sister, Sariah, exclaims.
"Vanilla," I say, grinning.
She looks at me, blue eyes wide.
"How can you eat that?! It's so... PLAIN!" She says, pretending to be disgusted.
"I can live with that," I reply, chuckling.
"Ugh," She scoffs, flipping a piece of her honey blonde hair over her shoulder.
"Would you like any, Billy?" My mom asks my best friend.
"If it's alright, Mrs. F, I'd like vanilla as well," he answers, looking at Sariah.
Dad places the order.
I tug on a strand of Sariah's hair.
"Hey! Cut it out!" She giggles.
I put my hands up in mock surrender.
Dad gets the ice cream cones and hands them to Mom who hands them back.
"Thanks Mom! Thanks Daddy!" Sariah says, excitedly. She takes a bite of the ice cream.
"Yeah, thanks Dad. Thank you Mom," I repeat.
"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. F!" Billy adds.
"You're welcome, all of you," Dad replies.
"We're very proud of you, Luke. Your team is doing great!" Mom tells me, smiling.
I grin broadly at her.
"Thanks Mom. Yeah, the team is doing awesome. We found a few flaws in Billy's pitching technique and corrected them. Now, he couldn't be doing better!" I exclaim.
Billy grins at me.
"And Lucas had some issues batting, but Ryan helped him with his position and-" Billy begins to say.
"Ugh... Sports..." Sariah interrupts, groaning. She is already halfway done with her cone.
"You might wanna slowdown there, Bottomless Pit," I tease her.
She rolls her eyes and takes a large bite, looking at me pointedly.
I laugh.
We drive out of the drive-through and pull into the intersection.
Everything seems to be in slow motion. My mom is talking to my dad, who is driving, Sariah is giggling at something Billy said.
I turn my head, grinning at my family's good mood, and look out the window.
I see a car barreling straight for us.
I don't have time to react.
It hits.
The impact causes me to hit my head hard against the seat and window.
The door crushes me.
The rest is a blur.
End of Flashback.
I find myself surrounded by multiple nurses and doctors.
Their mouths are moving, and their faces look urgent, but... I don't hear the shouts that I'm sure fill the air. In fact, I don't hear anything.
But that is the least of my worries. There isn't a single part of me that doesn't hurt.
The pain in my head is so intense, I feel like it might burst.
My left arm is bent at an awkward angle, and a bone peaks out from the broken bleeding skin.
White dots swarm my vision. I feel dizzy and nauseous.
It feels like my entire being is coated in white hot flame.
There are cuts and scratches all over me.
I begin to feel light headed.
A nurse sticks a needle in my good arm, and I almost immediately feel sluggish, and tired.
My eyelids fall, and I drift into a restless sleep.
Author's Note: Hi! This is a more serious story I'm starting. It will be a Rucas, fear not. :D. So, my dad is a medic/EMT. He arrives usually first on the scene of a call. He also works at one of our local hospitals. So, I tried to get this as accurate as possible. Sorry if its not. Please review and tell me what you think so far! Thanks!
See you soon!
Beth T.
