Glee

Chapter 1 - Jessica

I laugh as my best friend, Lily, tells me a joke. My only friend really, but she's enough. The class quiets down as we hear the door open. A girl from the office walks in and immediately heads towards our teacher. They whisper back and forth a few times before Mr. Johnson gives me a pitiful look and says, "Jessica Smith. You're checking out, make sure to grab all your stuff."

"Okay?" I reply, sounding more like a question than a statement. My parents hadn't told me anything about leaving school early today. I whispered a quick goodbye to Lily and slung my bag over my shoulder as I left my history class. I made a quick stop to my locker to grab my jacket and skipped down the empty halls to the office.

The room smelled like vanilla as I walked in. As I breathed in the smell, everyone around me went silent. "What is it?" I asked, suspicious.

"Jessica, there's been an accident." The lady at the desk started.

"What do you mean?" I questioned as my heart started beating faster.

"Your parents were driving and a drunk driver collided with them." She breaks off as my breath hitches in my throat. "They're at the hospital. Your emergency contact, Mrs. Evans, has been contacted and is waiting to bring you there now."

"Lily Evans." I gasp, "She's in my history class, please call her down."

I'm openly sobbing now as she walks over and wraps her arm around my shoulders. Someone takes the bag that I didn't even realize I had dropped as I'm led out to the parking lot where Lily's mom's small blue car waits.

I'm shaking as I slip into the back seat. There are tears in Mrs. Evans's eyes as she looks back at me. She puts her hand on my knee and holds me tight as we wait for Lily. After what seems like an eternity I see her running out the doors and sprinting towards us. She slides in the opposite side next to me and judging by the way she's holding me, she knows what happened.

We drive in silence. I want to scream for her to drive faster but I know it won't help and I resign myself to shutting my eyes and leaning on Lily's shoulder.

My face and Lilly's shirt are soaked with tears. As I try to apologize Lily just shakes her head and tells me it's going to be okay. She holds my hand as we hurry into the hospital. I sink into one of the chairs in the waiting room as Lilly's mom talks to the doctors. All I could think about was my mom and dad. Were they going to be okay? What would happen to them? I couldn't imagine my life without them.

The doctors motion me over and I trudge towards them, almost as if in a trance. Just one look and I know there isn't good news. "Your father is suffering from a collapsed lung, several broken ribs and internal bleeding. He is currently being operated on and while we are hopeful we cannot guarantee anything." The man informed me. I couldn't help but notice that he didn't mention one important thing.

"What about my mom?" I whisper as my voice cracks.

"I'm afraid that your mother was hit head on and died almost directly after impact."

"No!" I cried out. My mom. Gone. My head was filled with all the memories of time spent with her, singing at Christmas, making cookies and just talking. I would never see her again.

"I am sorry Ms. Smith. We will let you know as soon as you can see your father." With this the doctor turned away and headed back to wherever he was supposed to be.

I could distantly feel Lily pulling me back down onto one of the chairs but I was numb. All I could think over and over again was that my mother was dead and for all I knew my dad would join her.

I was shaken out of my thoughts as Mrs. Evans approached me. "Jess, honey, I'm sorry but is there any family nearby that I can contact?"

I shook my head as I answered, "Just my Uncle Will and he's in Ohio." We lived in North Carolina and it was almost 10 hours to get to where he lived, but there was no one else closer than him.

"I'll contact him anyway. Do you have his number?" I nodded silently and pulled up his contact on my phone before handing it to her. I knew as she told him that he would want to talk to me and normally I would jump at the chance to catch up with my favorite (and only) uncle, but I didn't have anything to say. Before I could be asked to speak to him I leaned across the seat and tried to fall asleep, which wasn't very hard after everything that had happened in the last hour.

I didn't know what time it was when I woke up and I didn't care. I groggily sat up and noticed that it was dark outside. Guess that explained why I was hungry, but I didn't really want to eat anything. I looked to my left and saw Lily curled up asleep next to her mother. I was so glad they were here with me, I don't think I would be able to do this, survive this, without them.

I slowly approached the desk and the man sitting behind it looked at me. "Can I help you with something?" He asked gently.

"Umm, can I see my mom? Katheryn Smith." I told him.

As he realized that the person I wanted to see was dead, he sent me a sad reassuring smile. "Sure, come with me." As he led me down the halls he reminded me, "Remember, she was in a car accident, her body won't look like what you're used to. Are you sure you want to do this?" He inquired.

I nodded my head. I had to do this, I had to say goodbye. I took a deep breath as I faced the door we had stopped in front of. The morgue. Before I could run away, I gripped the handle and burst into the room. She lay in the middle of the room, covered in a sheet.

"Oh my god, oh my god." I gasped, covering my mouth, as I approached my mom. There was blood crusted in her light brown hair, and cuts all across her face and neck. I shuddered to think of what injuries might be hidden under the sheet. I reached my hand out to touch her bruised face. She was so cold.

"Mommy," I whispered, "I love you. I love you so much. I wish you were still here." I backed away when I realized that my tears were dripping onto her. I whirled when I heard something scraping across the floor. The man that had brought me here was pulling a chair over for me. I nodded my thanks, too choked up to speak. I sank into the chair and sat beside the table, just looking at what used to be my mother.

The nurse had to leave, but assured me that he would come back to get me if there was any news of my father. I spent hours just sitting there, as dawn arose.

I didn't turn as I heard the door open. I did turn, however, when I heard the voice. "Jessie." That was all he said.

"Uncle will!" I cried out as I ran to him. He held me tight in his arms, and I felt warm for the first time today. "How did you get here so fast?" I asked.

"I drove all night, I had to get here." He fell silent as he noticed who I had been sitting with. "Katie," He murmured. I watched as he slowly walked over to mom's body. He shook as he started crying. I hugged him from behind, knowing it was my turn to be strong and someone else's turn to cry.

Once he stopped I softly spoke, "I'm going to go see if I'm allowed to visit Dad. Come when you're ready." He nodded, but kept staring at Mom's face.

After studying the map of the hospital hung on the wall, I located the waiting room I had been staying in and found my way there. Lily was awake when I got there. She rushed over immediately. "Did your Uncle find you?"

"Yeah he did. Do you know if I can see my dad yet?" She shook her head but walked over with me to the desk. "Hey again," I said to the familiar attendant, "Can I see my dad now?"

I had never known how much a simple 'yes' could affect me.

I'm sitting alone once again, just at my father's side instead of my mother's. They said he was in a light coma, but that they didn't know if he would wake or even survive the day. They had managed to stop the internal bleeding, but he was still bruised and battered. I lived off the shallow breaths telling me he was still alive. I was terrified that if I left or fell asleep he would slip away and I wouldn't even know. I had also been told that he might be able to hear me, so I talked to him.

I talked about mom, what I was feeling, how much I wanted him to wake up, but most importantly how much I loved him.

"Jess?" Lily asked from the doorway. "You need to eat."

"I can't leave him alone."

"You can't starve yourself. Go eat, I'll watch over him." She commanded and I knew better than to object. I hugged her before I left, to let her know how much I appreciated her.

I forced down the hospital food, I didn't really taste any of it. Come to think of it, I can't even remember what I put on my plate. All I know is that it was edible. I looked up when Lily's mom came rushing in.

"Jessica! He's awake."

I ran through the hallways. All I knew was that I had to get to him. Lily was waiting for me in the doorway and she quickly ushered me in. I fell to my knees next to the bed and grabbed my dad's hands.

"Daddy?" I breathed. His head turned towards me a fraction of an inch and I felt his hand squeeze mine. I started laughing and crying at the same time. He was alive.

"I-" He rasped. "I love you too." Then he started coughing and coughing and I couldn't do anything but call a nurse and watch.

"Clear his bed." A nurse ordered as she entered the room. I backed away as three people surrounded my dad. Uncle Will also ran in, and I held his hand as we both watched. I panicked when I heard the flat line. No, he couldn't be… They rushed to use what I think was called a defibrillator and tried to bring him back but I lost hope after the third try. So did the doctors. I drifted out of the room when they noted time of death. I didn't want to watch anymore.

I'm an orphan.

Everything's a blur. I slip into the black dress that's been hanging in my closet and blindly follow my Uncle Will to the car. The words said at the funeral all muddle together. Only a few tears slip out of my eyes, there's none left anymore. People come up to me and tell me they're sorry or that everything will be okay. I just nod and smile, not looking them in the eye. Lily stays by my side the whole time along with her mom and Uncle Will.

I look at their combined headstone one more time before I leave. Their names, Katheryn Schuester-Smith and Luke Smith are engraved along with the dates of their births and their deaths. Below lies the epitaph that Uncle Will helped me pick out. When words fail music speaks. I chose it to commemorate their shared love and passion for music that they had passed on to me

Once the funeral is over we head back to my house for the last time. I've been packing up my stuff the past week and I'm leaving North Carolina to live with my Uncle in Ohio. Not even a fourth of the way through the first semester of my freshman year and I'm switching schools.

I emptied my locker out yesterday. Lily helped me. I finished up all my current schoolwork. Lily couldn't believe that I still had to do it, but honestly it helped to be able to bury myself in the work, it kept me from thinking about my parents.

Uncle Will already packed up all my clothes and my favorite things. Everything else would go into storage. I also had my violin stashed in the back seat of his car. Uncle Will and I didn't have the heart to sort through mom and dad's things yet so we called in movers to pack it all up. All their stuff would also go into storage. I did take two things though. I grabbed my dad's acoustic guitar (even though I have no clue how to play it) and my mom's favorite necklace, two sapphire butterflies with the word dream between them.

All that was left to do was say goodbye.

"Hey," I announce as I walk up to Lily.

"I can't believe you're leaving." Lily says as she pulls me into a tight hug.

"I know." I mutter back. It was hard to absorb all these changes happening at once.

"You better call me when you get there."

"Yes mom," I mock reflexively before realizing what I said. I immediately burst into tears. "I don't know what I'm going to do Lil'." I cry.

"I can't promise it's going to be okay, just know that I'm always here if you need me. Just give me 10 hours' notice so I can get there." Lily joked.

"I'm gonna miss you." I finish.

"Ditto Jess." We let go and I wipe my tears away.

"Love ya." I call as I climb into the car.

She waves as Uncle Will gets in the driver's seat.

"You ready, Jessie?" My uncle asks and I nod.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

A/N: So this is the beginning of my Glee story. Hope you like it. This is my first multiple chapter story so it may be a little rough at first.