The normal text is all in the present. Here is a little piece...not sure if it the start, middle or end. This was originally an assignment for my writing class so I had different names originally but then I changed them. Let me know what you all think! :)
"Lizzy, would you be able to drive your mom and I," Mr. Bennet asked his daughter. Lizzy had just arrived earlier that day to stay at her parents' house for the holiday season. She really didn't want to go driving anytime soon. She had already driven for about six hours that day from New York City down to Washington DC and was exhausted.
"Father you know I would, but I am really tired from the six hour drive and was hoping to go to bed early."
"That's fine Lizzy. I can drive your mom and me to the Darcy's Christmas party. Enjoy your night, sweetie."
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet said goodbye to their only child and bundled up to embrace the cold weather. But before they left Mrs. Bennet asked Lizzy to send a text to Fitzwilliam Darcy saying that they were on their way. The Darcys and Bennets had been family friends ever since the Bennets moved next door, about 27 years ago. Unfortunately for the Bennets, the Darcys moved out to a larger home about thirteen years ago.
Lizzy sent a short text to Darcy, her childhood friend who was five years older than her, saying, "my parents are on their way over to ur family party & will b there soon ~L." She knew that she should have gone to the party, but she just was not feeling like it. Now that she was all alone, in the lonely house, she decided to go and get ready for bed. The second her head hit the soft pillow she was dead asleep.
Bang,bang,bang!
Lizzy woke up to the loud disturbance below her. Through her dazed mind she checked her cell phone to see what time it was, it was 12:08 am. She noticed that she received quite a few texts from George and saw a quickly checked one of them.
"Where are your parents? –D," read Lizzy.
Bang,bang,bang!
Realizing that whoever was at her door was still there she quickly hopped out of the warm bed and ran down the creaking staircase. The old colonial house had a poor heating, and the frigid air outside was seeping into the foyer.
"I'm coming!" The people on the other side could not hear what she said. Peeping through the peep hole she saw two men in uniforms. Something was not right for them to be disturbing her at an ungodly hour.
"Lizzy, we're here."
Lizzy looked through the glass panel of the car window and saw an icy white landscape that was dull and dreary. The trees were bare and covered with heavy snow and with the unforgiving wind the snow flew off creating a mini snowstorm.
"Thanks D. Do you mind if I go alone?"
"No, but I'll be waiting in the car when you're ready," Darcy calmly said. A gush of bitter winter air took Lizzy's breath away as she left the warm confines of Darcy's car. Slamming the silver door, Lizzy cut herself off from the present. With short legs, Lizzy kept sinking into the snowy colorless ground as she moved herself closer to their gravestone. She was alone with her thoughts, the sound of the crunching snow beneath her, and howling wind.
She opened the front door to two policemen standing with their caps in their hands. In that moment she knew instantly that something terrible had happened.
Lizzy could not stop herself from remembering that fateful night, any more than breathing, and each slow step that she took brought her back to that night.
"Miss, are you Ms. Lizzy Belle Benne?" asked the first policeman. She nodded her head in conformation because she could not find her voice.
"We are terribly sorry to be intruding at such a terrible time, but we must talk to you."
Cold tears ran down Lizzy's icy pasty frozen face as she knelt in front of their silver gravestones. Touching the cold headstones, Lizzy hoped that it would bring her closer to them. Soft fluffy snow fell on top of the headstones and Lizzy brushed it away with her glove covered hands. Shutting her eyes she hoped for the memories to disappear, but to no avail.
"Ms. Bennet, we are sad to say, but both your parents passed away this evening at 10:38 pm on December 19, 2012 due to a car crash," second policeman sadly stated. Within that moment, she lost it. Falling to the ground, the policeman quickly grabbed her and led her to a chair. She saw them talking, but her world went quiet.
"Mom, Dad, I miss you! I'm…so…sor…sorry. I killed you two," Lizzy cried and hollered to no one, but the lonely winter air that engulfed her, "I should have driven you two to the Christmas party! I knew that it was not safe for you guys." She finally broke down and cried away all the pain and hurt of the past. In that moment Lizzy truly understood what it meant to be alone.
A set of bright head lights drove up onto her driveway and then they were turned out.
"Lizzy, you there," asked Darcy who was very concerned for Lizzy. Once he saw what state she was in he rushed towards her and knelt in front of her. The two policemen stood tall and questioned if Darcy was a friend.
"Yes I am, a family friend."
"May I presume that it is okay to acquaint you with the unfortunate news of the death of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet?"
"You could have died too."
Lizzy gasped loudly while wiping her head around to see who was with her. There standing behind her was Darcy. He was casually leaning against a large oak tree with his hands shoved deep into his coat's pockets. His mahogany eyes were gazing directly at the snow near his feet as if the snow beneath him was the most fascinating thing in the world.
"I know you told me to stay in the car, but I could not let you do it by yourself," Darcy nervously said. He kept staring at the scintillating snowy ground beneath him as if it was the most memorizing thing in the world.
"What," Lizzy was too stunned to say anything logical.
"If you were in the car crash," Darcy paused, seeing that the word car crash made Lizzy more upset, and tried again, "What I mean is that if you were there then you might have died too. The police said that it was caused by the slippery roads not because of your parent's poor ability to react."
"I have better reflexes than my parents! I'm not going blind or becoming too slow," bawled Lizzy.
"I know that, Lizzy. But have you ever thought that about what your parents would want from you? Would they want you to keep blaming yourself for an accident? I have known your parents even longer than you have, and I could never picture them wanting you to keep blaming yourself for their deaths. They love you too much to blame you," Darcy tenderly said. Lizzy walked over to Darcy and hugged him for dear life. No matter what he was right and Lizzy needed to accept it. She knew deep down that her parents would never blame her for their deaths.
"I'm so sor-sorry," Lizzy cried into Darcy's shoulder, "I'm get-getting tears and snot in-into your jacket." Lizzy kept crying into Darcy's wooly, coal colored coat. Darcy did not care that there were tear stains in his jacket; all Darcy wanted was for Lizzy to accept her loss and not blame herself. Lizzy relaxed in Darcy's strong arms.
"It's fine don't worry about it. Do you feel any better?"
"I'm still a long way from completely getting over their deaths, but thank you. I am slowly coming to terms with what you just said. It just feels well I don't really know what I feel, but I just don't like being alone this holiday season." Lizzy pulled away from Darcy. She was completely embarrassed to be hugging Darcy tenderly; he was like her brother not a lover. Darcy on the other hand wanted to cherish Lizzy forever and was sadden when she pulled away; however, he understood that she only need a friend and nothing more. Lizzy stood awkwardly next to Darcy and stared expressionlessly at her parent's grave.
"You aren't alone. You still have your Aunts and Uncles, plus all of your friends are here for you and so are my family and I," Darcy said kindly and smiled down at Lizzy. The howling of the wind gushed right by the two causing a shiver to escape out from Lizzy's lips.
"I have to stop reliving the past, but I don't know how to," Lizzy despairingly said.
"Someone wise once told me to only think of the happy memories from my past." Darcy nudge Lizzy hoping she would catch the inside joke, "And that one needs to create as many happy memories as possible for life will throw many tragedies at you. I believe that someone's advice is applicable right now."
Darcy took out a handful of soft clean tissues from his pockets, "Here you go. Now before we freeze our buts off, would you like to go and have a nice warm cup of coco; unless you need to a few more moments?" Darcy would wait out with Lizzy if she needed to stay, but the cold air was seeping into his bones. His great winter coat could only keep out so much of the cold wintry weather.
"I believe a warm cup of coco is what I need now."