Chapter One~ Tragic Accident
WARNING: This chapter will contain some blood and death for those who find it disturbing.
It was a dark and busy night in the buzzing streets of New York City. Cars were driving in all sorts of directions to get to where they needed to be, people were walking up, down, and across the sidewalks, and some shops were open at this time of night too. In the park not too far from the city, a 16 almost 17-year-old girl was sitting on a bench looking up at the starry sky. She had light apricot color skin and wore a short, black t-shirt with a maroon jacket covering herself, so she didn't get cold. She also wore dark navy-blue leggings with brown shoes with white outlines on them, her short, curly, light brown hair was waving against the wind as her bluish-green eyes were gazing up at the stars in front of her. Her name is Kaitlyn James Millers, but she prefers to be called Katie. She has lived in New York City for as long as she can remember, and it is a pretty good life she is living. But there is one thing about Katie's personality, she is shy and quiet and doesn't talk very much. That doesn't make her feel comfortable when it happens, so she goes to certain places in the city to clear her mind or try to get away from the busy streets, and this is one of her favorite spots.
Katie looks up at the sky for a moment seeing the millions of tiny dots in the sky twinkle in her eyes. She then closes her eyes for a moment as she breathes in the fresh air around her, the cool breeze blew against her face as she felt in an instant relief throughout her entire body calming all of her nerves. She then opens her eyes with a small smile formed on her face. She then felt her pockets buzzing as she pulls out her phone seeing that her mom left a text for her.
Hey Sweetie,
Can you come home soon? Dinner is almost ready, see you soon :)
Katie lets out a small sigh. 'Welp, I guess I should get going then.' She thought to herself. She then grabs her purse that she set down beside her and then stood up and started walking out of the park and on her way home. As Katie was walking alongside the sidewalk, she could see the people walking in different directions past her but she didn't seem to mind them. The cars driving on the streets seemed to pass by without a care in the world. After about five minutes of walking, she made it to the apartment that she lived in. Katie walked up the stairs making a clunking noise as she made her way upstairs.
Katie then made it to Apartment 12 as she pulled out the keys she carried in her pocket and unlocked the door and then headed inside.
"Mom I'm home!" Katie calls out as she closes the door. She then walked in to see her mom standing in the kitchen cooking dinner. Her mom's name is Teah Smith Millers, she also has the same skin color and same hair color with some gray streaks in it but has crystal blue eyes while wearing square shaped glasses. She wore a dark green long-sleeved shirt with black leggings that were pretty comfortable.
"Hey sweetie, how was your walk?" she asked as she stirred the pot.
"It was pretty relaxing; I was able to get some things out of my mind. But I'm glad to be home so I can relax for a while." Katie replied with a small shrug as she walked over. But when she was fully standing beside her mom, she noticed that she had a smug look on her face.
"Why are you looking like that at me for?" Katie asked with a smile.
"Oh, nothing really. Maybe just to do...this!" Katie's mom then squirted a little whip cream on her daughter's nose from the can which made Katie yelp in surprise.
"M-Mom!" Katie choked up a laugh as she felt the cold whip cream sticking on her nose.
"Relax a little? You relax a lot all the time when you are home with us!" Katie's mom said as set the whip cream down on the counter.
"C'mon I don't relax that much! I help out the best I can!" Katie replied while licking the whip cream off her nose.
"I know I was just teasing with you." Her mom said with a smirk which makes Katie playfully role her eyes.
"I know Mom." She replied with a playful smile.
"Oh hey, The chili is about ready. Set up the table for me, please." Mom said as she opened up the cupboard doors pulling out the white and glass bowls.
"Will do, captain!" Katie saluted as a soldier which makes her mom chuckle a little. After they both ate their chili for dinner which was really tasty they relaxed for a moment before Katie's mom called out to Katie, "Katie, come help me with the dishes!" Katie then hopped off the couch and walked into the kitchen and started to help her mom clean the dishes. After a couple of minutes, Katie's mom breaks the silence.
"So Katie did you sign up for any after-school clubs?" That causes Katie to tense up at the question.
"Um, no..." Her voice trailed with uneasiness as she started to scrub the dish she was holding in her hand a little tighter. This causes her mom to frown in concern.
"Sweetie, I'm starting to get worried about you. I don't want you to distance yourself from the world around you. I want you to get out there and spend time with some buddies of yours." Katie slowly puts down the dish and gently grabs both of her arms.
"Mom, you know how I feel about going to places alone. I don't feel comfortable doing these types of things." She spoke softly. There was a moment of silence which was the type of silence that Katie didn't feel comfortable with before her mom finally spoke.
"I'm going to the grocery store to get some groceries, do you want to come?" She asked.
Katie shrugs before saying, "Sure." They then head out of the apartment to head to the grocery store, but little did Katie know that this night was going to change her life forever...
~Time Skip~
After Katie and her mom got what they needed at the grocery store they were driving home in their car but the whole way home it was mostly quiet before Katie's mom finally broke the silence.
"Katie honey, I want you too join these clubs because I want you to have fun, you know you can't be a hermit forever. I don't want you to live like that."
"I know mom..." She said quietly as she kept staring out the window. Her mom then gently touched which made Katie look in her direction.
"I love you, you know that?" She asked with a smile. Katie stares at her for a moment before smiling back and grasping her hand back in return. "I love you too mom." They both smiled at each other but then Katie noticed a light behind her. When she turned around her whole body froze when she saw a car heading in their direction.
"MOM! LOOK OUT!" Katie shouted. Her mom was confused for a second but then saw the car and tried to swerve to the side but it was too late, the car crashed into theirs causing it to flip into the air. Everything was in slow motion as Katie was in horror as bits of glass were flying in the air as the car kept flipping up and down before returning to normal time as the banged-up car came to a screeching halt causing Katie to hit her head causing her and go unconscious.
Pain. That was the first thing Katie felt in her head as it was throbbing, making her head hurt even more as she slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry as she could see blobs of light flashing different colors and shadows not too far away from her. When she regained herself, she could see that the flashing lights were on top of a police car and that the shadows were police officers standing by the wreckage. Then the memories came flooding back into Katie's mind, the car, getting flipped over, and crashing...but then suddenly Katie remembered she wasn't the only person in the car.
'Mom...' Katie thought to herself in horror. She had to get herself and her mom out of the car! As Katie shifted herself a little she felt a stinging sensation in her leg which makes her wince in pain. She turned around to see that there was a small gash in her leg. It was a crimson red color and if you even gently tapped it would hurt like hell. Being careful not to hurt herself even more, Katie reached down to unclip her seatbelt which was below. As it unbuckled she collapsed onto the ground landing on her bruised leg which makes her let out a small cry of pain. Katie then looked up to face her mom and what she saw made her heart stop. Her mom was laying limp, with her seatbelt still on but her face was mostly covered in blood, she had a cut on her forehead and the glasses she wore were broken and shattered into tiny pieces.
"Mom...oh no..." Katie's eyes widened as she felt tears pricking the corner of her eyes ready to fall down. She then crawled over and unbuckled her mom's seatbelt and catching her mom's limp body before it hit the car's rooftop. She then slowly crawled towards the shattered window while dragging her almost dead mother before finally out of the vehicle and onto the hard and cold road. Katie then shifted her mom's body into her lap as she gently held her in her arms.
"C'mon mom, wake up...please..." She whispered hoping she wasn't too late. But then she saw her mom let out a raspy cough before slowly opening those crystal blue eyes that Katie was familiar with.
"K-Katie...i-is th-that y-you...?" She asked in a small voice.
"Yeah mom I'm right here, you're going to be okay..." She smiled sadly as she gently stroked her mother's smooth hair.
"Wh-what happened...*cough* *cough*?" Katie's mom coughed after finishing her sentence which worries Katie more.
"We got into a car accident, but you're going to be fine, we're going to be fine. We're going to get you cleaned up and go home and everything's going to be alright." Katie coaxed her mom. Katie's mom frowns a little.
"K-Katie, I-I don't th-think I-I'm *cough*...g-going to m-make it..." She spoke softly. Katie then starts to panic.
"No! D-Don't say that! You are going to make it! J-Just stay with me for a l-little longer!" Katie teared up as she held her body close to her chest. She couldn't lose her, she never met her dad since he passed away when she was a baby and her mother was the only thing that she had and she wasn't ready to let go of her, not yet!
"Sw-sweetie...y-you k-know I'm n-not go-going to m-make it. L-look a-at m-me, e-even I know I-I'm pr-pretty b-banged up..." She lets a small and dry chuckle before coughing again but this time she coughed a little bit of blood. Katie was getting more worried by the second. Her mom was fading away from this world more by the minute and Katie was not going to let it happen.
"Come on mom, don't talk like that! I can't lose you! I can't..." The tears finally escaped as they slid down her cheeks like small rivers.
"K-Katie l-look at m-me." Her mom says sternly but also with a hint of gentleness. Katie looks at her mom with her red puffy eyes.
"I w-want you t-to r-remember what I-I s-say. I-I will never l-leave you...*cough*...e-even th-though I w-won't always b-be with y-you right here. I-I will always b-be w-with you...i-in here..." Katie's mom raises her shaky hand and points to Katie's chest where her heart. Katie puts her hand where her mom pointed before tearing up and pulling her mom's body into a hug but doesn't hug too tightly.
"I love you, mom..." She whispers.
"I-I l-love y-you...t-too..." Her mom barely says before letting out a small sigh of breath and then her body goes limp. Katie's eyes widened. Katie slowly pulls her mom away from the hug and sees that her eyes were closed and she couldn't see those familiar crystal eyes.
"M-Mom...?" Katie asks as a new set of tears coursed down her cheeks.
"Mom, c-come on. This-this isn't funny! Wake up, please, WAKE UP!" Katie pleaded as she gently shakes her mom's shoulder. More tears flowed from her eyes as she squeezes her dead body and sobs uncontrollably.
"Mom...*sniff*...please...wake up..." Katie cried as she sobbed into her mom's silky hair. That's when Katie realized she is now an orphan.