Chapter Text
“Mom?” Aiden, My eleven-year-old brother, questioned from beside me as our mother rode down the winding road, rain pelting aggressively against the roof as lightning flashed every few seconds. “Are we almost home?”
“Yes Honey, don’t worry, we’re going to be there soon. I know this road like the back of my hand, don’t worry too much about the rain, okay? Just hold onto your sister and we’ll be home in a few minutes,” At the words Aiden’s arm wraps around me and I’m curled into his side. I grab onto his hand when I notice it trembling and smile up at him, Mama said we would be okay.
“Is everything okay Kas?” Aiden questioned a few seconds later, eyes squeezing shut when the sky briefly lit up as lightning hit. I nod, wrapping my arms around him and patting his back, trying to focus on the music playing quietly on the radio; something classical, just like Mama loved.
We had been waiting at Mama’s studio as she checked that everything was still good for the art show she was participating in soon. She had been worried when she saw the growing dark clouds and lighting so she packed us up into her car and we drove there. Thankfully it didn’t take too long and Mama even gave us popsicles to eat while she checked on everything and then we made it to the car just before it started pouring.
The music changes to something more modern, more familiar and I smile as I meet Mama’s gaze in the mirror, giggling as she winks at me. She looks back at the road and suddenly she’s swerving the car, yelling at us to hold on as the car jerks to the left. Aiden screams next to me and I feel myself do the same, clutching onto his arm and my blanket pooling at my stomach, clenching my eyes shut as I begin to cry.
Mama unbuckles her seat quickly and jumps into the back seat, wrapping Aiden and I in a great big bear hug like she does after we get home from school, just much tighter than it normally would be. The car jerks around and it quickly gets cold, really cold.
Mama lets go of us as rain patters against the front seat, smoke coming up from the front of the car as pieces of the front window fall onto the seat. Mama’s trying to unbuckle us, my car seat making it slightly harder, and Mama knocks her fist against my seatbelt before moving to Aiden’s, quickly unbuckling it as she yells at him to kick the back window, the car teetering forward as we hang off the edge of the old barn bridge we got caught on.
Mama screams something at Aiden before pushing him to the side, leaning back to roughly kick the glass until there's a small opening, grabbing Aiden by the armpits, and setting him on the back so he can crawl out. “Get off the bridge!” I manage to hear through the sobs as Mama focuses back on my seatbelt, trying to get it undone for a few minutes before eventually focusing back on me.
“Shh, shh,” She coos softly, cupping my cheek as I cry harder than I ever remember crying. Mama gently leans back blindly reaching around her front seat until she eventually finds what she's looking for. A small pocket knife I remember her buying a few months back with a wink and shh’ing motion. She begins cutting through the seatbelt, rubbing it back and forth as the fabric begins to slowly cut, I cry out and grab onto her arms as the car creaks forward, leaning forward more.
“It’s okay baby,” Mama says softly, looking up at me for a second as lighting lights up her face before focusing back on the task at hand. “Did you like all the artwork at my studio?” Mama questioned after a while of silence and I nod, sniffling.
“Ye-ah,” My voice cracks from the crying and I cough, body racking violently.
“You need to sit still baby,” Mama says softly, rubbing her face aggressively and I notice the tears streaming down her face, her mouth open in harsh breaths.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” I place a small hand on Mama’s cheek and she nods, openly whimpering as tears leak from her eyes. The fabric finally snaps and she quickly undoes the seatbelt with shaky hands and hugs me tightly, placing a kiss to the top of my head before lifting me up to crawl through the small hole in the back window.
“I love you Kassie, remember that, okay?” I look back at Mama as she unsteadily tries to climb up, through the window, she gets about halfway before wincing in pain, biting her hand until I see red leaking through.
“Mama?!”
“Remember that okay?” She yells, looking at me with wide eyes and I frantically nod.
“I love you too Mama, everythings going to be okay– right Mama? Everythings going to be okay?” We both let out a scream as the car falls a few more feet, Mama squeezing her eyes shut as she pulls her phone from her dress pocket, hand red with blood. “Your hand–”
“It’s okay baby, don’t worry, it’ll all be okay. I need you to go find Aiden and call Papa, okay?” She asks, pausing in the middle of the sentence as the car creaks warningly.
“Okay Mama.”
“Go find him and don’t look back no matter what, okay Kassie?”
“O-okay Mama,” I nod, standing up as I ignore the stinging on my knees and palms from where glass was digging into them. “I love you.”
“I love you too, baby. Now go call Papa with your brother.” I turn around, walking straight towards Aiden’s silhouette as I sniff, fat tears rolling down my face. My whole-body clenches and my eyes squeeze shut as I hear the car loudly creak from behind me and a large SPLASH a second later.
She promised everything was going to be okay.