PROLOGUE
“NO! Oh God, no. Please tell me you are lying; tell me this is some twisted joke. PLEASE!” She begged the man in front of her.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Casey, your parents were good people,” said the man in the sheriff’s uniform. They were good people, and they were gone!
“How did it happen?” asked Casey in a low, defeated voice. The sheriff sighed, not wanting to tell this teary-eyed teenager how some drunk driver took her parents from her.
“Drunk driving.” He stated simply and formally, his years as Sheriff had ensured he’d answered a plethora of questions from grieving loved ones. He should have been used to it by now, but he wasn’t. Some things he still found hard.
“My parents would never drink and drive.” Casey said accusatorily.
“No sweetie, that’s not what I meant at all.” The sheriff said, exhausted. He looked at the dull-eyed girl in front of him, and he could see the magnitude of her loss in her eyes. Fifteen years old, an only child and the apple of her parent’s eyes. The sheriff understood how sheltered Casey was, and that the journey she had ahead would be quite difficult.
“A drunk driver hit your parents on Route 56. Your mother appears to have died on impact, and your father bled shortly after. There’s nothing anyone could have done for them. “
“What about the driver?” Casey asked, as tears ran down her red face. “He was found a few feet from the crash. He appears to have died from blunt force trauma. But we won’t know more until the autopsy is complete.”
He was dead, she thought. She supposed knowing of his demise would make her feel better, hoped it would help her accept that his fate was similar to her parents'. It didn’t! Three people died because one stupid human being had had the great idea of drinking and driving. Casey felt her chest constricted, it was getting difficult to breathe, and her eyes were cloudy from tears. She could feel her legs give in beneath her while the world went dark.
“Casey, Casey, wake up.” She heard as gentle hands shook her awake. Casey opened her eyes and was met by the worry-riddled ocean blue eyes that were her best friend’s.
She was having a nightmare. It's the same one she’d been having for three years now.
“Are you alright?” Amy asked in a soft voice.
Casey just stared at her best friend. They've been through this for three years now. Amy understood her inexplicably. Amy held Casey in her arms and whispered, “Let it all out sweetie.”
Casey broke down with those words and her heart felt like it was being held together by the arms around her. Silent, warm tears fell down her face, and she sobbed about the loss of the most amazing people she’d ever met. She remembered them as if she’d seen them the day before. Her mother’s beautiful smile and her father’s welcoming arms, she’d never forget them, never let their memory die, even if it hurt, Casey wouldn’t let them be forgotten.
