Face The Music

Prologue

Giggling from adrenaline and hysteria, I staggered towards the minivan my parents had parked outside the theatre.

"I swear, every time, I don't know how you do it!" shouted my 11-year old sister. "There are, like, 1,000 people in the audience, and you just...play? In front of all of them?"

"No, I just zone them all out. I'm not playing the piano in front of a thousand people, I'm just playing by myself in my room. That's what I think about," I replied to my sister as I tried to catch my breath. I was always like this after a concert. The raw music left a funny feeling in my chest -- a sort of light-heartedness. I was invincible in this moment. "Now c'mon, Jessa, let's get Eren, and we'll head home," I told my sister.

Looking around, I spotted Eren dancing on the pavement by the parking lot. How did he get there? I wondered. Shrugging, I raced over to pick him up. Only three years old, my little brother, Eren, was the most adorable thing to walk (or toddle) this planet. His big brown eyes shone with that sort of joy that only small children could feel. I nuzzled his nose and grabbed Jessa's hand, walking us towards the car. My parents were already sitting in front, waiting for us.

As I got to the minivan, my mom rushed out, taking Eren from me.

"Great job, tonight,"she praised, pausing for a split second before once again rushing about. She buckled Eren up in his car seat and sat Jessa in the back seat with me. She then flew into her passenger's seat by my dad's side and took out her phone, sending a text to some person or other. She was always busy, always in a flurry of activity. It was a rare sight to see her immobile, but my father seemed to have no trouble with her.

My father slung his arm across my mom's shoulder and backed out of the parking lot.

On the way home, no one could sit still. The radio was blaring some trash that I didn't care to identify, and everyone was singing along to it, doing their best to make my eardrums bleed.  My mom was still on her phone when she called out to me, "Hey, Kiera!"

"YEAH?" I screamed over the tumult.

"Do me a favor, sweetie, and get me the files in the trunk! I need to get some info to send to my coworkers so they can get this done!"

"SERIOUSLY? WE'RE ON THE HIGHWAY!" I screamed louder.

"Please?"

"FINE, HOLD ON A SEC."

I unbuckled my seatbelt and climbed into the trunk. Being a minivan, my car had quite a spacious trunk, but not spacious enough for me to stand up straight. I bent down low and reached for the folder my mom had asked for.

I slowly made my way out of the trunk and to the front seat. My mom's eyes were still glued to the phone. "MOM, HERE YOU GO."

Suddenly, my father honked the horn, loud. A jolt rocked the car. I dropped the folder and fell forward, papers flying everywhere like snowfall in late winter. My hand landed on the steering wheel, and as I fell, everything jerked to the side. I felt myself fly through the driver's window. I looked back and saw the minivan flip over and over and over again, across the freeway. Staring uncomprehendingly at the scene before me, all I knew at that time was pain. It felt as if thousands upon thousands of needles were stuck in my back, and I couldn't move my arms.

Silent tears trailed down my face, though I didn't know why. Everything was a blur. Voices came into being around me, and I thought I saw people circling closer as the world began to spin. Faster and faster as the pain became deeper and deeper.

Then, everything went black.

______________________

So, this was my first attempt at a story. There's a lot to come, but this is only the prologue. I bet you no one will even read this, but if you do, hello! What did you think? I know it's not the best. Feedback, please. Constructive criticism and all that. Thanks!

Love you all!