Cold Hearts in The Rain

Chapter 1

Ever had a parent die?

Some of you would probably rejoice at this prospect. Your parents are so annoying, right? They get under your skin, don't let you do what you want, don't give you enough money to hang out, etc...

Right?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, either I don't understand your circumstances, or you're a brat. Losing your parents is one of the most painful things in the world... especially when it's at the same time.

My parents' death—that destroyed me.

I remember the day, clear and vivid as the keys which I'm typing this on. I was walking in the rain slowly, admiring every droplet that tickled my face. They were almost like soft little kisses falling from the gray sky. I know some of you may be wondering why I love the gray and gloom, but if you ever get a chance to look up at the sky on a rainy day... you'll see.

I smiled until, in the distance, I saw smoke. I strolled over to the source, my pace slowly quickening. As the carnage got clearer, I saw fire trucks, firemen, police cars, and police officers. What made my heart practically stop and my mouth go dry was the car that was on fire: My parents' car.

My heart thundered in my chest, the beats radiating through my body and pulse. The only thought I could produce over and over again in my head was, They are not in that car.

A strange burning smell was in the air... like charred meat.

Oh god.

"You can't pass this line! Stand back!" a police officer shouted and blocked the sight of the car with his uniformed body.

"That's," I started, my knees wobbling and my voice shaking, which caused me to pause momentarily. "That's my parents' car. Are they okay? Just tell them Doe is here—their daughter. Please."

"Miss, no one made it out of that car," the police officer informed me, very softly. I looked back at the car which was crashed into a tree. The whole front of the car was split in half. Although there was a fire blazing, I could tell the glass was shattered.

"T-that's impossible," I stammered. "They're alive. They're safe! Where are they?!"

"Miss, please relax," the police officer soothed, holding me, as my eyes stayed glued to the car as firefighters put the fire out. I think the police officer was saying something, but I couldn't hear him. All I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears, deafening me.

They're dead...

"No!" I sobbed, the reality hitting more than a ton of bricks—more than anything I could've ever thought to experience in my life. "They can't be dead!" I sunk to the ground while clutching my chest, sobbing. I don't remember ever crying so hard in my whole life, but it made sense. My parents, the ones who raised me, fed me, sheltered me and loved me were dead. They abandoned me in death to live in this world alone...

How could they do that to me...?

I don't remember much after that. Just the rain, the fire... and the smell.

I think I went to my best friend's house after. She held me as I cried. My boyfriend might've been there too. He did the same... I think.

As I laid there in their arms, something was changing. A new, bitter understanding of this world slapped me in the face and I did not like it one bit. A thin layer of ice blossomed in my chest and took hold of my heart. I welcomed it quietly, not letting them know it was there. I swore from then on that I'd never care for anyone else in my life except the people I already came to love. It was too hard to love people. In the end, they'll die. And I wasn't going to get hurt by that anymore.