Living with Styles

twenty-six

It was the night of March 23. We had spent the day and the day before at the beach, but it started storming. We were in the car, singing loudly.

The first song that played was 'The Other Side' by Jason Duerolo. Next was 'I Swear This Time I Mean It' by Mayday Parade. Then it was 'Breakaway' by Kelly Clarkson. And after that was 'Chloe' by Emblem3. And then, 'When I Was Your Man' by Bruno Mars.

We were singing the bridge.

Although it hurts
We turned and smiled at each other. That's when I saw a bright light coming at us from the other side of her.
I'll be the first to say that I was wrong
"Mom!" I yelled.
Oh, I know I'm probably much too late
She turned around and yelled as the truck came closer. "Bella!!"
To try and apologize for my mistakes
That's when the truck collided into our car.
But I just want you to know
I was in complete darkness for a few moments.

I wake up and turn to my mom. She's covered in blood and her eyes are shut.

I shake her. With tears streaming down my face, I yell at her to wake up.

She doesn't move.

"Mom!" I yell again. "Mom please wake up! Please."

I don't even have to check her pulse to know that she's gone. My mother is gone.

My hands are covered in my mother's blood and she's sitting beside me, dead.

I closed my eyes as a man opened our car doors and started yelling orders.

I woke up the next day in a hospital.

"Where's my mother?" I asked the nurse, hoping this was all a bad dream.

The nurse seemed very young. Probably fresh out of med-school.
She probably never had to tell someone of their loved one's death before.

She looked at me with a compassionate expression. It took her a few moments, but she finally spoke up.

"Your mother's gone, sweetie." She looked as if she was going to cry. "I'm so sorry."

The next week, my grandparents hired me, a fourteen year old girl who just lost the person whom she was closest to her entire life, a lawyer. We sued the man who hit us.

Turns out that truck was stolen and the man was drunk.

It was when I was in court, Grandma made the judge aware that I had no one to look after me. The judge suggested her and Grandpa do it, but they refused because they're too old.

The judge brought me back to court a few days later to tell me that Harold Edward Styles, the brother I didn't have the slightest memory of, the brother who left for 13 years, the brother whom I hated, was going to be my legal guardian.