Death of a College Freshman

Chapter 1

           

Everyone has someone to call their 'person', their 'best friend', their 'ride or die'. For Rita, that person was Haven. The two grew up in the same classes and always seemed to have the same teachers. From the age of three, the two were inseparable. There were sleepovers every weekend, playdates in each other's backyards, wherever one was, you would most likely find the other. This friendship was like one that you would see in the movies. These two were meant to be. Although, Haven wasn't Rita's only friend. Rita's mother Sara held the highest position.

              At the age of six, Rita and Sara were on their way home from school. The two were giggling as they sang along to the radio. It was winter. Snow covered the sides of the roads, along with the trees. The sight was beautiful, and typical for rural New York at that time of year. It hadn't snowed for about a week, but it looked as though it had only stopped that morning. Rita was sitting in the backseat of the old suburban, clapping her hands, as her beautiful mother sang the lyrics to her favorite song, 'Never Grow Up' by Taylor Swift. The singing was being performed at the top of their lungs, without a care in the world.

              Besides Haven, Sara was Rita's best friend, as most mothers are to their young daughters. This jam session wasn't abnormal for the two. These two played Taylor Swift on repeat every afternoon after Sara picked up Rita for school. They knew every word to every song the artist had released. These long car rides were their bonding time. The best part of each of their days. Sara worked at a nursing home near the school and spent her time caring for the residents there. She was the head nurse and always went to work with a smile in her dark blue scrubs. She was the light in a lot of people's world—her children, her patients, her coworkers, her husband. That is, until the accident.        

              The singing continued. The two enjoying their lives, each in their own way. Yet, suddenly, a deer came running across the road, which led to Sara to jerk the wheel. Once she did this, the white suburban hit a patch of ice, launching the car out of control into the ditch. This radio continued to play, yet it was being drowned out by the sounds of screaming. Sara's long, blonde hair was flying, covering her face, and gently grazing Rita in the back seat. Mother and daughter were no longer clapping, no longer singing, no longer smiling. Their minds moved in slow motion. Was this truly happening? The car continuously flipped. One. Two. Three. Four. Four times. The only thing that stopped them was a large oak tree. The car came to an abrupt halt—almost as abrupt as it had begun to flip. Everything fell silent. The radio still vaguely playing.  'Oh darling, don't you ever grow up'.

              The sounds of sirens began to ring through the ears of young Rita. Tears streamed down her red, scathed face. The next thing that young Rita remembered, was a few days later when she was told by her grief-stricken father, that her best friend, her mother, hadn't survived the accident. The family of four had become a family of three rather quickly. Rita's father, William, walked her and her younger brother of three, River, out of the hospital hand in hand. They returned home after a rather silent drive. The entire ride, Rita found herself clutching her hospital bear tightly. She was traumatized. Each time the truck hit even the slightest of bumps, she would scream in fear and begin to quiver. Once the car pulled into the driveway, William reached for Rita and took her into his arms. Rita winced at the pain. She hadn't left the scene of the accident unscathed. She suffered from a broken leg and a few fractured ribs, a scar above her right eye, and not to mention—a broken spirit.

Her best friend was dead. At the age of six, one doesn't exactly understand the concept of death. They're only sleeping, right? Death. It's a scary thing, especially when it's something you don't completely understand. It's a hard concept to grasp, even for adults. Death. One of the only things that is truly permanent. Death. A word that Rita would grow to understand and fear. Death.