Beaten But Not Broken

Chapter 1

Two years earlier

It's been 5 months since that terrible day. A day that still knocks the wind out of me when it's mentioned, or when my brain brings up a memory from my child hood. The heart ache I feel is numbing me, consuming my life. They were all I had. I grew up an only child, my mom always said "We got it so perfect the first time around we decided not to jinx it."
My parents died on this day 5 months ago, the weight on my chest on this day every month has taken over my life. I remember sitting at the bus stop after I just left work from the post office. I'd been there 2 years, since the day I graduated. It was always the same routine 5 days a week. Get up, have breakfast- oatmeal and coffee, catch the bus from my apartment and spend my days from 9-5 at our small town post office. Most evenings I would go home, cook a meal just for myself, sit alone and watch tv or read a book. And I remember on this specific day while I waited at the bus stop that I should visit mom and dad soon. It had been close to 2 weeks since iv seen them, they only live a 7 minutes bus ride away. Its longest I have gone in a while. It's not that I didn't have the time, or that my life was so busy I couldn't find the time, I simply didn't visit.
Once the thought enter my mind there was no stopping me. The bus pulled up and instead of going home that evening I headed to my parents house. It was as if something was telling me I needed to go there.
The bus stops only 4 houses up from my parents house.
"See you later Pete." I wave and smile at the bus driver and make my exit. That day the walk seemed like it took 4 hours verses 4 minutes because as I got closer to my parents house a police car appeared in the driveway on the other side of the bush. I wanted to run, to get to them as fast as possible, although my feet wouldn't speed up, my mind was racing, the blood was rushing threw my veins, my pulse was going a mile a minute and my breathing picked up and I tried my best to take deep breaths in an effort to keep from having a full blown panic attack.
After what seemed like hours my parents big two story yellow house came into view, when I reached their door and was stood behind the officers knocking I tried to speak. Nothing came out. They didn't know I was there and it took everything in me to get my brain to formulate the words I need to get their attention.
"Excuse me officers" I managed.
They turned around and face me. I knew instantly there was something terribly wrong. Their faces were pale, and although they were polite their voices were shaken.  At that moment before they spoke I remember staring at the brown door behind them hoping my parents would answer. That out of all the possibilities running threw my head at that moment they would disappear and I would see their beautiful faces. No one answered the door.
"We are looking for a Miss. Lane Walters." One of the officers asked, looking me right in the eyes, bringing me back to reality. My hands started my shake and my knees became weak at the mention of my name. They were in the right place. Well kinda. I haven't lived here in over a year, so why would they be looking for me here? "We went by your work place and they told us where you lived. But you were not home. So we came here in hopes of finding you." They explain.
After I finally composed myself enough to speak again I finally asked "what happen to my parents?"  It took a few minutes for the officers to convince me to go inside before they told me anything. I unlocked the door to my parents house with shaking hands and they followed me inside, and told me to take a seat. Everything was still moving in slow motion. The hardwood floor in my parents house was sinking, the green walls were caving in and taking me with it.  I could almost here my mom yelling at my dad to turn the tv down. He'd always laugh and yell back "turn your hearing aid down and it wouldn't be so loud." The officer started to talk and brought me once again back to my reality.
"I'm sorry Miss. Walters but there has been a terrible accident." One of the officers told me while glancing back and forth between me and the office with him.
They explained to me that an elderly lady had a stroke behind the wheel of her car causing her to lose control, causing her to drive right into my parents car, into incoming traffic making them flip multiple times landing them in the ditch just off the highway, both of them died almost instantly and didn't suffer to long. By the time ambulances arrived they were gone. They also informed me that the elderly lady had also died. Although I felt excruciating pain at the loss of both my parents and even sad for the death of the elderly lady, who's name I leaned was Edna. I also feel a bit of anger. She took them from me, the only family I had. My only comfort in this world was now gone and I'm alone. All I have left is a one bedroom apartment with a minimum wage job and no friends. Everyone from the church and small surrounding towns attended their funeral, I made sure it was short, with no open caskets. They didn't look like my parents with their faces covered in scrapes and massive purple bruises. The church was full of people grieving the loss of my parents as well and paying their respects to upstanding members of their community. There was no get together when it was over, no trays of food for people to maul over while they talked about my parents, just their condolences when they filed out of the church. I didn't want to have to sit in a room with strangers talking about the only two people that I loved more than anything, the two people that are never coming back. Days after things settled down I packed up all their stuff and sent it to homeless shelters and charities. Only keeping things that reminded me of them. A couple articles of clothing, their wedding bands and a home video of the day I was born, along with a box of things from my childhood. I sold their house and the money from the sale along with the money they had in their saving when they died, $378,946 to be exact, still sits in my bank account as a reminder of what I lost. The moments I'll never get back, the memories we will no longer make, the sound of their laughter that I'll no longer  hear.  I'm not sure what I will do with the money, maybe I'll make a plan to get out of this town one day. Open a book store like I've always wanted. Meet a nice man and start a family. One day.
Here I am 5 months later no more aware of myself, my surroundings, aware of anything really. My days just fly by with the blink of an eye. Like a flash of lightning. It's like I'm living in a dream and I can't wake up.
That's when I see him. Or who I think is him. Wide shoulders, and dark brown hair block the view of the board I'm trying to read while waiting for the bus. It has upcoming events and news, and sometimes sales the store are having.
"Excuse me sir." I say finding my voice. I need to know if it's him. He is much bigger now, obviously it's been 12 years, but I just have this feeling it's him. The same feeling that told me to go to my parents house that day, it's the same feeling in my stomach right now telling me that this is Ken. After all these years has he finally come back?  He probably doesn't even remember me. We were only 8 the last time we seen each other before his parents packed up and moved them across the country.
When he turned around my heart stopped, my jaw dropped and my body began to sweat.
"Well, well look who it is." Kens face lit up like the 4th of July.