He's My Savior

One

Four years ago

"Can you believe it? We're finally free!" My friends and I were on our first road trip, solo, to Oklahoma for a weekend at Winstar. It was a resort that we could gamble at. Thanks to Oklahoma gambling laws, we could play at eighteen.

"It's about damn time. I need a break from my parents." Blake muttered, sinking into his seat behind the wheel.

"Believe me, I feel it." Jess muttered, opening a soda.

"What about you, Shawn? Glad to be away?" Derrick asked, nudging my arm.

"I mean... I love my parents. You all think I grew up strict but really... They were fair. I'm just nervous about leaving for the first time." I twirled a lock of my red hair.

"Puh-lease! Your parents were glaring at me and Derrick when we showed up." I rolled my eyes.

"My dad wants to murder anyone who thinks about dating me. Trust me, if someone is man enough to even speak to him other than 'Hello' I'll know he's the one." I looked out the window. It was dark out and the roads were getting slick due to the heavy rains.

One moment we were happy. The next thing I remember... I was in the truck, upside down. Derrick was nowhere to be seen.

"Blake? Blake?!" I tried to undo my seatbelt but my arm was stuck. "Jess?!" I got no response. "DERRICK?!" It began to hurt to breathe. I wasn't able to breathe.

The next thing I remember I woke up as they were extracting me from the truck.

"Ma'am? Can you tell me your name?" I looked around, seeing three bodies, covered by tarps. The truck was completely gone. They were gone. Dead.

"No... No! No! No!" I tried to launch myself to my friends but I was restrained by the stretcher.

"Ma'am! I need you to calm down and tell me your name!"

"They can't be dead! They can't!" It began to hurt to breathe again.

"Ma'am!"

"She's having a panic attack. Load her up and get her to St. Mary's."

"Ma'am?" I saw a light flashing in my eyes. "Ma'am, can you tell me your name?"

"Shawn..." I tried to cover my eyes, but restraints held my arms down.

"Sorry, Shawn. You were fighting the paramedics earlier, it's just precautionary." I heard scribbling. "Do you remember what happened?" I swallowed, my throat dry.

"Car accident..."

"That's right. You're at St. Mary's. Do you have an emergency contact we can call?" I managed to get my mother's number out and the doctor left.

I remembered it all. Seeing my friends, dead.

The doctor came back as the heart rate monitor went crazy, pushing something into my hand.

"It's okay, Shawn. Take a nap, and when you wake up, your parents should be here." I couldn't resist the pull to sleep.

But I fell asleep with the picture of all three of them lying there... Never to see another day.

I knew how my mother felt now...

***

"Shawn? Shawn, please wake up!" I heard my mother crying. Everything hurt. My body ached something fierce and I just wanted to sleep again.

"Go 'way...." I mumbled, wanting to push her away. It took me a few minutes to come back to reality. "Mom?"

"You're okay, Shawnee... You're okay..." Her voice was so sad. I wanted to cry with her.