ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ɪʀᴏɴ ᴄʜɪʟᴅ

the accident

January 5th 2008

Abigail Carter had always been a smart girl. She was at the top of her class at Midtown Elementry School. Her mother rarely had the television on, the two usually just read. She enjoyed school and was rather popular due to her bubbly personality.

Her father had never been in the picture. She didn't even know his name. It had been her and her mom all her life. When she was five her mother had a boyfriend who had lived with them for a while but he left and they never heard from him again. It didn't matter to them though, they only needed each other. They didn't want to have to include other people into their lives and into their traditions.

Traditions.

That's where our story starts.

Since before Abigail can remember the small family of two had had a tradition where on their birthdays the two would leave school and work early to spend time together.

Abby sat in her assigned seat in History, staring into space as the teacher rambled. She had finished her work and the boy beside her was shamelessly copying her answers. Her attention was only caught when the classroom door opened and a teacher poked her head through.

"Abigail. Your mother is here to pick you up." The teacher smiled kindly at the young girl.

With a large smile on her face, Abby places her work at the front of the class, said goodbye to her friends, and left the classroom.

"Mommy!" Abby squealed when she saw her mother, running into her arms.

Her mother lifted her into the air and sat her on her hip with a smile.

"You ready to get this show on the road?" Her mother asked as they made their way through the school parking lot, earning an enthusiastic nod from the small girl.

The two sat singing in the car, her mother loved so much, as they traveled away from the school.

"So, I was thinking, we get cheeseburgers, ice cream and then go see a movie." The mother smiled turning slightly to see her daughter's reaction. Abby smiled at her mother nodding. Abby had the sort of smile that brightens up anyone's day, the sort of smile that reaches her eyes in a beautiful way.

When Sarah looked at her daughter's eyes it was like her own were staring back at her, but when her eyes wandered to the rest of the girl's face it was easy to see who her father was. It had never bothered Sarah how much her daughter looked like her father, Abby was beautiful, one of the most beautiful eight-year-olds you will ever meet. Sarah loved the father of her daughter, he had given her Abby and that was the best gift she would ever get.

It all happened so fast. In the blink of an eye, a eight-year-old's life had changed forever. Nobody could have seen it coming. Glass was flying everywhere. An arm had flown out to protect the small body in the passenger seat.

The first thing Abby can remember of the accident was ringing. It was all she could hear, the ringing in her ears. It took her a second to be able to open her eyes, the pain in her head was almost unbearable. She turned her head looking for her mother to find them hanging upside down in her seat. The sound of an engine distracted her from her situation, and she looked to see the car that had hit them speeding away,

Beginning to panic the small girl tried and failed to open the car door. With tears burning her eyes and lungs failing to gather oxygen Abby went to hit the glass, not knowing what she was trying to achieve. Before her hands could hit the glass the door went flying off its hinges.

Ignoring what had happened to the door, Abby crawled out of the upside-down car to see people running around and screaming. She crawled away from the car before attempting to stand.

"Someone call 911!" A voice screamed.

"Hey, sweetie." A soft voice said beside her. Someone reached out and helped the girl stand, but Abby didn't look to see who it was, she was busy trying to calm her breathing. "Can you hear me? Are you hurt?"

"My mom," Abby whispered staring at the car. "She's in the car. I- I didn't want t-to to pull her out in case it hurt her. She's still in the car."

"I know, we're gonna get her help. Honey, can you tell me you're name?" Abby looked up to the woman who was speaking to her. She had kind blue eyes, but Abby was struggling to focus on anything else as her eyesight began to blur.

"Abby." She replied her voice shaking.

"Okay, Abby. The paramedics are on their way. They're gonna help you and your mom, okay?" Abby tried to focus on what the kind woman was saying but the ringing in her ears seemed to get louder and the woman's voice seemed to get further and further away. It was only when she heard the sirens from the ambulance approaching that she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay." And with that, the small girl's body began to fall. The woman reached out catching the child before her head hit the floor.

"I need some help, over here!"