Luke awoke to the sound of his phone ringing. He grabbed it with his hand and answered, putting it to his ear.
"Hello?" He asked with a yawn.
"Luke? This is Selene. There's been a terrible accident. Stay at the house and I'll come to pick you up," That was all she said before hanging up. Selene was Mike's girlfriend of four years. She was a very calm person, so the evident panic in her voice startled him.
Luke was shocked into alertness and called her again. There was no answer. He ran downstairs and started to pace in front of the door. 'There was an accident? What happened? Was his family okay?' Questions raced through his head as he waited anxiously for Selene.
There was a knock on the door and Luke hurried to open it. Outside was Selene.
"What's happening? You said there was an accident?" Luke asked in a hurry.
"Come to the car, I'll explain it to you on the way to the hospital," She replied, already going to the car.
At the word, hospital, Luke's eyes widened. He became even more worried.
They entered the car and Selene started to drive. While she drove, she explained the situation as best she could.
"Your parents got in a car accident on their way home from your sister's soccer game. I don't know many details, but from what the doctor said, it seems pretty serious. He told me to come to the hospital and he would explain more."
Luke couldn't, nor attempted to hide the worry on his face. He felt a tug on his heart as he wondered if anyone was badly hurt.
Selene hesitated for a second, then sighed. Her voice shook with emotion as she added, "One more thing, your mother and Mike are dead and your father isn't expected to survive."
"..."
Time seemed to stop for a moment as the car fell into complete silence. The only sound was that of the the car moving across the road. Luke felt as if a thousand pounds of sand had been dropped on him. He could hardly breath and his body froze. It was as if he had been paralyzed. His largest fear had been realized. The shock he felt was the only thing keeping him from breaking down.
"And my sister?" His voice trembled as he feared for the worst. He couldn't imagine what he would do if his entire family died.
"Casey is in critical condition, but the doctors are doing their best to save her. They don't know whether she will live or not."
Luke could feel his last hopes drowning with her words. A sense of fear came unbidden to his heart. He would be all alone without his family. His father was an orphan and both of his grandparents had died when he was very little. His mother was an only child, so he had no aunts or uncles, no cousins. His immediate family was all he had. With them gone, what would happen to him? Who would he rely on? Where would he go? All these worries came to his head, but they were all overshadowed by four words that devastated him. 'His family was dead'. He felt numb. He could barely accept it as reality as his world turned upside down with just a few words.
Half an hour later, they reached the hospital. Selene spoke to a few people and she returned to him with teary eyes. Those teary eyes foretold bad news before Selene could even speak. "Your dad died. He must have passed away while we were on our way here. I'm so sorry... Your sister is alive though. But, she is in a coma."
Luke's heart dropped with her news and he stared at the floor.
"...Can I see her?" He asked.
Selene looked at him with sympathy. Sadness and surprise had overcome her the moment she learned that her boyfriend had died. It was as if the world had come crashing down around her. The boy she had grown up with, the one she had even made plans for the future with, suddenly gone. She could hardly bear it. She couldn't imagine what it was like for Luke. She had lost the guy she loved, yes. But he lost his entire family. She knew his pain would be far greater than hers, and she couldn't fathom it. Her pain already threatened to tear her apart, so she felt extremely sympathetic towards this boy who had it even worse. "Yes, I'll lead you to her room."
Selene had apparently already asked which room Casey was in, and she walked quickly to it. She stopped in front of the door and opened it. Luke stepped in and Selene closed the door. She figured he'd probably want privacy. She sat down next to the door, her back against the wall, and finally released all of her pent up feelings. Silent tears streamed down her face as she cried for her love. She shed tears of overflowing sadness as she thought of what might have been.
They had always thought that they would spend their entire lives with each other. And, in a way, they did. They spent Mike's entire life time together. They had grown up together, as their parents had been good friends. They went to the same schools and naturally grew close together. They had been two peas of the same pod. She still remembered clearly the moment he had asked her to be his girlfriend. He had asked her in front of their group of friends. She laughed slightly as she remembered the looks on her friends' faces. 'You weren't already dating?' They had asked. She and Mike had always been incredibly close, so people just assumed that they were dating.
Her laughter dried up and turned into sobs. She remembered how just yesterday Mike had told her that he would buy her the biggest ring he could afford and how he wished he could simply get married to her now. They had even already started planning things for their wedding, though it was still a year or so away. They thought their love would last a lifetime. Who would have thought that it would be cut off so soon, forever...
Inside the room, Luke still stood in front of the closed door. He could faintly hear the sound of Selene's crying from the other side of the wall. He looked at his sister, lying prone on the hospital bed. Her peaceful face made it seem as if nothing was wrong, however, the hospital gown she was in and the I.V. in her arm quickly broke the illusion. Luke slowly made his way towards Casey, one step at a time. He stopped when he was finally at her side.
He knelt down next to the bed and sat there for several minutes. Luke didn't speak nor cry, sitting there in silence next to his comatose sister. The look on his face undescribable. He was like a robot that lost its power source, lifeless eyes unblinking. He had lost all of his will, all motivation. Nothing was left but an empty shell.
He had yet to fully grasp the situation before he saw it with his own eyes. Seeing his sister lying on a bed in the hospital finally drove home all that had happened. His parents and brother were dead. His sister was in a coma, and it was unknown whether she would ever wake up. Luke's heart shattered and he struggled to pick up the pieces. His family meant everything to him, his life had been centered on it. His dream to be able to create one just like it. And now it was gone. He stopped trying to pick up the pieces of his broken heart, letting a sort of numbness take place. One that would protect him from ever feeling like this again. One that would help him through this turbulent time. One that would seal his feelings deep inside the recesses of his mind, never to hurt him again.