Page 8 of Vows In Corruption

It’s dark outside.

As you stare out, you can’t see where anything starts or ends.

The only light is coming from the house sitting behind us. Even the police car coming up the driveway has the lights off, making it seem like it’s hidden in the darkness until it’s only few feet away.

Why is the police here?

We didn’t do anything wrong.

We didn’t break any rules, at least I don’t think we did.

Did mom and dad call the police to stop Robert from sneaking out of the house again? Is that why there is a police car here almost at midnight?

If this were about teaching Robert a lesson, mom and dad would be here though, but they haven’t come back from whatever party they went to earlier.

I should have told them to stay.

It was raining when they left and it continues to rain now. Bad things happen when it rains. I should have told them that, but I didn’t want to seem like a baby. I’m eight years old and rain shouldn’t scare me.

But right now, it does.

Right now, it’s raining and a police man is walking over to where Henry is, but is looking at me and Robert as we stand a few feet away.

I want run to Henry and tell him that I’m scared but I don’t. I stay next to my brother and try to concentrate on his hand on my shoulder. I try but he’s squeezing my shoulder a little too hard and it’s starting to hurt.

I’m about to say something but the police man says my parents names.

“I’m here in regards to Thomas and Catharine.”

“What about them? They are not home at the moment.” Henry sounds mad almost, but I don’t know why.

The police man looks at Henry but then moves his eyes over to me and Robert again. He almost looks sad. Like he wants to cry, but why though?

“I’m sorry,” the police man says, looking between the three of us. “There was a car accident. Both Thomas and Cathrine did not make it.”

I don’t need to be a grown up to know what didn’t make it means.

I know what those words mean as soon as the police offer says them.

I know my parents aren’t coming home.

Bad things happen when it rains.

And this time, it took my parents.

I don’t know what it was, but something shakes me awake causing my eyes to pop open as if there was a terrifying monster behind my closed lids and I needed to look into the light. But there’s no light to look into, just the typical darkness.

It takes a few seconds to find myself again and to bring my breathing down to a normal speed. My eyes stay open the entire time because it feels that if I close my eyes again the nightmare will drag me back in.

Nightmare or memory? At this stage in life, I don’t know the difference between the two anymore. They both feel as equally as terrifying.

A deep breath flows through my body.

Months.

It has been months since a nightmare, or a memory of that faithful night, has hit me this hard. I think back to when the last one I had was and all I can remember is that it was around my mother’s birthday. Which was over seven months ago.

For a solid minute, I try to think what might have triggered tonights sleep destress, but nothing comes to mind.