Night Terrors

Carly Lower was dying. Not physically, though she wished for it, but mentally. Her depressi{on had finally taken hold, and now, now she was falling apart. Staring at the body in the bed beside her, she couldn’t cry, even after everything they had been through together, she just couldn’t find the tears anymore; her clear eyes were dry. ‘And to think,’ She thought, ‘This all happened because of that accident…’

Just two weeks ago, she’d been a normal girl, with a normal mother and a normal father, still not the same person she had been as a young child, no, that was an unreachable dream, but they had been happy enough together. They lived a normal life, her parents worked at a law firm together, where they had met, and Carly went to school. She had friends, normal friends, and normal teachers, she had been so normal back then, it almost seemed strange to her now, to look at the life she’d led the past two weeks, it was so far from normal, even she was shocked. She wished for that normal life, but it had been shattered, destroyed when her phone rang that fateful night.





The music was blaring throughout the house, belting out its song, making Carly dance around as it flowed through her, making her smile, laugh like she hadn’t laughed in days, it was blissful. Her phone rang then, fighting to beat out the sound of the music. She turned the radio down, and answered the telephone.

“Hello?”

“Hello, I’m calling for a Carly Lower?” The voice was male, solemn and gruff.

“That’s me,”

“Ms. Lower, this is Officer Hoegean, I have some…rather regrettable news,” Carly gasped, gripping the phone with ferocious intensity, her knuckles were white.

“…Your parents were driving down I-94 this evening together, when they were struck by a drunk driver…. your mother…. has passed away…and your father…is unresponsive,” The phone fell from her hands as the sobs took over her body, her head in her hands, she collapsed onto the floor, shaking violently. The officer’s voice was faint, still coming from the phone, it asked for her, calm at first, and then worried. She was still sobbing when she answered him.

“Y-e...es?” she hiccupped.

“Do you have somewhere to go tonight, Miss?” Carly could not understand how he could do this, deliver bad news to people, without even blinking an eye.

“Yes,” she whispered, the neighbor, that’s where she would go, her best friend lived there…. maybe, just maybe, she’d be safe.

“Alright, we will need you to come by the hospital tomorrow…to identify the body…, I’m sorry,”

“Thank you, goodbye,” She hung up the phone before the man could even could say anything else. It hurt so badly, Carly didn’t know what to do, and her whole world was crumbling slowly. First Daniel, her twin, her life, her love, her brother, and now, her mother, and possibly her father, it was all too much for the fifteen year old girl, she passed out, right there on the floor.

When she awoke, harsh sunlight filtered through the window, illuminating her face, awakening her from her frightening slumber. Nightmares had haunted her sleep, but now she had to pull herself together and call Emily.

The number was familiar, but her fingers shook so much she redialed the number multiple times before it finally went through. A groggy Casey, Emily’s older brother, answered the phone.

“What Carly? It’s six in the morning…on a Saturday,” His voice had an annoyed edge to it, and it cut deep into the girl, she was so shaky, her own voice scared her.

“Cas…. my parents…last night…. they…they got hit…she…she’s dead,” Her composure exploded and she fell into a sobbing mess. Casey tried to calm her down, he was telling her to calm down, to take it easy; he’d be over to get her in a minute.

“Stay where you are, I’ll come walk you over in a minute darling, stay there,” Carly said she would, and hung up the phone.

A lifetime later, there was a knock on the door, and then it swung open. Casey stood there, dressed in a purple hoodie and jeans. Carly rose to her feet, tears still in her eyes as he hugged her. She cried into his shoulder, cried and cried, for what felt like hours, just standing there, wrapped in his embrace, sobbing. He rubbed her back, and whispered quiet words, trying to console her.

When she had calmed down enough, he put his arm around her shoulder and led her slowly to his house, holding her close to his side. Emily was in the doorway when they returned, pulling Carly close to her, and leading them both to the living room.

“Carly…” Emily whispered as Carly laid her head on her friends shoulder, as more tears came. Emily was very quiet, rubbing Carly’s back as she sobbed. There was a stunned silence as even Emily and Casey’s parents filtered into the room. Their faces were both confused and shocked, but Casey quietly filled them in, his voice solemn and sad. Emily slowly released her friend and turned to her parents, tears also filled her eyes. Emily’s parents agreed to allow her to say, as long as that may be. It was then that Casey quietly reminded her that she had brought nothing with her. A stunned silence settled over the room. The only sound came from the heater as it pumped warm air into the cold atmosphere.

“I…I have to go back…don’t I?” Her voice was shaky, she could feel it vibrating weakly in her swollen throat.

“’fraid so,” Casey’s voice was very quiet as it left his mouth. Carly nodded her head, exhaling shakily.