"I... don't understand." That was a lie. I understood perfectly. I just wanted someone to tell me that I was wanted somewhere. "We have the DNA results here with us." The man who spoke reached for a small stack of papers on the principal's desk and handed them to me. I stared at them. Match. Emotions flooded through me. Happiness, belonging, shock, anger. Why would they wait so long to find me? They had fourteen years to look for me! I also had a chilling feeling that I couldn't explain. Deep inside me I wanted to impress them, but why should I? They got rid of me and didn't want me back until now. My biological parents must have noticed the distressed look on my face. "I know this is a lot for you, but we didn't have the financial stability to raise you until now. We're so sorry sweetheart." The woman explained. I had been called sweetheart so many times by so many different foster parents, but the word always felt fake. Now, it left an unfamiliar fuzzy feeling inside of me. A smile spread across my face. "We've already talked to the people taking care of you and they said that they'd be happy to return you to us. If that's okay with you." My parents beamed at me. After a moment of silence, I nodded, unsure of what else to do. Someone finally wanted me, but this was so sudden. "Well, since you completed the necessary paperwork, you can pull Elizabeth out of school early, so she can adjust." My principal turned to my parents and began discussing how I would get to school, what I could expect at home, etc. I was too overwhelmed to listen. The only question I could work through my overloaded brain came out while my principal was in the middle of a sentence. "Can we get a dog?" My parents turned to me as I tried my best to melt. I failed miserably. Smiling, my mom answered, "I've wanted a dog for a while. Now is a good of a time as ever." My dad started to interject, but my mom shushed him. It was a while since I felt a big smile on my face, but in that moment, I couldn't help but beam. My parents and the principal continued to discuss the school system for a while before finally ending the conversation with, "Thank you Ms. Woods. Have a good day." "You as well." The principal smiled at us before turning her attention back to the papers in front of her. The drive home was filled with a painful, inescapable silence. I wanted to break it and ask my parents about where they have been all my life, but as the shy introvert I am, I chickened out. My brain rushed from topic to topic, trying to think about anything that my parents might be interested in, but I drew a blank. As I tried to open my mouth to shove some words out, an impact stunned me into silence. This time, not everything wasn't silent though. Screams pierced the air and crashes echoed around me. I squeezed my eyes shut as thoughts raced through my head and mixed with more panic and physical pain than I'd ever felt before. The car my parents were driving me to their home in rolled across the freeway and crashed into the barrier in the middle of the road. My head throbbed and drops of what I assumed to be bl00d trickled down into my left eye, but thankfully, I was alive. Couldn't say the same for the car. It had settled onto its side and leaned precariously on the boarder. "Mom? Dad? Are you okay?" My voice shook like there was an earthquake, but I managed to force out the words. After waiting for a moment with no answer from them, I carefully leaned forward and looked into the front seats. I gasped as I saw my dad's neck twisted in a way that made him resemble an owl. His lifeless eyes bored into my soul, and I quickly looked away. Unfortunately, the direction I looked was where my mom's body lay in the driver's seat, hunched over the wheel. Trying to force short breaths through my quickly constricting throat, I leaned into the backseat. Everything ached, but nothing felt broken. I pushed my way through the broken glass surrounding me and climbed out of the car door which was hanging on by the skin of it's teeth. I stumbled away from the car and knelt on the ground, angry and shocked tears streaming down my face. The moment I finally got my parents back, they were gone. It felt like the universe just wanted to torment me. Give me a little light in my dark life just to snuff it out again. Through tears, I screamed into the traffic. It wasn't English. I don't even know if it could be classified as gibberish. I just wanted to do something that I could control for once. My life was over. Again.
Credits to Missy0209 for the writing contest
