Chapter 2

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A Few Hours Earlier...

Mrs. Bush reviewed the university documents for what felt like the hundredth time.

“I still can’t believe she chose my university,” she said, shaking her head. “Out of all the schools in New York.”

“And yet you’ve been smiling ever since she got accepted,” Adam replied, stealing a glance at his wife.

Mary tried to hide her grin and failed miserably.

“I have not.”

“You have.”

“I have not.”

“You literally called three people to tell them.”

“That was different.”

Adam laughed.

“Honestly,” Mary continued, adjusting the papers on her lap, “before we do anything else, we should find a decent hostel for her. At least for the first semester. I don’t want us running around this city like headless chickens looking for accommodation.”

Adam nearly choked. “That might be a problem.”

Mary slowly turned toward him. “What problem?”

“I may have promised Grace she wouldn’t be staying in a hostel.”

Silence.

Then… “Adam Bush.”

“What?”

“You promised our daughter an apartment?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“Definitely.”

Mary stared at him. “When exactly are you planning on telling me this?”

Adam shrugged. “I thought you knew.”

“I was standing beside you. I wasn’t gonna eavesdrop on my own husband.”

Adam burst out laughing. “Besides,” he continued, “what’s wrong with an apartment?”

“For starters, if she’s in a hostel, I can keep an eye on her.”

“You don’t need to keep an eye on her.”

Mary raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

“Our daughter was raised properly.”

“That doesn’t stop boys from existing.”

Adam laughed so hard he nearly missed a turn. “Mary!”

“What? Have you seen college boys? Half of them survive on instant noodles and bad decisions.”

Despite herself, Mary laughed too. “Still...”

“I know,” Adam said softly.

They both knew. Grace was growing up. And neither of them was quite ready for it.

In the back seat, meanwhile, Grace was completely absent from reality.

Headphones in. Eyes glued to the window.

Mary twisted around.

“Grace.” No response. “Grace.” Nothing.

Adam glanced at the rearview mirror. “She’s gone.”

Mary followed his gaze and sighed.

“Completely gone.”

“Mental departure confirmed.”

Mary shook her head. “Look at her. We’re discussing her future, and she’s already living in it.”

Adam smiled. “Let her dream. She’s worked hard for this.”

Mary’s expression softened. “I know.” After a moment, she added, “Though I still think she’ll end up in a hostel.”

Adam groaned. “Just warn me before you tell her.”

“Why?”

“So, I can switch off my phone.”

Mary laughed. “You coward.”

“I’m serious. That girl can argue.”

“Wonder where she got that from.”

Adam wisely chose not to answer.

From the back seat, Grace shifted slightly, completely unaware she was the topic of discussion.

Mary smiled. “Fine. We’ll let her choose later.”

Both parents turned toward their daughter, who was completely lost.

As if she were already walking through the streets of New York. They couldn’t help laughing.

“Yeah,” Adam said. “She’s definitely deciding nothing right now.”

Grace never heard a word.

Her mind was filled with dreams. She imagined where she would be five years from now.

Five years… that was all she needed, and everything would be different.

She was too busy imagining a life that was about to be rewritten in the cruelest way possible.

Then came a scream, a sharp, terrified scream.

Her mother’s.

Grace’s eyes flew open. The daydream vanished instantly as a red car sped past them. Her headphones slipped off her ears.

She saw her father gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles had turned white. Up ahead, a massive truck was barreling straight toward them.

“What the hell is he doing?” Adam shouted.

“Oh, my God!” Mary screamed again.

The sound was so loud it made Grace’s heart jump into her throat.

Everything happened at once.

No matter which way her father turned, the truck kept coming… and their car wasn’t slowing down either.

“Damn it!” Adam cursed.

He slammed his foot against the brakes again. Nothing. The brakes had failed.

“Adam!” Mary cried.

“I know!”

The steering wheel jerked violently beneath his hands. Thinking fast, Adam swerved toward the trees lining the side of the road.

For one brief second, Grace thought they were going to make it.

Then another truck appeared out of nowhere. A transport truck carrying long metal poles.

It crashed into them with so much force that their windshield exploded.

The car rolled.

Once, twice.

Grace lost all sense of direction.

The sky became the road. The road became the sky. Someone was screaming. Maybe it was her, or her mother.

She could not tell.

Then... the car came to a standstill in the middle of the road.

For a brief second, everything went strangely quiet.

Grace blinked. Her ears rang. Her head felt heavy. She tried to figure out what had just happened.

Beside her, she heard her mother crying now.

Somewhere ahead, metal poles flew in every direction.

Then Adam looked up… and saw a metal pole flying straight toward the passenger side. His eyes darted to his daughter.

She was unstable.

Then, in that split second, Adam made the same choice countless fathers would have made without thinking.

He threw himself across the seat.

“Grace!”

It was the last thing she heard him shout.

Before she felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around her, pulling her close, and holding her in place.

For a moment, she thought her father was hugging her.

The way he used to when she was little and woke up crying from a nightmare.

Then he groaned.

A sound she had never heard from her father before. It made her freeze.

“Father?”

No answer.

Something warm dropped onto her face. Then another drop.

And another.

Confused, Grace lifted a trembling hand and touched her face.

Blood.

Her eyes widened. But she wasn’t hurt.

At least, she didn’t think she was.

“M-Mom?”

Slowly, she turned.

Mary had gone still. Hands over her mouth. Her face had gone completely pale.

She was staring at something… that made her look terrified.

Grace followed her gaze, blinking rapidly, trying to clear her blurry vision.

Then… slowly, she lifted her head. Her father was staring down at her.

Blood on his lips. His face was pale.

So pale… yet when their eyes met, he still tried to smile.

“D… Dad?” Her voice broke.

Adam opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

Nothing came out. Only blood. More of it this time.

Grace froze.

Her breathing caught in her throat as her eyes dropped slowly, almost against her will.

And she saw it.

The metal pole had gone straight through his chest.

Tears filled her eyes almost instantly.

“No.” It came out barely.“No… Papa!”

She shook her head hard, like she could erase what she was seeing.

“No, no, no…” Her vision blurred completely. “Dad!”

She screamed desperately… But there was no answer.

No movement. His body had gone still against her.

Panicking, she tried to move toward him. Pain shot through her body.

A few of the metal poles had collapsed across her legs, pinning her in place.

“Help!” She reached for her mother.

“Mum!” No response.

Mary was no longer staring at Adam. Her eyes had drifted shut. Fear exploded inside Grace’s chest.

“Mum, Dad!” she kept screaming and calling, but neither of them answered.

The sounds around her gradually faded.

Everything slipped away. And then… darkness finally swallowed her whole.

***

A few hours later…

Grace woke up screaming.

Her body shot forward. Her breath came in sharp, broken pulls. Her pillow was soaked.

She blinked, trying to understand where she was. White room.

Antiseptic smell.

Machines are beeping somewhere far away.

She turned her head.

Mrs. Lara Hail was sitting beside her bed. “You’re awake,” she said softly.

Grace tried to speak. “Mrs…” Her throat burned. “My… head…”

“Don’t strain yourself,” Mrs. Hail said quickly, pulling her into a careful embrace. “You’re going to be okay.”

Grace looked down.

Her body was wrapped in bandages.

Everything hurt. But that wasn’t what scared her. She turned her head sharply.

“Where am I? What happened?” she asked, glancing around the room.

There was only one bed. And she was the only one lying in it.

Then it hit her. Her parents.

She grabbed Mrs. Hail’s arm. “Where are they?” Her voice trembled. “They were with me… where are they?”

Mrs. Hail’s face changed. Just for a second. Then she forced a smile.

“You’re in the hospital, Grace. Your parents… they’re okay.”

“Okay?”

Grace repeated it slowly, like she was trying to understand the word.

“Yes,” Mrs. Hail said gently. “Just rest. When you wake up properly, I’ll take you to them.”

The moment those words left Mrs. Hail’s mouth, something inside Grace told her they weren’t true.

But her body hurt too much, and her mind felt too heavy to hold on to that thought.

“Okay,” she murmured. “I’m sleepy.”

“It’s alright. You can sleep now.”

Grace closed her eyes. But sleep never came.

Instead, she found herself back in that car.

Back in that moment… again and again. Her father threw himself in front of her.

The same scene kept replaying as a film stuck on repeat, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make it stop.