Drowning Lessons
Metal, Rain, and Thunder
6 months ago
November 7, 2007
7:30 PM
"Be back by 10 alright?" My father, Billie Joe, said looking up from the TV screen to look at me.
I gave him a smile. "I will, don't worry okay?"
He answered with a nod as he looked back at the TV just in time to see a skater crash head-first into the ground. He winced as the host of Scarred appeared on the screen.
Noticing that I was still there, he looked up at me, a confusing look formed on his face. "What?"
I gave him an 'I can't believe you would forget!' look. "Don't I get a hug?"
He let out a laugh and pulled me close into a hug. "I love you." He said with a smile.
"I love you too daddy." I said back as I gave him a small kiss on his forehead. "I'll be back soon."
I then quickly walked over into the hallway and grabbed my shoes to put them on, leaning against the wall for balance. I sighed out of habit as I took my black hair tie off my wrist to pull my long black, curly hair up away from my face.
I then looked around for a moment trying to find what I needed but gave up and asked in a frustrated tone, "Has anyone seen my My Chemical Romance hoodie?"
"The last time I saw it, it was in your closet, Brianna." My mother said as she cleaned the dishes in the kitchen.
I let out another sigh, louder and more dramatic than the last. "You mean I have to go all the way upstairs and into my room to get it?"
My mom gave me a crooked smile. "You sure do!"
I sighed once more as I climbed all the way up the stairs to retrieve my beloved hoodie.
So when I finally got ready my cousin, Lacey, was waiting outside in the car impatiently. She honked the horn in frustration.
"What took you so long?" Lacey asked right when I got in her car and out of the storm that was outside.
"Sorry...I had to look for something." I replied, giving her my best excuse.
She put her car, an old beat up, hand-me-down 1972 Ford Mustang in reverse and slowly backed out of the driveway and onto the road. "Oh..."
Lacey turned up the radio as she sped down the highway; The song Dead! was on.
We both started singing but I stopped when I noticed an important issue.
"Lacey, why don't you put your seatbelt on?" I asked. She knows how I am with my safety worries!
She sighed. "Relax Brianna! The mall is not that far away!" (We were now on the highway, about ten minutes away)
I stared at her for a moment and sighed. I didn't want to argue with her. "Well...oh...okay..."
"Come on Brianna, lighten up! This is supposed to be a celebration with you entering high school and what-not."
I laughed. "Oh wow! I'm just bursting with excitment!"
She smiled. "You know, you are so much like your--"
"--Father, I know Lacey. People say that all the time!" I said, finishing her sentence.
"Heh!" Lacey cried out randomly. I'm guessing that was supposed to be a laugh...?
"Heh heh!" I cried back.
We laughed once more and began to sing along with My Chemical Romance.
Yeah!
And if your heart stops beating
I'll be here wondering.
Did you get what you deserved?
The ending of your life.
And if you get to heaven
I'll be here waiting, babe
Did you get what you deserve?
The end, and if your life won't wait
Then your heart can't take this
Have you heard the news that you're dead?
No one ever had much nice to say
I think they never liked you anyway
Oh take me from the hospital bed
Wouldn't it be grand? It ain't exactly what you planned.
And wouldn't it be great If we were dead?
Then all the sudden....Bam!
It all happened so fast. I saw the car coming towards us on the left side, apparently running a red light, and I braced myself knowing what was going to happen.
It was so silent in those last couple of seconds besides the occasional roar of the thunder and the constant clanking of the rain.
I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch this akward skit. So akward just because of how slowly you react to things like this.
You just sit there like nothing's happening at all until it was finally over. Lacey's hands, still gripped the wheel looking straight ahead of her, her right foot on the gas pedal. The car was trying to get away from the accident. Trying so hard to force itself out of it's opponent's grasp.
But it was too late.
I wanted so badly for this to be a dream; just a horrible dream that I would wake up to in a matter of seconds. I counted to five and pinched my wrist, hoping it would wake me up, but it never did.
Then I heard it. The sound of the glass braking, the crunching of metal to metal. My eyes were still closed. I didn't want to watch. The car had hit us, there was no doubt about that.
The pain shooting up and down my body was nothing I'd ever experienced before. Though the sound of the metal, the thunder, and the rain clanking to the ground was so loud, I could hear it; my ribs braking into millions of pieces. It felt like I was about to shatter along with the windows, like I was being ripped in half.
I finally realized, with the dizzy sensation in my head, that Lacey's car was rolling down what felt like a hill. My mind wanted me to open my eyes but I disobayed it's comands. It asked me again and once more I said no as blood started flowing down my face.
This was a reality flash for me; the blood. I wanted to scream but something wouldn't let me. It was as if I had something shoved down my throat.
My mind began playing my life backwords like the rewinding of a video tape. This was it...my life was about to end. I knew it.
The car rolled and rolled and for what seemed like an enternity, but still I didn't want to open my eyes. Even though my mind told me to I could hear a voice crying the opposite.
It was a man...a man's voice. But in all the confusion I was in I called out Lacey's name, thinking it was her calling my name, but I recieved no answer.
"Lacey?" I cried again, not even realizing that I had opened my eyes. There was no way to tell which part of the car was up and which was down. Up became down and down became up.
I looked ahead of me alarmed to find that the car was heading straight for a brick wall.
"Brianna, close your eyes!"
It was that man again.
I didn't have time to question the voice so I waited for the last second to savor the freedom of vision and quickly closed my eyes once more. Although my eyes were shut tight I could see a bright light before...
Bam!
It was the last thing I heard along with the thunder, the metal, and the rain.
November 7, 2007
7:30 PM
"Be back by 10 alright?" My father, Billie Joe, said looking up from the TV screen to look at me.
I gave him a smile. "I will, don't worry okay?"
He answered with a nod as he looked back at the TV just in time to see a skater crash head-first into the ground. He winced as the host of Scarred appeared on the screen.
Noticing that I was still there, he looked up at me, a confusing look formed on his face. "What?"
I gave him an 'I can't believe you would forget!' look. "Don't I get a hug?"
He let out a laugh and pulled me close into a hug. "I love you." He said with a smile.
"I love you too daddy." I said back as I gave him a small kiss on his forehead. "I'll be back soon."
I then quickly walked over into the hallway and grabbed my shoes to put them on, leaning against the wall for balance. I sighed out of habit as I took my black hair tie off my wrist to pull my long black, curly hair up away from my face.
I then looked around for a moment trying to find what I needed but gave up and asked in a frustrated tone, "Has anyone seen my My Chemical Romance hoodie?"
"The last time I saw it, it was in your closet, Brianna." My mother said as she cleaned the dishes in the kitchen.
I let out another sigh, louder and more dramatic than the last. "You mean I have to go all the way upstairs and into my room to get it?"
My mom gave me a crooked smile. "You sure do!"
I sighed once more as I climbed all the way up the stairs to retrieve my beloved hoodie.
So when I finally got ready my cousin, Lacey, was waiting outside in the car impatiently. She honked the horn in frustration.
"What took you so long?" Lacey asked right when I got in her car and out of the storm that was outside.
"Sorry...I had to look for something." I replied, giving her my best excuse.
She put her car, an old beat up, hand-me-down 1972 Ford Mustang in reverse and slowly backed out of the driveway and onto the road. "Oh..."
Lacey turned up the radio as she sped down the highway; The song Dead! was on.
We both started singing but I stopped when I noticed an important issue.
"Lacey, why don't you put your seatbelt on?" I asked. She knows how I am with my safety worries!
She sighed. "Relax Brianna! The mall is not that far away!" (We were now on the highway, about ten minutes away)
I stared at her for a moment and sighed. I didn't want to argue with her. "Well...oh...okay..."
"Come on Brianna, lighten up! This is supposed to be a celebration with you entering high school and what-not."
I laughed. "Oh wow! I'm just bursting with excitment!"
She smiled. "You know, you are so much like your--"
"--Father, I know Lacey. People say that all the time!" I said, finishing her sentence.
"Heh!" Lacey cried out randomly. I'm guessing that was supposed to be a laugh...?
"Heh heh!" I cried back.
We laughed once more and began to sing along with My Chemical Romance.
Yeah!
And if your heart stops beating
I'll be here wondering.
Did you get what you deserved?
The ending of your life.
And if you get to heaven
I'll be here waiting, babe
Did you get what you deserve?
The end, and if your life won't wait
Then your heart can't take this
Have you heard the news that you're dead?
No one ever had much nice to say
I think they never liked you anyway
Oh take me from the hospital bed
Wouldn't it be grand? It ain't exactly what you planned.
And wouldn't it be great If we were dead?
Then all the sudden....Bam!
It all happened so fast. I saw the car coming towards us on the left side, apparently running a red light, and I braced myself knowing what was going to happen.
It was so silent in those last couple of seconds besides the occasional roar of the thunder and the constant clanking of the rain.
I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch this akward skit. So akward just because of how slowly you react to things like this.
You just sit there like nothing's happening at all until it was finally over. Lacey's hands, still gripped the wheel looking straight ahead of her, her right foot on the gas pedal. The car was trying to get away from the accident. Trying so hard to force itself out of it's opponent's grasp.
But it was too late.
I wanted so badly for this to be a dream; just a horrible dream that I would wake up to in a matter of seconds. I counted to five and pinched my wrist, hoping it would wake me up, but it never did.
Then I heard it. The sound of the glass braking, the crunching of metal to metal. My eyes were still closed. I didn't want to watch. The car had hit us, there was no doubt about that.
The pain shooting up and down my body was nothing I'd ever experienced before. Though the sound of the metal, the thunder, and the rain clanking to the ground was so loud, I could hear it; my ribs braking into millions of pieces. It felt like I was about to shatter along with the windows, like I was being ripped in half.
I finally realized, with the dizzy sensation in my head, that Lacey's car was rolling down what felt like a hill. My mind wanted me to open my eyes but I disobayed it's comands. It asked me again and once more I said no as blood started flowing down my face.
This was a reality flash for me; the blood. I wanted to scream but something wouldn't let me. It was as if I had something shoved down my throat.
My mind began playing my life backwords like the rewinding of a video tape. This was it...my life was about to end. I knew it.
The car rolled and rolled and for what seemed like an enternity, but still I didn't want to open my eyes. Even though my mind told me to I could hear a voice crying the opposite.
It was a man...a man's voice. But in all the confusion I was in I called out Lacey's name, thinking it was her calling my name, but I recieved no answer.
"Lacey?" I cried again, not even realizing that I had opened my eyes. There was no way to tell which part of the car was up and which was down. Up became down and down became up.
I looked ahead of me alarmed to find that the car was heading straight for a brick wall.
"Brianna, close your eyes!"
It was that man again.
I didn't have time to question the voice so I waited for the last second to savor the freedom of vision and quickly closed my eyes once more. Although my eyes were shut tight I could see a bright light before...
Bam!
It was the last thing I heard along with the thunder, the metal, and the rain.