The Accident

An excerpt from “6 Blocks Home”

Every one of Sam’s physical senses was on high alert.

She noticed things she had never noticed before, and they all seemed unnaturally sharp and clear: the hum of the tires on the road, the whoosh of each car they passed, the steady rhythm of street lights wiping across the seat, the smell of the lavender-scented air freshener hanging on the rearview mirror and the way it swung and spun, the sensation of the seatbelt digging into her neck.

All these things Sam noticed and catalogued in her memory bank. But her inside feelings, her emotions, hadn’t activated yet. It made her feel like a robot, and all she could think was that she must be a terrible daughter.

A good daughter would feel sad or angry or scared… or anything at all. A good daughter would have asked that detective questions, like where the accident had happened, whether other people were involved, what kind of injuries her parents had suffered.

A good daughter wouldn’t have spent the afternoon wishing she were part of someone else’s family.