What Could’ve Been

It was just another trip back from my dad’s. It was supposed to be normal. My mom’s dog, Roxy, was in the car, perched on her lap like a glorified cotton ball. I was in the passenger seat. I was only 14 years old, the only thing to my name being my frizzy hair and dirty converse shoes.

I used to go to my dad’s house every other weekend. It was in Phoenix and was a long hour-and-fifteen-minute drive from my mom’s house. Split between a meeting point, it was only a 45-minute drive on my mom’s end. It was dark out, the moon was glaring down at us, as we went to get off on an exit at Cordes Lake junction.

We crashed. Went straight through a roundabout going over 50 as my mom slammed on the brakes. We went right into the side of a hill. All I knew was that Roxy who used to be on my mom’s lap was now on the floor by my seat. The seatbelt blazed like fire against my chest. I tried to get out of the car, but the passenger door wouldn’t open. I vaulted over the armrest and tried to open the backdoor, but it wouldn’t budge. I panicked. My heart was going to beat out of my chest and leave me cold on the floor, unmoving.

The crash was loud. People came running over to help and yanked the backdoor open. I stumbled out of the car and breathed in cool air. My mom opened her car door and gave me Roxy as I sat in the dirt. Someone tried to get my mom out of the car, but she refused, and stayed. It was then I realized that she had low sugar.

My mom’s a type 1 diabetic. Most people don’t realize that it’s kind of like dealing with a drunk person. She shouldn’t have been driving. I got her some skittles. Called my brother to come pick us up as I waited for her to get back to “normal”.

The car was totaled. A mangled mess of a van. The passenger side had a sign sticking out of it. Despite that, I realized that we were all ok. Roxy was fine. My mom was fine. I was fine.

The seatbelts kept us from flying through the windshield, which the odds were strong since we came to a stop so quickly. I was grateful I put my seatbelt on. I remembered my cousin, Michelle, who I was named after, died in a car accident because she was not wearing a seatbelt.

As someone who has been in a car accident, due to somebody being behind the wheel when they shouldn’t have, please, do not drink and drive. Wear your seatbelts. Do not text behind the wheel. Anything that is distracting can wait. And I mean anything. Nothing is more important than your life. You hear me? Nothing.

Remember that every time you get behind the wheel. Drive safely.