I'm sitting in the waiting room of the local hospital, balling my hands into fists. There are a lot of people even at this late hour shuffling around, walking to the reception desk with frowns. They speak with harsh words and point to the clock. It seems like I'm the only calm one in a state of confusion, but I'm too scared to get up or do anything. My spine creaks against the back of the chair as I change positions, so I feel hunched over. My hands are white and shaking, and my throat is dry, but I still swallow when a lady approaches me. I only see his sneakers and don't meet his eyes. “Are you okay, young man?” he asks. With relief and terror I realize it's not a nurse and I look up to see an older woman carrying a bag over her shoulder. I smile and nod, but to my dismay she sits down next to me and places her bag at her feet. "Do you need anything?" “No,” I tell her, running my fingers through my dark hair. I notice the pain in the back of my neck and my hand is wet with sweat when I pull it back and look at it. The stranger gives me a strange look and shifts in her seat to make a point. “Look, honey,” he says, “you can talk to me about whatever's going on, okay?” Continue when I don't answer. “Why are you here all alone?” “Car accident,” I reply, looking at my watch. Everyone else's impatience begins to get to me, and the seconds tick by as the minute hand stretches toward midnight. "I'm sorry, doll." “It's okay,” I lie. She sits down in her chair before reaching over to grab a magazine from a table in front of us. The woman no longer makes any attempt to console me, but flips through the pages, her eyes darting frantically across... the center of the paper... aren't they?" My voice is a mere whisper and I know the doctor doesn't you heard me correctly. I repeat myself. “You don't need to give me a speech, doctor. I know they're dead.” He bites his lip and nods. You'd think it would be easier for a doctor to break the news. “I'm sorry, son.” I had spent the last hour preparing for this moment, because deep down I felt like I knew mine family would never make it out of the hospital alive. And yet, those words hit me with full force, and I feel my breathing quicken and my heartbeat quicken as my eyes dart around the room. My pulse pounds in my temple if I had just run a mile, and the doctor is trying to get me to calm down, but the room is spinning and inky blackness creeps into the corner of my vision. My legs are weak and shaking as I succumb to the horror of it all. And in that moment, the world falls under my feet..