Page 23 of Stranded for Christmas with my Boss

My legs nearly feel numb as I hurry out to my car, the world around me slightly blurry as I move as fast as I can. I don’t even realize that I’m tearing up until I get behind the wheel, making me hastily wipe my eyes.

How can I check and make sure my parents are okay if I get in a wreck on the way there?

They’recountingon me. They need me! And I need them.

I don’t know what I would do without them. Who would I decorate for Christmas with? Who would I run to when the world feels like it’s falling apart or when I want to laugh and make memories to put in scrapbooks?

“Come on. Come on,” I breathe out shakily as I wrap my trembling fingers around the steering wheel, holding on as tightly as I can to stabilize myself.

If my adrenaline wasn’t racing so fast, I would’ve been frozen in place.

But I hit the gas and go, feeling the heavy pulse of my beating heart the entire time I’m on the road and teetering between a sense of determined control and a flurry of panic.

By the time I make the drive there, my parents’ old Honda Odyssey is on the back of a rollback tow truck. The front end has significant damage, and the front windshield looks like a spiderweb with cracks stretching from corner to corner.

A few onlookers stand on either side of the street, murmuring to each other or just being nosy. It’s a small town, after all. This is probably the most riveting thing that has happened today.

I leave my car parked on the side of the two-lane street and hurry over to my parents, who are talking to a police officer off to the side in the grass. Luckily, it isn’t too busy of a street and only has neighborhoods on either side.

“Are you guys okay?” I call out as I rush to my parents, hugging both of them and checking them over for injuries.

From what I can see, my dad has a shallow cut on his arm that is barely bleeding, and my mom has her hand pressed against her shoulder where the seatbelt probably caught her. Nothing serious on the outside, but what about on the inside where the eye can’t see?

“We’re okay,” my dad assures me as he gives my arm a gentle squeeze before grimacing.

I fix him with a stern look. “Don’t lie to me. You didn’t get out of the hospital that long ago.”

My dad chuckles as he looks over at the police officer. “This is our daughter. She’s a worrier.”

“A realist,” I say before crossing my arms, feeling my mom place her hand on my back to try and get me to calm down. Adrenaline pumps through my blood, making me restless. “Where is the guy who pulled out in front of them?”

He can’t get away with being so reckless! But I’m sure it’ll just be a whole insurance deal with not much else that we can do.

“He was transported to the hospital to be checked on, ma’am,” the police officer tells me as he rests his hand on his belt. “I was just getting your parents’ statement.”

“There’s not much to it. He ran the light and cut in front of us. We didn’t have time to stop,” my mom explains with a sigh. She wrings her hands as her eyes shift to their damaged car. “And that was it. I’m just glad no one was really hurt.”

“Are you sure you guys don’t have any neck or head pain?” I ask them, unable to help myself.

They’re my parents! If I lost them because we didn’t take precautions, I would be devastated.

This entire situation already makes me sick to my stomach with worry because the problems that this wreck caused won’t end today. A domino effect of consequences is about to happen, and we’re already dealing with enough as it is.

My mom pulls me into a much-needed hug. “It’s okay, honey. We’re all right. Thank you for coming all the way out here.”

I gently hug her back, still afraid that she’s in pain and not telling me. “I hate that this happened. Is your car totaled?”

“The tow truck man didn’t say it was, but we’re definitely looking at extensive repairs if it’s not,” my dad says as his shoulders slump. “We’ve had that car for years. I can’t imagine just letting it go.”

And it’ll cost so much money to get something new. We can’t afford this right now! We’re only starting to get a handle on all the medical bills we were drowning in. This will set us back so much, and how long can we realistically tread water?

“Is there anything else you need from us?” my mom asks the police officer.

The police officer shakes his head. “That’s all. I suspect you guys have a ride home now?”

“I’ll take them home.” I nod to the police officer before he walks away, leaving my parents and me alone to stare at the street where there is still debris that needs to be cleared away.

Broken metal. Shattered glass. Dollars and dollars’ worth of damage.

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