Song is "Lost in the Universe"

The chapter is dedicated to @thetrueflame Please go check out the book, The Long Forgotten. :)

I want to thank the Spring Awards 2017 for Mirror Mirror winning 1st place for Teen Fiction!

****Warning**** This chapter is a little emotional. And has to deal with death and I don't want it to upset anyone.

(Sebastian POV)

March 12, 5:00 p.m.

I stood bolt upright from my chair in the waiting room. "Mom, what is it?"

At the sound of my voice, her eyes shut briefly to mask any emotion. "You need to come with me." She tilted her head to take in the sight of Owen and the others. "You all need to follow me. There is a family lounge down the hall where we can talk."

My mom wouldn't look directly at me. She forced a small smile to seem reassuring. Only I knew better, and the sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach, along with the cold sweat prickling the palms of my hands reminded me of that fact.

She walked toward a different set of closed double doors and paused. Her hands anxiously patted the sides of her pockets and the front of her black silk button down in search of her badge. My mom's frustration was palpable as she heaved an exasperated sigh and turned to face the large man sitting behind the counter at the nearby security guard's office.

"Todd, can you buzz me in?" She huffed before motioning to the five of us standing to her side. "And they're with me."

Barely a second passed before the door hummed as the metal handle of the door shifted downward and my mom propped the door open. The sound of her black heels clattering as they came in contact with the vinyl floor held my focus. Tap. Tap. Tap. I counted a total of forty-nine taps later and never once did I chance a glance upwards to see those glass windows that spanned the distance. Patient room after patient room we walked by and from my periphery, I tried not to notice all the ones with their drapes not drawn for their occupant's privacy versus the ones covered.

My mother lightly touched each of my teammate's shoulders as they entered the room. I stalled, shaking my head.

This was it. Call it déjà vu or whatever retrospect bullshit, but this was exactly how she told me once my dad had died. In a room just like this, with my three sisters and grandparents there to help console us.

It took her wrapping an arm around me to prompt me to move. The silence loomed as her much smaller frame shook with every step we took together.

To the left, an open area had a singular gurney with a few doctors and nurses rushing around it. My mother's gaze fixed on the flurry of activity and hesitated for a moment. She caught me looking, immediately closing the curtain to form a barrier.

The small family's lounge had its walls painted a tranquil blue, probably to invoke feelings of calm. A couple of chairs and a couch carried the similar theme of a mauve pink. A total of three cheap wood end tables each had a box of Kleenex that appeared freshly plucked by a few of my friend's parents already sitting there waiting for us.

Owen's mom and dad.

Mrs. Starsky.

Mr. Reynolds and Mason's stepmom, Phyllis.

Even Luke's mom and older sister, Julie were here.

I gave my mom a brief sideways glance. "What is going on?"

She cleared her throat and nodded at the mayor, Mr. Clark. He extricated himself from his wife to stand.

"If all of you will just give us a few moments with the boys," he said solemnly to the rest of the adults in the room.

At his suggestion, every one of them rose from their seats, the looks of pure sadness greeting me.

"Why don't you all take a seat." My mom offered by waving her hand at the now empty couch and chairs. Owen shrugged and sat without question. Mason and Luke, both gave me a leery glance before hesitantly conceding.

"What is this all about?" Dylan crossed his arms and stood defiantly. I wouldn't have considered Dylan Starsky as a fellow voice of reason.

Neither Mom nor Mr. Clark said anything for a few seconds. They just kept looking at each other as if deciding who was going to answer Dylan.

My mom didn't notice the few tears falling to her cheeks while she forced another smile. I took a step or two backward until pressing my back against the wall for support. It was the only thing I could think to do to brace myself for what would come next.

"Boys," Mr. Clark said and stalled by glancing toward the ceiling. "The Ryan's were in a car accident. A horrible one." His voice broke off, and my mom turned to face me.

"Mom?" I whispered, hoping she would put a stop to what he would continue saying. She raised a hand to my cheek, patting it ever so lightly as the tears landed freely without her even trying to hide her anguish.

All it took was hearing her saying the consoling words, "I know," and my knees buckled. My whole body quivered and shrunk as my stomach clenched.

No. This was not happening. What he and she were inferring or insinuating or trying to make us believe was wrong.

My inner ramblings ceased as I glanced at my friends and realized by each of their varied expressions that only one other understood what the mayor had meant.

Dylan sucked his bottom lip in and kept shaking his head so fast to hold back the emotions. To avoid the reality. He shot me a pained stare, and I didn't know which one of us was going to lose it first.

"So..." Owen rubbed the back of his neck. "What does that mean? Where are they?"

Mason and Luke nodded their subtle agreement with Owen's question.

"Kyle." Mr. Clark took his time glancing speculatively at each of us. "From what the sheriff told us from the scene..."

My shoulders curled over my chest, and those stupid excuses of legs of mine wouldn't bear my weight any longer. I slid down the wall and pulled my knees into my chest.

My mom could only stand there, staring absently at the open doorway as she added, "He was killed on impact."

Her words sliced through me. I had to cover my mouth to keep from getting sick.

"What?" Owen leaped from the couch. Without thinking otherwise, he started toward the door when his father caught him by the shoulders.

The room stayed relatively silent for a while. Owen continued crying into his father's shoulder while Mason and Luke sat there, both completely in awe and dumbstruck by the news. Dylan had faced away from our small gathering so that I couldn't get a read from him.

The quiet allowed for me to think, rationally. The car. The four of them. Why weren't they telling us about Tom, Kyle's dad? Or Tonya, his mom? And then my breathing became heavier as my heart raced. Even the thought of what my mind was pondering had me bargaining with God. The same way I had the night my dad died.

Not her, God. Please, not her.

I groaned and looked to my mom. "What about the rest?"

"The rest?" Owen repeated as he pulled away from his dad. "What does he mean?" His voice wobbled and cracked.

"Tom was thrown from the car and pronounced dead already. Tonya." My mom hesitated and inhaled deeply to find her resolve. "Was also killed."

"How did all this happen?" Dylan asked and therefore stopped her from telling me the most important detail at the moment.

What about Shelby?

Mr. Clark passed my mom a few tissues to wipe the wetness away from her eyes. "We don't quite know yet, son."

I zeroed my attention again on my mother while Mr. Clark continued telling the others what he did know.

"Sebastian?" She shuddered and crouched to my level. "She's still alive―"

"Shelby's alive?" I interrupted and jumped from that sitting position so fast; I knocked my mother off balance.

With her still on the ground, I made it out the door as the adrenaline pumped through my veins.

She's alive. She's alive.

My steps stalled once I ended right outside that closed curtain. The voices of the doctors and nurses carried, allowing me to overhear the mayhem.

Phrases like, "her pulse is dropping," and "we're losing her," to "I need suction," filled the verbal void over the beeping monitors and rapid and frenzied movements.

I stood there, frozen in that place as one nurse pushed back the curtain. It revealed what my mind already knew, while my breaking heart stayed in total denial.

It was Shelby.

A limp arm hung to the side with blood dripping to the floor. The tubing in her mouth helped to force the air into her lungs. Her left lower leg didn't even appear intact. At least not whole from where I was standing. She wasn't moving. She wasn't conscious. There was so much blood. And with that many people working on her, it didn't look good.

"Sebastian." My mom rushed into the sterile hallway, She thought by placing herself between me and the horrific scene of the doctors as they continued working on Shelby that it would somehow sway me to quit watching. That wasn't even a possibility.

"You have to help her," I demanded. I never asked anything of my mom. Ever. She needed to do this one damn thing for me. "Save her. Please."

She hesitated for a few moments. "I don't know if there is anything they can do."

"You're a doctor. She's your patient. This is Shelby, Mom! Damn it, do something!" I took a step toward the room once my mother didn't.

Someone had to do something. Too much was lost already. My best friend. His parents that I loved like my own.

Not her too.

_____________________________________________

Just a couple more chapters of all this heaviness. I promise. Poor Sebastian.

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