A Family Tragedy Unfolds

Lanie

The only thing worse than a tragedy was the silence that followed it.

I never knew that before—not until I sat in the back of a cab with quiet cutting me to the bone. Next to me, Andrew had given up on calling the hospital, Karen, and the police. None of them had been able to provide him with all the answers he wanted.

There was a car accident. Raven was in a coma. Someone else was driving. Come right away. That’s all any of them would say.

Andrew sat forward, his fist pressed against his mouth, staring at the back of the driver’s seat but surely not seeing it.

“Hey,” I whispered, my voice cracking.

I reached over and took the hand that lay on his knee. It was too cold. He’d forgotten to put his gloves on. If it weren’t for me grabbing his jacket as we rushed out of the hotel room, he wouldn’t be wearing that either.

“Raven’s a fighter,” I said.

His lips twitched, and his eyes stayed where they’d been the last ten minutes. After getting the call from Karen, we were finally back