Believe Me, I'm Lying

 Rain was always a harbinger of tragedy. 

Something bad didn't happen every time it rains, no, but everything bad that had happened to me in my life on a day it was pouring. A light sprinkle never fazed me, it was only when the rain seemed relentless.

It started when I was seven. A car hit my cat that had been with me ever since I was born because the driver couldn't see through the torrential rainfall. But that was only the first thing.

When I was ten, I found out my grandpa had cancer. It was raining that day. Then, almost a year later, it was raining the day he died. He had been the only family I had besides my mother, father, and my uncle. My little brother hadn't been born at that time.

It had been raining the day I broke my leg in gym class when I was thirteen.

Rain pounded the ground the day my house burned down when I was fourteen, forcing my family to move across town, away from my friends and school.

And it had been raining the day my parents died. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rain pelted against the windowpanes, almost drowning out the sound of the teacher ranting about sine, cosine and tangent.

"Sohcahtoa," Miss Clemm said to the class, writing the word on the board. "Sine is opposite over hypotenuse, cosine is adjacent overy hypotenuse, and tangent is opposite over adjacent. Make sure you write that down, because I promise you that it will help you greatly when the chapter test come."

I picked up my pencil and scribbled down the foreign word, repeating it over and over again on my head. Geometry wasn't my best subject. In fact, it was my worst.

Suddenly, the door burst open and the principal, Mr. Venn, walked in, looking stricken.

At the time, it never occured to me that something was horribly wrong, but looking back now, I should've have realized something was wrong. The rain told it all.

Mr. Venn conversed with Miss Clemm quietly for a moment, and then an expression of shock mingled with alarm crossed her face. By now, I was curious. Apparently, the class was too because everyone had gone deathly silent.

"Lyra," started Miss Clemm, gesturing me to the front of the room with her hand.

A weight dropped into my gut as I stood slowly, under the impression that I was in some serious trouble. My thoughts raced as I frantically thought of what I could have done to get me in trouble with the principal.

"Bring your stuff." Mr. Venn ordered.

I swallowed as I nodded, flipping the binder on my desk shut, not bothering to take out the pencil or calculator. Unzipping my backpack, I quickly stuffed the binder into it, zipping it back up as I made my way to the front of the classroom.

Mr. Venn immediately began walking out of the classroom and I followed behind him, my hands shaking. 

What had I done? I couldn't remember doing anything bad! Well, earlier today, I had stolen a lollipop from the secretary's office while turning in the attendance form, but I didn't think I'd me in so much trouble! 

Shock passed my face when we walked straight past the principal's office. I glanced up Mr. Venn, a confused expression written all over my face.

"Where are we going?" 

"To the school's entrance." he responded simply, not turning to look at me. "You're uncle is here. You're leaving early." 

"My uncle?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mr. Venn didn't reply, so I stayed quiet, miffed. Why would my uncle take me out of school early? Wasn't he busy with his job? After all, he was the principal of the town's delinquent school, surely he needed to be there?

We reached the entrance of the school and I saw my uncle pacing by the doors. I rushed up to him, giving him a hug. 

"Uncle Rob! How are you?" 

"Lyra," my uncle breathed, pulling me away from the embrace. "Listen, your parents got in an accident and they're at the hospital in critical condition."

My smile dropped, and a frown took it's place. "I know you like to joke, Uncle Rob, but that's a little. . . "

"I'm not joking!" he told me, looking at me for the first time.

My blood ran cold when I saw his expression. I couldn't describe it, but I knew at once he wasn't joking.

Tears immediately sprung from my eyes as my chest tightened. "W - what? Are they going to be okay?"

"I don't know," my uncle said sadly, running a hand through his chestnut colored hair. "Do you have your stuff? We've got to go to the hospital."

I nodded, gripping my backpack tighter. My uncle acknowledged the principal with a nod and quickly turned around, going through the school doors. I followed without a second's hesitation, stepping out into the cold rain.

Each drop stung my bare skin, and I had to squint to be able to see through the pouring rain. My uncle guided me to his fancy Mazda, and I quickly got to the passenger's seat, tossing my backpack at the back, and snapped my seat belt nervously. My uncle appeared at the driver's side and slid in, slamming the door. He buckled quickly, and turned the engine, peeling out of the parking lot.

I pressed my head to the class of the window, trying not to be sick. My hands shook from nerves, and I silently prayed for my parents to be okay.  They had to be okay, they still had to take care of my brother and I. They'd pull through.

I kept my thoughts positive all the way to the hospital. When we arrived, Uncle Rob pulled all the way to the entrance, parking illegally. He cut the engine and I jumped out of the car and started for the doors. He quickly followed me.

A nurse was waiting by the door, a sorrowful expression on her face. She looked at my uncle and I. "Are you two members of the Allen family?" 

I nodded my head vigorously and she looked at me with pity in her eyes before looking at my uncle. 

"Follow me." she ordered.

She started speeding her way down the hospital hall with me and my uncle behind her. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it was going to burst out of my chest. Trepidation, anxiety, and worry were the only things I could feel right now. My tears had stopped for a moment.

We stopped outside a room with a white door. There was a commotion inside, and I assumed this was the room my parents were. I headed for the door, but the nurse held me back.

"You can't go in yet." she told me, pushing my shoulder. 

"They're my parents!" I cried, narrowing my eyes at her. "I can go in whenever I want!"

The nurse's eyes saddened for a bit, and shook her head. "She's in critical condition, no one can go in right now." 

"She?" I repeated, my eyes going wide. "Well then, where's my dad? Does that mean he's okay?"

The nurse dropped her gaze as soon as I asked the question. "Your father . . . . there wasn't anything we could do. He - "

"No," I said, covering my ears and shaking my head. "No, I don't want to hear that! No!"

He wasn't dead. He couldn't be dead. He was alive and fine this morning when I left for school! It hadn't even been three hours! There was no way he could have passed away in that time. This had to be some sick, twisted joke.

"What happened?" I heard my uncle's muffled but hoarse voice.

I tried blocking the noise with my hands, but it didn't work. I could still hear the sounds coming from inside the room, the rain lashing out the window, the beating of  my frantic heart, and the nurse's next words. 

"He died in the ambulance before he reached the hospital. He suffered from too much blood loss and - "

The room opened, and a doctor came out. Blood covered the front of his jacket and the gloves of his hand. I stared at him in shock and horror. He glanced at me, and then at my uncle.

"Are you part of the Allen family?" he asked.

My uncle nodded. "I'm Fiona's brother. And this is her daughter." 

The doctor glanced at me again, his eyes softening. "You're Lyra?"

I nodded, my eyes watering again. "Y - yeah."

"Come in," he said urgently, moving to make room for me to enter. "Your mom has been asking for you ever since she woke up." 

I rushed into the room, bumping another doctor in my way inside. My mom was lying in the hospital bed, an air mask attached around her face. here were bandages wrapped around her head. Blood covered her literally head to toe. I had to resist the urge to be sick as I dropped to my knees beside the table.

Her eyes were closed, and she lay still. "Mom!" I cried, gripping the edge of the bed. "Mom!"

Why was this happening? What did we do to deserve this? Tears started spilling down on my face. Suddenly, my mom turned her head, opening her eyes and smiling at me.

"Mom," I whispered, my voice shaking.

She smiled again, then moved her hand towards me. Her face twisted in pain and I quickly brought my arm to meet hers, grasping it. With her other hand, she managed to pull off the breathing mask.

"Lyra," she whispered.

My heart sank upon hearing her weak voice. I squeezed her hand, nearly blinded from tears.

"Mom, save your strength," I told her pathetically, not knowing what to say. "When you're better you can talk to me - "

"I love you honey," she interrupted me, her voice just as shaky as mine.

"I love you too, mom." I responded, attempting to smile at her. "When you get out of here, I'll take you out on your favorite restaurant to prove it  and - "

My mom smiled weakly, "I don't . . . think I'll be able to go."

She was panting now, sweat running down her face. My handswere shaking so hard, it looked like they were vibrating.

"Mom, don't say that!"

"Your father . . . . how is he?" she panted.

I froze for a moment. I couldn't tell her. Not while she was like this.  Fresh tears pooled in my eyes as I shook my head and smiled at her.

"He's fine." I lied. "He's waiting for you too to be okay, so don't let him down!"

"Tell him I," she paused to take a deep breath, "love him."

"You tell him!" I demanded, my pitch rising into a few octaves higher.

My mom smiled weakly again. I felt her grip on my hand loosen.

"Lee is too young for this," my mom said with a sigh. "Make sure he knows . . . . . how much I love him too."

"Let him know yourself, mom!" 

I forced the lump in my throat down, wiping my eyes with my free hand so I could see mom clearer. Her eyes were dull, gazing into nothingness.

"I'm sorry."

My mom let out a groan, and suddenly I was being pulled away from the bed. I fought the arms pulling me way.

"Mom!" I screamed, using every ounce of strength to try free myself. "Mom! No! Mom!"

"Sorry." she panted again, "I . . love you."

"Mom!" I screamed again. "Mom! Don't leave me! Mom, please! Please!"

"Administer the drug!" One of the doctors shouted, racing to my mom's side. "Quickly!"

"Mom!" I shrieked, my voice high and scratchy.

My mom closed her eyes, a tear escaping the side of it. Suddenly, everything was quiet besides a resounding beep that filled the room, making whoever was holding me let go. I didn't move, shocked by the sound.

Doctors rushed about while I stood still, staring wide-eyed at my mom's motionless body. The beeping sound went away, followed by frantic shouts. But those too, soon died away.

A deafening silence filled the room once more.

"Time of death . . . . 12:23PM."

My chest heaved, once, twice, and on the third time, I screamed. A long, agonizing, heart-wrenching scream. I screamed again after that, letting out my frustration, anger and sadness. I continued screaming until I felt a hand on my shoulder. 

I shut my mouth instantly, looking up at my uncle, who was shaking his head. Tears filled my eyes again as I stumbled towards the bed. I put a hand on my mom's cheek.

"Mom," I whispered, touching her still-warm skin. "Please, wake up, Mom. . . "

A sob escaped my lips and I fell to my knees, my arms splaying across my mother. Loud sobs was heard again as I cried my heart out, holding into my dead mother.

It hurt. I couldn't breathe. Each sob made my whole torso heave, making me one shaking, convulsing mess.

I wasn't crying just for my mom. I was crying for my dad as well.

I had just lost the two people important to my life within ten minutes.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: I hate making sad chapters!! :(( Or, is it sad, for you? Well, for me it is. Don't worry, it's not going to be like that for the rest of the story! xD 

Please leave a comment or review and stuff!! :))

-dreamBIG19