Until Lexi

Lexi sucks in a breath but doesn’t utter a sound.

When I start to wonder if either of them are capable of explaining right now, Lexi speaks.

“Something wasn’t right with Hope,” she says, getting choked up on her sister’s name. “It seemed like she couldn’t control the car. I could tell something was wrong, but when I asked her, she dismissed it. I tried to let it go, but I couldn’t shake this feeling…”

A shiver wracks Lexi’s body, so I pull her closer, hold onto her tighter.

“I asked again, and she yelled at me. We got off on the exit and she was driving too fast around the loop. When I suggested she pull over and let someone else drive… it’s like she lost it.”

The girls cry quietly in the other bed, and Lexi’s body shakes against me with her tears. I drop a kiss on the top of her head, hating that she has to relive what happened.

She pauses for a minute to steady herself, then continues, “She yelled at me, told me if I wanted her to pull over, she’d pull over… and she yanked the steering wheel without slowing down. The car flew off the road, down the little hill. I was terrified. I thought we were going to crash into the traffic on the highway, but the car hit the pole for the power lines.”

“It could have been so much worse,” Penny whispers from across the room.

I hate to admit it, but Penny’s right.

I know she’s not trying to make light of the situation. Hope’s death is tragic, but if the car had reached the highway…

Fuck.

They might have all lost their lives today.