A loud thunder rocked through our motel room. My eyes jolted open from my dreamless sleep. There is no sign of my wolf spirit tonight either. It’s been three days since we arrived in Canis Falls. I pulled back the salmon-colored quilt to sit on the edge of the bed. It’s 4 a.m. if the blinking clock on the wall is right. My head falls into my hands as my anxiety starts rippling through my body. The water splats against the window with ferocity. My foggy thoughts trail back to the worst night of my life. It had been raining like this that night too.

  Six years ago…

  Thunder rattled my lavender walls causing my choir soloist trophy to fall off the shelf. My eyes fluttered open just as a stream of light flashed through my window. I glanced at the ticking clock on the wall. “It’s 3 a.m. I wonder if Mom and Dad made it home from their concert, yet?”

  I left the comfort of my bed to look at the driveway. Dad’s black Rav 4 was missing from the driveway, and I felt my heart stutter. Why aren’t they home yet? The concert ended at 11 p.m. Mom promised over and over that they would be home before I woke up since this was the first time they let me stay home alone overnight. It didn’t bother me being alone until just now. I race over to my bedside table and pick up my phone. As soon as I heard the second ring of the call, I heard a knock at the door. I felt myself panic. “Who the hell is knocking this late at night?”

  I turned back toward the window to see red and blue lights flashing outside the house. “No,” I whispered. “Don’t go there, Korinne. Your parents are fine. The police are here by mistake. It has to be a mistake.” I tried to assure myself. "Mom wouldn't break her promise."

  Another knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts. I grabbed my hoodie to cover my lime green tank and left the sanctuary of my room. My door creaked behind me as I walked down what felt like the longest hall of my life. Through the kitchen, I made it to the front door where I heard them knocking again.

  “Korinne Althea, are you there? This is the police we need to speak to you.” A muffled female voice yelled through the door.

  “Ms. Althea, please open the door, Officer Paulson and I need a word with you,” A male voice pleaded with me to open the door.

  Everything felt numb the closer I got to the door the more numb I felt. Robotically, I answered the door to see two sympathetic faces staring back at me. No. No, Korinne. Don’t go there. You don’t know what happened yet. They just want to talk with you.

  “Yes?” I asked in a small voice.

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  “Are you Korinne Athlea?” The female voice asked. Their faces seemed like a blur to me, but I guessed this was Officer Paulson.

  I didn’t want to answer. If I spoke up, it would make this moment real, and I don’t want this moment to be real. This is all a nightmare. The rain pounded the porch as the two officers looked down at me, waiting to hear my voice. I felt so alone standing in front of them, panicked from this story I built up in my head why they were here and my parents weren’t.

  “Korinne?” The male officer tried to get my attention with his soft voice. “My name is Officer Winkle, and I need to have a word with you. Is there anyone we can call to be with you while we talk?”

  Anyone they can call? Why didn’t they ask if my parents were home? Stupid question, Korinne. They know your parents aren’t home because that’s why they are here. These strangers know exactly where my parents are. They know why my parents are home with me like they should have been. Mom did break her promise. She left me alone. Dad left me alone. Why did they have to leave me alone?

  “Um,” I mumbled. My thoughts were unclear, and my tongue felt heavy.

  “I think we need to wait for the social worker, Bill. She’s in shock already.” Officer Paulson put her hand on Officer Winkle’s shoulder.

  “Sure, Dena.” He nodded. “Korinne, we’ll wait until-”

  “Excuse me,” A familiar male voice cut through the numb radio static of my brain.

  Passed the police officers, I saw Mr. Moshly, my best friend’s dad. I ran through the officers to reach, Mr. Moshly. My speed knocked Mr. Moshly backward as he wrapped his arms around me in a protective embrace. Tears were threatening to run down my cheeks. I buried my face into his band shirt. He let me crush him in a hug. I heard him exchanging words with the officers as I tried to calm myself down. Felicity called me out of nowhere. I don’t know when she got there, but I was thankful for her and her dad at that moment. I felt Felicity hug the back of me, and I felt a little less alone.

  “The social worker’s here, Bill,” Officer Paulson said loud enough that looked back at the officers.

  After brief introductions and Mr. Moshly agreeing to take responsibility. Felicity was asked to go home while all the strangers talked to me. Everyone tried to seem overly kind, which made me feel worse. The longer I spent with these people, the more certain I was that my parents were in trouble or worse. They all said they were here for me right before Officer Winkle leaned forward to get my attention.

  “Korinne, your parents were in a car accident about four hours ago,” Officer Winkle said as gently as he could.

  My heart sank. He didn’t say they were in the hospital. He didn’t say much at all, but it felt like everything. My parents were gone. Tears sprung from my eyes and my chest tightened uncomfortably. “They died, didn’t they?”

  “I am so sorry, Korinne,” Officer Winkle offered me an empty apology.

  Why was this guy apologizing to me? His words don’t help me. A surge of anger filled me. “How,” I demanded through my angry tears.

  “A drunk driver hit them going 85 mph on the highway after losing control at the wheel. All of them died instantly on impact.” Officer Paulson explained.

  “Why,” I muttered. I felt completely alone, panicked, heartbroken, and angry.

  Officer Winkle replied. “I wish I could answer that for you, Korinne, but life doesn’t-”

  “Spare me the speech, officer,” I said, hysterically. “There’s no need for empty words no matter how well-meaning they may be. Nothing changes the fact I went to sleep, trusting my parents would walk through the door before I woke up. I am living in a nightmare that I can never wake up from because some random person likes to drink.”

  Mr. Moshly didn’t say anything. He just put a comforting arm around me. I didn’t want it at that moment, but I accepted it because it was better than the numb feeling in my chest. The Moshlys would make sure I wasn’t drowning alone, and that’s all an orphan like me could hope for.

  Back to the present…

  My breathing was labored the louder the thunder clapped in the clouds. My ears rang from the overwhelming sound. I threw my earbuds in and crawled back into bed. Curling up into a ball, I covered myself back up and waited for everything to fade into darkness. I missed dreaming of my spirit wolf. She made me feel a little less alone.