Life With Boys (Emerson Series #1)

I stared into the mirror, my reflection a stranger. My hair lay flat, my smokey eye too intense, a testament to my usual struggle with makeup on the one night a week I bothered.

"Come on, Annie. We're going to be late for the movies," my mom's voice called from downstairs. I flicked off the curling iron, a wave of familiar frustration washing over me.

Bounding down the stairs, I offered a sheepish smile. "Sorry mom, last minute touch-ups." She met me with a warm kiss on the cheek. "That's alright dear, but you know you're beautiful enough without all that makeup on." Her words, as always, brought a comforting warmth to my chest.

"You look beautiful, sis," my brother, Austin, chimed in, emerging from the kitchen.

"Aw, thanks Aus." He nodded, a genuine smile on his face.

"Alright, are we all ready?" Dad asked, twirling the car keys. He pressed a button, and the engine hummed to life in the driveway.

"Ready!" we chorused, piling into the car. Family night. My favorite. We were driving home, the post-movie glow still warm, when headlights screamed towards us. A deafening crash. The world spun. Once, twice, thrice, until the car landed with a jarring thud in a ditch. My head throbbed, a wet warmth spreading across my hand as I touched it. Blood. Everything began to spin, and the seatbelt wouldn't yield. Then, darkness.