Tess's mom let out a frightened scream and Tess gripped the side of the truck as her dad swerved, narrowly missing the other vehicle. Her father's face grew red and angry.

"What in heaven's name was that?!" He yelled. Tess let go of the side of the truck slowly and looked out the back window. The driver of the other vehicle was in the wrong lane.

"I think he is drunk." Tess said, looking at the vehicle one more time. She wondered if someone should report that guy, whoever he was.

"Drunk or a blasted idiot." Tess's dad vented. Tess noticed his knuckles were white and the veins in his neck were pulsing. Her mom seemed frozen in place. Tess felt like snapping her fingers in her face to get her attention.

"The quicker we get home, the better." Christian said, lowering his voice. For once, Tess agreed with her father. She sat quietly for the last five minutes of the drive home thinking to herself.

What if we had died? The question echoed through her head as her dad pulled into the driveway. She jumped out of the back seat, circling around to the bed of the truck to grab her gym bag. She walked by the driver's side of the truck and paused. There was a giant dent on the driver side door. She leaned close, fingering the dent.

We didn't hit the other driver, I know we didn't. She looked at the dent closer. Then what could this be?

"Tess, get out of that cold night air before you freeze to death!" Tess's mom shouted, bringing Tess back to reality.

"Coming!" She answered. Glancing at the dent one more time, Tess shrugged and walked into the house. Tess walked down the hallway into her room. She kicked her shoes off and dumped her gym bag on the floor. Taking a long breath, Tess sighed. Her room always smelled like lavender, and the light purple walls gave it a calm feeling. Tess flopped on her bed, making it creak in response. She sat up and grabbed the backpack by her bed that contained her laptop. She laid the laptop against the blue covers and snapped it open. Tess waited for what seemed like an hour before the screen finally came to life. Scrolling through all her online assignments, she saw the writing one which was due Monday. Tess opened the app to see what she had written so far. Staring back at her on the computer page was one measly sentence. "Why is writing important?" Was all it said. Tess chewed on her lip.

"Later." She said simply and closed the laptop, sticking it back into the bag. If there was one thing Tess would put off as long as possible it was that writing assignment. Her phone buzzed on her nightstand and she rolled to the side of her bed, picking it up. It was a text from Levi asking about assignments that they had.

"Did you lose them again?" Tess text back. She waited a couple of seconds before the phone buzzed again.

"Maybe..." The text read. Tess let out a small laugh and text him the assignments. Everything was due in a couple of days since the school was on break until Monday. Her phone buzzed one more time.

"Thanks Tessie, and don't listen to your father. You are good, no matter what he thinks." Tess sighed.

"Easy for you to say." She grumbled aloud. Flopping over, Tess grabbed her headphones and iPhone. She turned on her music and the last thing she remembered was whispering the lyrics to "My Demons" by Starset.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tess opened her eyes slowly as light danced through her eyelids. She flipped over and felt a small tug in her ears. Groaning, she reached her hand up and pulled out her ear buds she had left in last night. The smell of sweaty clothes brought her gaze down to her outfit. Her nose wrinkled; she hadn't planned on sleeping in her track outfit. Tess stretched and winced, her shoulder and leg muscles ached. She hopped into the bathroom that was connected to her room. For a while, Tess just stood in the shower and let the warm water and suds wash the grime off of her body before actually attempting to clean her hair. When the soreness finally decreased in her legs, she stepped out of the shower. Tess pulled on a pink tank top and shorts that were higher than her mom would have liked. She let her blonde hair fall over her shoulders in long flowing waves after a lengthy battle with the blow dryer. Walking down the hallway, she peeked into the kitchen. Her mother was cooking eggs and toast. Tess walked over to the fridge and grabbed the milk jug. Reaching into the cabinet, she also grabbed a cheap glass. After filling the glass, Tess set down at the table in front of a plate her mom had set for her.

"Thanks mom." Tess said politely and her mom nodded from the stove. Halfway through her food, Tess's dad finally entered the kitchen.

"Morning Eugene." He said and kissed her mother on the top of the head.

"Tessie." Her father said to her. He knew better than to make any attempt to hug Tess. Tess finished off her plate in a few simple bites and put the dish along with her milk glass in the sink.

"I'm going out for a run." Tess said to her mom, who turned around. Tess's mom frowned at her pants, but didn't say anything.

"Be back before two." Her mom said tactfully and Tess nodded. Walking back towards her room, she pulled on her running shoes and looked in the mirror. Her hair needed to be put in a ponytail and she did so quickly. She looked down at her silver cross shaped necklace. Her father had told her since she was a child to never take it off, but it always bounced in her face when she went running. Looking around, she quickly reached up and unclasped the necklace, laying it gingerly on the dresser. Tess walked back down the hallway quickly and opened the door. She didn't even have one foot outside when she heard her father behind her.

"Tess, what did I tell you about that necklace?" He asked.

"Dad, seriously what's the big deal? It's just a necklace and it always gets in the way when I run." Tess complained with a hint of an annoyed whine in her voice. They'd had this arguement many times before. What did her father think this necklace was? Some idol?

"Go back to your room and put that necklace on this instant." Her father commanded. Tess glanced over his shoulder at her mother.

"Mom? Please?" Her mom didn't look up from washing the dishes.

"Tess, listen to your father." She said. Tess's mouth gaped open and then closed with an unsaid comment. Then, she let out an aggravated shriek, walking, more like stomping, to her room. She put the necklace on, glaring at the stupid silver cross. Walking back to the door, she glanced at both her watching parents.

"Happy now? I put the damn necklace on!" She shouted, slamming the front door behind her.

"You're both crazy!" She added, descending down the porch stairs. Tess saw movement by the front window and she could feel her father's gaze boring into the back of her neck as she took off down the street. She didn't care. They couldn't force her to come back into the house.