The insistent knocking woke Vanessa from her pleasant dream. It was still dark outside and Billy slept beside her, taking up most of the bed and snoring softly as he exhaled. She thought about waking him up in case it was Mark at the door, but he’d been working so hard lately and was so tired, she decided to leave him be. The knocking began again.

‘Coming,’ she muttered to herself. She wondered if Wren had forgotten his keys again and needed to be let in. Surely he would have knocked on her bedroom window rather than the front door, though? So maybe it wasn’t Wren. She quickened her step as she hurried down the hallway, hoping that Ty wasn’t woken up. It was always hard to get him back to sleep, especially if Wren wasn’t home; sometimes he was the only one who could get him to drop off.

She looked out the window beside the door and her breath was stolen away. Two uniformed police officers stood at her front door. She put her hand to her heart and immediately thought of her dad. She was his next of kin. He could by lying on a hospital bed injured. She quickly unlocked the door.

‘Mrs Vanessa Sawyer?’

‘Yes, but I remarried. It’s Wright now.’

‘May we come in, Mrs Wright?’

‘Sure, of course.’ She unlocked then opened the screen door, inviting them both inside before closing the door again. She began to feel funny, like your stomach does as you’re going up the steep climb of a rollercoaster and you know that at any moment you’re going to tip over the edge and free fall. ‘What’s happened?’

‘Let’s sit down. I’m Officer Jason Miles and this is my colleague Sergeant Jasmine Wicker.’

Vanessa was frozen with fear, wishing that she could stop time and prevent the words that she knew with absolute clarity that they were about to say.

Yet, he spoke anyway. ‘Please sit.’

Her legs felt like wooden logs, refusing to bend in the middle. Finally, she dropped onto the couch and waited for someone to speak. Vanessa picked up the hem of her nightie and began twisting it and untwisting it in her fingers. She looked at the clock. It was two in the morning. Nothing good happened after midnight.

‘Mrs Wright, there was a car accident tonight at approximately midnight out on the old highway. The accident involved your son, Wren Sawyer.’

She waited at the top of the rollercoaster.

‘The ambulance crews did everything they could, but I’m afraid he didn’t make it. He died at the scene.’

Free fall.

Time refused to move for her. She could see their lips moving but could hear nothing. Then slowly words instilled themselves into her brain.

Accident. Catastrophic injuries.