Lean On You (DNF) Book 2

Jesus, Take the Wheel

(( TW // Severe car accident ))

Clay pushed his way past Sam and Eliza, taking no time to look back. Besides the sound of his own heavy footsteps, he heard Eliza scampering after him like a dog. He had no reason to stop or slow down, he wanted to get out of there and now.
 
How could George be so oblivious? It had been several months since the two saw each other in person, and then George just goes and throws away that opportunity. It boiled his blood. To hell with feeling like a burden, if George couldn't be bothered to even look at him, maybe they shouldn't be together.
 
Together. 
 
It had almost been a full year since they got together. It was sweet. Like the first flowers of spring, blooming with absolute brilliance. But as the weather turned sour and the winds became fierce, those flowers wilted away. 
 
Winter always was an awful time of year for George, this year was clearly no different. When the frost had settled, freezing the land in blue and the snow became violent - almost ravenous, Clay marched his ass out of the building.
 
"Clay!" Gasped Eliza as she struggled to keep up.
 
But he ignored her.
 
"Clay!" Again, she called out. 
 
Her words didn't reach him at all.
 
"Clay, god damn it!" Using the last of her energy, she bounded forward, grabbed Clay's wrist, and yanked.
 
Instinctively, Clay stopped and turned, practically flicking Eliza off of him. She stumbled back, taking a second to regain her balance. Her breathing was scarce and shallow.
 
"I'm not asking you to calm down... but please walk slower... I'm not as fast as you..." Her voice was meek. Eliza was a loudmouth, never quiet for even a moment. So hearing her, her voice soft and mellow, Clay blinked.
 
"Sorry," Clay said simply. He turned on his heel again and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Let's go." He started to walk again, this time slower. 
 
Eliza stood up straight and nodded, following after Clay with determination. 
 
He made it to the main doors on record time, swinging them open with force. The snow was coming down hard, the whole night sky was a flurry mess of white and silver. The wind was so bitter it started immediately biting at Clay's face, his nose and ears red from the cold, his eyes red from tears.
 
Throwing his hood over his head, he looked at Eliza. She did the same, crossing her arms to protect herself from the cold. He looked her in the eyes. They were full and almost hollow, she was sad. He placed a hand on her hand and started to talk, guiding her forward, making sure she wouldn't get left behind. 
 
They basically ran to the car as quickly as they could, trying to avoid the snow. Which was impossible. Once they were seated in the warmth of the car, they dusted off the layer of snow of their clothes. 
 
Clay wasted no time. Giving it no thought, he slammed the car into drive just like he had down a thousand times before, and he skirted out of the parking lot. He didn't even look back. He didn't look up at the window. He didn't see George.
 
The rule Clay had learned while in driving school: while in severe weather, drive at least ten miles under the speed limit. Blinded by rage and the desire to get as far away as he could, he wasn't going under... he was going over - by a lot.
 
The windshield wipers were blazing, pushing off the rapidly building snow as quickly as they could. It wasn't very effective. The snow was replaced as soon as it was brushed off. Eliza glanced over at Clay, growing anxious with each passing second. He was gripping the steering wheel so tight, his knuckles were white. His gaze was blank and emotionless, staring out endlessly onto the road ahead. Clay's face was relaxed, but you could tell he was just pushing all of it down so as to not explode in front of Eliza. 
 
"Are you okay...?" Eliza asked.
 
"Yes."
 
"The truth. Please. Don't start lying like George."
 
"Don't compare me to him." Snapped Clay, clearly still very upset.
 
"Are you guys gonna break up?"
 
Clay furrowed his brows in both thought and anger. "I don't know." He huffed out. "Maybe... I don't know." 
 
"Just... be smart about it, I guess." Eliza sat back, getting cozy for the long drive home.
 
From there, the conversation fizzled out into silence, nothing but the hum of the engine and cry of the wipers moving back and forth to fill the air. Clay drove out of town, entering onto the two-lane freeway. It was later into the night by now, not many cars on the interstate. Those who did pass by Clay were driving slow and easy. Clay was still gliding along the road like a new skater on ice. Unruly. 
 
"Goddammit!" Clay suddenly yelled, scaring the shit out of Eliza. She perked up and stared at him.
 
"Wha-"
 
"Your brother is such an asshole!" He sniffled. He was crying. Streams of hot tears were cascading down his rosy pink cheeks. 
 
"Oh."
 
"Was I not enough? Or was I too much? I just don't understand! Could I have been better? Is-is it my fault?" He croaked.
 
"No, George is just-" Eliza watched as Clay took one hand off the wheel to cover his mouth, trying to soften his sobbing. Lazily, her eyes drifted back to the road.
 
Earlier that day, a random car had leaked oil on that road. It had frozen in the snow. It wasn't a very large puddle, but large enough to catch one wheel.
 
He couldn't have stopped it even if he had noticed. 
 
The mixture of going too fast, the snow, the tears blurring his vision, and the fact he had only one hand on the steering wheel at that moment, left everything in the hands of the divine. 
 
The tire got hooked on the black ice, causing it to spin out. It made the whole car skid.
 
"Clay-" Eliza tried to tell out. It didn't matter. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for impact.
 
The car slid off the road, tumbling down the small hill and into the tree line. A sturdy tree truck caught the front of the car on Clay's side. 
 
It sputtered and hissed out as the engine died, the smell of burnt rubber and oil filled Eliza's nose. She felt a numbing pain in her legs and a small amount of pressure on her lap. Her head pounded, aching with newfound pain. A warmth had started trickling down her cheek. 
 
Slowly, Eliza opened her eyes. At first, it was dark, she was unable to see anything. But the gentle moonlight breaking through the cloud allowed Eliza to make out some things. She glanced down at her lap. Clay's arm laid motionless on her. He tried to protect her. And looks like it worked, she wasn't that badly injured. 
 
Her gaze trailed up Clay's arm until she saw him. He was slumped over the wheel, blood dripping from multiple abrasions on his face and head. He had smacked his head against the steering wheel and was out cold.
 
"Clay...?" She whispered. Reaching over, she shook him gently. "Wake up..." He didn't move.
 
Calmly, she reached for her phone. It took a moment to dig it out from her pocket. Her movements were slow and steady, with no emotion on her face. She looked down at her phone screen and saw a text.
 
Drista's brother's Boyfriend
 
Liz, can you tell Clay to call me when you can? We need to talk and I doubt he'll answer my calls.
 
Sent: 10:57pm 
 
She breathed in deeply as she read the text. A hum got caught in Eliza's throat. She closed out of the thread and opened the dial pad.
 
9-1-1