All Your Perfect Imperfections

Chapter Nine

-Devin-

I yawned as I watched the construction crew fill in the last of the gravel on the forest road. It had been a long day replacing another culvert. This one was more challenging than the others, and on top of that, we'd had a difficult time wrangling all the fish and getting them out of the work area.

Avery spent the entire day running around the site and coordinating everything. I had to follow him and force feed him bites of his sandwich in order to get him to eat, because he wouldn't stay still long enough to take a break. I admired his work ethic and how motivated he was, but I knew I could never work that hard. Most days, Avery had to drag me out of bed so we'd get to work on time.

I leaned against the hood of the SUV and started playing a game on my phone. It was impossible to tell when Avery would have everything wrapped up and be ready to go home. All around me, car doors were slamming and my coworkers were saying their goodbyes. It wasn't until the construction crew drove away that I saw Avery walking towards me. He looked exhausted.

"I'll drive," I volunteered, holding up my hand to catch the keys.

Avery tossed them and we settled into the SUV. He was asleep within five minutes. I knew it would be a long drive, so I turned on some music. I was tired too. The last few weeks I'd worked more than I ever had and it seemed like I couldn't get enough sleep. I wasn't only mentally tired - it felt like my entire body was constantly fatigued, like I just wanted to sit down and rest.

The sun was down now, and the headlights of the car were the only thing illuminating the forest road. Tree trunks and large branches crept into the light and then vanished, returning to darkness as the car moved past. It all looked the same, and with nothing to focus on, my eyelids began to droop.

Stay awake, I told myself. I knew I could wake up Avery and ask him to drive, but I wanted to let him sleep. He seemed more tired, and we hadn't been on the road long enough for me to need a break. All I needed to do was push through until we got to the highway, and then there would be more lights and stuff to keep me focused. It would be fine.

-Avery-

I jolted awake as the SUV rattled and then slammed hard into something. Everything went from black to white and something shoved me back into my seat with a violence that knocked the wind out of me. Gasping, I tried to catch my breath and figure out what had just happened. I was in the car, and it was dark, and there was a tree in front of the car. We were in the forest. I groaned as my head throbbed sharply.

"Avery?! Are you okay?" Devin's shout held a note of panic. He was struggling with his seatbelt and trying to push away the deflated airbag that rested between him and the steering wheel. His eyes were wide with fear and he lunged towards me and frantically started running his hands over me, checking for injuries.

"What happened?" I croaked.

Devin grasped my face and turned my head towards him. I winced as his fingers brushed my forehead, and when he pulled his hand away, I saw his fingers were red with blood.

"Does anything else hurt?" he asked. "Talk to me."

I took a deep breath and tried to focus. I moved my arms and legs and focused on the sensations. Other than my head and chest, everything else seemed okay.

"It's just my head," I replied. "And chest, from the airbag. But I just got the breath knocked out of me. Nothing's broken." I squinted over at him. "Are you okay?"

He nodded.

"What happened?" I repeated.

"I...I think I fell asleep," he admitted. "I was tired, but I thought I'd be okay."