As The Memories Fade // c.h.

16. Crash

I woke up when something flashed behind my eyelids. Groaning, I lifted my hands and rubbed the sleep from my eyes before opening them fully. It was morning. I could tell because the light was seeping through the curtains across the room. However, there was a shadow blocking a lot of the sunlight.

I realized immediately that this shadow was none other than Michael Clifford. He was grinning down at me, his phone in his hands. His hair was slightly damp, most likely from a shower, and he looked far too happy for a normal morning.

"What are you grinning about?" I groaned, pushing my hair back from my face. He let out a giggle, and I couldn't help but think he looked like a child watching his sibling get in trouble.

"Have a nice, comfy sleep, have we?" He said slyly. I frowned and was about to ask him what he was on about, but a grunt from behind me caught my attention.

"Tell him to shut up, would you? I'm tired." I felt an arm tighten around my waist, effectively pressing my back up against someone's chest. No, not just someone. Calum. Despite how I felt about him and the fact that we kissed last night, I felt very awkward in this position.

I was very aware of the amount of contact with Calum's body I had right now, and it was taking everything in me not to leap from the bed. Calum must have felt the tensing of my muscles, because he shifted a bit more, sitting up. Moments later, his arm was no longer draped over my stomach, and he wasn't touching me at all.

"Oh, God. I'm so sorry, Rose. I must have moved in my sleep, and-" He began apologizing, but I waved it off with a slightly awkward laugh.

"No, It's alright. I was just surprised is all." I dismissed. He looked like he wanted to say more, but that expression disappeared as soon as his gaze landed on Michael, who was still grinning like an idiot.

“How the hell did you get into our room?” He questioned, glaring at his bandmate. Michael shrugged nonchalantly.

“We have to be on the bus in an hour. I figured you weren’t awake when Rose wasn’t down at the breakfast station like two hours ago. Didn’t want to be yelled at for being late.” He said. I nodded. That was understandable. I was about to thank the green-haired boy, but his next comment made me rethink that. “Besides, I’ve just snapped the best Twitter picture of the tour. So it’s a win-win.”

“Is that what the flash was?” I asked, pushing the covers off of myself and heading towards him. He held his phone out of my reach, laughing.

“If you want to see the picture, you’ll have to look at your own twitter page. You’re not touching mine.” He ordered, backing away from me towards the door. I groaned as he exited the room, turning towards the bedside table to pick up my own phone.

If I’m being completely honest, the picture was actually really cute. I was pleased to know I was a fairly cute sleeper. My mouth wasn’t wide open, and there wasn’t drool pooling on my pillow, so that was certainly a bonus. Calum’s forehead had been resting against the back of my neck, and the hand that was draped over me was clutching the material of my shirt loosely, as if he had been afraid I’d slip away in the middle of the night. My hands were near my head, not touching him at all, but it was still cute. I couldn’t help but smile at the picture. Despite not remembering anything from our past, the fact that we had been so close in our sleep made me feel almost nostalgic.

“You okay?” I turned to look at Calum when he spoke.

“No, not really.” I sighed, dropping my phone on the bed. He pushed himself onto his feet, running a hand through his hair. “I just feel like this is going nowhere, Cal.” I whimpered. He was around the bed in a matter of seconds, engulfing me in a tight hug.

“I don’t believe that for one second.” He murmured. I pulled away from the hug.

“Well, you should, because it’s been two months, I’ve been to over ten concerts, and I’m no closer to remembering anything than I was the day I woke up in the hospital.” I argued. He frowned.

“But you’re trying, and that’s all I care about.” He countered, looking at me as though I were seconds away from a mental breakdown. Which, in all honesty, I was. This was becoming too much.

Yes, I was beginning to have feelings for Calum, and while that was good, it wasn’t enough. I should be remembering things, like when Michael’s hair was his natural color or what we did for my eighteenth birthday. But I wasn’t. And it was slowly eating away at me. Though the boys had more or less gotten used to the fact that they had to treat me like a new friend who they just met, it shouldn’t have to be that way. They should be able to make inside jokes and not doubt that I would laugh at them.

“You’re blaming yourself for something that isn’t even your fault, Rose. If anything, it’s mine. I looked away from the road. I ran the red light.” He said, his voice getting louder with each sentence.

“It’s my brain that won’t fucking work, Calum.” I practically shouted. Before I could get another word in, the door slammed into the wall, and Ashton surged in, Luke and Michael hot on his heels, looking slightly worried.

“Could you guys fucking cool it?” He snapped. His mouth moved again as more words came out, but I was no longer paying attention.

--

“Could you guys fucking cool it? For God’s sake, we’re almost there!” My voice was clipped, irritated as I glared at the boys in the back seat of the car. I turned to Luke, who was sitting directly behind me. He shrank back at the anger in my gaze, and I almost felt bad. “And please, please try to refrain from kicking my seat again, unless you fancy being shorter than I am.”

The scene flashed forward, and Calum was now the one facing the back and yelling. A flash to my left caught my attention. Light reflecting off the side panel of a car. I felt my heart drop at the sight. We were going to crash.

“Calum!” I tried to warn the dark-haired boy next to me, but I knew it was already too late. The car screeched as Cal tried to stop, but we had been going too fast. The other car wasn’t able to stop any more than we were able to. In the seconds before impact, I saw something that made my blood run cold. There were two people in that truck. A girl about my age, red hair pulled up in a bun. And a little girl, most likely the driver’s sister.

The two cars collided, and I felt my head crack against the window. Our car spun, and then everything turned black.

--

“Rose? Are you okay?” I looked up to see Ashton and Calum looking down at me with concern.

“What happened to them?” I asked, pushing myself up into a sitting position. Michael and Luke, who had been sitting in the chairs at the small table in the corner rushed forward upon realizing I had woken up. All four boys looked confused at my question.

“The two girls from the crash. Are they okay?” I asked. I watched as the confusion on each of their faces turned into shock.

“You remember?” Calum’s voice was little more than a whisper as he spoke. I nodded. I frowned slightly. It was only the crash that I remembered, but it was something. I let my lips tilt up in a slight smile.

“Not much, but yeah. I remember.”

////////

O.M.G.

I can't. Rose remembers the crash! Is this just the beginning? Will she remember everything soon? Or will this be it? Let me know what you thought of the chapter, guys! Also, just in case you want to follow me anywhere else, here is all of my infos.

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