Afterlife ↠ Argent [1]

01. The Crash

I smile as my hands grip the steering wheel, laughing at my friend sitting beside me. My eyes fix on the road again before she looks over at me, a smile still on her face.

"Corey, can I ask you a question?" Jade asks, her tone going serious.

I nod my head, sliding my hands to the left as we make a slight turn. "Anything."

Jade shifts around in her seat before staring at me once again. "What happened between you and Katlin?"

I sigh as I grip the steering wheel, thinking about my ex girlfriend back at home. You see, to sum up the main story, she was one of the popular girls while I was lower on the social ladder. I wasn't considered unpopular or anything, but I wasn't near as popular as all of the other boys in my grade. They all had the looks and the athleticness that made them so popular, while all I got was clumsiness.

Anyways, Katlin was the one who came to me first. She managed to squeeze her way into my heart and pretty much had me convinced that she loved me. She would always do the little things that made me love her much more than I originally had, like giving me little gifts and even managing to make me popular just like her.

I let it get the best of me.

I went from having straight A's to D's, I picked up the ugly habit of drinking and partying every Friday night, and I even started to develop a terrible attitude. Deep down I knew that what I was doing was wrong, but Katlin was there to make me feel like it was right. I only did it for her; mostly becuase I felt that if I didn't, she wouldn't want me anymore.

One night I went out to a party with her; I didn't even know the guy who was hosting it, but I went anyways. We drank and drank until our hearts desire and partied like I did every other Friday night. The night dragged on until I then realized that Katlin was no longer with me. I managed to stumble my way through the house before I found her in a room, in bed with another guy in my grade.

I was furious after I saw this. I couldn't believe that Katlin would betray me like that, and here I was, giving up almost everything for her.

I guess it wasn't enough.

I managed to not beat the living crap out of the guy, but I ended up getting into a huge argument with Katlin. She kept pulling the "it wasn't my fault" and the "I still love you. Only you" crap on me, but I didn't fall for it. Not again.

We broke up that night, and after we did, it felt like I dropped some heavy baggage in my life. It was nice to go back to my normal self again, but with that followed going down the social ladder. Katlin and I haven't said a word to each other since, but she's had guys come after me and attempt to beat me up. I've manged to get away from them so far, but who knows when I'll become unlucky again.

I didn't like to talk much about Katlin, but I could tell Jade anything. Jade was that friend that secretly had a crush on you, but wouldn't dare admitt it. She was the quiet type; smart and unpopular just like me. I knew I could go to her with anything and she wouldn't say a word to another living soul. That's one reason why her and I are best friends.

Yes, Jade is a girl and I am a guy, but I've never ever thought about us two being a thing. I felt that if we were to date and it not working out in the end, then we would have ruined the friendship we had. I didn't want to do that, as much as I wouldn't mind dating her. I couldn't lose another friend.

"Well, let's just say that Katlin was a bitch," I laugh as Jade crosses her legs in the passenger seat, smiling to herself. "She used me and threw me away like garbage."

She cocks her head slightly, her brown hair falling on her shoulders. "Did she cheat on you?"

I nod my head. "Yep, and she seemed to not even care."

Jade frowns. "I'm so sorry, Corey."

I shrug. "I'm fine. I'll get over it. I'm just angry that I wasted all of that time on her."

Jade nods, staring at the floor. "Honestly, I hated it when you two were together."

I scoff. "I hated myself when we were together."

Jade laughs. "You were such a douche."

I raise an eyebrow. "Oh, was I now?"

Jade nods, pulling the sleeves on her hoodie farther down. "If that's what you call a guy who doesn't talk to his best friend for a couple of months, then yes, you were a total douche."

I turn towards her. "I'm so sorry for that. I don't even know what I was thinking..."

Jade looks at me, her light blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight that was shining through the windshield. "I totally understand. We all go through a terrible stage in our lives, right?"

I nod my head, still staring at her. "I guess you're right."

Jade looks at me before she slowly turns and faces the front, her eyes going wide. Her hands flail out before she's yelling, causing me to turn back to the road. "Corey, look out!"

I gasp when I see a truck heading towards us, driving down our lane. The headlights shine in my eyes before I panic, gripping the steering wheel and flinging it to the side. Jade screams from the seat beside me as the truck zooms by, my black Ford truck raming into the side of a bridge.

That was when I realized that we were going over, water awaiting us at the bottom.

The next thing I know, my truck is slapping the water below, cracking the glass on the windshield. My head slams against the steering wheel, drawing blood and causing me to black out for a little moment.

When I open my eyes again, the truck is already filling up with water. I gasp for air as I look around, seeing that we were floating to the bottom of the river. My eyes dart to Jade to see her head to the side, her eyes latched closed. A stream of blood drips down her forehead as I reach for her, shaking her shoulders.

"Jade!" I scream as a little bit of water flows into my mouth. I spit it out before screaming again. "Jade, wake up!"

I give up when I realized that it was no good. My heart thumps in my chest when I realize that the truck was going to be underwater in a few moments, leaving the two of us without any air. I turn towards my door and try to open it, not being able to. I grunt as I slam my elbow against the glass, not even putting a dent into it. The water rushes in faster as I struggle to keep my head above water, taking huge gasps of breath.

I knew then that I was going to die.

My mouth is practically kissing the roof of the car as the last bit of oxogen disappears, leaving Jade and I underwater with no way out. My eyes blur as I hold my breath, looking back over at Jade. Her eyes were still closed and her long brown hair was now floating around in the water, the faint shinning of the moonlight illuminating her and the car.

I struggle to hold my breath as I swim over to Jade, wrapping her in my arms. I grab her shoulders again quickly, trying to wake her up again for some odd reason. I knew that she was most likely already gone, like I would be in a few mere seconds. I try to cry, but my tears just disappear into the water that was now rushing into my lungs.

There was no way out. I had already accepted that as my fate. That's why I just opened my mouth and let the water rush in, almost soothing. Everything seemed different then; like I wasn't dying and that I was just simply about to sleep.

My eyes don't even shut as darkness rushes in, my heart slowing to a complete stop.

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yay first chapter! I'm excited to write about a guy character for once! So just bare with me if its a little sloppy :P