𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, Miguel Cazarez Mora

011

Distance,

[ MENTIONS OF CAR CRASH, HOSPITAL SCENES, AND 'DEEP' EXPLANATION FOR THE CRASH ]

Isabella was led to the couch, sitting next to Miguel, crying in his arms as he held her closely. "It's going to be okay, Isa. I'm here now, I'm sorry that I lied, I just couldn't constantly rely on you, I knew I couldn't put all that pressure on you." He apologized, rubbing circles on her back and arm as he held her. It was their first hug after a year and a half, and there first real interaction.

"I just don't understand, I would've helped you, I don't care if you thought it would overwhelm me, because it wouldn't. I would rather be stressed than letting you keep this in." Isabella let out a sigh, wiping her cheeks quickly, before looking up at him, pulling away. Miguel smiled softly, it was his real smile, it wasn't a fake smile. "I know, I'm sorry." Miguel apologized again. Isabella sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for another hug.

She just needed his touch, not in a sexual way, just in that 'I missed you,' type of touch, where they hug and stay like that for a long time. She'd been holding so much inside, yet she knew that he did it for a reason. He did it because he cared for her.

_____

Last Spring...

"We're all packed up, we can go." Wendy looked into Miguel's room, smiling softly. "Okay, I'll be down, right now." Miguel smiled, packing up the small box of things he'd collected while he was away from Isabella. It was a small box full of things he collected, things he would give her when he got back, and notes he'd written her when he missed her. It was also filled with things he'd taken with him when he moved away. Miguel knew that she'd probably done the same, he was just excited to see her again.

As he taped the box up, he picked it up, carrying it with him as he walked down the stairs. Once he made outside, he smiled, realizing he was about to go see his best friend when he got home. He got into the car, holding the box close to him as he sat down, he buckled up, sitting down with a big smile still on his face. The car started, Miguel's father checking in with everyone, making sure they were buckled up.

"Alright! Let's go!" Wendy shouted, looking over at her husband and nodding, he nodded back, starting to back out of the driveway. Miguel turned on his music, playing his and Isabella's playlist, looking out the window before realizing he dropped his AirPod case. He sighed, bending down in his seat to grab it. He held the box close to him, still trying to grab the object. His music was blasting at this point, he couldn't hear a thing. He heard muffled voices, they sounded pretty loud to him for some reason.

As he finally grabbed the case, he sat up, sighing in relief, only to be hit by his sister. "Ow!" He shouted, taking his AirPods off. "What was that for?" Miguel held his arm, looking over at his sister, but something was wrong, her face was filled with fear. Miguel furrowed his eyebrows turning to look at the window... "Pa, move! Move out of the way!" Alondra shouted, tears racing down her cheeks; watching the huge truck lose control and charge towards them.

"I can't! I'm so sorry, I love you guys, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He apologized, accepting their fate with tears rolling down, that was when it happened, their car was hit. Obviously it wasn't a small it, it was a whole push, the car flipped many times, yet each flip, Miguel held tighter onto the box, even if his body was losing its consciousness.

The glass breaks on one side, the glass traveling to the other side but passing through the children's skin, grazing against them as the rest of the glass had fallen to the other side. The tops of the car indenting it, the sides becoming tighter, the seat belts being useless and just something that was holding them in the painful state. And finally, the flips stop, but they're all unconscious, police and ambulances are called, they're all taken to the hospital. All alive, except... one dead.