Loving Raven

15. A Tragic Accident

All I could remember was Raven's screams, her blood curdled screams. The accident only seemed to last a couple of seconds from impact, to the car flipping multiple times throughout the highway landing upside down. We had to have been upside down for hours, it had to have taken the authorities hours to arrive. Time passed slowly, because it only took them eleven minutes. Eleven minutes from start to finish.

Jackson and Megan stayed by my side the entire time preaching into my window, Megan doing everything within her power to keep Raven calm. All I could remember was Raven begging for help to hurry, complaining that it seemed as if every bone in her body was broken. Turns out it was a few punctured ribs, the pain she was feeling was a shard of glass that had since lodged into her abdomen. This glass would ultimately become Raven's killer; she didn't know it at the time, but Raven was slowly bleeding out in front of our very eyes.

"Everything hurts," she whimpered pleadingly, "Are you sure help is coming? They should have been here by now, please. Everything hurts." Her beckoning cries caused for my heart to shatter into a million pieces. 

"Megan, please go to Raven," I said letting out a few coughs as Jackson took my hand, "She needs you more than I do, someone needs to keep her calm through this."

Megan nodded her head and was at Raven's side in a second, reassuringly rubbing her back through her winces of pain. Megan wasn't much of a people person, Jackson being the more sociable of the two. When it came to the hard things, however, she was the backbone of hers and Jackson's relationship. Jackson being the more squeamish of the two, it amazed me to see how he was holding up with the sight that was in front of him. 

"You're doing great Raven," Megan whispered into Raven's ear loud enough for just the four of us to hear, Raven continuing to whimper out in pain. Megan didn't take her hand away from stroking her back, "Help's coming, just keep doing your breathing. Don't close your eyes, just stay with us."

Sirens from the police cars, firetrucks that had been dispatched to the area, and ambulances rung out into the night air. A crowd of people had since formed, all peering at the sight that was scattered throughout the road. A majority of the crowd was students from the prom, all still dressed in their gowns and tuxedos. The rest of the crowd have to have been occupants of the buildings all around, now snapping pictures and exploiting the accident all over the internet.

"Raven," Megan hollered out as she gave Raven's cheek a few light smacks, "Keep your eyes open Raven, stay with me. Help's here, you just have to hang on a little bit longer."

I watched as her head bobbed to the side, she was unable to keep herself awake. She peered up at me, her eyes halfway closed and her eyes now falling into the back of her skull. "I love you so much, Cullen McIntyre. I always will," her voice was now a dull whisper, "It doesn't hurt anymore. I'm just so cold, will you hold my hand please?"

I didn't want to accept what was happening right in front of me, but subconsciously I knew Raven was dying. The fear in Megan's eyes had spelled it out for me clearly. She ran over to Jackson to be by his side, the strongest of the two had now fallen weak. Jackson held her close as I held onto Raven's hand for dear life, watching as she then struggled to take her final breaths.

A fireman ran to her side, "What's her name? Does anybody know her name?" He began toying with her head; shining a bright light into her hands, checking her pulse and putting a brace around her neck.

"You're too late," I cried out, "You took too long, and now it's too late."

"You're going to be alright, son," another fireman said as he rushed to my aide, "You're going to hear a loud noise, but try to stay calm that just means we're getting you out faster. Can you tell me a little bit about your friend here, who should we call? Is there anyone you want at the hospital with you? What are your parents' names, what's your name?"

Jackson didn't waste a single second, "Dr. McIntyre, general surgeon of the state, that's his father. No mother present. The young woman, her name is Raven Biles. They live on the other side of town, her parents. I'm his best friend, I can ride with him to the hospital if you'll allow it."

The firefighter shook his head in refusal, "Immediate family only in the ambulance my friend, we can't waste time on anyone else. Our sole focus here is your friend, alright?"

"What about Raven?" Megan jumped up, "What can you tell us about her? Everyone is here worrying about Cullen, but nobody is asking Raven anything."

"Listen," he held his hands up defensively, "We're doing all we can for your friend right now, but she isn't conscious. There's not much we can do for her while she's still in the vehicle and we're stressing our best efforts to get her out as quickly as possible. I will warn you, however, it's not looking good for either of them. I'd be saying some quick prayers and hoping for a better outcome."

"You have to save her," I whispered feeling myself go into the light, "You have to save Raven, please. Forget about me, let me die. She has more of a purpose in this world than I do, you have to save Raven. Please, save Raven."