After All These Years

The Unthinkable

Saturday, January 19th, at 10:18pm, in the middle of Jason asking Elizabeth if she wanted him to make more popcorn for their movie night, Elizabeth's entire demeanor shifted, as if she'd seen a ghost. 

"Lizzie, what is it?"

She sat very very still, almost if she was waiting for something before she looked him in horror. "Something is wrong. Something is very wrong.  I need to find Nick. Right now."  She demanded springing from the couch, putting her flip flop on, grabbing her purse.  

"Okay, one second let me grab my keys."  Jason demanded scrambling as quickly as he could without question as he put his shoes on and grabbed his keys, phone and wallet.  

He watched as Elizabeth feverishly called Nicholas's cell phone that rang continously with no answer.   Jason climbed into the driver's seat, and pulled out of the driveway as quickly as he could though having no real idea of where he was driving to.  Elizabeth was talking to herself out loud trying to remind herself if she knew of any particular plans he had that night and while nothing came to mind, she knew if anyone knew where he was, it would be Valerie. 

Elizabeth texted Valerie, trying to avoid Valorie being able to hear the fear in Elizabeth's voice asking if her brother was around her.  She returned the text message with information that he left about twenty to twenty five minutes ago, but his phone is completely dead.  Elizabeth instructed Jason to head toward her house, and then if he wasn't there they would work there way back to Valerie's house. 

Jason was trying to remain calm as if there was no area of concern, but he'd never seen Elizabeth this way before and that scared the hell out of him.   She gasped quietly as they passed her house, Nicholas's car not in the driveway, before Jason did a U-Turn at the end of the road and started on the backroads toward Valerie's neighborhood. 

When they were about five minutes away from Valerie's, they were startled to see a flurry of red and white lights and red and blue lights ahead of them off to the side of the road.   Elizabeth's hand immediately grabbed onto Jason's next to her as the cars in front of them slowed to a crawl approaching the lights and sirens.  "Elizabeth try to take a deep breath, we don't know anything right now."

She knew and the tears pouring out of her eyes without any explanation were an immediate sign that not only was something very wrong, but that he was gone.

Their worst fears were confirmed as they approached the scene and they immediately recognised Nicholas's car.   Jason tried to remain as level headed as possible, pulling his truck off the road and behind the emergency vehicles on scene but before Jason could even put the truck into park she was already unbuckled and opening the door running toward the scene.

Jason caught up to her as quickly as he could as multiple officers stopped her from approaching all with variations of orders that she cannot get closer.  "THATS MY BROTHER" She wailed.  "What happened, you have to tell me what happened.  He's alive.  Tell me he's alive. TELL ME!" She demanded.  All the officers were trying to explain reason to her as quickly as they possibly could but none of them said what she needed to hear.   One officer had to threaten her with detainment if she couldn't calm down and control herself before she was approached by the captain of the fire department.  

"Miss, You are going to need take some deep breaths so we can have a conversation.  Can you do that?" 

She did as she was told and could barely manage words out of her mouth as her voice cracked. "Please, tell me he's alive." She demanded.

"My team is doing everything they can.  The ambulance just left and he's headed Advent East,  I'm sorry that's the only news I can get for you right now.  It's a waiting game."

Elizabeth couldn't stop crying and Jason wrapped his arms around her and let her crumble into his arms.  "We need to get to the hospital Lizzie.  I need you to pull yourself together at least so we can get in the truck so I can take you there."

"Will. You. Call..."

Jason didn't need her to finish her question before he answered for her. "Yes, I will call them. I just need you to get back in the truck okay?"  

She nodded as the quickly walked back to the truck and buckled in, Jason doing his best to bury his own trauma from being triggered by the flashing lights, and taking in the scene for what it was.  Two cars had hit each other practically head on, and with the condition of the front ends of both cars and the sheer number of tools the fire department was using on both vehicles, it was not a collison that anyone would anticipate survival. 

Jason started to drive as quickly as he could toward Advent East, though within legal limits as much as possible before he took Elizabeth's phone and called her parents from it.  Her mother answered the phone on the first ring with confusion. "Hey Hunny, are you on your way home?"

"Mrs. Manning it's Jason. I'm here with Elizabeth, she's okay, but you need to get Mr. Manning and head to Advent East as soon as possible.  Nick's been in a car accident.  I don't know the details, we don't know anything but we stumbled upon the accident scene and we know it's his car and where they are taking him."

There was a lot of commotion in the background and Mrs. Manning said a note of thanks and that they would meet Elizabeth and Jason at the hospital before the call was ended.  He turned his head toward Elizabeth who was glaring absently out the window, her breathing finally within control but tears till falling freely down her face that she continued to wipe away with the oversized sleeves of her hooded sweatshirt.   Jason turned to Elizabeth.  "Do you think we should call Valerie?"

He waited and watched as her head nodded in agreement, though her voice of yes only trickled out in a cracked whisper.