The Fall of the Aftons

171: Michael Afton

Michael's eyes fluttered open as waves of pain flooded his upside-down body. He groaned, rubbing his throbbing head, quickly regretting it when his arm practically screamed at him to start.

"Michael! Mikey, are you all right? What hurts?" Noah asked nervously, trying to grab Michael's drowsy attention.

"Everything..." he moaned in reply, his word nearly slurring into gibberish. "What happened?"

"We got in an accident," Noah replied sadly. "A passerby pulled over and told me that they were going to call for help at the nearest gas station. Help should be here in about half an hour if I had to guess."

"But... There's no exit on this road that leads to a gas station for ten miles..."

"We're not on Ottomac Road anymore, we're on the interstate beneath the bridge."

That brought him back to full consciousness in an instant. "The interstate?" he muttered.

"Mmhmm."

"W-Wait, but that means—"

"I know, I know," Noah interrupted. "I'm trying to get out to get one of the flares from the back, but the door's crushed in on me, so it's gonna be minute."

"I'll get it, then! I-I-If we get hit again, you're going to get crushed!"

Just as Noah was about to speak, Michael saw a muted glow coming from his window. He looked out the cracked glass, trying to see what was there.

There was a car's headlights shining through the fog, coming straight at him.

Noah wouldn't be the one to get crushed.

He would be the one to get crushed.

Screaming in fear, he desperately fumbled to unlock his seatbelt, but he couldn't get it unlocked in time. The car came crashing into his side of the car, sending his body flying under the restraint of his seatbelt. Even more desperate, he finally unclicked the seatbelt, falling onto the roof of the car. He hit the crumpled roof with a hard thud, only amplifying the pain radiating throughout his body. Tears started to stream down his face as he cried, the pain too overbearing for him to do anything but.

Suddenly, Noah weakly grabbed his hand, holding it closed. He winced at the feeling since his hand hurt like crap, but he managed to give Noah's hand a gentle squeeze in return.

"Michael," Noah mumbled, his voice weak and strained with pain. "Look at me."

Michael obeyed, looking at him. He inhaled a sharp breath when he saw his condition, his breath catching in his throat. He had a huge gash across his forehead, numerous open fractures, and cuts and scrapes all over him. And the way that his body was contorted, there was at least some serious internal damage, if not a lot.

"Wh-What?" he responded before he forgot to do so. "What's wrong?"

"I'm... I'm starting to feel faint... So I'm probably going to faint soon," Noah admitted, his voice trailing off as he struggled to think clearly, smiling sadly. "And I... I-I have to tell you something in case I don't make it."

"What?!" He squeezed Noah's hand tighter, tears burning his eyes. "No. No, no, no! No, y-you can't die! You d-don't deserve to die, you can't die. I w-won't let you!" He struggled to choke back sobs, tears slipping down his cheeks. "Your dad needs you, y-your siblings need you—h-heck, I-I-I need you! You can't d-die!"

"I love you, Michael. I truly do." It took him a lot of painful struggling, but he managed to take a firm hold of Michael's other hand. "And I know that you feel the same way. But I need you to promise me something."

"Wh-What?" Michael asked quietly, pulling one of his hands out of Noah's for a split second to wipe his eyes.

"Promise me that you'll get over me. That you won't spend the rest of your life blaming yourself for my death. That you'll move on and meet other people—hopefully a significant other. Promise me."

"I-I can't!"

"Promise me that you'll at least try. Please. Promise me."

A sob slipped from Michael's lips. "I'll tr-try..."

"Thank you," Noah said quietly, smiling weakly. "Your birthday present is folded inside of my gray sweatshirt in my dresser, okay?"

Another sob forced itself out of him. "No. No, no, don't talk like that. You can't die!"

Noah didn't respond, instead just giving each of Michael's hands a kiss. "I love you, Michael. Don't forget me."

"I l-love you, t-too, Noah," he whispered, his voice shaking.

Noah offered a sweet, sad smile before he rested his head on the car's roof, closing his eyes.

Little did either of them know, that smile would be his last.