SOUL

the accident

November 30th, 2014

The cool night air was crisp against Mary's skin as she sat on the roof of her house, legs tucked beneath her, her oversized sweater doing little to keep the chill away. The music from the end-of-year party a few streets away pulsed through the quiet suburban night, distant but unmistakable. It was a constant reminder of everything she wasn't a part of. Everyone she knew was there, celebrating the end of high school, laughing, drinking, and dancing. Leo had invited her but she'd declined to join, not feeling up to it.

She tipped her head back and looked at the stars, the silence around her a balm to her exhausted mind. The sky was endless, an expanse of glittering stars that made her feel small, but comforted her in a way nothing else could. She loved it here on the roof, away from the noise, away from the world that seemed determined to push her out at every turn.

For a moment, she let herself imagine what it would be like to be at that party. Maybe, in another life, she would be there too. Maybe she'd be laughing with friends, dressed in something beautiful, her hair done up. Maybe Leo would be there with her, like they had been when they were kids before everything changed. Before he became someone else, surrounded by people who hated her. Before he decided she was too weird, too much of a freak to be seen with.

She closed her eyes, feeling a familiar ache in her chest at the thought of Leo. And then it came. The vision.

It hit her like a punch to the stomach, forcing the air from her lungs. Her body stiffened, her eyes glazed over as the world around her dissolved into nothingness, replaced by the blinding clarity of what she saw.

The party, Leo and his friends, their laughter loud and carefree. Too carefree. She saw them stumble toward a car, drunk, oblivious to the danger. The roar of the engine, the screech of tires, and then—crash. Metal crumpled, glass shattered, bodies flung like rag dolls. Blood, so much blood. Leo lying on the ground, motionless, his body mangled and broken. His face pale, his eyes empty. Dead.

The vision ripped through her, leaving her gasping for breath, her hands shaking violently as she blinked away the lingering images. Her heart raced in her chest, the pounding deafening in her ears. No. No, no, no. She couldn't let this happen. She had to stop him. She had to save him.

Without thinking, she scrambled down from the roof, her legs barely supporting her as she hit the ground. She grabbed her keys from the kitchen counter and rushed out the door, not caring that she was still barefoot, that she wasn't dressed for a party, that she looked like she had just rolled out of bed. None of it mattered. All that mattered was finding Leo before it was too late.

Her car screeched to a halt in front of the house where the party was in full swing. She could feel the music vibrating through the air as she hesitated at the entrance. Her stomach twisted into knots, her heart hammering against her ribcage. She wasn't supposed to be here. She didn't belong.

But Leo was inside, and she couldn't let him die.

Swallowing her fear, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The house was packed, people laughing and dancing, bottles in hand, unaware of the danger that loomed just outside their reach. As soon as she entered, heads turned, and the laughter died down, replaced by whispers and cruel, mocking stares.

"What's she doing here?"

"Who let her in?"

"Isn't that the freak?"

Mary felt the familiar sting of their words, but she couldn't let it stop her. She had to find Leo. Pushing through the crowd, her eyes scanned the room desperately, her heart sinking deeper with each second that passed without finding him. She bumped into someone, and when she looked up, she was met with the smirking face of Greg, one of Leo's friends.