Between Two Worlds

CHAPTER 25 - Collision

Days went by and so forth, waving the water in ripples. Each one held tension that now seemed to seep into every crack and crevice of my life. My connection with Ava grew, but Jess was a shadow, ever lurking just beneath the surface, holding anger and hurt.

It was a Friday night, and I craved some space from the mayhem in our lives. We settled for a little Italian place-that is, a small size that feels small and quaint but the minute we walked in, Jess and Jake were already seated at the far corner.

"Of course," I mumbled under my breath. Ava felt stiff beside me.

The rest caught her, though. Her eyes snapped to lock on ours as her face twisted into a mixture of incredulity and rage. "What are you doing here?" she spat at me, her voice slicing through the restaurant's soft sounds like a hot knife.

"Having dinner," I said, trying to keep the tone light. "You?

"We were here first," Jake interjected, leaning back in his chair, his laid-back attitude starkly contrasting with Jess's ire. "But it's adorable that you think you can just invade our space."

Jake, please," Ava pleaded, her voice strained. "This isn't the time.".

Jess stood up, her chair screeched against the floor as she departed the table with a glare of her own. This caught the attention of tables nearby. "You think you can just flaunt this relationship in front of me? Do you have any idea how selfish that is?"
"Ava and I aren't flaunting anything, Jess," I snapped back at her, as my chest grew hot with anger. "We're just trying to live our lives.".

"Live your lives?" Jess spat, her voice full of sarcasm. "You mean destroy mine in the process?"

"Stop making this about you!" I shouted, my frustration boiling over. "I can't be responsible for your feelings!"

Jake interrupted us, leaning forward. "Look, maybe you should just step back, Jess. You're coming off a little desperate."

"Desperate?" Jess's eyes narrowed, and I could see the hurt morphing into rage. "You think I'm desperate? I'm just standing up for myself and what's right!"

Ava placed a hand on my arm, trying to defuse the situation. "Let's just go, Mia. We don't need to do this here."

But Jess wasn't finished. "Oh, so now you want to run away? Classic move, Ava. You can't handle the heat, can you?"

My heart thudded as I turned from Jess to Ava, caught in the middle. "Jess, we are not here to fight. I don't want to hurt you. But I need to be with Ava."
"You really think so, do you?" she sneered with sarcasm. "And what do you think you are doing for her? This isn't love; it's a phase. You'll see.".

It was tied in my stomach with a knot of fear. "You don't get to decide what our relationship is, Jess. We're adults. We can do what we want. You can't control me. You can't dictate it all."

"Adults?" Jess's laugh was bitter. "You both are acting like children, throwing everything away for some fantasy!"

I looked around at Ava, her face grasped between anger and sorrow. "Let's just go," I reminded her softly, for the sake of my racing heart.

I could still hear Jess calling out as we walked off: "You'll regret this, Mia! You're making a huge mistake!"

The night was oppressive as we stepped out of the restaurant, weighed down by what Jess had just said. I glanced over at Ava; she seemed as white as a sheet and was shaken to her core. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all that," I muttered, my heart heavy.

"It's not your fault," she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper. "But it just feels so overwhelming."

"I'm here for you," I promised, taking her hand. "No matter what." I reminded her softly. 

It felt like time is going to the wind. Ava and I had long agreed to take space from the pressure of her friends and Jess to step back. We thought by taking this space, maybe things would settle for us to find our heads about what we wanted. But the burden was unbearable. We both wanted to be together but the rest of the world seemed to put our hands tied.

One rainy afternoon, I had planned to head over to the local park to see Ava. The rain formed circles on my windshield but, instead of soaking into my clothes, the heart inside my chest began to race with anxiety. I needed to see her and talk to her about everything that had been going around.

That's when I turned onto this busy junction, noticed a car speeding through the red light, time slowed down as if for a moment I knew what was about to happen, and just instinctively, it was too late. The impact was jarring-the screech of metal, smashing of glass, and the world spinning out of control.

I heard ringing in my ears from a distance amidst the cacophony. It's as if all which surrounded me faded away and replaced with the foul crunching metal into each other.

As I regained consciousness, I felt dazed. The smell of gasoline and rain hit my nostrils, and I hardly understood what happened. I could hear people shouting, sirens wailing far away.

I fumbled with my cell in my hands, which were shaking like poles, and dialled Ava's number. "Ava," I croaked, as panic flooded my chest. "I—I was in an accident."
"Mia!" Her voice sounded worried. "Where are you? Are you okay?"
"I don't know. I'm.I'm in my car," I managed to say, my heart beating. "But I think I'm hurt."
"Mia, stay there! I'm coming!"

I hung up, my mind racing. I didn't want her to worry, but the pain on my side was unbearable. I could hear the sound of sirens approaching, and a dread came over me.

In minutes, the emergency personnel arrived. I saw them running towards the car, but their voices are a mixture since they were still assessing the situation. Again, panic roiled inside me, but this time it was desperation to know how Ava was going to be when she got there.

When they finally pulled me out of the wreckage, a spate of fear went through me. "I need to see Ava," I said in a voice barely struggling to stay intact.

You're going to be all right but we need to take you to get checked out, one of the paramedics said reassuringly.

Please just tell her I'm here, I continued, pulling and tugging on the as much as my pain would allow, against the restraints.

As they were hoisting me onto the stretcher, I saw the car from which the other driver had emerged. The other fellow was shambling out of his car, dazed but apparently none the worse for wear. My heart sank. Jess, of course, would likely hear about this too, and that made everything worse.

And then, through the chaos, I saw Ava running towards me, her face white with fear. "Mia!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face.

"Ava!" I tried to reach for her, but the paramedics gently restrained me.

She pushed through the crowd, her eyes wide with concern. "Oh my God are you okay What happened?"

"I'm scared," I admitted, my voice cracking. "I don't know how bad it is."

Ava squeezed my hand, her touch grounding me amidst the chaos. "You're going to be okay. Just focus on me."

As they were putting me in the ambulance, Ava wanted to go with me; she has a soothing effect on my frazzled nerves. I felt the rush of the scene, but all I wanted was to hold on to her, to feel her strength.

As soon as we reached the ambulance, they started doing my vitals on the inside; their voices low but urgent. "We're taking you to the hospital," said one of them. "Just breathe, okay?

Ava stayed by my side, her hand not leaving mine. "I'm right here," she whispered, locking her eyes to mine.

The ride felt like forever. There were those moments, in between the involuntary re-enactments of the accident, when feelings of helplessness washed over me. If only I could have driven to her place. if something happened to me?

We ended up in the hospital, where, once again, chaos ensued. They wheeled me into ER, and before I knew what was happening, a sea of white coats surrounded me. I couldn't understand a word they said because my eyes were blinded by the intensity of the lights surrounding me.

"Stabilize her," a voice said. "We have some imaging that needs to be done for internal damage."

Ava was dragged out of there, her worried face burned into my memory. I wanted to shout out at her too, but the world around me blurred and took on a cacophony of medical jargon and flashing lights.

The hours drifted by, and I lay in a hospital room, the soft beeping of machines drowning out the silence. There was the dull ache of my side; looking down to see bandages that bound my body fast.

The door creaked open, and in walked Ava, her eyes red rimmed from crying. "Mia!" she breathed upon rushing to my side.

"I'm here," I said, though I couldn't help but smile a little as pain lanced through my body. "I'm fine. Just a little banged up."

Ava looked me over, and her face was pinched with concern. "You scared me. I thought I was going to lose you."

"I'm not going anywhere," I promised, my heart aching at the thought of what could have happened. "But we need to talk about Jess."

Ava's face changed, the concern in her eyes turning cold. "What about her?"

"She'll hear about this and I know she'll be back fighting," I said, letting my fears take on a weight of their own. "I just want us to be strong through this all."

Ava took a deep breath, her eyes filled now with determination. "We will be. No one can dictate what we have, not even Jess.".

It was in that moment, amidst chaos and confusion, I realized how the two of us could conquer any storm with our love. We would face whatever lay ahead together, no matter how scared it was going to be.

But I knew that the consequences of that accident were bound to start spilling into our lives in ways we could yet think possible. And so, prepared myself for this challenge that lay ahead, ready to fight for what we had built-no matter what it would take.