Moving On

Chapter One - The accident

It wasn't supposed to happen. None of it was.

The accident happened two months ago. Zac and I were driving to dinner at a really nice restaurant for my 21st birthday. We had gotten reservations at a fancy place called Piquant that I really liked but couldn't go to often because it was expensive. Piquant is usually really booked, so the dinner wasn't until 8:30.

"I haven't eaten here in forever! Thank you so much for getting us dinner here! I know it has to be expensive," I said to Zac as we drove to Piquant.

"It's no problem; it's your 21st so we need to go somewhere really special to celebrate. Plus it's been over five years since we started dating and we didn't really do anything for our anniversary. This is to make up for that," he replied, looking over at me and smiling crookedly. He took my hand and looked into my eyes. "I have a present for you and I can't wait to give it to you. I hope you'll like it. Oh I also have something to tell you but I can do that after dinner." He suddenly looked uneasy.

Wanting to ease whatever nervousness he felt, I said, "Of course I'll love it! You're already going all out on dinner, why did you buy me a present too? I don't like you spending so much money on me."

"I love you, so of course I'll want to give you everything I have. Besides, this present is for both me and you." He continued to smile at me and leaned in to give me a quick kiss, making me turn my eyes away from the road.

I pulled away a second later after I heard the honking of a horn. I looked up to see a truck speeding towards the passenger side of the car. I had just run a red light. "Zac!" I screamed as he glanced at me, and the look in his eyes made me start crying. "I love you," I sobbed before blacking out.

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I awoke to a monotone beeping. Blinking my eyes, the first thing I saw was the ceiling of a room. My eyes started to sting, so I closed them again. Where am I? Why am I here? I wondered. Inhaling deeply, I realized it smelled strongly like bleach. I groaned, and suddenly I heard a scream.

"Jenna! Jenna! Was that you? Say something please!" a voice I didn't recognize yelled.

I tried to open my eyes again, but the bright lights hurt my eyes. "Lights," I rasped, trying to say more but my voice wouldn't allow me to.

"Of course, sweetie!" The lady said as I heard her feet quickly hitting the floor to rush to turn off the lights. "Can you open your eyes now? The lights are off." Trying another time, I opened my eyes and saw a lady's worried face. Glancing around the room, I saw a heart monitor and white walls. I'm in a hospital, but why? Suddenly the events of my birthday came rushing back to me.

I gasped. "Where's Zac? Is he okay? Wait, he has to be okay. When can I see him?" He can't be hurt. That's impossible. Zac would never leave me here alone. I need to see him. The lady-that I identified as a nurse-gave me a look, and that's when I knew something was wrong. I started to freak out. "Where is Zac? IS HE OKAY?" I shrieked.

"I don't want to tell you this, but I'm sorry Jenna, Zac... isn't here anymore. The impact of the truck killed him instantly." Her tone was so sympathetic. I crumpled in the hospital bed and let out a wail. At first I was angry at Zac. He's gone? How is that even possible? He was always my rock, the one who was always there when I needed him. How could he not be here when I needed him the most? How could he leave me? Then I realized it was my fault. If I hadn't looked away I wouldn't have ran that red light. We would both be safe, and Zac would still be alive. It was all me. My fault. I had killed Zac, the love of my life.

"Jenna?" The nurse's voice interrupted my thinking. "I want to give you some time with your family that's waiting outside, but before I leave I wanted to give you something the paramedics found in Zachary's pocket that night." She handed me a small box with a bow, smiled, and walked out of the room.

I stared at the pretty box for a while before untying the bow and slowly opening the box. While looking at the contents, I started to cry. Nestled inside was a beautiful princess cut diamond ring. He was going to propose to me, I thought before I started sobbing hysterically. He was going to propose to me and I killed him.

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Hey guys! I haven't updated my other book in a long time and I know it seems like I just dropped off the face of the planet, but I have been really busy and have had a really bad case of writer's block. For some reason I just had the urge to write again, and this storyline was the first thing that popped into my head. It might end up being a bust, but we'll see. I'll hopefully be updating this again sometime next week or the week after!

leeann32101