Amaranthine

Chapter Twenty Nine

 © Copyright 2011
All work is property of Leah Crichton, any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal.

 Déjà vu: (dey-zhah-voo)

the illusion of having previously experiencing something actually being encountered for the first time

disagreeable familiarity or sameness

My stomach churned as nausea swept over me. My pulse quickened. My life could end any other way but this. Not a car wreck, not with Damien.

Please God, not in a car.

Memories of screeching tires, twisted metal, the look of dread on Luke’s face, and the metallic smell of blood rushed my mind. I fought my gag reflex. I was going to be sick. It was a horrendous case of déjà vu.

As Orion closed in to only a few feet behind us, I could hear the distinct roar of the Audi’s engine. His car swerved suddenly so it was in the opposite lane and accelerated. He must have been going at least one hundred miles an hour because it took only seconds before he was beside us, beside me. His eyes were pleading, horrified. They settled on Damien and pure hatred radiated from them.

A huge grin spread across Damien’s face. He looked at me with an insolent expression. “I think I’ve made him mad, my love. What do you think?”

“I’m not your love. Don’t call me that.”

Damien’s face turned angry again. Looking at Orion, he brought his elbow up and hit me directly in the nose. Blood started gushing out; the smell of rust was now so much more than a memory.  Orion’s car was still at our side, and after seeing Damien’s abuse, he looked like he had gone insane.

I couldn’t bring my hands to my nose; they were still tied behind me. Warm fluid rushed over my lips and into my mouth. Instead of saying anything else, I prayed relentlessly, Please, God, not in a car, not with him. I wanted to be with Orion when I died, like I should have been to begin with.

Damien jerked the wheel hard to the right and his foot pushed heavy on the gas, sending the Porsche accelerating ahead to keep Orion from overtaking him. Orion eased off and he fell behind us. Fear gripped my insides. What was he doing?

Damien wrenched his head around at an awkward angle and began to laugh. “It’s showtime!” he bellowed. He looked as much of a madman as Orion had just moments before. 

The Audi surged forward again as Orion tried to maneuver his car beside us. In another attempt to block him, Damien swerved right. Just as fast as Orion was there, he fell behind Damien’s car once more, but it was only momentary. In another swift and fluid motion, he was accelerating up the driver’s side of the Porsche. I could tell he still hadn’t brought his Audi to its top speed. He floored it and brought it in closer, millimeters from the nose of the Porsche. Damien’s smile disappeared.

Please, God, not in a car. Not with him. 

Orion moved the car sharply to the right and his headlight clipped the front of our vehicle. It wasn’t enough to do serious damage, but it threw Damien off of his original course, sending the Porsche fishtailing as he tried to regain control. I couldn’t breathe, sure suffocation was imminent.

The sound of the Audi’s engine was deafening as Orion opened it up and pushed the car to its limits. His tires were screeching as it spun a perfect one hundred and eighty degrees. The two cars were now face-to-face.

My mouth was agape. Damien’s face took on his twisted scowl again. He obviously hadn’t expected Orion to literally get in his way.