Tomorrow Never Dies

Chapter 37 - "Just a storm"

Michael and I returned to the hotel after our trip to the aquarium and instantly lay down on the bed, exhausted from the events of the day. I sighed as Michael took my wrist gently and inspected where my father had grabbed me, his eyes running over the bruises that were already forming. Then he turned over my arm and looked at the scars lining the inside of the forearm.

"When was the last time?" he asked, his eyes meeting mine.

"When Ashton had to take me to hospital," I replied. "I almost did the other day but he stopped me."

"What happened the other day?"

"You were an asshole when you were drunk," I shrugged. He kissed me softly.

"Sorry baby," he said, and I could tell he meant it. "I love you."

"I love you too." And with that, I fell asleep.

***
I woke up to the alarm at a ridiculous time in the morning, and I remembered after a moment that we were driving back to Sydney. I groaned as Michael picked me up and placed me on my feet.

"I'm staying in my pyjamas today," I told him, and he shook his head. My pyjamas consisted of a vest top and booty shorts so I kept cool overnight.

"Look outside," he instructed, and as he did I saw it was pouring it down with rain.

"I'll wear your hoodie," I said, grabbing it off the back of the chair in the hotel room and slinging it over my shoulders.

"Fine," he sighed and picked up his bag as I did the same, and together we wandered down to meet the others in the lobby. We paid for our room and made our way to the car, where Michael sat next to me and I pressed myself into his body, letting his hoodie and body warmth keep me from shivering. When we reached the highway, Ashton turned off the radio, seeing I was ready to fall asleep again, and I drifted off to the sound of rain hitting the roof of the car.

***
I woke up as the rain grew fiercer, the gentle pitter patter turning into a sound similar to stones being thrown at the top of the car with increasing force. The sky seemed angry, throwing down bolts of lightning and cracking with thunder, and I shook my head. I had never been a fan of storms, usually relying on Joey at home to get me through them. I started shaking and Michael clearly noticed as he pulled me closer towards him and rubbed my back, whispering calming words in my ear.

"It's okay baby, it's just a storm," he said quietly, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen. The road was slippy, the windscreen wipers were going full blast, we could barely see through the mist. I turned to look out the back of the car to see Calum driving a little way behind us, then watched as the car next to him swerved to avoid a puddle, span and crashed into them with so much force that I heard the bang from inside the car.

"Ashton pull over!" I cried, trying desperately to see how bad the wreck was. As soon as he pulled over, I was out of the car, Michael's hoodie pulled over my head, and I was running towards them. I blinked raindrops and tears out of my eyes as I approached the two cars and I tore open the front passenger door, looking inside. Calum, being the driver, had taken the worst damage, and he was passed out with blood trickling down the side of his face, and his arm twisted at an unnatural angle. Phoebe was sat next to him in shock, barely responsive. Luke, behind Calum so also hit directly by the impact, was also unconscious but seemed in better condition than Calum, and Kiri was next to him, shaking and crying. I told her something, not quite sure what I was saying, and I looked behind me to see Michael and Ashton both on their phones, presumably calling the emergency services.

"Breathe, Kiri," I told her, rubbing her shoulder gently, and reaching for Phoebe with my other hand. Grace was in the other car, checking up on them since they had a baby, and I moved on to Luke. I listened to his breathing and tried to find a pulse, and I would have done the same with Calum but the door was blocked by the other car. "Phoebe, I need you to get Calum's wrist and try and find a pulse for me, okay?" She moved silently for his arm, moving her fingers over his wrist to find the pulse. She moved onto his neck and nodded, making me breathe a tiny sigh of relief. They were all alive. "And he is breathing, yeah?" She nodded again.

"What happened?"

"The other car swerved to miss a puddle and skidded into you," I told her, trying to keep myself as calm as possible for her benefit, but I could feel the panic building up in my chest. Ash and Michael came over and I left them so I could go and sit by our car. I let the rain cover me, soaking my hair and sticking it to my skin, and then the panic hit. The attack was over relatively quickly, but I couldn't shake the feeling of weakness that always came after it.

Soon enough, I saw the flashing lights and heard the sirens that signalled the arrival of the emergency services. There were four ambulances, a fire truck and two police cars, and I tried to wipe away the tears on my cheeks. The fire crew went straight to work on moving the cars away from each other and forcing open Calum's door. They pulled everyone out safely and loaded them onto the ambulances as I talked to the police about what I'd seen. They took my statement and let me go so we could follow the ambulances to hospital.

*****
Again, short but dramatic soz
Currently crying bc broken home and my ankles are killing me dont try dancing to proud mary in heels

Song of the chapter: proud mary by tina turner