The Beat Of His Drums

Chapter 11

-time skip: 1 year later-

"Can you believe it Siren!? In exactly a week, we will be out of high school forever!" Ghaust exclaimed, hugging me tightly. "I know! I can't wait." I gleemed. I turned to look outside. Staring directly at my mailbox. "Still waiting on the college letter?" He asked. "Yeah. I'm really nervous." I replied. He chuckled, "come on, let's have some coffee." He said, leading me to the table. I sat down, and he brought over two mugs. Whipped cream and chocolate syrup floated at the top. I took a sip, letting the warmth fill me with contempt. "So did you get any of your acceptance letters?" I asked, rubbing my finger against the warm glass. "Three, two colleges denied me, one accepted me. But the last one, I'm really hoping I get in." He smiled. "Which is the one you want to really get into?" I asked. He sighed, "obviously Bryant and Straton." I chuckled, "of course." His smile grew faint, "I can't believe you might be going all the way to San Francisco. What did Jack say?" My face went pale. "I...I haven't told him yet..." His eyes widened, "you haven't told him!? Siren it's been two months since you sent in your application!" I sighed, "I know, I just wanted to wait until I got accepted, so I would know for sure." He groaned, "He's going to be pissed that you hadn't told him sooner." I looked down at my mug, guilt settled at the pit of my stomach. "I know..."

The door slammed shut and Jack walked into the kitchen, "hey mah homies! What's good." He chuckled, propping himself up onto the counter. "Jeez, it's like beetlejuice with this guy." Ghaust muttered. Jack seemed to have not noticed Ghaust's comment, "so guess what!? We had a gig last night. And a guy from fucking Rise Records noticed us! Can you believe it! We're going to be famous!" My jaw dropped. I was speechless.

In just one year, we become high school graduates. Ghaust and I got our liscences and our own cars. Jack forms a band named Slaughter House, only eight months later and they were already noticed by a top notch record label, Ghaust finds his calling in police work, and he asks Emily to marry him, and I apply for the Academy of Art University, Akatski graduates early, Luke moves away, Tony finds a girlfriend, Dad becomes a doctor, and Mom becomes the manager of a buffet. The change has been drastic and quite frankly, it scares me.

"That's awesome dude, congrats!" Ghaust said excitedly. "I applied for the Acedamy of Art University." I said quietly. "What...?" Jack said. He looked to have been hit by lightening. "But...that's all the way across the country." He finally stated. This made me angry, I glared up at him, "oh yeah, and you are going to be touring all over the goddamn country! What the hell is your point?" He rolled his eyes, "I wanted to take you with me, so that we won't have to be apart." I snorted, and left the kitchen. "Siren!" Ghaust called out. I ran up the stairs and slammed my door. Shortly after, I heard the front door slam. Shortly after, my door is nearly knocked off it's hinges. Ghaust lingured in the doorway. I could see the anger radiating off of him. "What you just fucking did in there was bloody hell." I kicked my dresser "why the hell does he get to follow his dream but I can't follow mine!" I shouted. "He just doesn't want to lose you!" He yelled back. "He's not going to lose me!" I yelled again. "Long distance is a lot harder than you think Siren!" I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. I'm going to go." He rolled is eyes, "whatever happened to making sacrafices for the people you love?" I growled in responce. "Siren listen to me. Think about it. He'll be making a shit ton of money. And you will be spending a shit ton just going to college. And you don't even know if you can get a job after that. But I'm sure, when you two are rich enough, you could build your own art studio and you could do what you want to do and even sell your paintings. And you'll be your own boss. Isn't that much better than spending so much money to continue school and then having to work under someone else?" I sighed. He was right. It did seem better. And I could still live my dream the way I want, without having to lose Jack in the process. "Fine." I growled. "I'll go talk to him." He huffed in relief, "good idea." He told me he's going to the coffee shop. If you hurry, you can still make it." I nodded, grabbed my car keys, and ran out the door.

When I got close to the coffee shop, I saw Jack already pulling out of the parking lot. "Shit!" I shouted to myself. I looked at the traffic light to see it was still red. "Fuck..." I said a little more quiet. I picked up my phone to dial his number but as soon as I turned it on there was a loud crash that caused me to let out a tiny scream and drop my phone on the floor. I looked up at the window to find out where the noise had come from.

Fear struck me..... Grief struck me even harder.

My eyes widened.

My jaw dropped.

Tears threatened to fall.

It was a head on collision.

The front bumper of a minivan was all busted up.

Jack's tiny silver Satern was now on the side of the road, tipped on it's side. A tire was still spinning.

I could no longer contain the tears. I screamed out in horror and devistation.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and scurried out of my car. I stood in utter despair.

The image was even worse than what it looked like inside the car. Not only did the minivan crash into Jack's car but even a couple other cars had crashed trying to avoid getting hit. Jack's car was busted up horribly. Glass littered the street. A street lamp had fallen into a telephone pole, which had broken nearly in half and now drooped over the road, barely hanging on to the other half.

"NOOOO!" I screamed out, tears flowing like waterfalls. The pounding of my heart echoed in my ears. It banged against my chest. I could feel the pain stinging my entire body. People crowded the street staring at the mess in complete shock. "SOMEONE CALL THE FUCKING POLICE! DON'T JUST FUCKING STAND THERE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I sprinted towards the accedent. I had to see if Jack was okay.

Please don't die on me please, please, pleassseee. I thought to myself.

Tears were still streaming down my face. I wanted to scream. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. This can't be happening.

Tears blinded my vision. But i kept running. He has to be okay. He has to.

A pair of arms grasped me. They were bulky. Like someone had been working out for years. "LET ME GO!" I pounded on the strangers chest and clawed at his arms. "LET ME GO, I HAVE TO SEE MY BOYFRIEND! MY BOYFRIEND'S IN THAT FUCKING CAR!" He yanked me back, pulling me into a hug. "You can't go near there! It's too dangerous! The police and ambulances are on their way! My wife just called them, they'll be here any minute." I struggled to break free with little success. He let go, and I slowly fell to my knees. I continued sobbing. my entire body was shaking like a giant machine. I couldn't stop rattling. I couldn't stop crying. After only a few minutes, but what felt like hours, the sound of sirens rang in my ears. Flashing lights surrounded the area.