Exquisite ~ Book One

Thirteen~

"What's on your mind mademoiselle?" Andrew jokes once more this evening, clearly in a grand mood.

"I guess the sky." I answer after a moment of pondering on an arrangement of clouds. I smile at the thought of the sky and take a quick and sly glance over at him.

"Why the sky?" Andrew asks, glancing back and laughing once he's caught me staring.

"Well, how not? It's always different depending on the time of day, the colors blended as if it were water paint. It's art!" I say with so much feeling that I feel my heart speed up within my very own chest. I smile warmly and peer back up at the shifting clouds as we pass by.

"I guess you've proven a point there." He says in defeat. He was still laughing, hands loose on the steering wheel as he turns back to face me. That's where everything great went down.

SCREECH!

Tires spun on gravel, glass shattering as heads whipped forward, to the sides, and then back.

My eyes were shut, my head aching and pounding as my hands move blindly to the seat belt that held me in place, clicking out of it and falling back on a bed of broken windows and my journal that had slipped from my grasp.

"Andrew?" I ask through a hoarse, breaking voice. I couldn't see much: smoke, red. "Andrew?" I ask again. When no answer still came, I began to wake up, panic taking over me as my hand runs over the sharp ground in search of my phone. If I knew anything, I knew how to call 9-1-1.

"Hello, what seems to be the problem?" A voice returns from the opposing part of the line.

"There was a car incident, our car flipped, and I don't think he's breathing..." My voice trailed off, my eyes watering as all I do now is rock, cough, and cry.

"Ma'am, do you know where you're located?" The voice says more seriously.

"Smoke, I only see smoke." I answer through sobs.

"Ma'am, we advise you get away from the smoke immediately!" The voice demands as I apologize to Andrew again, crawling through the smoke to feel him for a pulse. There was a small one.

"He's alive!" I scream and begin smiling with some relief.

"Ma'am, we're sending help right away." But I wasn't listening, I was already pulling him from the car before everything inside blew up. My shaking body covering his from the scorching heat that burned at me.

-

"She's been burned pretty well, her hands and legs pretty cut up... some shards of glass removed from her skin... we'd hooked her up to oxygen, to much smoke in her lungs... slight concussion..." In and out, light then dark. Everything hurt and all I thought about was him, his lips, and his voice that told me to sleep. So I slept.

-

"Annabella? Is that your name?" Someone called out my name, poked at my arm, shook me ever so slightly. "Annabella?" The voice was sweet, smooth and calming. I tried to see who smoke it, opening my eyes only to find light.

I knew I wasn't dead, knew I wasn't alone... Andrew!

I jerk up in the hospital bed, eyes pierced open as cords tug after me. "Andrew?"

"Miss, you might as well lay back down, you're not quite back to full health yet." The soothing voice comes in, and I fall back, a fit of tears bursting forth. "Miss, I assure you that your husband is fine. Miss?"

Though listening, I couldn't hear her, I was in my own head again, as dangerous as that was. She said he was okay, but he wasn't here, wasn't here to joke or mess with me whenever I'd wake up. Where was he?

"Would you like to see him? I can assure you Miss, that he is in fact okay." She gives me a tired smile. I only manage a head nod as she helps me stand, leading the way with me trailing behind her. The lady stops in front of a dim lit room, opening the door and letting me inside as I gasp and cup my mouth, crying more.

"Andrew!" I scream and "run" to his bedside, my hand clutching over his own kissing the scarred of it. "I'm so sorry..." That's all I had to say as I bow my head, his hand moving to squeeze my own. I look up and he gives me a crooked smile in return. I smile back and after that, they're tears of joy.