Tongue Tied

Prologue

A boiling hot, bitter-tasting rage bubbled in my stomach. My throat burned, my lips tingled, my intestines coiled painfully around my lungs squeezing all the air out of them as my mind tumbled back over everything that just happened.

How did I let things get so bad?

All I wanted to do was scream and shout, to let out some of the frustration which left me breathless, but I didn't have the energy. I was emotionally drained like I didn't have anything left to offer the world. It took everything I had just to keep on going. Even my eyelids felt dangerously heavy.

I pulled the car to a halt at traffic lights and tapped noisily against the steering wheel while I waited impatiently. My brain darted everywhere, even if I wanted to contain my thoughts I couldn't, the anger rolled through me in waves, swallowing up all my organs in the process.

I couldn't work out exactly what I'd done to lead myself down such an unpleasant path, I wished desperately I could pinpoint the moment, unravel it, and try again, but one thing was clear. What I really needed was a fresh start...

Then, three things happened all at once: my mobile phone blasted out its obnoxious ringtone, the light flickered onto green, and as my foot slammed down onto the accelerator a deep bright flash appeared from nowhere.

What the...?

I couldn't resist turning my head to find out what the seemingly inhuman glow indicated, but before my neck could make one full spin a shocking sensation slammed into my right-hand side.

The noise came after. The deafening crush exploded my eardrums ensuring I'd never hear anything ever again. As my brain shattered I felt oddly calm. The emotions seeped from me, leaving me with nothing but numbness. It was the end and weirdly I just didn't care. It was good to have nothing left to worry about.

I suppose, in a dark and twisted way, it solved all my problems.

The pain was ice-cold, then burning, after which my entire body lit on fire as I cascaded through the car, bumping into parts of it I'd never touched before. My ragdoll body flopped like it had no bones, and soon I figured it probably wouldn't.

I wasn't sure where I landed, but the moment I stopped moving the world became a pinhole. A circle filled my vision and it grew smaller and smaller as a deep blackness came for me.

Within that darkness, there was only one face. Dark, curly hair, deep hazel eyes, an olive-coloured skin so soft I desperately wanted to reach out and touch it. The only person who ever made me happy, and now I'd never get to see him again

I'm sorry, Scott, I'll miss you.

I've always loved only you.