Denial

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Serenity

I sat by the road, watching for any sign of Rae. It's been too long since we last spoke or had a proper conversation. Talking to her on the phone felt better than I expected. I haven't totally forgiven her for what happened between us, but maybe this could be a start. I just hope I'll be able to get past it and try to get back to being just friends with her, whatever that means.

The sound of gravel crunching pulled me out of my head and I refocused my gaze on the road. A car was headed our way, but it appeared unsteady. My chest tightened at the sight and I leapt to my feet. The movement made me a little unsteady for a moment, but I never took my eyes off the car. I followed its progress across the small bridge. It seemed to just creep along at a low speed when, out of nowhere, it sped up and then turned sharply.

The metal hit the cement barrier with a sickening crunch, the metal of the car protesting. My feet were moving before I even realized I was no longer standing along the edge of the beach, my body propelling me forward. Just as I reached the car, the tires squealed, and then the entire thing was careening over the side of the bridge.

"RAE!!!!" I yelled after the car. People were screaming and racing towards us, but I hardly acknowledged them. I stared down at the dented hunk of steel, waiting for that familiar head of dark hair to appear out of the water. It never did. Before I knew what I was doing, I dove head first into the water.

The water rebelled against my unwarranted intrusion for a second before I slid beneath the surface. I swam up until my head broke the surface and took a deep breath before submerging myself again. Kicking my legs and flailing my arms, I swam as quickly as I could to the car. It was upside down and already filled with water from the shattered windshield. I paddled through the many jagged pieces of glass floating around and sticking out of the sides of the car, pain nothing but a distant memory as my sole focus was on getting to Rae.

As soon as I reached her, I patted her face, trying to get her to open her eyes. I forced an eyelid open, hoping it would wake her, but still, she remained unresponsive. I surged forward so I was practically in the seat next to her and pressed down on the belt buckle. It released her immediately, but her body didn't move. I grabbed her under her arms and tried to pull, but was met by instant resistance. I let her go and moved closer to see what was wrong. Her legs were caught between the steering wheel and the peddles. The water around her darkening with blood.

I swam out of the car and back up to the surface, gasping for air. I spun around, searching for help. "I need help! She's trapped. Her legs are stuck under the steering wheel and I can't get her out on my own."

Melinda immediately waded into the water from where the party was going on. Junior and Jordan came sprinting out behind her with Lincoln and Jax close.

"What do you need?" Lincoln asked as he got closer.

"We need to get her out, dipshit!" Junior growled at him.

"Who the hell are you talking to?!" Lincoln roared right back.

Jax swam between them, pushing them apart. "This is neither the time nor the place for this level of stupidity." He turned to the large crowd and frowned. "Somebody call 911!" Everyone started back towards their cars where they'd left their phones by mutual agreement not to post anything that happened tonight.

"We have to move it enough to get her out." I shook my head, pushing the wet hair out of my face. "I don't think brute strength is gonna work this time." I could feel my lungs constricting at the thought of her dying. I breathed in as deeply as I could, but it came out as a sob. "I don't know what to do?"