Contemporary Life // FILLIE

More Than An Accident

Finn's POV:

I clicked off my phone and quickly stuffed it into my pocket, watching Millie with urgent eyes as I snatched the keys and started for the door. "We have to go. Right. Now." I explain, hearing her swiftly get up from the couch and grab her shoes as I do the same. We both bolt out to my car and practically throw ourselves inside, the key almost breaking when I shove it into the ignition. "Finn, what's going on?" Millie questions worriedly as I swerve backwards onto the road from the driveway and press on the gas. "Something happened Mill.. something bad." I answer, not knowing much of the situation myself. I speed way over the limit all through town, on the route I'd usually take to the gas station- wait.. to the gas station? Fucking shit. I press down all the way, swerving around cars and repeatedly telling Millie to 'hold on tight', surprised when no cops come revving up in my rear view mirror when the next turn should be the exact street Noah wanted me at. I'm forced to slow down the car, towns folk surrounding some source of smoke that's occupied by flashing red and blue lights. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I park the car to the curb, the sudden halt causing the car to jerk slightly before settling while the two of us unbuckle. I climb out of the car, holding the top of the door for a second as I try to peer through the small crowd that surrounds something that produces smoke into the November air.. and lots of it.

I make eye contact with Millie, almost reading her mind as we both then begin to sprint to the scene in panic. I push through the small amount of people with little to no effort, as if they were expecting me to come. But when I reach the from of the crowd, I'm not sure I'd come if I had known this would be waiting for me. "Caleb.." I breath out, heaving deeply due to fright, panic, and the amount of running I just did. My eyes scan the scene, twitching to every part of it like some mental patient. The thing that produced that much smoke is nothing other than Caleb's pitch black pickup truck on it's side in flames, well, what was left from the firefighters that are still putting it out. Blood remains in the broken glass beneath the driver's seat. Shit. A couple yards away is minivan, the front of it crushed to a pulp as it too smokes. And surrounded by it all are cop cars, a firetruck, and an ambulance. My eyes lock on one sight in particular: the sight of a dark skinned boy being carried in a stretcher to the ambulance, his white shirt drenched in blood along with his arms, face, and small parts of his khakis. Clinging to his hand is his crying mother, April, with his dad Corey having his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. 

"Finn.." I hear a small british voice whisper, not wanting my attention but more so just wanting me to say something, anything. Her hand holds onto my shoulder while she watches the sight with the same wondrously crazy look in her eyes as mine. "We have to find Noah." I state firmly, not hearing the words come out of my mouth until the sound actually hits my ears. "O-Okay." She stutters out as she lets her hand fall from my shoulder, just for me to interlock it with mine. I lead her through the crowd until the side profile of the boy who stands beside Sadie that's curled up in a ball on the ground, crying hysterically. Where as you only see tears stream down the seemingly young boy's face. Our hands come free from one another as we both go to comfort each one of them, not knowing what they could've seen but knowing it was probably a lot worse than what we managed to. As soon as his hazel eyes lock with mine his mouth gapes open to let out soft sob, already knowing I won't judge him. I pull him into my arms, wrapping my arms around the sobbing boy tightly as his tears stain my shirt; his hands gripping onto to back of my shirt as if I'd disappear if he let go. "It's okay Noah.. let it all out." I whisper quietly, my eyes still fixed on the ambulance as it drives down the street headed for the hospital. 

-

Millie's POV:

"When did you guys get there?" I ask Noah and Sadie from the passenger seat, looking at them with the rear-view mirror as we all ride in Finn's camero, driving to the hospital. "We got there a little after it happened.." Sadie answers quietly, still sniffling silently to herself but not crying anymore. "Yeah, we were just a few blocks away so when we heard it.. you could say we were more than curious." Noah finishes off for her, to which I nod in response. The car falls silent, my instinctual vision eventually landing back onto Finn with the front of his shirt still damp-ish and only wearing shorts in the freezing weather. And yet through all of this, he hasn't shed a tear, I think while watching him stare at the road with a blank face, his jaw clenched, something he usually would do when he's mad, guilty, or simply doesn't want to speak his mind even though he should. All of those things I've figured out in less than a month of knowing him. "It'll be okay Mill, I promise." Finn mutters abruptly, reaching over and giving my hand a squeeze. I already can tell those words are more directed towards himself seeing as I'm frightened but still, at this moment, completely calm. "Finn," I say, grabbing his attention as his jaw clenches, "it will." I confirm with confidence. Looking him straight in the eye as he then nods to show he needed that reassurance. 

Minutes later the car is coming to an earching halt as Finn shifts it into park, all four of us climbing out afterwards. "Wait.. guys what about Gaten?" Sadie mentions, sounding more like herself than she has the past four hours. We all look back to her and then to each other, all of our eyes widened at the same time. "..uh, I'm sure Caleb's parents told him." Finn insists while nodding his head. "See? That's his car." He adds, pointing over to the exact replica of Gaten's car.. or more so, his literal car. And with that last reassurance we all quickly get through the front desk and awkwardly come into the waiting room, spotting Gaten, Mr. and Mrs. McLaughlin almost immediately. "Oh good, you guys made it." The blue eyed boy greets as he quickly stands from his chair. "I assume you were there?" Gaten queries, looking at all of us with weary eyes. "Yeah.. I'm glad you weren't Gate, it wasn't a sight you'd want to see." Finn confesses, using his own personal nickname for the hat-wearing boy as he pats his back. Starting a conversation with Caleb's parents seconds after he sits down across from them. Sadie squeezes between Noah and I to Gaten, gripping onto his shoulder as tears threaten to escape her eyes. "Have you heard anything yet?" She asks pleadingly, to which Gaten presses his lips together and nods slowly. "But I think you should all hear this." He explains, grabbing Finn from his seat before taking us down into one of the empty halls. 

"What was that for?" Finn exclaims, yanking his arm back once we reach the middle of the hallway. Ignoring him, Gaten starts talking. "I have to tell you guys something.. something about the crash, or more so why and how it happened." He states, all of us waiting impatiently for his next words as he takes a deep breath. "Caleb.. he was stealing- from the gas station. And I guess in a hurry to get out he slammed it. His truck got hit when he ran a red light." Gaten rambles out, taking deep, stressed breaths with each sentence. Finn places his hands in his back pockets, waiting for everyone's reactions before deciphering his own. "Caleb would never-" Sadie starts. "They found this on him Sades, I'm sorry." The curly haired boy admits while taking off the drawstring bag he had on and putting it in the red's shaky hands. She quickly opens the bag to reveal 5 packs of camel branded cigarettes laying sprawled at the bottom just beside a small switch blade, the kind that shoots out a knife at the press of a simple button. Her shaky hands quickly give out and let the bag drop down just to be quickly catched by Noah before it hits the ground, who hands it back to Gaten with a blank face. "I grabbed it out of the ambulance before the cops could do any further investigation.. but from what was in it- I don't think Caleb's really the guy we think he is." He touches the brim of his hat as his eyes look down at the tiled floor, seeming to hesitate against the words that want to come out. "Spit it out, Gaten." I say softly, his eyes meeting mine as he sighs. "I think Caleb might have been lying to us for longer than we know.. for a reason I'm not sure I want to find out."