Alya's eyes open slowly and groggily. Her face hurts and she feels a strap pressing into her chest, but she can't make sense of what it is. Her mind feels so slow. Where am I?
She lifts a hand up to her push back her hair. It comes away sticky and red. She stares at the blood for a moment. The memories rush back to her all at once. The car. The crash. Carmela.
Alya jerks up in her seat. Her head whips to the side. Carmela...
Carmela is slumped in her seat, her seatbelt cutting across her neck. Her eyes are closed and a huge gash mars her forehead, creating bloody clumps in her messy blond hair. She looks so still, almost-
Dead.
She's not- She can't be...
Alya fumbles with her seatbelt, quickly unbuckling it. She leans over and rests two fingers against Carmela's neck.
Nothing.
Frantically she grabs Carmela's cold hands. She presses her thumb on the underside of Carmela's wrist, desperately trying for a pulse.
Nothing.
"Carmela," Alya whispers.
Nothing.
Tears brim in Alya's eyes. No no no, this can't be happening-
"Carmela?" Alya's lip quivers as she desperately tries not to cry. "Carmela, please be alive. Please, I can't lose you-" Her voice cracks as her resolve finally breaks. She scrunches her eyes up to try to stop the flow of tears, but it doesn't help. She can't stop crying.
Suddenly, she hears a groan beside her. She sits up straighter and wipes the tear stains from her cheeks. "Carmela?"
Carmela's bright green eyes open slowly. She turns her head to look at Alya. "Alya?"
Relief rushes through Alya. She engulfs Carmela in an awkward side hug. Carmela grunts in pain and Alya releases her grip. "You're alive! I thought I'd lost you!"
"I am alive," Carmela says. "Where are we?"
"We have to leave. We were just-"
Carmela looks around. "Are we in a car? Wait, did we crash? What happened?"
"You- you don't remember anything?"
Carmela shakes her head. "We were at the coffee shop and then we were in the car talking and then... I don't remember. Are we in a car crash?"
"Yes. No. Well, yes, but we have to leave."
"Where are the other cars? Shouldn't we give them our insurance information? How long was I out?"
"Not long. I think my car is still intact-"
"Alya, we have to give the other people our information-"
"No, we can't do that," Alya snaps, immediately feeling bad once she sees Carmela's face. "I'm sorry, but we have to go."
"Isn't that considered a hit and run?"
"Who cares if it is?" Tears of frustration burn at the edges of Alya's vision. "Listen, I- I can't stay here. If the media finds out it was me who caused the crash, I'll never hear the end of it. They'll call me crazy-" Alya swallows. "Tom already thinks I'm a bad driver; he'll never let me drive again. Please, Carmela. Please, I- I can't be caught."
Carmela sits quietly for a moment. Alya holds her breath and wrings her sweaty hands together nervously. Please say yes.
"Fine," Carmela says finally. "But you owe me one." She cracks a smile. A small trail of blood trickles from the edge of her chapped lips.
In spite of herself, Alya smiles.
YOU ARE READING
Psycho #OpenNovellaContest
General Fiction"I want to help you," the man next to her says. She shivers as the hand rests on her thigh again. But this time, she doesn't push him away. He lowers his voice to a whisper, so quiet that not even the microphones can pick it up. "People do strange t...
