Why Can't We? / Daniel Seavey

27|destruction

My alarm clock had started to ring indicating it was seven in the morning. Daniel groaned beside me.

"Is it seven already?" He asked flipping over onto his back. 

"Unfortunately yes," I sighed looking up at him. 

The sunlight flooding the room from the skylight above us made Daniel's eyes sparkle. His skin the glowing and his lips were perfectly plump. He smiled and looked down at me. 

"Are you ready for this?" He asked. 

I laughed. "You know it's not my first time running away from my parents." 

He raised an eyebrow and propped himself up on his forearms. "So that's how you're so good at this." 

"It's not my first rodeo." I said as I rolled out of bed. 

I kneeled in front of my suitcase and pulled out a pair of jeans and a graphic tee. I pulled off my pajamas and quickly changed into my outfit. One finished I had noticed Daniel left the room. I heard him humming from the kitchen. I quietly walked out and saw Daniel looking into the fridge. He was humming something different, my favorite song by him and the boys. I leaned against the door frame and smiled as I watched Daniel move around the kitchen. It's like he knew every square inch of the place. He didn't have to look for anything, he knew where the utensils were, he knew where the oven mitts were. He even knew the steps to take in order to avoid hitting the countertop. It was almost like he was dancing. 

For a moment it felt like everything had passed and it was just Daniel and I. The entire world outside of this house didn't matter. It was just him and I for a moment. Daniel looked up which interrupted my thoughts.

"Come eat I made an omelet." He said. 

I smiled, "What would I do without you?" I asked sitting at the kitchen counter. 

"It'll take about thirty minutes to get to the train station, so we should leave at around 7:45 so we can make the 8:30." Daniel said stuffing his face.

I laughed, "Whatever you say." 

-

We had walked a couple blocks back to my car, Daniel put the suitcases in the trunk while I turned on the engine. The weather was gorgeous, it wasn't too hot or too cold. It was sunny but the occasional cloud made the sun bearable. It was meant to be, and sort of gave me hope for the upcoming few days. These days had to be strategic and well thought out. I couldn't make a mistake now, I couldn't be the one to ruin our lives. Frankly if it hadn't been for Daniel I would have turned myself in by now. But I can't be the one to ruin his life and career. I can't leave him either, we're probably better off sticking together anyway. 

"Ready?" Daniel asked climbing into the car. 

"Ready as I'll ever be." I said putting the car into gear. And just like that the car started to move. 

"I'll show you how to get to the highway." Daniel said.

He gave me directions through the heart of San Diego towards the highway. The city was gorgeous, and very similar to Portland. It was smaller than New York city but bigger than a little neighbor hood town. It was beautiful. 

"I wouldn't mind living in San Diego." I said as we came to a red light.

"Me either, it's so alive and theres so much to do." 

"When all of this is over we'll take a real vacation down here." I said laughing.

"And I'll take you out to the most extravagant dinners." 

Daniel was glowing again, and he didn't seem to mind that we were essentially running away from my parents. He happily hummed along to the songs on the radio. 

"Why don't you play some of your music?"I asked handing him the aux chord. 

Without another word he started playing some of Why Don't We's music. 

"Oh you're gonna get on the highway right here." He said. 

I made a right turn and sped up to merge with the traffic. Daniel continued to play music and hum along. It was peaceful and enjoyable. I got into the right lane and continued on straight. The next song came on. Trust Fund Baby. Instantly Daniel and I started singing. It was so intense and fun and beautiful. It felt like high school and I loved it. 

But suddenly that all ended. And before I knew it I had lost control of the car, I don't really remember much. But I do remember Daniel's voice. And then nothing else. Once everything stopped moving I looked over at Daniel. His eyes were closed. 

"Daniel?" I asked. He stirred but I got no response. "Daniel?" I asked more in a panicked tone. Still no answer. His forehead was bleeding and his face was dowsed in blood. 

Then I realized we were upside down and I only had a limited time until the car would light on fire. Immediately I started to unbuckle myself then lowering myself onto the roof of the car. I climbed out of the window and ran over to the other side of the car despite the intense amount of pain I was in. I opened the door quickly and attempted to pull Daniel out. My hands were shaking as I attempted to unbuckle Daniel's seatbelt. It wasn't coming undone. At this point I reached over and grabbed the keys from the ignition and sliced the seatbelt without another thought. 

I pulled Daniel's body from the car and dragged him for about twenty feet until I collapsed. 

-

I woke up in a hospital bed. I looked over and saw Daniel talking on the phone. He looked over from his bed and smiled. 

"Hey." He said 

"Hi." I said laughing. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, they said you were the one who really got fucked up." 

"I'm fine, we just need to get out of here." 

Without another word Daniel pulled out his IV and started getting dressed. I did the same. And after I grabbed the belongings of ours that were in the room we left. No one suspected a thing. 

"We're in the home stretch." Daniel said as we got into the elevator. "The train station is a ten minute walk from here." 

"Lets do this." I said grabbing his hand. And just like that we walked out of that hospital like nothing had happened.