Rescue Me

Chapter 17

The first thing she was aware of was the throbbing in her head. It was a sharp stab of pain, making her see stars behind her closed eyes. Loud, obnoxious rap music was blaring around her, only seeming to enhance her headache.

Caroline groaned, her head lolling slowly against the headrest of her seat, her eyes clenching shut tighter as she fought to remember the events of the last few hours.

She remember the graduation ceremony. Lunch with her mom and Stefan before Liz had been called off to duty. Heading to the party at the Falls. Stefan going off to help Bonnie, and Tyler coming up behind her, enticing her to leave with him and finish out the night elsewhere...

Tyler.

She gasped, her eyes snapping open as she shot up, a sharp cry leaving her lips when the pain in her head escalated. She hissed, sitting back as she cautiously raised a hand to her throbbing head. Her skin felt sticky and wet, and she pulled her hand away in a panic, eyes widening when her she saw her fingers stained with blood.

Her mind was hazy with pain and alcohol, and she wracked her brain for answers. She remembered getting the car with Tyler. She remembered telling him that she didn't think she could drive home. She'd had far too much to drink, and could barely walk in a straight line. Tyler had laughed, she remembered, calling her a lightweight and swiping the keys from her fumbling fingers, swallowing her protests with his lips as he kissed her sloppily. She remembered his carefree, cocky smile as he he'd helped her into the car, telling her they'd be back at his house in no time.

She whipped her head to the side, wincing when stars seemed to dance behind her eyes, and panic clawed at her chest when she saw the driver's seat empty, the door thrown open.

"Tyler?" she cried out, lifting her hand to her head again as she felt the prick of tears behind her eyes. She fumbled with the seatbelt that strapped her in, a sudden pain in her shoulder making her wince. "Oh, God...Tyler?"

The bright beams from the headlights cast shadows across the road in front of them, and she squinted through the windshield as her blurry vision tried to focus on the scenery around her. She shook her head, her free hand sliding around the handle of the door as she shouldered it open, slowly swinging her feet out onto the pavement.

She stood shakily, vision swimming as she swayed on her feet. They were on the Wickery Bridge, she realized. She could see the sign hanging just up the road, creaking slightly as it swayed in the wind. Bracing a hand against the doorframe, she shuffled her way to the front of the car, a panicked sob escaping her lips when her eyes landed on the crushed metal of the hood.

"Tyler?" she cried, turning on her heel as her breathing quickened, coming in panicked, harsh pants. "Tyler!"

"Care."

Caroline turned at the sound of his voice, and she saw him just across the street, and she couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped her. There was a large gash across the side of his cheek, rivets of blood trailing down the side of his neck and pooling into a darkened stain across his T-shirt. His knuckles were bloody, as if his hand had collided with the fractured windshield whenever they crashed, and his normally confident swagger was hindered by a slightly limp as he moved towards her slowly.

She met him halfway, her arms wrapping themselves around his torso tightly, pulling him to her as she sobbed against his chest. "Oh my God," she sobbed, pulling back to stare up into his face. "Tyler, what happened? What...did we crash, I mean. Are you okay? What happened?"

She knew she was rambling, her mind fuzzy and clouded. Tyler was staring down at her, his brown eyes wide in fear and panic, his arms hanging limply at his sides as he slowly shook his head. She stepped back, tilting her head up to meet his gaze, fighting against the wave of vertigo that hit her as she did. "Tyler?"