What She Forgot

Prologue

 "You know I love you, right Sam?" 

    He turned his head to look at the girl sitting beside him as he drove. They had just been on a date at some fancy Italian restaurant she had insisted upon. It was late, nearly ten o'clock. The girl had insisted on a late dinner. Her dyed blonde hair fell to her waist and was curled. He couldn't find the way to tell her he preferred brunettes and straight hair. Her blue eyes were lined with liner and caked with eye shadow into something smoky. He couldn't bring it to himself to tell her he didn't like the way she did her makeup. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that he didn't like her as much as he did someone else. So instead, he turned his head.

    "Yeah, I know, Sabrina." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl frown and cross her arms. He had upset her. He was quick to add, "I love you, too."

    His heart stopped beating for a second. Once upon a time when he had truly been happy, a girl had told him she would never say "I love you too" to someone. She would only ever say "I love you." Her belief was that saying those powerful three words and adding too after it made it seem like you had to say it. Just saying those three words was like it actually meaning something to her. 

    He couldn't help thinking that was true. 

    Behind him, sirens started sounding, getting closer and closer by the second. He pulled over without a word, letting the ambulance fly past him. Police cars followed. He gave them an extra minute before he started driving slowly behind them. He had to pull over again soon when another ambulance escorted by more police cars came up behind him.

    They were going in the same direction he was.

    "That doesn't look good," Sabrina said, stating the obvious as always. He hummed in response. She frowned at him. Sitting back down in her seat, she reached over and laced her fingers through his. He made no move to squeeze her fingers like she liked.

    He just continued to drive. 

   The scene they saw was horrific. There was a big Ram truck with the front totally smashed in. The driver was getting pulled from the driver seat. His body hung limp, his head rolling. His eyes were wide open- unblinking. 

    He was dead.

    There was a small Toyota a few feet away. It was completely overturned and smashed. Far beyond repair. Medics were working on getting that driver out. They were crowded around the driver's door. He was unable to see who it was. 

   "Slow down! I want to get a good look at the accident," Sabrina commanded. He silently complied, a sinking feeling in his stomach he couldn't understand.

    A police officer knocked on his window. "Get a move on!" The policeman shouted. He nodded and drove faster and away from the accident. 

    "What a tragedy. Right, Sam?" 

   "Yes, Sabrina." 

    He pulled up to her apartment building. He followed her into the complex, still not speaking. He always walked her back to her apartment. Usually he spoke, but tonight there was such a bad feeling in his stomach he didn't feel like talking. 

    Then he got the call.

    "Hello?" He asked the caller. His stomach sunk even more. He had a feeling this would not be a good call. No late phone calls turned out great. It was a fact. A fact he was terrified of.

    A sniffle sounded on the other side. "S-Sam? Sam W-Wilkinson? It's Jai Luca." 

    He stopped talking again, in complete shock. Ever since he and the girl he loved, which was not the girl beside him, had ended things, he had not spoken to Jai Luca. This was a bad thing. If Jai Luca was calling late at night? 

    "What do you need, Jai?" His voice cracked. 

    "Have you heard about the accident? The one with the truck and Toyota?" 

   "Yes." 

   Suddenly, he knew what this was about. He knew. This was why he had a bad feeling about the night and this phone call. A single tear slid down his cheek. He knew. 

    "Sam, it was Ariana." 

    Then, Sam dropped his phone. The phone's screen cracked. He didn't care. He didn't kiss his girlfriend goodbye. He just ran. He ran to his car, slammed the key into the ignition and drove.

    He wasn't Sam Wilkinson anymore.

    He was just the boy who needed to get to the girl he knew he still loved.