Deep Waters

Chapter Ten

All six of us were sitting around the dancing campfire. It was just after nightfall and Marla had talked everyone into making smores. To be fair, it hadn't cost her much effort. Almost everybody was down for it. Mine was already made, halfway eaten, and grasped in my fingers that were already covered in white sticky goo.

Kason and I were sitting on a quilt on the ground, while the others were sitting in foldable chairs. My friends were debating on who made the best smores, but I remained silent and kept my eyes trained on the crackling fire. For a while, I found myself lost in thought. I wondered what our next step was. What were we going to do after this graduation trip? I don't know how long I had remained out of my friend's conversation, but as soon as I heard his name mentions, I immediately started listening in again.

"Wouldn't it be crazy if he tried to contact one of you?" Holden said, shoving half of his smore in his mouth.

Gavin shrugged. "He might try."

"Maybe if he did, we could find out where he is," Marla spoke up.

"Why would we want to know where he is?" my brother asked, looking at his girlfriend. "I find comfort in knowing that he could be on the other side of the country."

"The police could catch him," she replied.

I watched Holden toss an empty water bottle with the lid screwed tight into the fire. The orange flames danced around it and slowly burned the plastic before it finally created a hole in the bottle and popped loudly. I caught myself flinch but didn't let out a noise, knowing very well that it would only draw attention if I did.

Little did all my friends know that Charles had reached me. He had written me a letter saying that he would never stop looking for me. Did I want to know where he was? If I had the opportunity would I find his location? Maybe I could actually find him before he found me. Unless he already knew where I was.

#

I watched the world zoom by through the passenger window. Kason was driving with his left hand and holding my hand with his right. His thumb rubbed comforting circles on my bare skin. "What's been going on with you?" he asked me after a long time of silence.

"What do you mean?" I questioned in return, leaving my gaze out the window.

His grip tightened around mine for a second. "You've been lost in your head a lot recently."

My boyfriend's words reminded me of how much an observer he actually was. He was going to figure me out sooner or later so I had might as well tell him the truth to save us both some trouble. "I've been paranoid," I told him. "Constantly, it seems."

"He's not here," he assured me softly.

I nodded. "It sure feels like it though."

Suddenly, Kason groaned in frustration and the Charger sped up a little. "This guy is riding my bumper." I looked in the rearview mirror, to the dark SUV trailing behind us, desperately trying to make out the face of the driver but had no luck. "It's okay," Kason told me as if he had a good idea as to what I was thinking.

As soon as I took my eyes off the driver behind us, Kason jerked the steering wheel to the side. A loud crash filled my ears as another car impacted with the front left corner of the Charger, sending us in the air. Before I knew what was happening, the car was in a roll and all I felt was panic and pain until the car turned to a halt on the roof.

I took shallow, quick breaths as I pulled at the seatbelt that held me upside down in the seat and scrambled to grasp what was happening. A movement to my right caught my eyes as a blurry but familiar man, crouched down to look at me as if he was checking on whether we were still alive. I was, but barely. I felt blood dripping down the side of my face, and I couldn't feel my left leg. My heart pounded so fast in my chest, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

I tried to focus my eyes on the man crouching down next to the totaled car. Black clothes. Sharp jawline. Green eyes? My eyes focused. Those green eyes. This was the man that tried to blame me for murder. "You," I choked out, spitting red. With a grin, he nodded, before standing up and running away.

Gunshots then rang in my ears, sounding like they were coming from behind us, but they were so close it was hard to tell. I watched the runaway man, sprint toward the other SUV that collided with us, ducking for cover the whole time, and climb in the passenger's seat before the vehicle took off down the road.

My next thought: Kason.

My eyes dart to my boyfriend, who is hanging upside down, unconscious, beside of me. "Kason!" I yelled. There was blood on his head and some scattered across his chest but at this point, there was a lot of red and it was impossible to tell who's was who's. I pulled and grabbed at my seatbelt, trying to get myself unbuckled so I could get to him, but it was stuck. My seatbelt would not unlatch. "Kason, open your eyes!" My boyfriend didn't respond and all I could do was sit there and stare at him until someone could come to help us. I spotted a piece of glass in his forehead, but it wasn't large, so I don't think it was very deep.

Suddenly, Chad appeared on my side of the car and Brandon appeared beside of Kason. I could hear Gavin yelling and some shouts from my friends, but with the world upside down and my vision going in and out of focus, I couldn't spot them anywhere. "Get Kason," I told them. "He needs help."

"So, do you," Chad told me, his eyes scanning up and down my body in worry.

I shook my head, though it was a little painful. "Please, help him." Then, everything went black.

***

I know it's been a while and I know this is a short chapter, but there will be more coming, I promise. I'm finally getting out of the writer's block I've been dealing with. I hope you understand.

Comments? Predictions?

Thanks for reading!

See you soon:))

~Emily