Where Two Collide

Chapter Ten - Alice

Chapter Ten

Alice

"Yes, I want to see him," I said, realising I hadn't seen him since just after the car accident and had no idea what had been happening at all. It seemed like forever since we'd last talked, and after being used to hearing from him every day, it felt weird and isolated.

Owen strode into the room shortly after the nurse went to fetch him. Though I could see he was clearly in pain, with him he brought an air of confidence, something that I'd never been able to replicate. It had always been like that for as long as I could remember. Even before we were dating, he had that strength that outwardly told people he knew what he was doing. I had always admired it, and when he had insisted I should be his girlfriend, I'd thought he must be right because he was so sure of it.

Just before I had become his girlfriend, I had almost become somebody else's girlfriend. Clive Powell had been endlessly flirting with me for months. We were both in the same track team and he would buy me a milkshake from the stand across the street from school and bring it to me as I stretched. He used to make me laugh and I liked that he was older, and more mature. He was two years ahead of me and used to do cartwheels on the school field at lunch. I was never sure if he was training to be a gymnast, or just liked to make people laugh.

He did actually ask me out to the cinema once, but that was after Owen had pulled me to one side to warn me about him. Clive already had a girlfriend at the prep school in the town over from ours, and not only did he already have a girlfriend, he'd gotten her pregnant. If Owen hadn't have warned me, I'd have swiftly inserted myself into that situation. Of course, I turned down Clive Powell's offer of a date and only two weeks later became Owen's girlfriend instead.

Clive finished school at the end of that year, and I didn't see him again. So that was that then.

"Alice." Owen came and sat beside me, taking up my hand in his. I had to adjust some of the tubes, so they didn't tug as he got in close. "I was waiting to see you. I came last night too but they wouldn't let me come into the room. I can't believe you're in here again, and because of me."

"Thanks for coming," I said. Recalling what that boy had said and wondering if he had really been yelling in the hospital corridors. "That was really nice of you."

Owen squeezed my hand. "Do you feel any better now?"

I nodded. I didn't, actually. He looked so sad that I didn't want to be the one that made him feel worse. He clearly already felt terrible, however, even just talking to him felt exhausting. I was so tired, that I kind of wanted him to go. I'd never have said that though.

"Good," he said, and leaned back to look behind the curtain at my sleeping neighbour. His chair creaked under his weight.

I knew she was still asleep as I could hear her light breathing, followed by the occasional snore/snuffle sound. "How did your parents take it?" I asked, wondering what happened after I had gone home. I'd texted him, and he hadn't replied. Or maybe he had, who knew where my phone had gotten to.

"They weren't happy. I think they were mostly mad that that you were in the car than the fact I took it and then crashed it," he admitted. "My dad had a friend pull the car out of the ditch with his truck. It's completely written off. It looks like nobody will find out what I did though so I can still get my license soon."

"Oh, that's good." I wondered if they would judge me for getting in the car, or whether Owen would take the brunt of the blame.

He smiled an Owen smile, small and innocent, a total mismatch from his personality. It was probably the reason I had fallen in love with him, other than the part where he physically looked like every celebrity crush I'd ever had. He had that dark hair and olive skin, sort of Italian look. He could have been a pirate captaining a ship on the high seas. It was easy to imagine him with a large tricorn hat and a curved sword at his hip. He'd even look right at home with a piratey beard with beads interwoven amongst the strands. He was attractive, and the air he carried with him said that he knew it. As well as the stream of adoring fans he left in his wake at our school.

Jealousy wasn't my thing, and I knew that I had no right to question the girls he had been with.

Owen was my type, but he wasn't the first boyfriend I'd had that looked like that. He wasn't even my first kiss, or even first other stuff. I'd dated others before him, which felt so far in the past it might as well have been a trillion years ago. He was it now.

What I liked about Owen was how fiercely he felt about things, and about me. He had this crazy level of passion which I found fascinating. His fierce love for me had me following him around no matter what.

That made me stupid. I knew that. I couldn't stop myself though. He was my addiction.

I tried to emulate his passion in my life, sometimes it felt like my own fierceness was fading away with every day, slipping through my fingers. I had never been his kind of confident. I was always a fairly quiet child, especially in comparison to my sister who was outspoken and brash. The fact that I had a boyfriend and she didn't was bizarre to me; she was the one who was the most interesting out of the two of us.

"Your parents won't tell anyone will they?" he asked, his smile disappearing as he drew back my full attention. "If they did, I might not ever be able to get my license."

"No, they wouldn't do that, they like you," I said, not actually knowing if this was true anymore. Maybe I should ask them? Were parents supposed to like the boy that could have killed their child? Probably not, but I didn't think they'd do anything bad.

He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "What about Cat?"

My stomach felt queasy and for a moment I thought I might have been sick again. "I don't think so." Then with Cat, I could never really be sure of what she was going to do.

"You'll talk to her right?" He squeezed my hand again, this time a little too hard. It hurt so I pulled my hand away and dug it into my armpit. "Tell her she can't tell anyone anything."

"Who would she even tell?" I stated, still feeling the sharpness of the hand squeeze. "What would she even say?"

"I didn't ask who she would tell or what she would say," he said tersely. "I said you need to tell her not to talk. If you don't, I will, and I won't be as nice about it as you would be."

I panicked at that. Cat wasn't one to back down from an argument and I wasn't keen to get between them. "Alright, I'll speak to her when I next see her."

He frowned at me. "Make it soon, there are already rumours going around school and if the truth got out, we'd be screwed."

The we part, cut deep. Would I be in trouble? I had gotten into the car, maybe I'd be in as much trouble as he would be. Maybe they'd even send me to jail. And what were they saying at school? I gritted my teeth, biting back the tears in my eyes.

"Anyway, I have to go," he said, his smile returning as he peeled himself off the chair. "Feel better, okay? Or I'll be back"

I watched as he sauntered from the room, hands in pockets, a part of me wondering if that was as much of a threat as it had sounded.

*** Please don't forget to Vote and Comment, your feedback is great and voting helps get this book in front of other readers :) ***

Personally I love peanut butter m&ms but they are difficult to get hold of in the UK, do you have a favourite kind of m&m? Comment below!