the broken | dallas winston

(1) the accident

Scarlett Curtis:

"You better not crash my car, Scarlett Curtis!" My best friend Mikey calls to me as I run toward his car. I turn around and roll my eyes at him before he throws the keys at me, which I catch with ease.

"You know I won't, Michael Devereux!" I shout back as I hop into the front seat. Mikey gets into the passenger seat with a groan.

"What is taking Lizzie and Av so long?" He says with annoyance and I can't help but laugh at him. Mikey was always complaining about how long Avery and Lizzie take to get ready.

"Here they come," I say as I look through the rearview to see my two best friends, Lizzie Matthews and Avery Cade, walking toward the car laughing as they were deep in conversation.

"I can't believe Mikey is letting you drive is car," Lizzie teases as the two girls hops in the back seat. I roll my eyes at them and playfully flip them off which makes them laugh even harder.

"Hurry up before we're late!" Avery says as she shakes my seat from behind me. I laugh as I start the car and pull out of Mikey's driveway. We are on our away to a party this random Soc is having even though we weren't invited, we're gonna crash it!

"Let's hope we don't see any of the gang tonight," I say to the girls in the backseat. They nod their head in agreement, knowing if we ran into our brothers we would all be dead. We told them we were just hanging with Mikey, keeping out the part where we were going to a Soc's party.

"Do you really think any of the gang would be going to this party?" Mikey asks with his eyebrows raised. I shrug, agreeing with him.

"Well maybe Dally Winston would?" Lizzie asks herself but everyone agrees with her.

"He could be going there to start some trouble just like we are," Avery says as she fixes her crop top as she hangs over the seat. That is another thing our brothers would kill us for, we are wearing crop tops and short jean shorts. If any of my brothers or friends saw me wearing this, they would actually kill me.

"I would piss myself if we see Dal there," Lizzie says with wide eyes which makes me laugh. Lizzie was always intimidated by Dally just like a lot of people, well besides me. He doesn't really scare me like he does others. Dal and I aren't close but we protect each other and care for each other without showing it, we're like family.

"He wouldn't care about us being at a Soc party," Avery says with a small laugh. "Now Scar on the other hand, he would kill her."

I scoff as I turn around quickly to look at them who are laughing at my red cheeks, "And what makes you say that?"

"Because he is protective over you," Mikey says with a smirk that makes me roll my eyes. These three are always trying to hook me up with Dal even though I have never admitted feelings for him! I mean I do like him but I would never ever admit to it. Dallas Winston would never like me in that way, he probably thinks of me as a sister.

"I'm calling it that you two will end up together!" Lizzie says with a bright smile that makes me laugh.

"We all know how Dallas Winston is, why would he ever wanna change his ways for me?" I ask which makes all of them shrug. "And do you think my brothers would allow that?"

"No," Mikey says. "But they could always get used to it if he changes his ways."

"I agree with Mikey," Avery says as she ruffles my hair which makes me groan. I ignore them and roll down the windows. It was just the beginning of summer and everyone was finally out of school. The warm summer air comes crashing into the car and the wind blows my hair around.

The sun is just setting, the sky becoming a beautiful mixture of pinks, blues, and orange. I smile to myself, sunsets always remind me of my little brother.

"I doubt Dal will be there tonight," I yell over the wind, the thought of my younger brother making me remember their plans for tonight. "Pony said they were going to the drive-in tonight."

My friends are too caught up in conversation, the girls yelling at Mikey to turn on the radio. I turn my attention back toward the road as everyone is singing along to the radio and laughing with each other. I try my best to join along but I can't. The conversation about Dal has me on edge and I wish I could push it aside and just have fun but I can't. Whenever I think about Dallas Winston in that way, it makes me mad. I never know why, it just does.

I forget about Dally for now and focus on getting us to the party. I tap my fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song and hum the words as my best friends obnoxiously shout out the lyrics.

My eyebrows furrow in confusion as I see the blue mustang in the rearview. Whoever was driving had to be drunk or high off something, they were swerving all over the road. All in a second, the blue mustang crashes into the back of us sending the car straight into another one.

***

Pain.

That's all I feel, all over my entire body. From my aching head, to the stiffness of my arms, and to the burning in my eyes as I try to focus on what's around me. There was a lot of glass but there was even more blood.

I feel someone shaking my shoulders and I try to turn around but it hurts so bad. I lift my head up to my head and remove it to see blood staining my fingers. I slowly turn around, letting out cries of pain as I do so. Avery is in the back seat with wide eyes as she tries to shake Lizzie awake.

"Is she okay?" I ask as I rub my eyes to try and get rid of the blurriness. Avery is shaking with fear as she tries to wake Lizzie up. Lizzie is bruised up and bleeding in some spots. I look down to her leg where there is a huge piece of glass sticking out of her shin. I nearly throw up at the sight.

"She's breathing," Avery says as she looks over at me. There was a huge cut on the side of her face and she keeps wincing every time she uses her right hand but she refuses to stop trying to wake up her friend.

"She might have just passed out," I suggest. "Maybe she saw the blood and fainted. We all know how much she hates blood."

Avery nods her head in agreement as she holds on to Lizzie's hand, "Mikey! You alright?"

I turn my head slowly to see my best friend in the passenger seat next to me. My breathing hitches when I see he's not in the car.

"Maybe he went to get help?" Avery asks but something doesn't feel right. I quickly unbuckle my seat belt and open the door.

"I'm going to see if he's alright," I say as I slowly step out of the car. It's fully night now, it's dark and our only source of light is the stars above us. Mikey's car is completely wrecked and I know he's going to kill me for it.

The car we crashed into was still in front of us, I can see the two people in the front two seats. I hope silently that they're not dead as I turn around. The blue mustang was gone and I glare at the spot it once was, knowing who was behind that wheel.

I slowly limp to the other side of the car, my entire body aching as I do so. My heart stops when I see Mikey laying on the ground. His face bloody and so is his clothes. There is glass everywhere, sticking out of some of his body parts.

"No!" I say as I let a sob out as I fall to the ground next to him. "Mikey! Please wake up!"

I shake him as hard as I can but he doesn't budge at all. I sob as I call out for him, hoping he would wake up and tell me everything will be okay. But it won't be okay.

I extend my hand and place it on his neck. I let out a sob as I feel no pulse. His chest isn't rising and falling. His body is completely still.

"Someone help!" I scream on the top of my lungs. "He's dead! He's fuckin' dead!"

I can hear screaming and voices of people I didn't know. I can hear Avery screaming for me but I can't move. I lay my head on his chest as I feel myself start to pass out. Maybe this is how I die too, right next to my best friend.

Before the darkness could take over me completely I whisper to Mikey, "I love you, Mikey. I'm sorry."

My best friend is dead.