An Unexpected Friendship

Chapter 26

I lie in my bed staring up at the ceiling, willing sleep to come. I glance at the alarm clock sitting on my bedside table. '5:09am.' The overwhelming tightness I feel in my chest makes it difficult to breathe. With time, I feel the pins and needles form in my hands and feet. My heart rate begins to skyrocket as if I just ran a marathon.

I close my eyes to try to calm myself, but it only makes it worse. Images from the night of the accident flood my mind. The sounds of screaming and glass shattering penetrate my ears. Then the blinding lights from the first responders rid of the darkness. The guilt becomes overwhelming.

My eyes snap open in fear of remembering what happened. I grab my phone and scroll until I find the name I'm looking for. I tap the call button and wait for them to pick up.

"Hello?" a tired voice answers. "Tucker," I whisper. "Soph? Is everything okay?" he asks sounding a little more awake. "No. I know we haven't talked in a bit, but I need you," I plead quietly. "I'm on my way," he says without hesitation.

Within ten minutes Tucker arrives outside of my house. I quickly throw on a sweatshirt and make my way to the front door. As soon as I see him walking across the lawn, I run to him.

He opens his arms just in time for me to throw mine tightly around him. "Thank you for coming," I whisper gratefully in his ear. "What's going on?" he asks with concern. He continues to hold my shaking body close to him.

I don't know if it's the panic or the guilt, but I feel compelled to tell him the truth. Not just the truth about why I'm panicking, but the truth about what happened the night of the accident. The one piece of information that I have kept to myself for an entire year. The one piece of information that attacks me when I least expect it.

"Today marks one year since the accident," I shutter. Tucker pulls away, cupping my face gently with both hands. "Whatever you need, I'm here," he says. "I need... to tell someone about what happened that night," I forced out. "You already told me about that night," he frowns.

"But I never told you, or anyone, the true cause of the accident," I say. He looks at me with confusion, but continues to listen. I lead us to the porch, where we sit on the front steps.

"When we were coming home from the restaurant, my mom and I got into a disagreement. It escalated into a full blown argument even though Tristan begged me to let it go. I refused to and my dad got involved in it. He became distracted while driving us home. When the drunk driver came into view, my dad wasn't paying attention. He didn't see them so he couldn't get us out of the way in time. It's my fault that they're dead. If I had just let the argument go, my dad could've possibly seen the driver and stopped before they hit us," I explain as tears stream down my cheeks.

At this point, I'm hyperventilating. I'm relieved that I've finally said it aloud, but I also fear what Tucker now thinks of me. "It's not your fault. It's unlikely that your dad would've seen the other car, especially if they came from the side. Don't blame yourself for this. Blame the guy who hit you," he says comfortingly.

I look up at him with love in my eyes. "Thank you for always being here for me," I say softly. "Always," he says. Without hesitation, he leans in and softly kisses me. My heart skips a beat as I kiss him back.

"Come on. I know a diner in the area that makes some really good pancakes," he says pulling me to my feet.

...

"God I can't eat anymore. I don't think I've ever been this full before," I whine shoving the last bit of food away from me. "I mean you did eat two pancakes, three eggs, home fries, toast, and fruit," Tucker laughs. "Leave me alone. I'm having a rough day," I frown.