His Gold ✓

38| Crash. Burn.

My eyes are squeezed shut as I cling to Seth's back. Engine hums fill my ears. My teeth chatter as we careen down a narrow road.

I feel a tear on my cheek- it clings to my skin despite the wind desperately trying to blow it away. It's like my feelings for Bryce. They just manage to hang on despite all reason against it.

I take a hand off of Seth to wipe the tear away.

I open my eyes, it's dark all around us. I feel my hair blowing and tangling into knots behind my head.

I think for a moment about how long it will take to detangle after I get home.

"You're not going to fall asleep, are you?" I hear Seth call above the motorcycle's roar from in front of me.

"No." I answer. "Don't worry."

He gives a thumbs up that I barely see in the night. I wrap my arms around him, resting my head on his back.

I close my eyes again.

I see Bryce.

I quickly reopen them.

Why did I say what I did to him? I wish I didn't. Words can't be taken back.

I'll never stoop that low again. I resolve. But that doesn't seem like enough.

Maybe he won't hate me forever.

A thought careens towards me. What if he does—

I'm suddenly floating across the road.

I see Seth's body flip over the motorcycle handlebars in slow motion. I'd lose him in the darkness if it wasn't for the sparks throwing light from where the metal meets concrete.

I'm not made of metal but I feel sparks at my skin too.

I'm weightless as I'm pulled by an invisible force across the pavement. The motorcycle slides on its side for over fifty more feet before spinning to a halt.

Am I spinning, too?

I'm on my back. The stars are out tonight. They're the only thing totally still that I can focus on.

Not far off, Seth is laying face down in the grass, completely off of the road. He can't see the stars.

I try to call to him, but my mouth isn't working. It's dry. It's like I've forgotten how to do... anything.

I lay paralyzed for a moment.

Suddenly, vibration flows beneath me. The pavement below shakes. I know that the motorcycle engine is dead. This hum doesn't come from there, it comes from behind me.

I don't have to turn my head to see the headlights of a car approach. My eyes glaze as the light pierces them

Headlights.

Before I can process that I'm in the middle of the road with headlights moving straight towards me, I hear Seth yell with his remaining energy.

"Caroline, MOVE!"

I can't. My body is too numb to do anything yet. I'm frozen to the road. Panic seizes my chest and crushes my lungs from inside of my rib cage. Nothing has ever seemed to come so fast.

I muster all the strength I can to act. My mind screams at me. All I can do is squeeze my eyes shut. My mouth opens to scream, but in the final moments, the car screeches to a deliberate halt.