Instant Between
The instant between life and death is the one that holds the most clarity, they say. Whoever 'they' happen to be. She had heard it somewhere before and forgotten it soon thereafter as it held no consequence in regards to her. She was not the kind that worried over miniscule things or debated the curiosities of the world. Life was what it was-living. And though she did not take it for granted, no more so than any one else her age, she never paid it much attention.
Until this particular instant. There was a squeal of tires just beforehand, the searing crunch of metal against metal.
Tumble forward.
Roll back.
Spinning, spiraling out of control. Her vision was muddled and she looked over to see him but could make out nothing in the murky black of nighttime. And then it was over, and there was nothing but an infinite numbness sweeping over her body. Some part of her screamed pain but she was too dizzy to ascertain what exactly.
His voice carried through the broken window, calling out her name. Her lips parted with a will to speak and yet-nothing. Nothing but a small burst of air on a wintry night. "Luke." she managed to muster, a distant whisper into the night.
As if he'd sensed it he was suddenly there by her side, pressing fervent kisses to her temple, sopping up something wet seeping down the side of her head. "Haley.Haley can you hear me?"
Her eyes, though determined to open, deemed the effort to be too much. The minutes passed in an endless stretch, long enough for the pain to surface into her conscience, however faint she might have been. She whimpered, struggling to move and finding it useless.
His hands tangled in her hair while his tears slipped without warning onto her neck, residing there as some sort of sanctuary. "Hold on, I'm calling someone. I'm calling someone you're fine, we're fine."
She knew it to be a lie. They were not fine, there was something inexplicably terrible going on, but she could sense it.
Lips pressed against hers, lips she had longed to feel for a lifetime. And now she felt nothing but a weight on her mouth, a dead weight. And then something sneaking through her lips with awkward suspicion.
"Oh god, oh god." He was shaking, something told her.
Vision greeted her with a final response and she met his eyes, swollen and glassy. The instant came when she knew this would be the last time to see those eyes and to feel those lips, the last time to whisper confessions she might not have dreamt of admitting to before.
There was clarity in a startling form, the notion that she loved him and he her. The knowledge that she had to tell him.
Sirens were increasing in the distance and her vision was disappearing rapidly yet again.
"Lucas." She forced out.
He knew her all too well. "No, Haley-no. They'll be here, five minutes, please. You can do this, I know you can do this. You're gonna be fine, please Hales, don't. Please. I can't.I can't. Please."
"I.I.I lo-" the confession remained unfinished, lost in translation as the world she knew faded along with the only love she had ever known.
"I know." He whispered, his shoulders slumping in defeat.
The moment of clarity had come and gone. Darkness whispered its consent, the only sounds of the aftermath pertaining to the sobs of a boy who had just lost everything.
The instant between life and death is the one that holds the most clarity, they say. Whoever 'they' happen to be. She had heard it somewhere before and forgotten it soon thereafter as it held no consequence in regards to her. She was not the kind that worried over miniscule things or debated the curiosities of the world. Life was what it was-living. And though she did not take it for granted, no more so than any one else her age, she never paid it much attention.
Until this particular instant. There was a squeal of tires just beforehand, the searing crunch of metal against metal.
Tumble forward.
Roll back.
Spinning, spiraling out of control. Her vision was muddled and she looked over to see him but could make out nothing in the murky black of nighttime. And then it was over, and there was nothing but an infinite numbness sweeping over her body. Some part of her screamed pain but she was too dizzy to ascertain what exactly.
His voice carried through the broken window, calling out her name. Her lips parted with a will to speak and yet-nothing. Nothing but a small burst of air on a wintry night. "Luke." she managed to muster, a distant whisper into the night.
As if he'd sensed it he was suddenly there by her side, pressing fervent kisses to her temple, sopping up something wet seeping down the side of her head. "Haley.Haley can you hear me?"
Her eyes, though determined to open, deemed the effort to be too much. The minutes passed in an endless stretch, long enough for the pain to surface into her conscience, however faint she might have been. She whimpered, struggling to move and finding it useless.
His hands tangled in her hair while his tears slipped without warning onto her neck, residing there as some sort of sanctuary. "Hold on, I'm calling someone. I'm calling someone you're fine, we're fine."
She knew it to be a lie. They were not fine, there was something inexplicably terrible going on, but she could sense it.
Lips pressed against hers, lips she had longed to feel for a lifetime. And now she felt nothing but a weight on her mouth, a dead weight. And then something sneaking through her lips with awkward suspicion.
"Oh god, oh god." He was shaking, something told her.
Vision greeted her with a final response and she met his eyes, swollen and glassy. The instant came when she knew this would be the last time to see those eyes and to feel those lips, the last time to whisper confessions she might not have dreamt of admitting to before.
There was clarity in a startling form, the notion that she loved him and he her. The knowledge that she had to tell him.
Sirens were increasing in the distance and her vision was disappearing rapidly yet again.
"Lucas." She forced out.
He knew her all too well. "No, Haley-no. They'll be here, five minutes, please. You can do this, I know you can do this. You're gonna be fine, please Hales, don't. Please. I can't.I can't. Please."
"I.I.I lo-" the confession remained unfinished, lost in translation as the world she knew faded along with the only love she had ever known.
"I know." He whispered, his shoulders slumping in defeat.
The moment of clarity had come and gone. Darkness whispered its consent, the only sounds of the aftermath pertaining to the sobs of a boy who had just lost everything.