Nothing Can Keep Us Apart
The sun had long disappeared beneath the ocean and was replaced by the bright moon and a vast sky of shimmering stars.
Ashley turned off the lights and crawled into bed. After a long day of endless shopping around Los Angeles with Vanessa, sleep sounded better than anything. But shortly after getting her sleep, the phone rang. It was 11:36 pm. Who would be calling at this time?
She answered the phone, "Hello?" she muttered, trying to stay awake.
"Hi, Ash."
It was Zac.
"Wanna come with me to the park?"
"At 11:36 at night?" Ashley enquired.
"Yeah, what do you say? I'll come by your house in about ten minutes?"
"Sure I guess, see you then," Ashley didn't know why, but she agreed and hung up the phone. She threw on a jacket and a pair of shoes and waited outside on her porch for Zac to walk by.
Suddenly, he came running past her, "C'mon, let's go!"
Ashley got up and chased after him giggling, "Wait up, Zac!" she yelled out running as swiftly as she could.
When she caught up with him, he picked her up off her feet and spun her around once before she felt the park's grass beneath her feet.
To the both of them, it felt like they were the only two people on the face of the planet. Just them and billions of glistening stars.
"Follow me," he stated, taking her hand and leading her to the middle of the road.
"Zac, I don't think this is such a good idea," Ashley said hesitantly following his lead.
"It's fine. It's late at night, and it isn't a busy road. Listen, Ashley, there has been something I've been holding have back for a really long time and I have to tell you now before it's too late."
His voice was smooth and quiet, barely above a whisper. Ashley listened intently, desirously waiting for the words that would come out of his mouth next.
"I love you, Ashley. I don't know if you feel the same, but you are all I think about every night before I go to bed, and tonight, I just had to tell you."
She smiled, then whispered in his ear, "The truth is, I feel the same way about you."
His cerulean eyes stared into hers with joy as he spoke, "Then Ashley, I promise you, Nothing will ever keep us apart."
"Nothing."
He held Ashley close then leaned in to kiss her. Ashley stood on her toes gradually rising up to meet his lips. Their lips met. They kissed passionately under the heavens like tomorrow was never going to come.
Suddenly, a pair of unexpected spotlights beamed directly towards them. It was coming closer. Brighter. More intense. Too fast. They found themselves unable to move as the over-speeding driver made little attempt to step on the brakes.
Zac pushed Ashley to the side of the street with all his adrenaline. Ashley landed on her side stunned. She looked up in time to see the crimson Mustang's force knocking Zac to the cold, onyx concrete.
"No!" she shrieked through teary eyes. The vehicle stopped merely before Ashley's best friend and new love would have been crushed underneath.
Ashley ran back to where Zac laid unconscious. Bruised. His jeans were stained with blood from his leg where the front of the car had impacted him.
She knelt down and cradled his head on her lap, "It's gonna be okay, Zac. I promise."
Just then the driver emerged from the car completely unharmed. He walked to the front of the car, "What the heck happened?" his slurred voice said it all--- he was drunk
"Call 911," Ashley screamed at the man, "Call the paramedics now!" Her trembling hands stroked Zac's hair and made its way down to his neck to check his pulse as the driver dialed 911 on his cell phone. He was still breathing. Barely. She knew they only had so much time.
She couldn't stand seeing Zac like this. Hurt. Helpless. And the worst part was, he did it all for her. She continued to caress his tousled hazel hair and murmured, "It's okay. The paramedics are coming. We'll make it through this." she tried her best to stay strong while unwanted tears streamed down her face.
After what seemed like too long, the paramedics finally arrived. She helped them get him o the stretcher and they brought him in the ambulance.
"He-he'll be alright, right?" Ashley asked a medical assistant, swallowing hard.
"We'll take a look at him and let you know." She said with no expression and ambled away.
Ashley couldn't understand. After all this? After all this the world continued to move on? Minutes passed before the paramedic broke Ashley's anxiety.
"So how is he? Is he okay?" She uttered impulsively.
The paramedic sighed, "Honey, I'm so sorry."
"No," Ashley denied, "No! How could you let that happen?" she ran into the ambulance to Zac's lifeless body, "Zac? Zac, no, please. Don't do this to me!" she mourned, shaking him, "You can't do this to me, not after you said you love me. You promised me nothing could keep us apart! Zac?"
No response. One of the medical attendants led her outside and she fell to her knees burying her face in her hands, sobbing. She let the tears fall. Why shouldn't she? She had no reason to hold them back anymore.
"No!" she cried out.
Suddenly, the sirens and throbbing lights diminished and Ashley sat up startled and checked her clock. It read 12:06. She grabbed her phone and dialed Zac's number.
Ring after ring and there was no answer.
"Hello?" his voice moaned sleepily on the other line, "Ashley? Why are you calling at midnight?"
She had never been so happy to hear his voice than now, "I-I am sorry I called. I just, I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
"Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?"
"I had this drea---- Well, I'll just tell you tomorrow."
"Okay."
"Wait, Zac?"
"Yeah?"
"There is nothing that can keep us apart, right?"
"Promise."