Hey guys, here is a story I have been working on, this is the first chapter, let me know what you think :D
Chapter One: I Remember,
People asked us if we remembered the accident that killed our friends. They accused him of being drunk, asked him how he could've missed the large semi-trailer that smashed into our car. Truth is, we remember everything about the accident, and the sound of metal on metal as it took off the back of our car. The screams of our friends as their bodies got crushed. I remember the way my head hit the window, breaking the glass. I remember watching his head hit the steering wheel and go flying back into his seat. I remember pulling on the piece of metal lodged in my arm, removing it, bits of my bone coming with it. I remember the car going flying; our moaning crushed friends body go flying out into the air. I remember the smell of blood mixed with the rain and the ringing of sirens as I lay there, fully conscious.
Truth is, we remember everything about the accident, we just say we don't. I dream about it every night, reliving the screams of my friends. Waking up to my mother's concerned face as I toss and turn. I was drunk, but he wasn't. I hadn't spoken to him since it happened. I hadn't spoken to the only other person who survived that night in 4 months. Today that would change today was my first day back.
Getting dressed in black skinny jeans, knee high boots, a long-sleeved white shirt and a grey knitted jumper over the top. I brushed my long black hair away from my eyes, securing it back with a head band; I brushed my teeth and left the house without eating breakfast. My mother wasn't up yet which was good; I didn't want her to fuss. She works a late shift even though she didn't need to. My father being a millionaire gave me a large child support bill. Mostly she puts it away for college, but uses some to keep us going.
I walked out the door, staring at my car for a while. I hadn't driven since the accident. It was expensive, I knew that for sure. My father had bought it for me when I turned 16, even though they were divorced, I was still daddy's little girl. Even though I wasn't driving that night, I still wasn't as confident in a car as I was, especially in the rain. Leaping off of the front porch, I ran through the slight drizzle towards the BMW. Jumping in, I leaned around a dumped my bag on the backseat.
I heard my phone buzz and I reached around, pulling it from the front pocket.
cant wait 2 see u! It was from Beck. She was one of my best friends before the accident. I smiled; I hadn't seen her since we broke up from school, which was a week of the accident.
Can't wait either! I texted back, it was true. I was hoping our school would treat me the same way. Everyone blamed him. At the start, he was basically shunned out of society, nobody visited him in hospital, and nobody sent him gifts. Unlike me, everyone had come to visit me, I felt bad. I had secretly loved him for years. Driving slowly to school, I tried not to think about my friends who wouldn't be starting school this year.
As I drove into the parking lot, I saw all the familiar faces. West Ridge High was a small school, but so was West Ridge. With a sum total of 1,000 people, we were famous for scenic forests and of course my accident. I got out of the car, watching as a familiar brunette came running towards me.
"ELLIOT!" she screamed, attaching herself to me in a tight bear hug. I smiled and hugged her back. It was nice to see her. "Oh my god, it is so good to see you! I missed you, you should have called me!" She kept blabbering on but I zoned out. Beck tended to speak faster than people could understand.
"I'm sorry, I know. I was just.. you know." I said, looking around.
"Oh shit, I am sorry, I wasn't thinking." She blabbered, and here comes the usual two questions I get asked. "Are you okay? Do you remember?" She asked, looking innocent. I shook my head,
"Fine," I mumbled, "and no," I lied. We were walking towards the main doors when I heard the gasp. It was like the whole school had frozen to stare. I turned to see him get off the bus, his blonde hair falling in his now sad, brown eyes. He was still as muscular as when I had last seen him, wearing his letterman jacket and black jeans, he was still stunning. Tortured, but stunning. I wanted to go over to him but Beck dragged me off in the other direction.
"Sick freak, how he dare show his face after what he did to Steph and Eddy, and you." I sighed, how she could talk about him like that. We were once all friends, the popular group. I was a cheerleader with Steph and Beck before the accident and he was on the football team with Eddy. I knew Beck was a bitch; she was cheer captain and was only nice to her friends. Luckily, I was one of them; I also knew that she had had a large crush on him since junior year. She made that fact well known.
When we got to my locker, I took my jumper off, hot and flustered by all the attention I was getting. People kept coming up to me, slagging him off, asking if I was okay and asking if I remembered. It was in between second and third period when I saw him properly. Walking down the halls, I saw Ryan trip him. By the way Ryan looked at him; it was hard to think they were once friends. Jumping into the broom closet to avoid another screaming cheerleader try to hug me, I waited for him to come pass the door.
My chance was now, opening the door and grabbing his hand, I pulled him in. I stared into his chest for a moment, waiting for him to realise what hit him.
"What do you want?" he asked, sounding distant and pissed off. Did he think I was going to slag him off?
"Hayden," I said slowly, looking up. He sighed, meeting my gaze. I took my chance, snaking my arms around his waist and pressing my head into his chest. I let the tears out I had been holding in all day. "I don't blame you." I said, my words muffled by his jacket. "It wasn't your fault." I said, trying to convince both of us. His arms finally came around me, pulling me close, his chin resting on my head.
"Yes it is," he said softly, I shook my head.
"No, the rain was heavy, the semi was driving too fast," I said. "Do you remember?" I asked, hoping I wasn't the only one.
"Yes," was all he said?
"I lie," I replied, still in his arms.
"So do I." and that was all we needed, the silent agreement to not tell a soul we remember. I pulled away, taking his hand in mine. "Come on," I said, silently opening the door. He followed me silently out of the school building and to my car. I looked at him, asking him silently if it was okay. He answered by hopping in the passenger seat.
"You're mum isn't home right?" I asked, and he shook his head. Driving towards his house was all too familiar; I remembered the way we would all pile into Eddy's small crappy car, cranking the music loud as we sped towards Hayden's home.
"She is away for the week, some big conference." He said, staring out the window as the trees flew by.
"She just left you all alone, for this week of all weeks?" I asked, a tiny bit shocked. I mean, I adored Sharon, she was the best mum ever, but leaving her son on the first week of school, after everything that had happened. That seemed to be stretching it a bit.
"She had no choice," he answered, but I could hear the sadness in his voice. The rest of the drive was silent; Hayden looked out of the window, sadness rolled off of him in waves. When we got there, we headed straight for his room. I jumped onto is single bed, lounging there.
"Are you okay?" I asked him, looking at his face.
"No," he said, coming down to sit next to me.
"Neither," I replied, resting my head on his shoulder. "I dream of it," I said softly, shutting my eyes. Flashbacks of their faces came, terrified as their bodies were crushed against the metal. I opened my eyes, wanting to forget.
"So do I," he said sighing. I could tell he wanted to say more.
"You can talk to me, you know." I stared up at his chin. Light stubble ran across it, he must not have shaved in a while. He nodded, sighing.
"I remember not being able to see the road. I should have slowed down, I went round the bend and it was too late." He stopped and took a shaky breath. I put my hand on his, "I remember your screams, I remember watching your head hit the window, a large piece of metal pierce your arm. I remember hearing their bodies be crushed. The sound of screeching tires, I remember hitting the tree, your side of the car being crushed. I remember your body come flying over my own. I remember the way their bodies went flying out of the doors. I remember you crying and pleading to die as I slowly lost consciousness. The last thing I remember was the smell of blood and rain, and feeling your pained sobs against my chest." He finished, my eyes had widened and I was staring at the well.
"We, we hit a tree?" I asked and he nodded. "I don't remember that," I said. "I remember the sound of metal on metal as the semi took off the back of our car. The screams of our friends as their bodies got crushed. I remember the way my head hit the window, breaking the glass. I remember watching your head hit the steering wheel and go flying back into your seat. I remember pulling on the piece of metal lodged in my arm, removing it, bits of my bone coming with it. I remember the car going flying; our moaning crushed friends body go flying out into the air. I remember the smell of blood mixed with the rain and the ringing of sirens as I lay there, fully conscious." I finished, tears streaking down my face. I was sure my mascara had run, leaving me with large black streaks down my cheek.
He just hugged me; I don't remember how long I cried for. I hadn't cried properly since the accident, I hadn't mourned; I had gone on with my life, always smiling, putting on a face. Always remembering.
"Can I stay?" I asked, noticing the darkening sky. He nodded and I texted my mum,
Staying at Hayden's, talking about… it. I sent it, not caring what her answer was. A few seconds it buzzed,
Okay. At least she was okay with me staying.
"Can you make me spaghetti, like you used to?" I asked, looking up at his face. He smiled; I had always loved his smile.
"You and spaghetti." He shook his head, getting up; he dragged me to the kitchen. I sat there watching him as he boiled pasta and cooked the mince in sauce. I smiled; I never understood how Hayden learnt to cook so well, Sharon couldn't cook. He never knew his dad; I still couldn't decide whether it was a good or bad thing. Unlike me, he never had someone to miss or well, he didn't until the accident.
Once he had finished cooking, we started eating, turning the TV on. I put on Jersey Shore, and sat watching the actors pretend to be real. Hayden snorted,
"How can you watch this trash?" he asked, shaking his head.
"The same way you can watch all those wrestling shows," I answered back.
"But this is all so fake," he said, and this time I snorted,
"So is wrestling," I replied back, my mouth full of food. As I got my next fork full, a large blob of mince and sauce spilt down my knit. "Nooo," I shouted, trying desperately to flick it off. "Gah!, I hope this doesn't stain!" I wiped it off, eyeing the large orange dot in the middle of my chest. Frowning, I got up and patted it with a wet cloth. Hayden was laughing at me, I was waiting for spaghetti to come out of his nose.
"Shut up Hayden, this is your fault." I said, laughter riding through my tone.
He gaped at me, "My fault? Unlikely," he tried to say sternly but I could hear the joking undertone.
"Yes! It is your fault for making your spaghetti so damn delicious." He just laughed some more, shaking his head. I frowned, walking back over to the table. Sitting down at the table, I remembered back to when we would all sit around this table together. Steph and Eddy would laugh, eating each other's food and feeding each other. Hayden and I would talk about all the hot guys and girls at the school and who we wanted to go out with. I would hide my feelings for him, not telling him that I loved him.
I was brought back to the present by the sound of something breaking.
"Shit," Hayden cursed, bending down and picking up the pieces of a broken plate. Spaghetti had spread all over the floor. I grabbed a large chuck of meat off the floor and plopped it in my mouth.
"Five second rule." I said when Hayden gave me a look. I just grinned back at him as he smiled. I wanted to keep Hayden happy, I wanted to forget.
After cleaning up the mess Hayden, we went up to his room. "Can I have a shower?" I asked, grabbing a towel off of his desk and walking to the bathroom. Going through my usual routine, I showered, pulling my hair into a high bun.
After showering, I sought out the many pimple removers I had stored in his bathroom. Finding them, I cleansed my face and used his toothbrush. I don't know where I got the habit from, but I always used Hayden's toothbrush, it saved him buying me a spare one. When we were all alive, we used to basically live at Hayden's. His mother was always away on business trips so we used to crash here almost every night. I brushed my long black brown hair, before tying it back up again. I looked at my face, it was heart shaped. I had chubby, baby like cheeks which matched my large eyes. My eyes were very large compared to my face, like big sad puppy eyes, although I loved them, they always made me seem younger than I was. I had a small Celestial shaped nose that had a few freckles dotted along it. I looked like a child, it might be better when I am older, to look younger, but right now I hated it.
Walking back to Hayden's room, I flopped down on his bed.
"I used your toothbrush." I said, resting my head against his soft pillow.
"Thought you might," he said walking out of his room and making his way to the bathroom. Returning fifteen minutes later, he only had a towel around his waist. I could feel myself blushing. "Turn around," he said and I did, hearing the towel fall to the floor and him pull his boxers up. I could feel my cheeks blush even harder. When I turned back around, he was in thick sweats with no shirt on. His perfectly sculpted torso had me staring. Breaking my gaze, I got off the bed and walked over to his closet, pulling off my jeans and shirt, I put on one of his large tees and some rather large sweats.
"It is freezing in here," I stated, crawling under the think blankets of his bed. He gave me a look before climbing in after me; I was pushed up against the wall. "I have nightmares," I said hesitantly. I felt him nod, "ever night since the crash, I have had nightmares." He flicked off the lights and turned over, putting his arm around my waist.
"I won't let you get hurt like that again, Ellie." He said it so confidently that I almost believed him. Shutting my eyes, I felt his even breaths against my neck. I smiled to myself.
That was the first night I didn't have a nightmare.