Title: On the Corner of 1st and 43rd
Summary: "What are you doing?" "Waiting." "Waiting? For what?" "Him."
Disclaimer: I own naught; simply the plot.
Warning(s): character death.
A combination of the song 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' by The Script, and a rereading of the Beyblade fanfic Highway, by Jedi Princess Clarrisani. Enjoy.
++ On the Corner of 1st and 43rd ++
"What are you doing?"
"Waiting."
"Waiting? For what?"
"Him."
For two years, he's sat there. Yes, right there, on the corner of 1st and 43rd, just below the overpass, next to the old park. Every single day for two years, he's been sitting there from dawn till dusk. Each day he would go home disappointed, but every morning he woke up with a new hope.
Of course he would choose to sit there. Why would he sit anywhere else? After all, that's where it happened. That's the exact spot where the small white car and the black Mustang smashed. The Mustang was brand new, fresh off the lot: not a single scratch or dent on it. No one knew that it would be discarded the day it was bought.
Tyson had been saving up for it for years. Now that I think back on it, I have to laugh. He took up every small job he could, every odd job that was offered, just so he could buy his car. Then, three days after he turned eighteen, he walked into the dealership and paid for the car, full, in cash. All four of us were there: Tyson, Kai, Max, and myself. Kai had offered to drive us all up there, saying he could leave his car overnight and claim it tomorrow. Max and I were so happy that Tyson could finally buy it. Kai was there as adult supervision, but I could tell he was just a little bit happy for Tyson, too.
Tyson had walked right up to the car and unlocked it, sitting down the leather interior lightly. He looked so ecstatic, that the rest of us couldn't help being happy too. Max had tried to claim the front seat, but Kai beat him to it, sitting in the passenger chair firmly and glaring at Max until the blonde conceded and climbed into the back. I sat next to Max, behind Tyson.
We didn't waste any time in peeling out of the lot and blaring music in the stereo. Tyson was already driving too fast; nearing ninety. I kept telling him to slow down, but he would only laugh and remind me that he was the only one that hadn't gotten into a car wreck yet. It was true; I had jumped the median with my last car when I was trying to merge. Max had gotten distracted by another dog and had sideswiped the car beside him. Kai had… well, Kai had been Kai. The first two cars he lost to street racing; two very expensive sport cars. Then there had been the 350z; Kai had sped through an intersection and someone had clipped the tail of his car, sending him spinning. He was in the hospital for weeks after that one. Now it was the Ferrari, and we had all known that it was only a matter of time before he wrecked that one, too.
When I realize Tyson wasn't going to slow down, I turned my attention to the radio. It was a heavy rock song, if I remember right, something that wasn't to my taste. Yes, it was rock, because I asked Kai to change it. Something classical, I think I asked for. Max had immediately began protesting, saying how much he hated classical music. I had only laughed, waving it off.
Kai had turned then, reaching behind Tyson's seat to grab the CD case. He was going to find something we could all agree on, he said, just so Max would stop whining. I remember feeling Kai tug on the bag strap; he couldn't get it because it was loosed around my ankle. I lifted my foot to help Kai out, and Tyson glanced in the rearview mirror to see why I had accidentally nudged the back of his chair. I looked up, about to order Tyson to keep his eyes on the road, and the had words never reached my lips.
Max had been the first to scream, because he was the only one watching the road. Tyson and Kai both swung their heads around, Tyson's hands gripping the wheel tighter. A small white car sped out into the road at the intersection, the driver blatantly ignoring the red light he was given. We were nearing ninety; nothing was going to stop us from plowing right into the car.
And that's exactly what had happened.
The front end had crumpled immediately. I screamed and grabbed Max, pulling his head down to shelter him from the glass. Tyson was screaming too, but that was muffled by the airbag. I vaguely heard Kai yelp, but that too was silenced. I heard the windshield splinter and crack, then shatter into a million pieces. It rained on all of us, driven back into the car from the force of the accident. We rolled over the white car; it had flipped and momentarily propelled us upward.
Then, suddenly, everything was silent. At least, as far as I could tell; a ringing noise was grown consistently louder, drowning out all other noise. Max was under my arms, covered in glass; I could feel his body wracking with sobs. I had wanted to sit up, but my body wouldn't let me. So I laid there, my eyes screwed shut, unable to even look up and see the disaster that I knew was there. Max was wailing, screaming for help; begging for anyone to listen. I couldn't hear a word from Kai or Tyson, but I couldn't bring myself to look up and check on them.
It felt like years until the EMS finally showed up. They ripped the car apart, breaking doors open so they could reach us. When they smashed the back window, I know I screamed; I couldn't hear myself, but I know I did. Then hands started reaching in, from all sides, easing myself off of Max and trying to haul both of us out of the car. Everything hurt, and I still wouldn't open my eyes. Max was still crying, and then something triggered him and he started screaming louder. I couldn't open my eyes to look.
Someone was carrying me, and they laid me down on a stretcher. I was disoriented, confused, but I kept asking about my friends. No one answered me; I wasn't even sure I was really talking. But I had to try. Then they put something over my mouth, and someone told me to relax, so I listened. They loaded me into an ambulance, and only then did I finally open my eyes.
Well, my right eye opened. My left wouldn't listen, and every time I tried, a burning sensation would spread all over my face. I think I started screaming, maybe even fighting; the pain was terrible. When they got me to calm down again, I looked to my right and saw Max. He looked terrible and scared, sobbing. But he was okay.
They closed the ambulance doors and I felt the car slowly start driving away. I had felt sick, nauseous, and I closed my eye again. I don't know when I lost consciousness, but I didn't see the hospital at all. Someone was cooing me to sleep, comforting me. I couldn't understand her, but she sounded sincere, and she promised she would take care of Max while I rested.
When I woke up, I hadn't at first understood where I was. Then, when the smells and sight came back to me, I had realized I was in the hospital. I couldn't see anyone, only white, and something was covering my left eye. When I tried to move, my body stayed rigidly still. I started moaning, fear overcame me, and I fell unconscious again before anyone could come to me.
The next time I woke up, I woke to voices. Someone was talking, quietly, trying not to wake me. I moaned, trying to tell them I was awake, and someone's face crept into my view. When my vision cleared, I had recognized Lee's face. He looked tired, and like he'd been crying, but his face was wearing the biggest smile I'd ever seen.
"Hey, Rei," he had said softly, still smiling. I had tried to respond, but he quickly shook his head and patted my arm. "Don't try and talk; you're still weak. I'll tell you everything."
I was blinded in my left eye, was the first thing he told me. A piece of glass had shot straight out and stabbed into it; there was nothing that could be done. I suffered a concussion, and a broken foot, but other than that, I was okay. I was going to be okay.
"Tyson," he had started, then paused. "Max is okay, too. He's in shock, so he hasn't spoken since the accident, but they said he'll be fine. You saved his life, you know? They said he probably would have broken his neck if you hadn't pulled him down."
Tyson was fine, too. He had a neck brace, a back brace, a broken nose, both arms broken, and three fractured ribs. But he would survive; there would be no permanent damage, nothing long-lasting. When I think about it, I know Lee had a regretful, almost painful look on his face.
He stopped there, and I could sense something was wrong. He was focusing on me closely, watching me, and I knew he didn't want to tell me whatever it was he had to. Then he glanced up and met my eyes, and he smiled.
"Kai is okay, too. He's pretty banged up, but he'll be fine. I'm going to let you rest now, okay, Rei?" Lee patted my hand again, still smiling, and turned to leave. I had no voice to say my objections.
I couldn't tell then that Lee's smile was fake.
We didn't find out about Kai until all three of us were functioning properly. He was dead; Lee lied. He suffered seven broken ribs, a shattered arm, a broken leg; he sprained his neck, punctured a lung, and broken most of his facial bones. This all happened after he went flying from the front seat. The officers said he wasn't wearing his seatbelt, so when we hit the other car, Kai had gone soaring through the windshield. His body had broken the glass; not the accident. His airbag didn't come out until after his body had slammed into the hood of the white car, flipped over it, and come to a stop on the pavement.
I asked privately if he died immediately. They said no. He struggled and either ended up choking on his own blood, or he bled out before someone could get to him. He died alone, and in a lot of pain.
Of course, we had all gone through our guilt. I said that if I hadn't argued about the CD, Tyson wouldn't have looked up and he would have seen the white car. If I hadn't been selfish, Kai wouldn't have died. Max said he should have fought Kai harder for the front seat. He always wears his seatbelt, and Kai never did; if Max had been sitting there, Kai would have been okay. Tyson said he shouldn't have taken his eyes off the road, should have seen the white car. Should have stopped all of it from happening.
Eventually, we all got through it, though. We cried for days after the burial service, and for weeks after we never wanted to do anything. Then, gradually, we got back to ourselves; we all knew Kai wouldn't want us to stop living because of what had happened. But we haven't really gotten our lives back: Tyson hasn't driven himself anywhere. He's always taking a bus or a taxi. Max won't let anyone sit in the passenger seat, and he makes sure that everyone always has their seatbelts on.
Me? I sit quietly in all car rides now, constantly watching the road with my good eyes. I wince when tires screech, and when someone slams on their brakes, I usually cry. Going anything above the speed limit makes me start screaming, and, like Max, no one is allowed to go unbuckled. But we learned to adapt; all three of us with out fears, and myself with my blind eye.
Neither Max nor myself noticed that Tyson didn't believe. He had cried as hard as the rest of us, went through his guilt, had his fears. But he survived like the rest of us. It was his grandpa that called us. He said Tyson was sitting on some street corner, and he wouldn't leave. We tried everything: dragging him away, which usually ended in tears; sitting with him, which just strung out our patience. There was nothing anyone could say to get him to leave.
The first time I asked him why he was sitting there was also the last time I would talk to him. All he said was that he was waiting for someone to come out. Waiting for a friend. When I asked him who, he looked up and simply replied, "Kai."
I walked away then, and I didn't look back. I go by there once a week, just to make sure he's still alive. But I don't go and talk to him, and I make sure he never sees me. Max doesn't visit him either; says it brings up too much pain. I think I'm the only one who visits; I never see anyone else.
I guess none of us had the courage to tell Tyson that Kai was dead.
++ End ++
R&R.
-blueXXphoenix-