Guardian Angel
"Why don't you start with your name?"
"My name is Aubrey Williams." She fidgeted nervously on the leather sofa.
"Don't be nervous Aub. This is okay." His blazing blue eyes gazed into her.
"No need to be nervous, I'm here to help. Relax and start from the beginning." The gentleman leaned back into his chair, pen already scratching notes on the bright yellow pad of paper.
"The beginning?"
"It's okay, I trust him, I think he can help."
"I can see you're uncomfortable. Let's start out easy. Tell me about Cal."
Aubrey stole a quick glance at Cal before exhaling. "Well, he was my boyfriend-"
"Fiancé." Cal whispered.
"He was my fiancé." She corrected sadly.
"And when were you two going to marry?"
"We hadn't set a date yet, we, we were, I was still arguing about getting married."
"Didn't want to rush things." Cal smiled.
"And how long had you two been together?"
"Four years."
"How was your relationship?"
"Wonderful." No pause preceded her words.
"And what happened? You can take your time, and I'll be here to help get you through this."
"I'm right here too Aubrey."
"Um… well, it was a Wednesday night…"
They walked out of the theater hand in hand while their breath rose in the frigid night air. Aubrey pulled her sweater tighter around her body and Cal pulled her closer against him to shield her from the cold. She smiled lazily before resting her head on his shoulder. He squeezed her hand and looked down at her with a grin of his own. "Can you believe that ending?"
"Yes, actually. Next time I get to pick." She chided him.
"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad." He scoffed.
"Seriously? All the melodramatic shoot outs and extremely fake gore, not to mention the nonexistent plot and anti climatic ending? You're right; it's a real box office smash."
"But those are usually the best movies!"
"That movie hardly even qualified as a B movie. I hate to say it Cal, but you have no taste." She rolled her eyes playfully as they neared the town center.
"I am wounded my lady!" He grabbed at his chest dramatically. "However shall I survive when my love doesn't believe in me?"
Aubrey couldn't suppress her giggles as they neared the intersection, pulling him back to her as she noticed the small coffee house across the street. "How about I warm you back to health with some coffee?" She lifted her face to his, kissing him lightly.
"Its late Aub, we'll never be able to sleep after this."
"Oh come on, we still have three blocks before we're even close to home and its freezing!"
"I also have to be up at six in the morning, while you my dear, have all morning to work off that caffeine."
"It's just a cup of coffee Cal, you can even get a decaf." She flashed a grin and pulled him towards the intersection, pressing the crosswalk button.
"Decaf." He scoffed shaking his head. "What a waste."
Aubrey looked up at him with a pair of sad, puppy dog eyes and a trembling lip. "Please? You know my caffeine addiction."
"If you insist. I could never deny my caffeine junkie her late night fix!"
"Besides, this isn't just any old coffee house. If I do recall, this is where we first met."
"Then we must get a cup of coffee! Not only is it your sacred treasure but your fondest memory!" He laughed as the light turned and the crosswalk sign glared at them.
"I don't know if you can call it my fondest memory," She started quickly across the crosswalk. "I do remember a certain someone spilling their coffee all over me." An engine revved but she attributed it to the surrounding traffic. "Scalding hot coffee at that-"
"Aubrey!"
She turned and saw the blinding lights heading straight for them. Tires squealed and the smell of burning rubber filled her nose. Those few seconds felt like hours as the car tried fruitlessly to slow down. She felt Cal's strong arms enclose around her before the car collided with their bodies, sending them flying.
Aubrey opened her eyes and pain flooded through her. A fire exploded in her chest as she curled her fingers and dug her nails into her palms. She felt a warm slickness beneath her and saw the dark liquid pooling around her. She tried to move but the pain rocking through her left her paralyzed. Aubrey finally managed to turn her head and found herself pinned under one of the car tires. Confusion flooded through her at the sight of the black rubber. She was stuck, bleeding, dying under a car tire. How did this happen? Where was Cal? Cal! Realization screamed through her as she remembered the bright lights of the speeding car. "Cal!" She pushed out frantically.
He managed a small groan in response and she struggled to move her head again. When she did she realized he was only a few feet away from her, the car pinning him to a light pole. "Oh!" She moaned and pain racked her body again.
"I'm okay Aubrey." He lied. "We're okay. We're alive."
"Why is this happening?" She began to panic and he could see the pool of blood growing around her.
"Ssh, Aubrey. Hear that?" He heard sirens wailing as the fire truck neared them. "That's the ambulance. We're going to be fine. I promise."
Aubrey could hear the crowd growing around them and could hear someone on the drivers side of the car. "What about the driver?" She forced. Was anyone else hurt?"
"I don't think he made it." Cal forced out as calmly as possible.
"No…"
"But you are going to make it Aubrey. You're not going to die on me. You promised me a life together, remember?"
"I did." She started crying.
"And we're going to survive this and we are going to get married-" But the sirens drowned him out as the ambulance and rescue crew arrived, calling out orders and pushing the crowd back. He watched as one of the EMTs circled the car and pronounced the driver dead. Then his eyes rested upon Cal. He called his partner over and whispered hurriedly before looking from Cal to Aubrey. Cal knew what was going on instantly and started yelling at them. "You take her first! You get to her first!"
"Sir! Please calm down!" The first EMT rushed to him while the other made his way to Aubrey. "We're going to have to pull the car away and we'll assess you both-"
"You take her first." He hissed.
"Please sir, we need to assess everything first." He moved away quickly to meet the firefighters. They whispered together but even through the chaos Aubrey caught what they were saying.
"He doesn't stand a chance. As soon as we move the car he'll bleed out faster than we can move him. We have a better chance of saving her life-"
"No!" Aubrey screamed and the weight of the tire sent another wave of dizzying pain through her. "No!" She began choking on the tears streaming down her face.
"We're losing her!" The EMT next to her signaled the firefighters with the Jaws of Life.
"No! Cal!" She forced.
Cal looked at her in anguish, his whole being aching for the woman in front of him. He watched as the paramedics tried to stabilize her and he pulled the last of his strength from deep inside of him. "Aubrey, it's okay! I'll be okay! They can save us both, it happens all the time!"
"Cal!"
"She's losing too much blood!"
"Aubrey look at me!" He waited until she turned her face towards him. "You have to calm down, you're going to be all right. We're alive! After all this, we're still alive. And you promised to marry me, promised to spend your whole life with me, and that's just what we're going to do!" He tried to hold back the blood bubbling at his mouth, tried to keep her focused. "You have to be strong right now! Remember when we met? When I spilled my coffee on you?"
In all her panic a smile emerged on her lips. He remembered how even after spilling scalding hot coffee over her, she had still managed to smile like that; how he had fallen in love with her and her radiant smile. Tears of his own spilled down his face as the firefighters signaled to move the car.
"Damn it Aubrey, we're getting married and we're going to be happy forever. I could never live without you so you hold on and keep breathing. You can't die on me now. You're the only one for me and we're going to have that life we always dreamed of! We're going to get that house on Third and we're going to have a family together!"
Aubrey smiled as she struggled to breathe and fought for her life. She could sense movement around the car but had no idea what was going on until she saw Cal nod to the fireman and he signaled to start pulling the car apart. "No, Cal!"
"I feel fine, Aub! We can do this! I love you so much!"
"I love you too…"
"You're the only girl for me and you will survive. You're my one true love so you have to live for me, you hear me?!"
"Cal-"
"Say it!"
"Yes! I'll live but Cal-!"
Metal began crunching as the men ripped the car in two. The sickening twist of metal filled their ears, making their skin crawl as the sirens colored the night around them. She moved her arm upwards reaching for him despite the shooting pain in her chest. He managed to free his arm, numb to the pain, and reached down for hers. "Don't you die Aubrey! You can't die!" He coughed on the blood in his mouth as the car began to loosen from his body. "I love you, Aubrey, I love you!" He stretched as far as he could and their fingers touched.
The metal ripped apart and the firefighters pumped their jacks while the paramedics grabbed Aubrey from under the car. All pressure gone, Aubrey felt the world go still around her. All she could see was Cal and how the paramedics were taking her away from him. She was on the gurney and they were rolling her into the ambulance while Cal still sat pinned against the pole. She called out his name as more tears flooded down her cheeks and caught his huge grin before they closed the ambulance doors.