A/N: After many months (I think), I have finally decided to write the sequel to this thing! I hvae no idea where it's going to go yet, so bear with me! Schools pretty rough at the moment, which means updates will be few and far between. Especially since I have another fic on the go at the moment. I'll try and update again as soon as I can. Also, I was not too sure about the distance between Brisbane and Summer Bay (or Palm Beach) so I guessed it (quite badly probably!) My cousin lives in Sydney and I spoke to him but he knew nothing either!! So I apologise if my Scottish brain didn't get it right! Thanks for reading xx
Lights surrounded her. Bright, white trails targeted the car that she was comfortably sitting in. Fear took over her body as her muscles tensed up and her eyes became wide with fright.
"Luc!" she screamed. It was a high-pitched, deafening scream, although it was still not enough to grab her husband's attention. Lucas' face was still facing her own. His eyes were still gazing into her eyes, completely unaware of the dangers that were now facing him, just a split second after taking his eyes off the road.
The car, which was a wedding gift from her mum and Tony, smashed, head-on into the truck that was driving directly towards them. The sound of crunching metal rung in Matilda's ears and the impact of the crash caused her to lunge forward, hitting her head on the dash board. The vehicle started to turn on its side, ready to flip, fiercely and violently.
The came darkness…
-x-
"I cannot believe you made me do that, mate!" Ric laughed, grabbing his friend, Steve in a headlock. "I mean karaoke? What were you thinking?" he joked along.
"It's your birthday, man! We had to do something, and that something just happened to be public humiliation!" Steve replied, releasing himself from Ric's grasp.
Ric and a few of his friends were stood in a bar, in Brisbane just down the road from Ric's apartment. It had been his home for three years, since he left Summer Bay.
"Anyway, thanks Steve, it's been a great day. I better be heading home now anyway," he said, glancing down at his watch. "It's three o' clock, I'm getting too old to be out at this time!"
"Ah mate, twenty-eight ain't that old," Steve replied, grabbing Ric's jacket and his own, heading for the door.
-x-
Beth stood; staring at the four, white walls around her. Why white? Why not brighter colours? It would stop the place from being so depressing that's for sure; it would stop the constant reminders that her daughter was in the operating theatre down the hall, desperately fighting for her life. Her son-in-law was also having a life-saving operation at that moment. He wasn't just her son-in-law though; he was the love of her life's son, basically her stepson.
She had watched as Matilda's frail body was wheeled in, faster than she thought paramedics could ever move. The white shirt that Matilda had worn that afternoon was pink, soaked through with blood. Beth choked back a sob as she thought of the pain that must have overcome her daughter, the fear that she must of felt. Her heart had stopped twice in the ambulance on the way; they'd had to cut her from the wreckage, if you could even call it that. The car was more like a piece of paper that had been scrunched up, and ripped into tiny pieces, it was a miracle anyone survived. She had a severe injury to her head, many broken bones and possible internal bleeding. Why was life so unfair? Two years ago, Matilda had been the happiest woman in the world; she was marrying the man she loved. Why did it have to happen to her?
-x-
Tony watched as a fresh set of tears fell down his girlfriend's cheeks, he so desperately wanted to wipe them away, hold her, tell her everything was going to be okay, but she needed her space. Reality hadn't quite hit him yet; he wasn't sure how to react, to cry or to stay strong and hopeful. Lucas looked so broken as the paramedics rushed him straight into the operating theatre; his face was covered in the blood that flowed from his head, and he was wearing a neck brace. The nurse had explained his injuries in some extent to Tony, although he wasn't really listening. Something to do with his spleen rupturing. His mind focussed on the object that stayed protruding out of Luc's stomach, his eyes zoomed in on it, scanning through the possible consequences that faced his son.
Matilda's tear stained face was also an image that refused to leave his head. Didn't Lucas and Matilda deserve to be happy?
-x-
"Sally? It's Jack," his voice was hoarse and was competing against the continuous sounding of sirens in the distance, and it was a struggle to hold the phone to his ear with his shaking hands.
"What's wrong, Jack? Has something happened?" Sally's voice was full of concern.
"It's Luc and Mattie, there's been an accident…" Jack's voice cracked under the pressure as he began to tell Sally of the fate that may be awaiting two of his best friends, his brother and his sister-in-law.
-x-
"Ric? Ric? You're obviously not in since you're not answering any of my calls, but then again it is your birthday, you're probably drinking yourself into a coma…" Ric laughed at Cassie's voicemail message. Him and Steve were sitting on the sofa in his apartment now, with two fresh cans of beer by their sides. There was a certain sense of urgency in Cassie's voice that made Ric listen carefully.
"That's the wrong sort of joke to make in this situation…" Cassie cursed herself. Ric was now completely confused. What situation?
"It's Lucas and Matilda," she had his full attention now, at the mention of Matilda's name. Steve noticed the change in Ric's body language and listened in as well.
"There was a car crash, a truck," Ric could hear Cassie's silent tears come through in her voice. "The doctors are trying their very best, but… it doesn't look good. I know you haven't been back to the Bay for a few years now, and you've not even spoken to one of them since you left, but we really need you. They really need you…" Ric instantly sobered up, grabbing his jacket and putting it on, tuning out of the last part of Cassie's message. He needed to get back there. The woman he loved more than anything else in the world could be… He didn't even want to think about it.
"I'm going!" Ric shouted to Steve as he opened the front door, not giving his apartment a second glance as he headed out to catch the first bus he could to Summer Bay.
Please review and tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is particularly welcome xx