Chapter Twenty Four

Chevelle


*I’m silently staring at a red light hanging suspended in the air when a set of headlights from an approaching vehicle ricochets throughout the car, casting the person sitting beside me in an eerie glow. Moments later, another pair of headlights from behind glare against the pouring rain.*

*The sound of thunder cracks overhead, causing me to jump as I glance in the side mirror noting that the vehicle from behind doesn’t appear to be slowing down, causing fear to creep into every part of my body, spreading through my veins, seeping into every cavity.*

*The smell of sulfur permeates the air as a strike of lightening lands near my side of the car, the wave blast rocking through my body at the same time that the sound of a horn blares from behind.*

*The sound of tires screeching against the wet asphalt sounds in the suddenly too silent air around us. The crunch of impact, the unmistakable sound of metal connecting with metal assaults my ears as screams filter into the air, blending in with the chaos all around.*

*The force of the impact causes me to slam sideways, my temple making contact with the passenger side window.*

*Everything happens so quickly and yet in slow motion.*

*The second vehicle makes impact from behind, my body rocking forward, the resistance of the seatbelt searing as it cuts into my chest, my forehead smashing against the rock-hard dash. I feel the slick warmth of blood running down my face as everything around me becomes obscured, fading into a silent, black nothingness.*

“Chevelle?”

I jolt awake, a scream piercing the air.

“Are you okay?” Caprice asks from beside me. I jump at the sound of her voice, not having even noticed that she was there. “Chevy?”

I hold up a finger, trying to catch my breath as I nod my head yes.

“I’m okay.” I manage out a few moments later, “just a nightmare or something.” It was awful, it felt like it was real life, and I was actually going through everything that was happening in the nightmare.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asks as she crawls into the bed with me, wrapping her arms around me. She’s been my rock the last few weeks since I left River’s apartment. I waited until he left for Jacks, unsure of how long he would end up taking. Once they were gone, I called Caprice to come get me. When she showed up, I left my key to the apartment and the cell phone that he bought me on the counter. No note, nothing.

“No, it’s fine.” Slightly disoriented, I look around. Noting that it’s daylight outside, I ask “What time is it?”

“It’s around noon.” She murmurs, there’s a tension in the air and I don’t think it’s due to the dream, she won’t look me in the eyes. “River won’t stop calling…what happened between you two?”

“I don’t want to talk about it or to him!” I can’t, it hurts too much.

“I just don’t understand. It’s been two weeks and I’ve not asked once but...he keeps calling and you say to lie to him.” I just shake my head no…I’m not getting into it… “That day you called me to take you to see Drake, the way you two were…and now this…what happened?” she pleads, wanting to understand.

I know that it’s hurting her, I’ve hardly gotten out of bed since she came and picked me up. I can’t eat, all that I want to do is sleep. If this is what it feels like to be heartbroken, count me out. I’m done, never want to experience it again. The pain is too much, and I’ve even started to get physically sick.

Pulling my hair from the bun that I threw it up in, she begins brushing out the tangles. “He seems really worried about you, Chevy. Maybe you should just talk to him.”

She divides it up, banding one side, then starts to braid the other. “I can’t Caprice. He broke me. Literally…” Maybe I should just tell her, maybe talking about it will help. “He told me that he loved me.”

She snorts but continues with her braiding, “Even a fool would be able to see that that man is head over heels in love with you, Chev.”

“Oh, I’m not done…the next morning, he told me that he needed space and was going to go stay with his friend Jack for a bit. When I pushed him to tell me what was going on…he…he told me that he lied to me, that he didn’t love me but just said that so that he could fuck me…that it was a mistake…” I begin sobbing and end up having to force out the last part, “He said that *I* was a mistake…” I expect her to say something, but all I get is a gasp of shock, nothing more as she waits for me to finish. “Then, I hear him talking to Jack about how he is the one that hit me and Sienna. He said that he’s the reason that she’s dead. He’s the reason that I was in a coma and have no memory, Caprice…”

“What?!” She screeches, dropping my hair, braid forgotten. “Did you confront him about it?”

“No, after saying that I was a mistake, that he had lied, I couldn’t handle anything else. And if he had lied to my face again…” I trail off, suddenly becoming ill. Jumping up from the bed, I run for the trashcan next to the doorway.

“Are you okay?” Caprice asks, coming up behind me to hold my hair out of the way.

“Yeah, I think that all of this has just started to make me sick is all,” I say, wiping the side of my mouth with my shirt sleeve.