The Accident
The guests around us were whispering, their faces a filled with confusion and worry.
I didn’t wait for explanations; I ripped the hem of my dress to give myself room to run, kicked off my heels, and bolted through the crowd.
Every step felt frantic, desperate. I couldn’t let her go off like that, not after what she’d seen.
As I reached the edge of the parking lot, I saw Rowan, leaning against his car, about to leave. Without thinking, I ran to him, breathless and panicked.
“Rowan!” I called, my voice ragged. He looked up, surprised, but I didn’t give him a chance to ask questions. “Please—I need your car. Claire just… she just left, and she’s in no state to be driving.”
He frowned, straightening, his concern evident. “What happened?”
“It’s…” I hesitated, but there was no time for secrets. “She just caught Charles… with someone else. She saw everything.”
Rowan’s eyes darkened, and he muttered a curse under his breath. “So he’s still the same, huh?” He opened the passenger door and motioned for me to get in. “Come on, I’ll drive. We need to make sure she’s safe.”
I climbed in, my hands shaking as he started the engine and pulled out onto the road, speeding up to catch up to Claire. Silence hung thick between us, only the hum of the engine filling the space, but I could feel Rowan’s gaze flickering over to me, heavy with questions.
After a few moments, he spoke, his tone edged with frustration. “I always had my doubts about Charles. Back in college, he… well, let’s just say commitment wasn’t his strong suit. Especially to the female gender.”
I clenched my hands, barely able to keep my voice steady. “Then why did he marry her? Why go through with it if he couldn’t be honest?”
Rowan shook his head, his jaw tight. “I don’t know. Maybe he thought he could change, or maybe he was just… putting on a show. But he’s always been this way. Reckless. Selfish. It was actually a surprise when I heard he was engaged.”
He paused, his gaze hardening. “And marrying Claire? Someone as genuine and trusting as her? That’s low. Even for him.”
I closed my eyes, guilt and panic twisting in my chest. “She’s going to be devastated… she already is.”
Rowan’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, his face set with a grim determination. “We’ll find her, Remi. We’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything rash.”
Just then, in the distance, I saw her car, barely a hundred yards ahead. Relief washed over me for a second, but then everything happened so fast.
A massive lorry, speeding out of nowhere, clipped the side of her car, sending it careening off the road.
I watched in horror as Claire’s car tumbled down an embankment, glass shattering as it rolled over, flipping again and again before finally coming to a halt.
“No!” I screamed, my voice breaking, the sound raw and full of agony. “No, Claire!”
Rowan slammed on the brakes, pulling the car over to the side of the road. I didn’t wait for it to come to a full stop; I wrenched open the door and ran toward the wreck, my feet pounding against the gravel as I screamed her name.
“Claire! Claire!” My voice was hoarse, my throat raw as I stumbled down the embankment, desperation propelling me forward. The car was mangled, windows shattered, metal twisted and torn, and there was no sign of movement from inside.
Rowan was right behind me, calling my name, but I barely registered it. I reached the car, my hands trembling as I tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. Tears blurred my vision, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.
“Claire! Please!” I choked out, pounding on the window. “Please, wake up. Don’t do this. Don’t leave me…”
Rowan caught up to me, his hands firm on my shoulders as he tried to pull me back. “Remi, stop! It’s not safe—”
“I can’t leave her!” I cried, fighting against his hold, desperate to reach her, to see her face, to know she was okay. “She’s my best friend! I can’t… I can’t lose her…”
“Remi!” he shouted, his voice laced with a pain I hadn’t heard before. “She’s gone…”
“No!” I screamed, trying to shake him off, my mind refusing to accept what was right in front of me.
And then, before either of us could react, a sudden explosion burst from the wreck, flames licking up into the sky. The heat was overwhelming, the force knocking us both back. Rowan threw himself over me, shielding me from the blast as debris scattered around us.
“No!” I screamed, my voice breaking, the reality sinking in, every fiber of my being rejecting what was happening. “Claire! Claire!”
Rowan’s arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly as I thrashed against him, struggling to get free, to reach her. But his grip was strong, unyielding, his own face a mask of pain as he held me back.
“Remi, stop…” he whispered, his voice rough. “She’s… she’s gone.”
I collapsed against him, the truth crashing over me like a wave, the finality of it cutting through every defense I had. Rowan’s hand cradled my head as I sobbed, the world around us fading into nothing but pain and loss.
“She… she can’t be,” I whispered, my voice barely audible, broken. “She was supposed to be happy. She… she was supposed to have everything…”
Rowan’s arms tightened around me, his voice low, barely holding steady. “I know. I know, Remi.”
And as we sat there, the wreckage still smoldering in front of us, the reality of what we’d just lost sank in, leaving an ache that felt like it would never heal.
I collapsed against Rowan, the sobs tearing from my chest as if they’d been waiting to break free for years. I couldn’t stop the memories, every moment with Claire flashing in painful clarity behind my closed eyes—her laughter that lit up even the darkest days, the late nights we spent talking about everything and nothing, her bright eyes brimming with dreams of a future. All of it—gone, ripped away, like a piece of me had been torn from my soul.
“She can’t be gone,” I whispered, my voice barely more than a breath. “She was... everything. My friend, my… she was supposed to be happy, Rowan. She deserved to be happy.”
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