Prologue

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“Carter you jerk!” Sarah exclaimed but her brown eyes sparkled with amusement after Carter pushed her into the water Carter grinned down at his girlfriend. They had been together since they were sixteen. That day was their two year anniversary; he loved Sarah that much he knew. He felt happiest when she was around. He chuckled when she shot him a death glare. Her shoulder length brown hair was plastered to her neck and she had her arms wrapped around her small frame to keep herself warm.

He stared at her admiringly for a moment. She was a beautiful girl and she was all his. He smiled at the thought and jumped into the water after her.

“Happy anniversary” he said jokingly. Suddenly a whole wave of water came towards them and they were pushed back to the shore. Sarah was laughing hysterically and Carter couldn’t help but feel worried. The beach probably wasn’t the best place to take her since she couldn’t swim and a wave could take you at any moment.

“That was a pretty big wave” Sarah commented casually as they sat on the blanket Carter had laid out.

“That was dangerous” Carter scolded her, he was still worried that something would have happened to her.

“Don’t be worried about that” she said, reaching in her hand bag for something. Carter was curious at what she was looking for. Suddenly she handed him a small piece of paper, he unfolded it and it was a swim certificate.

“You learned how to swim?” he asked, feeling bad for worrying so much.

“Yeah, I learned how to swim in August, when you ditched me to go to South America” she said, rolling her eyes. That had been a bitter subject for him. It was hard to leave Sarah for a month but it was an opportunity that he couldn’t miss out on.

“Well we still have the school year” he said, feeling optimistic.

“School starts tomorrow and it’s our last year in school” she said, sobering up suddenly which only made Carter feel nervous. Lately she’d been reminding him that they had one year left in school. He had been planning to go to a University in the country and he thought Sarah wanted to do that as well.

“So? Aren’t we going to the same University? Or at least Universities that are close to each other” he was feeling increasingly anxious to hear her answer. Especially since she had gone silent. “Sarah?”

“I’m going to Africa” she mumbled. He was barely able to make out her words. He felt something he had never really felt before. Heart break.

“What?” he said, standing up. “Africa? You’re going to Africa? Why?” he asked, feeling furious. Sarah whimpered and he felt his expression soften slightly, he knew he was scaring her but that wasn’t the issue at the moment.

“My grandparents live in Johannesburg and I’m going to live with them and study at the University there. They have a really good Science program. I can’t miss out on that” she said, her voice shaky, he noticed she was close to tears so he took her small hand in his but that wasn’t enough to calm him down.

“We’re leaving” he ground out, pulling her towards the area where he had parked his silver sports car. He heard her soft sobs and wished he could find a way to comfort her.

“Why Africa?” Why not somewhere else?” he asked, clutching onto the steering wheel. He knew he probably shouldn’t be driving in his state but he had to get Sarah home. He needed to think.

“Can you please think for a moment?! This would be a great opportunity for me! I don’t want to do this. I have to do this! For us! Because I love you!” she yelled. He turned to look at her.

“We can still talk on the phone right?” he asked.

“No phone service there” she answered in a slightly detached voice. He turned to look at her once more and accidentally lost control of the car and they collided with a pole. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, Sarah’s screaming and he was trying to get control of the car and the next thing he knew when he turned to make sure Sarah was alright, she was unconscious.

“Sarah?” he asked in a barely audible voice. She didn’t respond, his breath hitched and he reached across to feel her pulse, it was barely there. Soon enough the ambulance came, they were going to carry him and Sarah and separate cars but after he fought against it, they were put in the same car. The doctor inspected him while he was at the back of the truck.

They said he had a slight concussion but it’ll ware off after a few days but they had to wait till they reached the hospital to inspect Sarah.

The ride seemed to last forever and so was the wait as he stood outside her hospital room. All he could do was hope she was okay. Soon enough a doctor came out with a grave expression on his face which only made Carter’s anxiety worsen.

“She had a lot of internal and external injuries and she suffered trauma to the head but she suffered a lot of brain damage. She’s in a coma, but we called her family and they told us to go ahead and pull the plug” the doctor said in a smooth voice. “We’re sorry but she died.”

Carter felt a pang of grief and for the first time in at least three years, he cried, the doctor gave him a comforting pat on the back and he just stood there with his head buried in his hands. He heard frantic footsteps and looked up to see Sarah’s parents and her older sister. Their eyes were rimmed with red and glassy, he walked towards them and her mother embraced him and she sobbed.

He didn’t know if he would be able to get through this. Ever.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'

Carter sat on a huge rock as he stared at the ocean. This had been where his and Sarah’s last date was. He sighed and continued throwing a few stone out to see how far they would go. He and Sarah used to play that game a lot. Seeing who could throw stones the farthest.

“You okay Carter?” he heard a voice from behind him and turned around to see his best friend Jordan standing there dressed in all black. He ignored Jordan’s question and continued throwing stones.

“No I’m not” he answered after a while. Anybody who talked to him for the past few days had gotten a taste of how bitter he was, He was pretty sure he had been through all the stages of grief and now he was just angry. He was mad that he couldn’t control the car. It should have been him, not Sarah. She didn’t deserve it.

“I’m here for you” Jordan said, sitting down on the stone next to him, running a hand through his short hair.

“Thanks” Carter mumbled.

“So where were you today?” Jordan asked, sounding cautious.

“I was busy” Carter ground out. Jordan nodded and they sat in silence for what felt like a few hours. Carter was lost in his own dark thoughts and who knew what went through Jordan’s head sometimes. The thought of his friend’s crazy ideas made Carter crack the first smile since Sarah died.

The idea had never fully dawned on him. Sarah was dead. She was never coming back and he was never gonna see her again. Silent tears ran down his cheeks and Jordan placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as the truth finally starting to settle in.

Okay so this is the spin off to Last Trip to Italy.

You don’t have to read the first two to understand this one

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