Strings (1 of 2)

Chapter 57 - Crash

I wish it was that.

But watching her now, I know it isn't. And I know I will always love her more than anyone else.

Maybe one day it will be different. When she outgrows the lucky bastard who has her now. Maybe I can try again then.

I'm so pathetic, I can't even stop myself from hoping for another chance when she has explicitly told me there won't be one.

I hear her breathing change slightly and then she stirs, turning towards me as she opens her eyes slowly.

"How are you feeling?" I ask quietly with a smirk. She drank the majority of the wine last night. I was tapped out after all the whisky earlier in the night.

She covers her mouth as she yawns in her cute lion-like way, making a silly unnecessarily loud sound as she breathes in. It always makes me laugh.

"Like I could use some pancakes and bacon." She grins at me and I sit up against the headboard.

"Let's go get some." I can't help but offer, secretly hoping to prolong our time together.

Her smile grows as she nods, but she hesitates as she moves to climb out of the bed. "Shit." She looks back to me with big worried eyes.

"I heard them leave earlier." I reassure her and she instantly relaxes.

She laughs softly and gets up to get changed out of her black jogging pants and sweatshirt. "You read my mind." 

Oh, how I wish I could.

While Em's in the bathroom, I get up to stretch and check my phone.

38 missed calls from Ava... or whatever her real name is. I swipe to the left and delete them. There's nothing left to say.

A few missed calls appear from my assistant. She's probably wondering where I am. I delete those too. 

I don't really care about anyone else right now.

Emily appears in the doorway in a grey long sleeve t-shirt and jean shorts that make me have to force myself away from staring at her long legs on display. I slip on my shoes that I brought up so her parents wouldn't notice, and look up to her somehow glowing face. She doesn't look like she drank at all. Perfect... as always.

"Ready?" She smiles at me and I feel my heart tug in my chest.

Will that ever go away when I look at her? When she smiles at me?

"Yup. After you, best friend." I smile and slide my phone in my back pocket.

I follow her down the stairs and out the front door like a lost puppy. We fall into step on the pavement as we walk down the driveway towards the restaurant strip a block away.

The café next door to Jake's restaurant has great pancakes. I know she loves it there. That's probably where she is leading us to.

We joke about the night before as we walk, laughing at the memories of the cab driver who picked us up at the beach and thought we were completely insane to be there after the storm alone. He ranted the whole ride back to her house about how unsafe it was and how we could have been arrested for drinking 'in public'. We couldn't stop laughing the entire ride. It only pissed him off more.

We get to the main street within a few minutes and I press the cross walk button to cross the street to the café.

"Let's jaywalk it." Em looks up to me with an evil grin.

"Nah, let's wait." I smile down to her and she rolls her eyes.

"Come on!" She takes one step onto the street, only looking to her right.

I take my eyes off her for a second to look left and a white SUV comes speeding around the corner, flying towards us.

My pulse skyrockets and my heart beats so loudly that I can hear it in my ears. I look back to Emily now almost in the middle of the road, not paying any attention, and then back to the left. The car gets dangerously close and I start to run towards her.

"EMILY WATCH OUT!" I scream and reach out to grab her arm out of the way. She turns back towards me when she hears my voice and her big eyes widen with panic as she sees the car now right in front of us.

Her hand slips through my grip as I helplessly watch the car serve and crash into her leg. Her body flies through the air like a ragdoll in slow motion as I'm frozen where I stand. She smacks hard onto the ground on her left arm with a cracking sound I will never forget as long as I live and her head falls to the side facing me, revealing her shut eyes.

"Fuck!" I yell and race over to her and kneel down beside her, pushing her hair out of her face and looking her over. Her body doesn't move a muscle as she lays there, unconscious, her left wrist bent in the opposite direction of what it should be. Every inch of her skin that isn't covered with clothing is riddled with scrapes and cuts from the gravel.

The car is nowhere to be seen. It must have kept driving.

What the FUCK just happened?!

I look up to a small crowd gathering near us while I check for her pulse. 

"SOMEONE CALL FUCKING 911 NOW!"

Author's Note:

Are you happy about them deciding to just be best friends??? And omg I have had this chapter ending planned for a long time!! I hope you liked it!

Alsoo... I used to love writing Dean's POV, but now it's so sad and sappy it's really hard to write. I may stop his POV after this chapter.

FYI guys - I don't like my stories to be boring so I kind of skip over slower moments... if you would rather me write it all just let me know!! I can slow it down a bit or go back and add more when I edit the story this summer.

8 chapters left! If you want a book 2 then vote on this chapter please!!