The Score (Sequel to The Exchange)

Chapter 51- Find a Way

My mother could meddle with the best of them. She knew what she wanted to happen, envisioned success and joy and prosperity, and she made it happen by any means necessary.

She was an angel who sat upon a throne of fulfilled promises, the happiness of others, and plenty of know-how.

And I was only human. A human who had seen the lifeless skin, soulless body, and unmoving heart of another person before.

I knelt down beside Caroline, the light from my phone flashlight illuminating her corpse, which was barely even recognizable. There was no way she could be revived. I didn't see what happened, but if the force from the crash was enough to toss her through the windshield, she had some serious damage internally.

"Amanda, do something," Arti cried.

I snapped my head around to face her. "What do you want me to do? Poke her with a fucking stick and see if she'll wake up? She's dead."

Arti squatted down beside me, her breath heavy. "Are you sure? Can't you, like, CPR her back to life?"

"Even if I could, she wouldn't want me to."

I looked over my shoulder, and Blaine sat down in the grass thirty feet away by himself, his back facing me.

"Wow, that's, uh, sad." Arti sniffed, then shut her eyes. "What about Drew?"

I shrugged as a lump rose in my throat.

A tear fell from Arti's face as she opened her eyes back up. "I'll take care of her now. Don't worry, Caroline, wherever you are. I got Drew."

I brushed my eyes with my hand before anything could sneak out of there.

I didn't know what the hell to think about Caroline, but this was far too familiar for me.

Mom would have known what to do. She had had countless trauma patients as an ER nurse, and I used to listen to her stories of speed, alcohol, and poor decision-making. At the conclusion of each car crash chronicle, I swore to myself that when I finally got old enough to drive, I'd never break the law ever.

That didn't end up being true.

Shit.

Emergency room.

I still needed to call the paramedics or something.

I seriously needed to get my shit together for a moment, but I couldn't. Caroline's blood-stained lips and empty eyes drew me into a hell that I craved, the memories of a put-together woman who somehow managed to give birth to a fucking disaster.

"Amanda."

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up.

"You okay?" Blaine asked.

I didn't respond.

"I called 911. They'll be here soon, okay?" he said.

I looked back at Caroline.

How could she kill herself in a world where death took people who didn't deserve it for no fucking reason?

How?

"Do you want me to call your brother?" Blaine asked. "You don't have to answer. I'm doing it no matter what."

I didn't answer, and I wiped my nose with my sleeve.

Why the hell did I think I could wave a magic wand and fix every single problem I came across?

I failed with Lukas, and I failed again with Caroline.