[✓] 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑, 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚗

seventy-nine ☆ i need you to be strong for me

JUNE
of twenty-twenty

narrator's pov.

after zach had called for help, elena was expected to be rushed to the pineland hospital. seeing his girlfriend's practically lifeless body being dragged out from her car and placed onto a stretcher triggered a certain emotion from zach, and he began to cry.

a member of the paramedics team headed over to zach, and said, "it'll be okay, son. now, i'm going to need you to tell me her name and age."

"th-that's elena quinn carmen," zach stuttered, his breath so staggered it was difficult to breathe, "she turned s-seventeen in march."

"okay, son, you're going to come with us to the hospital, okay?" the paramedic declared, escorting zach toward the back of the ambulance.

he sat down, and the tears fell faster once he saw elena. her stiff body was covered in blood, and he held onto her hand, "it's okay, ellie, it's okay."

however, elena didn't reply. the paramedics team analyzed her, and one of them whispered to another, "this isn't looking too good. her responses aren't well, and she's lost a lot of blood."

elena's pov.

my eyes were filled with so many tears, i didn't even recognize there was a car speeding on zach's quiet street. just seconds later, everything went black. i thought i had died already, until i opened my eyes again and saw the light.

the bright lights of the pineland hospital practically blinded me, and i moved my vision to the side and saw zach. he was crying his eyes out, and my eyebrows slowly furrowed.

"e-ellie!" he shouted, "can you hear me?"

everything that happened that day came flooding back in my brain. i recalled our fight, and how badly i lashed out at him, "z-zach... i'm s-sorry."

"no, elena, don't apologize," zach said, "i'm sorry i didn't know. i'm so sorry. i need you to be strong for me, okay? i need you to be strong during this. can you promise me that you'll be strong? i need you, elena, i need you!"

that was the last i heard of him before i was brought into the operating room.

narrator's pov.

elena was brought into an operating room, and zach could not stop crying. before a nurse shut the door, zach saw them take off the necklace he had given her for christmas.

christmas day replayed in his head, and zach's stomach dropped. he remembered what elena had told him, and he was praying that her statement was incorrect.

-

"open it," zach declared.

she opened the locket, and z + e was engraved on the metal. zach stated, "i thought it would be cute to put our first initials. you know, z plus e is zach and elena. it was either that or—"

elena cut him off by embracing him. zach grinned, and hugged her back.

"this seriously means the world to me," elena mentioned, "help me put it on?"

zach nodded, and he unclasped the necklace. the chain was loosely wrapped around elena's neck, and zach re-clasped it for security.

"i'll never take it off," elena remarked, smiling as she stared down at the necklace, "the day it comes off is the day i die."

"well, i guess you'll be wearing that for a long time," zach laughed.

-

"elena, please be wrong," zach mumbled to himself, "please don't die. please stay with me. please... don't leave. i need you so fucking much."

a few minutes passed, and seven teenagers had stormed into the hospital. zach jumped at the sight of his friends, and he asked, "h-how are you all here?"

"the car crash is basically trending in this area of utah," daniel answered, his voice getting shaky, "t-they said a teenager from the oakland area was involved, and we recognized elena's car from all the videos being posted."

"how is she?" rosaline asked.

zach shook his head, "i have no idea. they brought her into the operating room, so all i can assume is she's getting a surgery."

"holy shit," jack mumbled, "she could suffer from a traumatic brain injury, a spinal injury, bone fractu—"

"jack, you're really not helping," june whispered, nudging him in the shoulder.

"i hate myself so fucking much right now," presley sobbed, "she was going to meet me at royal berry bowls. it's all my fault, it's all my fault! if only i had forgiven her sooner, she wouldn't have needed to drive to meet me. she wouldn't have gotten in the accident."

corbyn comforted his best friend, "pres, it's not your fault. you couldn't have stopped it."

the seven who just arrived continued to talk about what could possibly happen to elena, but zach went back into his own world. he didn't want to think of the worst case scenario, so he just hoped that elena would be okay.

-

hours passed, and more people had joined the eight in the waiting room. there were people from school, and even elena's stepfamily had come. however, zach's attention was drawn when a middle-aged man walked inside. the man began to speak to karen, and zach could only assume that the man was elena's father.

zach tapped on his shoulder, and david stood up, "you're zach, right?"

zach nodded, and shook hands with elena's father. even though zach and elena had been spending time together for a while, it was his first time meeting her father.

"i'm david, it's nice to finally meet you. well, i never expected i'd be meeting my daughter's boyfriend in a waiting room," david pointed out, "you called the a-ambulance, right?"

"yes, mr. carmen," zach answered, "um, elena and i got in a huge fight just before the crash, and i heard the two cars collide. i-i'm so sorry, mr. carmen. i'm so sorry this is happening."

zach began to cry again, and david said, "look, son, it's not your fault. let's just hope elena will be okay."

the brunet nodded, and sat back down in his seat. just as he sat down, a nurse walked out of the room that elena was being operated in, and said, "elena carmen?"

zach had stood back up, and so did his friends and elena's family. jonah asked, "so... nurse, what's happening?"

...