CHAPTER 10: MIDNIGHT MAROON
A nervous tremble coming from my left woke me up from my hazy slumber. The silver glow of the moon was forceful upon my eyes, so I curled up into a tight ball and watched as Ethan tried to compose himself.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him. Something was unusual about the atmosphere, colder than normal and slightly unwelcoming. It clawed its way into my stomach, building tight knots that barely held onto my thin string of hope. Hope that things would get better.
He shot me a side-glance and ran a shaky hand through his hair. There was something about the way he was driving that scared me; and even though he was going above the speed limit, it wasn’t that which worried me. He seemed anxious, petrified almost. It was silence he responded back with.
Knowing that the tension in the car would only crumble my resolve, I sat up as straight as I could with my weak senses. Road after road, buildings and traffic lights and flatland stretched, but nowhere near as much as the silence. It was getting heavy and hurtful.
“You said you’d tell me everything on your mind, Ethan... What’s wrong?” I mustered, keeping my eyes peeled to the shifting hands in my lap.
“Mia, that was... s-six years ago. Things won’t change. You won’t understand if I explain, you’ll forget in the morning anyways,” he answered. I took a moment to study him. His lips, usually dragged into a genuine grin, were now pursed together and bent into a frown. His eyes, which once reflected joy and trust, looked betrayed and hurt beyond belief. I had to do something to cheer him up, wasn’t he my best friend?
“What do you mean? You said you’d tell me, never leave. You’re joking right now; you were always a funny person. Come on, can’t you tell me why you’re so down?” I begged. And even though I knew he wouldn’t really tell me anything, I couldn’t shake off the hope to save my life. A clock seemed to tick inside me, and with each painful movement each second, it reminded me I didn’t have much time left to grasp onto his trust.
Biting his bottom lip, he shifted around in his seat and weaved through lanes of cars. “It’s just... Nothing. You’re way too vulnerable right now, I can’t stand to see you like this,” he said. And in the smallest undertone imaginable, I barely caught the words:
“It’s like if I don’t hold on tight enough, I-I’ll... lose you forever.”
My heart, which struggled for the longest time to stay strong through my whole life, must have shattered, because my breathing stopped, and my head fell backwards with a groan. And then it hit me, reality finally made a surprise visit since my blackout. There was no more ‘us’ anymore. There was just me, and just him, alone in our own worlds where we tried to pretend we didn’t know the past, even though it just replayed in the present. The fact we weren’t friends anymore, the fact we were nowhere near friendship was obvious all this time. But the impact of it all never rained down on me, little strong me, who was hidden beneath an umbrella of denial.
It wasn’t that our friendship was over. It was that what I meant to Ethan was over, what he meant to me was done.
Every time I’d look at Ethan, I’d pushed away any thoughts of him, or how much I missed him. I’d let it lie under a blanket of invisible guilt and heartache. And it continued until these words that left my heart mourning and my words fruitless. It was sweet that he still couldn’t forget, but he had to do it before I crushed his heart. It would be better if he didn’t remember me, but it was really my fault for getting him into this situation. I’d rather he leave me alone to cope with the remorse than try to save what was left of me, because I wasn’t the same.
The clock ticked again. I inhaled a deep breath.
I was embarrassed, ashamed even to tell him the following, to say the least. I could already feel my cheeks being adorned with a red tint. But it had to be stated; I knew that the clock would run out if I didn’t say it. I’d lose the chance to redeem myself, my old self. I’d lose Ethan.
“You won’t lose me forever.”
Silence. The car sputtered in protest, crickets glided by the roads. A clock chimed painfully, signaling its last tick. Relief, deprived from my body. A familiar emptiness drifted into my mind. It was useless, why even try-
“Haven’t I already?” Ethan said, snapping me back to reality. He tried to seem doubtful, but I could tell just by the way his eyes glinted, reflecting flashing lights, that he was maybe, just maybe, smiling inside. His set jaw was now more slack, his hands unclenching from his tight grip on the steering wheel. My lip tugged up a little, I stuffed a strand of my hair into my mouth. The traffic lights were gone, and now we were going down a lonely road.
“I won’t let you,” I replied, sounding muffled as red strings of hair flew out of my mouth. Ethan chuckled a little, now smiling on the outside, and softly tugged the hair out of mouth, twisting it between his fingers. I studied his face as he peered at it. On the outside, he seemed much more different than six years back. Not the wimpy kid anymore, he had a strong yet gentle grasp. No longer without hobbies, his football physique was obvious, even with a leather jacket on. A rebel of sorts. But inside I knew he was nothing but the same; still funny, caring, and very, very determined.
And I didn’t mind one bit.
I didn’t have time to brace myself before his eyes latched onto mine, a bit too close for comfort. It was a piercing gaze, and I was shocked. Just a second before he peeled his eyes away from me, there was an intense impact on me, and it wasn’t my heavy breathing or the ambitious air; it was the mere expression etched on his face, one I hadn’t seen in what felt like eternity.
Joy.
And it mirrored off my face, too. It was the first time since long ago I felt alright in Ethan’s company. The tension lifted, I felt safe and sound.
“Ethan, are you sure we’re going the right way? This doesn’t seem like how I get to my house...” I wondered. I’ve never been down this road before and it seemed to stretch on for a long, long while. Darkness lurked everywhere around the car.
“Yeah, I’m sure... I mean, I think so. We’re almost there,” he said hesitantly. Maybe this was a shortcut?
Skid! Skid! Skid!
The world was shaking. The moon did a little dance, the car followed along. The only thought coursing through my mind as my heart juddered was whether or not I was on a rollercoaster. I heard another skidding sound, loud and clear, as I was slammed into the car door.
“Ow! Ethan, are you-you alright?” I screamed. Something metallic punched my arm from the side, and gave it a throbbing pain. When I looked down, the door was dented. Another gasp of surprise left my lips as I heard Ethan cursing under his breath. I frantically whipped my head around everywhere to see what was happening.
There were no more roads in sight. We were going downhill, fast.
No matter which way Ethan turned the steering wheel, heaps of leaves engulfed us, branches scraped at us. I kept flinching backwards every time I heard a twig snap on my window. I buried my face in my hands, terrified to look up in case I’d be hit by anything powerful enough to break the windows. Muffled shrieks escaped my lips, especially as I felt the car start to sink...
Sink? Shakily, I looked down out of the pane. Undoubtedly, a thick layer of mud was slowly vacuuming up the car, the tires already half done for.
“Ah!” I yelled as I felt a hand enclose on my wrist and drag me towards the other side of the car. Ethan quickly opened the door on his left and stepped out, his feet already sinking speedily.
“Come on, Mia! Just step out! Do you want me to be buried in this swamp?” Ethan shouted, trying to pull me out of the car. I couldn’t step out there. What if I’d be swallowed up and never come back out? “Come. On!”
“No! I can’t! I don’t want to... What if I go-go under?” I whispered.
Ethan frustratingly sighed. “Do it already! Do it for your designer shoes at home! Not for me! Hurry up!”
“No! No, no, no! I won’t do it-”
One last tug on my wrist and I felt my feet slosh along the surface of the swamp. I didn’t even have time to process the idea of screaming; I was swiftly thrown up into the air and landed in someone’s arms.
“Put me down!” I scolded, thrashing my feet around and flailing my arms. I was just plain furious. “You almost gave me a heart attack, you... you...”
“Incredibly handsome knight in shining armour? Nah. Let’s go for something better. Smoking jock who works out like there’s no tomorrow?”
“I’ll slap you right now! Shut up and put me down!”
“If you want me to drop you into the never-ending hole of darkness that will kill your very soul, just say the magic word,” he said, chuckling.
I gasped. “Okay, okay, don’t put me down. Yet.”
The steps Ethan took didn’t feel like quicksand anymore. They were flat and solid. I was too scared to look down in case I’d imbalance Ethan and cause him to drop me to my demise. I shut my eyes as he turned me and himself around, probably towards the direction of the car. Silence.
He broke the serenity by sighing desolately. “I don’t think we can salvage it anymore. It’s... done for.”
I gently relaxed as he placed me back on my feet. I was astonished when I looked at the car, and where we were. It was still sinking into the murky swamp, and we were around fifty yards away from the road. That small fatal move with Ethan not paying attention to his car sent it flying into a muddy ditch. Typical him.
I turned towards him, still feeling terrible about the incident, and collided my palms weakly against his shoulders. “What were you thinking? You could have gotten killed! You could have ended up at the hospital! Why weren’t you paying attention to your car?!”
He stood shocked, moving back a couple of steps as I pushed him again. “How about you? You could have gotten killed, too, not just me! I’m sorry, okay? I was distracted!”
“Yet I’m still the whacko, right? I can’t believe you! You’re just so-”
“Caring and smoking hot at the same time?”
“Urgh!” I pushed him very forcefully one more time. I didn’t know whether it was a good or bad thing I nicked that move when he was limp. The good thing was I’d successfully managed to throw him to the ground. The bad thing was I fell with him.
“Just can’t get enough of me, eh, Mia?” Ethan teased with a strained breath. He shifted around a bit as I stared at him in disbelief, giving him a death glare only a couple inches away from his face.
“I. Hate. You. A. Lot,” I rallied, trying to push myself off, but my weak palms just sent me tumbling down on him. I closed my eyes and exhaled through gritted teeth, feeling the rumble of his laughter underneath me.
“If you’d like for me to push you off, I can,” Ethan reminded me. My face brightened, and I looked over to my right. Bad idea. A nauseous feeling churned in my stomach at the sight of the swamp only a couple inches away.
“No, thank you,” I whispered, shuffling as much as I could with my weak body.
“There’s the other side, too,” he said. I felt kind of bad for putting him under my weight, but even on the other side were numerous fallen logs. This felt like the only safe spot.
“I hate to admit it, but I think I’m stuck. I can’t move, really...” I complained, realizing we were surrounded by swamp. Ethan just shook his head.
“Get out your cell phone while I try to get up. Call someone and tell them where we think we are. Maybe they can give the car a tow?” Ethan said hopefully. He roughly pushed himself off the muddy ground and gingerly stabled me into a sitting position in front of him.
“Sorry for pushing you,” I muttered. Ethan just smirked and beckoned me to continue with a wave of his hand. “And that’s all.”
I flashed him a sickly sweet smile and plucked out my cell phone, immediately dialling Mom’s number. Instead of a regular ring on the other line, there was some light static. I groaned skeptically as my cell phone read: NO SIGNAL.
“Forget about the towing truck now, I guess. Or really anyone helping us,” I moaned, stuffing my head in my cardigan. I barely heard Ethan resignedly sigh and then sharply inhale.
I snapped my head up back to look at him. “What happened?” I asked. But I already knew the answer as I looked down at his forearm that had a jagged gash that was pouring blood. I stuttered a little, and tenderly grabbed his forearm, peering closely at it. It wasn’t too deep, but definitely had the potential to become infected if I’d leave it unprotected for too long. The first-aid kit was lost somewhere deep in the mud by now and I had no ointment, or nonetheless a bandage, to cover the wound with.
I pulled off my cardigan. Ethan looked at me zanily. “That probably costs three hundred bucks, don’t waste it on such a stupid mistake-”
I placed a hand over his mouth. “Look away, right now.” Ethan looked at me suspiciously, but turned his head around, and closed his eyes anyway. The cardigan off, I peeled off my black shirt cautiously as to not drop it in the swamp, and wrapped it once, twice, three times around his wound. It would probably keep the blood from flowing as much and would work temporarily until we got out of this place. Ethan kept his head to the side even after I pulled on my woolly cardigan over my bare midriff.
“Coast is clear now, Ethan,” I joked.
He turned around and examined my handiwork on his arm and sighed in relief. He looked up at me and smiled. “Thanks, Mia. It still hurts a lot, but it’ll have to do.”
“You’ll be okay. It’s a small cut, nothing big,” I lied soothingly, and it seemed to help him. I pushed a stray lock of hair behind his ear, feeling absolutely awful for putting him through this. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve having to ever see me again. “Shh... Just close your eyes and go to sleep, it’s past midnight.”
He was almost drifting off into a light sleep, lying down on the ground. Just as I fixed the bandage on his arm, he caught my hand and pulled me down towards him. I nestled my head under his chin, still the intoxication playing through my mind. “And I thought I was the vulnerable one,” he said bemusedly. “Just don’t leave me here alone.”
My heart skipped a beat at the guilt I had. “I won’t,” I said.
But I can’t make any promises.
“You know we’re going to have to skip school tomorrow if no one finds us,” I said to Ethan, trying to seem casual.
“Who cares about perfect attendance? Am I not a rebel?” Ethan smirked.
“Sure you are, Ethan.”
I tried to calm myself, but then again, weren’t we in the middle of nowhere? There wasn’t anything to be calm about except the fact that I had someone beside me. The eerie sounds of owls hooting and branches swaying to a dark night’s melody didn’t help my mood. This was definitely in between a rock and a hard place.
Ethan’s breathing was heavy as if each breath was painful. He shuddered once in a while, probably from the sting of the gash. But he still managed to sleepily yawn and say, “Mia, you might want to pull up your cardigan.”
I flushed a deep red and covered myself until under my chin. I was already dozing off, but I scarcely caught Ethan’s singing.
“Now that love’s... ten feet underground.”
~~~O~~~
Hate me for the cliffy, I deserve it. Also, this was barely proofread, so please point out any mistakes... xD Need I say that?
Le sigh. This chapter was one of the FUNNEST to write (in my dictionary, its a word!) because I just <3 my characters. They're awesome ^_^
QUESTION OF THE DAY: What was the last movie you watched? Did you like it?
Also, did you like this chapter? :D
I <3 You,
SnowWhiteSwan