Let me post just one chapter. I just have to. I probably won't be logging on to my account until after the pre-board exams after this. And well, thank you to that person who messaged me:)
hi, Dawnios!
Chapter 34 Part 2
Crash
I didn't know the man from the accident. He wasn't anyone I knew at present.
Lightning illuminated everything in that split second--
He had the greenest eyes I'd ever seen. His light-colored skin pasty because of the freezing cold. His shirt muddy from our ordeal, and his hair sticking to his forehead was an indeterminate color. He stood over me by the open passenger door.
The realization that he came back for me filled me with horror.
"W-w-why are you s-still here? If Z-Zachary sees... y-you here with me, he'd k-kill you."
He dodged my words.
"We have to get you out of here,"
He'd started pulling at my stiff arm. Even the smallest movement hurt, made me wince. I'd already stayed too long in this weather, My body like a block of ice and my muscles groaning in protest.
When I whimpered, he cursed. "Can you move, Scar?"
I honestly couldn't. The shock of the accident had taken all strength from my legs. So I merely stared at him, shaking from my spot. The wind blew in the iciest of breezes and I could see he was shaking too. Rivulets of rain pelted down on both of us through the shattered windshield.
Even talking was an effort. "W-why did you come back? Y-you have t-t-to go."
He ignored my words, trying and repeatedly failing to dislodge my seatbelt. His hands continued to slip and I watched the frustration mount in those desperate green eyes. His actions without care for the cut in his arm. It was probably from that shattered windshield and it was as if he didn't even feel the wound.
I'd never seen him this way before, never thought to watch the arrogance completely leave his carefree face to be replaced by grim. He was always smirking, one eyebrow raised as if he knew something everyone else in the room didn't. Nothing fazed him. The life of the party, always twisting the crowd around his finger.
A muscle jumped on his cheek as he gritted his teeth in effort. And painfully, I watched as the determination little by little trickle off his handsome face, slowly being replaced by discouragement. He was obviously tired but still forcing his body to the limit.
I had to close my eyes because I couldn't take the sight anymore. Hot tears springing from behind my frozen eyelids.
He didn't have to be here. But he was. That I knew it was because of me that he was still here was a solid slap in the face. That I'd almost died didn't seem like the big deal. I knew this was my punishment. But the fact that I almost took another person with me in the process did.
That was the wakeup call.
Everytime, I always thought I'd immuned myself from feeling guilt and time and time again, I was always proven wrong.
"You w-were safely gone," I sounded accusing even to my own ears, "y-y-you shouldn't h-have re-turned."
It was as if he didn't hear me. And it was just another stab to the chest.
"Seth," I called his name, "y-you need to leave me h--"
"Shut up, Scar."
The first of the tears blurred my vision at the helplessness I felt. Physically pushing him away was an impossibility and I was left to again watch his futile attempts.
"You s-shouldn't have returned." Silence. "D-damn it! Are you listening to m-me? You s-s-should've already l-left." Seth didn't budge.
How did it come to this?
It was a stupid question to ask. I knew exactly how everything came to this. Every single mistake that I'd knowingly chosen. All the wrong things I did with a smile on my face were finally coming back to haunt me.
I deserved this. And if I died out here, it was atonement that barely covered all that I'd done in this short but dragging life.
Watching Seth's misguided efforts merely helped to bring home that point. But he wouldn't listen to me. Why couldn't he understand?
The cut on his right forearm that I'd earlier thought to be minor injury came to focus. My insides churned at the sight. It was long, cutting through the muscle and bleeding profusely. Only the rain was quicker in washing the blood away that I wasn't able to notice earlier. As if the situation couldn't be any graver.
Lightning flashed. I swallowed the lump in my airway, "Seth, I c-can't move." I told him weakly.
In an irritated tone, he snapped at me. "I know that."
"then h-how are you supposed to g-g-get me out of here? Your w-wound..."
There was no answer, but the pause, the slight slumping of his shoulders was all the answer I needed.
I shook my head at him, "You have to g-go without me."
Frenzied eyes lifted to mine, "I can't just leave you here! I'm not leaving you here."
"It's okay, Seth." I reassured him, " You know you have to go. Saving m-me... it's i-imp-possible."
He tried again at my seatbelt and if it were another time, another place this would've counted for a ridiculous scene. But seeing him like this was too difficult.
"Seth, you have to--"
"You would die of hypothermia if you stay out here too long. Do you realize that?"
"I know." Our breaths fogged up between us and my flimsy clothes were soaked through with icy water.
His eyes blazed in that pained as and his nostrils flared, "we're talking about death, Scarlett! Death!"
I knew that too. But I didn't answer him that. And we stayed there in frozen silence, the rain too loud in the background. But it wasn't enough to drown out the loudness of my own thoughts.
My mouth opened on its own, admitting the words I might never again have a chance to admit. "It's all my f-fault. I should've n-never married h-h-him."
"Don't" Seth looked worn, "Now is not the time for your what if's."
I turned my head to face him fully, "It's t-true. You k-know it too. I don't... think God t-takes kindly to breaking your s-s-sacred vows. And this is His p-punishment. When my m-mother left my dad for another man, we... never h-heard from her again. I c-could only i-i-imagine what happened t-to her."
To another person, It wouldn't make sense but I knew he'd understand.
His eyes closed tiredly, "If we're going to talk about whose fault this is, don't you think I'm more to blame?" And as if he couldn't help it anymore, his left hand clutched at the wound to staunch the blood flow.
I knew our time was up. He could barely stand in his spot. How much blood had he lost?
"Go," I said, looking into his eyes.
Seth didn't move. But we both knew there wasn't really a choice. And when I saw the hesitation in his eyes, I knew I'd won.
"It's okay, Seth. You can go."
He hung his head, clutching harded at the wound. And then said something I'd never expected from him.
"Don't you hate me for putting you through this?"
There wasn't time to be surprised, "No, i-it's not your fault."
"It isn't yours either."
That I didn't believe, "what are y-you s-still doing here? You have t-to go."
He stubbornly refused to leave as he watched me.
"W-what else?"
"Your husband," he said.
I didn't really want to talk about him right now. I blinked a few times, squinting away the rain, "what a-about... him?"
"Y-you don't really mean to die here, do you? You believe Zachary is coming for you. You said so. He will come for you, won't he?"
I barely resisted the urge to flinch at the mention of his name.
He will.
Somewhere deep inside, I just always knew he would. Zachary wasn't the type to let his prey escape. And as the storm raged on around us, it seemed even nature bent to conform to his will. How efficiently it had prevented my escape.
A bitter smile, "We still have unfinished business."
One moment he was still standing there and in the next, he'd grabbed the back of my head and was pressing a kiss to my numbed forehead. His lips somehow scorching against my chilled skin.
It was different from all the kisses I'd had from before... there was no comparison at all. On the lips, those of lust, carnality and passion. It wasn't even tenderness. Because this one... this one felt so final.
"Survive this," he whispered against my hair.
Then he drew away. Taking first one step backwards, and then another. He gave me one last look before fully turning away and trudging into the stormy darkness. And he was gone.
His last words lingered though, echoing repeatedly in my head.
Survive this? I'd come too far to change course. If I have the slightest chance to survive this, I had to go back in time and start from a clean slate to do that.
Or forget, my mind whispered. Just finally forget everything.
I woke up disoriented. My head swam with the sudden burst of memories. My body feeling like lead. The memories feeling like jagged pieces of a broken mirror scattered inside my thoughts.
But as the man stooped over me came into clear view, I saw those blue eyes. Zachary.
"Red." Why did that nickname sound so strange rolling off his tongue?
He shook my shoulder. Once, twice. And as I came back to reality, the jagged pieces seemed to piece back together.
There were too many holes, questions. There was no way I could completely understand it with what little I remembered right now.
But one thing was clear thought: the night of the accident, I was leaving my husband. This man.
And... and it seemed to me, I was leaving him for another man.
Vote, comment and message me! And thank you always for taking the time to read the story. You guys are an amazing bunch💛
Although, I do hope to see you vote a bit more in all chapters. Think of it as saying "I appreciate your efforts"
This book is probably 60% completed. And who's Seth?