Page 87 of Eleanor & Grey

I blinked once, and within that second, everything changed.

It only takes an instant for one’s world to be shifted upside down, mere seconds for a life filled with joy and laughter to be replaced with ultimate despair.

Those doe eyes shone bright in the headlights.

The fear filled both of our stares.

I swerved.

I swore to God, I swerved.

The deer did, too.

I swore to God, it swerved.

I missed it.

It missed me.

A shout was heard.

My skin crawled.

Whose shout was that?

Was it Lorelai’s?

Karla’s?

Did my wife call out in fear?

No…

It was me, my voice.

Branches snapped as the car veered off the road into the dark woods. I twisted the wheel, slamming my foot against the brakes, but it didn’t work. The car kept moving until it crashed to a stop, straight into a tree.

Head-on collision.

Everything ached. Everything burned.

Smoke billowed from the engine. My head pounded, my vision blurred. I couldn’t think straight as acid rose up my throat. My body was chilled as the warm, salty taste of blood slid across my lips.

“Grey…” Her breathy voice spoke my way.

I turned to my right, and Nicole’s forehead lay on the exploded airbag.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” I didn’t know why those were the words to leave my lips, but they were all that had come to mind. I tried my best to reach for her, but I was stuck. My seat belt was jammed into place, and I couldn’t move. I needed to get to her, to help her. I yanked, and yanked, hoping for it to budge, but nothing was working. “I got you, just wait,” I promised.

She shook her head. “No. The girls.”

I turned around, and Lorelai was screaming in her car seat, seemingly in more pain than her young body could handle. As I looked to her left, my heart leaped into my throat.

The side window was shattered, marks of red streaked across the broken glass, and Karla was nowhere to be seen.

Where is she? What happened? How can I get to her? How can I save her?

Karla?

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