Page 78 of Shattered Mind

“Goldie? What’s happened?” Savannah doesn’t respond or look at him as her body trembles violently and tears stream down her face unchecked.

Her eyes stay locked on mine as she lifts her phone in the air. “T-there w-was an ac-accident,” she stutters between sobs and my heart sinks into the pit of my stomach as realisation barrels into me.

Blue.

Dread coils tight in my chest as I drop the horse’s leg from between mine and walk towards her. “Where is she, Savannah?”

“S-she was on her way here,” she cries. Hunter reaches for her but I’m already halfway out the door towards my truck.

Raindrops pelt against my skin as I pull my keys from my pocket and climb in, ignoring Hunters calls for me to wait for him. I put the truck in drive and take off across the ranch towards the entrance and onto the main road.

My heart pounds against my ribcage, a million different scenarios flashing through my brain as I speed down the dark country road and search for Liv’s car. None of them are good. I have no idea if she’s dead or alive. No idea if she’s hurt. The only thought resounding in my head as I drive is, I can’t lose her.

We haven’t had enough time.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial Liv’s number, praying that she may be able to reach her phone somehow. The phone rings. And rings. And rings, before going to voicemail.

“Fuck!” I scream into the silence of my truck as I tighten my hands on the steering wheel. Nausea roils in my stomach as my eyes slash from left to right in search of a wreckage.

Headlights flash at me from behind and I look up into my rearview mirror, seeing Hunters truck following me. Ifocus my attention back on the road as the rain beats against my windscreen.

The last thing I need right now is to end up in an accident myself.

Before long, the telltale flashing lights of emergency vehicles come into view, and I realise Savannah must have called 911 before she came out to the barn.

As soon as my truck comes to a stop, I’m out of the vehicle and running towards them.

The first thing my eyes land on is the mangled pile of metal resembling Livs car where it lays on its roof in the middle of the gravel lane.

Bile rises in my throat, and I fight to keep from vomiting right there on the side of the road. My eyes volley from person to person, searching for her long black hair and those beautiful eyes but I don’t see her.

My eyes sting with unshed tears as I look back at the car, noticing the firefighters for the first time as they use the jaws of life to pry the door open.

Hunter, Noah and my dad run towards me as I turn away from the scene. Placing my hands on my head, I pull at my hair and look up at the sky. The rain is cold against my face and the icy droplets keep me grounded amidst the chaos happening behind me.

“Is she still in the car?” Noah's voice penetrates my thoughts, and I look down at him. His eyes are wide with fear as he takes it all in.

“Yeah,” I croak, my voice raspy from screaming in my truck.

Paramedics pull a stretcher from the back of the ambulance and wheel it towards the car. I sink to my kneesand cradle my head in my hands, unable to watch as they pull her out.

I can’t watch another person I love die.

Because I do. As much as I’ve fought against it and tried to deny it. I love her.

I think I’ve loved her since the moment she placed that damn juice box in front of me. This whole time I’ve been telling myself I just needed to get her out of my system. That we could have our fun until it ran its course, and we’d go our separate ways. But I think I knew from the moment I touched her in that hallway at The Boot that I’ll never be done with Olivia Donahue.

The first tear drops on my face as the very fear I’ve been running from all these years catches up to me. It wraps its arms around me, suffocating me until it becomes hard to breathe.

All this time, I sheltered myself from love. Kept everyone I care about at a distance. Avoided letting anyone close to me so I’d never have to feel this heart ache again. And the moment I let my guard down; the universe fucked me.

I take a deep breath and look up as they wheel Liv across the road towards the ambulance. A man squeezes a manual oxygen mask over her mouth and my lungs seize.

I stand and spin on my heel. “I can’t do this,” I whisper as I take off running towards my truck. My brothers call after me, but I shake my head as I climb in and drive away.

I refuse to watch another person I love die.

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