Page 79 of The Consequence of You
My phone vibrates again. Whoever it is, is keen to speak to me.
We barrel to the left this time, and for a few seconds, I pull ahead.
I’m glancing in my rearview mirror to see how much distance is between us when I see his headlights flash repeatedly. Frowning, I briefly wonder if he’s trying to distract me, but then my wheels tilt and slide.
Fuck.
I’ve only ever felt this once before, this loss of traction.
Black ice.
The other driver must have seen it reflected off my lights. He wasn’t trying to distract me. He was trying to warn me.
Only it’s too late. Too late to avoid it.
Using all my experience, I try to steer into the skid, but it does little to slow me down and I spin.
Faster and faster my car spins out of control, and all I can do is think about Callie.
About how she lost her mother in a car accident four years ago today, and about how I’m going to hurt her all over again.
The vibrating in my pocket continues as my car collides with a tree and flips before coming to a stop, just as the entire world goes black.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CALLIE
Ihear the commotion before I see the wreck. People are shouting and running and pushing. I shove my way through the throng of spectators as smoke billows from the engine of the crushed car in front of me. Asher’s crushed car.
My world tilts as I take in the mangled mess and shattered glass. The smell of burned rubber is thick in the air but all I can focus on ishim.
Please, no. Not again.
I stumble forward and someone grabs my arm, pulling me back. Someone else is shouting at everyone to stay back but I don’t care. I need to see. I need to get to him.
My chest feels like it’s being squeezed in a metal vice.
Just like that night four years ago, when I didn’t get to say goodbye to Mama, it’s happening all over again.
I’m going to lose him. Before I ever got the chance to really have him.
Screaming pierces my ears until Luca steps in front of me. It’s only then I realise it’s my own voice.
“Callie. Please, stop.” He holds me tightly as I struggle against him, trying to get closer to Asher.
“Please Luca, we need to help him!”
“People are helping him, Callie. Let them do their work.” A guy in a mask like Asher’s, is pulling at the door of his car. When it doesn’t budge, he smashes the window with his elbow. My knees buckle as Luca holds me up.
Minutes tick by but then the masked man is pulling Asher from the wreck. Luca loosens his grip, and I duck under his arm, racing towards them.
The guy who pulled Asher out is dragging him to the side of the road, away from the car.
I can’t bear to look, afraid to see how bad it is, but unable to tear myself away. Except when I reach them, I see my favourite sight in the world, the man has removed Asher’s mask and his beautiful green eyes are staring back at me.
A grin splits his face when I approach and he struggles to sit up, but the guy who pulled him to safety, urges him to stay down.
“Mate, you need to take a minute. You could have a spinal injury.”
