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Coffee is calling me, and the urge is too strong. I can smell the caffeine a mile away. I begrudgingly get out of bed and take my sleepy ass into the kitchen where I find a mug with coffee already made to my liking.
“Mm. Thank you,” I smile as I take a sip. Making my way over to the table, I pull out my chair and sit just as Bryce puts a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me. “Mm. Food.”
Bryce laughs and sits down next to me. We eat and talk about what we want to look for when we start house hunting.
“I want a backyard so I can work outside when it’s nice.” It would be so nice to sit in a lounger and work on one of my edits or even read a book. Maybe even write my book one day.
“If we had a pool, that would be even better.” Bryce adds.
“Yeah, that would be nice. Oh, and an enormous kitchen so you can cook for me.” I giggle. Bryce throws his napkin at me and laughs.
He leans over and kisses me. “I’ll always cook for you.”
After breakfast, I clean up, and Bryce leaves for work. Once I finish, I take a shower and get dressed. I consider that maybe after my therapist appointment I can pick some groceries up and cook him a nice dinner tonight. We can celebrate deciding to move in together. Or just eat really excellent food. Either way, I’ll make something for him.
I grab my bag and my phone and head out the door. My doctor’s close by, so I don’t need to rush. As I drive, a huge grin spreads over my face. I’m truly so lucky to have found Bryce. We had a few rocky moments, but we made it through stronger than ever before.
I pull up to the intersection with some Breaking Benjamin blasting through the speakers. I tap and sing along to the song while I wait for the light to turn green.
When it does, I cross into the intersection. But I never see it coming. Out of the corner of my eye, something small and red appears. Coming at me fast. I can’t react.
“Bryce—” Then, it goes black.
The pain. The sound. Make the sound stop. My back hurts. My head. I can’t remember anything. My eyes are heavy, and it hurts too much to open them right now. They feel weighted. That sound won’t stop. Then I realize it’s a car horn. I hear a car horn. I smell smoke. This is a dream I can’t wake from. A sudden jolt of pain in my arm makes me realize it’s not a dream. I need Bryce.
Slowly, I open my left eye to figure out where I am. My car. There’s glass everywhere. The dash is in my lap. Airbags. The airbags went off. My entire body hurts, and my head is pounding.
“Bryce,” My voice barely registers. I call out. Fuck, I need Bryce. I don’t know what’s going on. I can’t make sense of anything. My body hurts so bad, but suddenly, I find my voice. So, I yell for help.
“Miss! Stay still. We called 9-1-1. Just stay still, okay?” someone says to me. I’m not sure from where. I hear the sirens next.
“Bryce,” I say weakly. My body’s shutting down. My arm hurts. It hurts to move it. The pain is too much.
“Just relax, miss. They’re coming. You’ve been in an accident. You need to stay still.” Accident. The glass, the pain, the sound.
“I … need … Bryce …”
Everything goes dark.
Chapter 28
Bryce
Today has already been a day,and it’s only ten in the morning. Even with all the calls, I’ve been on cloud nine. Kat and I are going to finally find a place of our own.
“So, what part of the valley are you looking at?” Austin asks after I tell him the good news. “You guys must be so excited. I mean, you pretty much live together already. At least now you’ll save money on rent and shit.”
“Actually, we were going to look out by you. Then, you can just come pick my ass up in the morning.” I laugh and slap him on the shoulder.
He rolls his eyes, grinning. “Not happening. You can drive your own ass to work. I do enough of the driving around here.” He gestures to the squad car.
We drive around until a call comes in over the radio about an accident. We’re near the intersection, so we radio dispatch that we’re responding.
When we pull up to the intersection from the call, my breath hitches. The car … I know that car. It can’t be …It’s Kat’s car.
“Rescue’s on their way. Let’s get the scene cleared of pedestrians so they can get … What’s wrong?” Austin glances over at me. “Hawthorne, you’re as white as a ghost.”
“That’s … That’s Kat’s car.” I choke out. Reaching down, I yank off my seatbelt. People are gathering everywhere around the scene.