Page 78 of Lilah

After leaving the restaurant and getting back on the road, I give Grey a few directions to a nice lookout halfway up The Smokies. Mr. Terrip told me about the place once. He said it's where he proposed to his late wife so I figured it must be pretty there.

God rest her soul.

When we get there, it's gorgeous. It oversees the greenery down below us and the mountains around us; it's all pure nature below, no towns or houses.

Grey gets out and helps me out. We walk to the edge for a second, me staying back a little being frightened by heights. After a little while, he lifts me onto the flat hood of his Jeep before climbing on himself.

Good gosh those muscles as he climbs.

"Tell me about you and your family," I say softly. I know he has no mother but I really want to know about his dad. He pauses for a minute, leaning his back against the windshield, so I do the same.

"Mom died giving birth and dad's a deadbeat," he gives a one-shouldered shrug. A sorry in his situation wouldn't do a single thing.

"I moved out when I was seventeen," he looks out into the mountains, "been on my own ever since."

"You seem to be doing well," I murmur and he looks as if he's thinking about it. I mean, he's got to be doing well. He's got aniceJeep and he owns a restaurant.

"Your turn."

I bite my lip nervously. I don't even know what I should tell him.

"Um," I begin, sensing his eyes on me, "y'know, I have just a normal family," I feel emotions creeping up on me.

Mr. Terrip's words begin to sink in. The ones where he said that I need to tell somebody about Jake.

Grey doesn't know Jake. His thoughts of him won't change because he never knew him. I can tell him and he won't be hurt by it.

"I lost my brother," I start and his eyes don't waver away from me. My chest constricts and I take a deep breath.

"We were in a crash, just me and him," I look down at my lap.

"Is that how you got hurt?" he questions about my knee and I nod.

"I begged him-God, Ibeggedhim to take me to see an ice cream shop that had just opened up nearby. I had heard people at school talking about all the crazy flavors that were there. He kept telling me it was raining too hard but I kepton."

"Jake. Please.Please. I want to see it so, so bad. It's all I want," I beg him. I want to try the pumpkin ice cream everyone has been talking about.

"Azzy, it's torrential downpouring right now," he shakes his head but I continue with my pleas.

My eyes go blurry with tears.

"Eventually he gave in."

"Jake, please. Jake, please. Jake, please. Jake, please. Jake-" he cuts me off by standing from the couch.

"Let's go," he sighs and I squeal happily jumping onto his back, hugging the daylights out of him.

"Thank you so much," I squeeze him.

"On the road, we could hardly see anything in front of us. He was going slow, there was no music or anything. Then I heard screeching tires. The initial impact was on his side. The car hit us and we rolled. We rolled off the road."

Only the sound of the rain fills up the car. Jake watches the road extremely carefully. Then I hear screeching tires. A car slams into the side of us and my shouts fill my ears and the car.

I feel us roll once and a shattering pain splits in my leg. I scream in pain as I feel the car continue on what feels like the scariest coaster ride of my life.

The window on my side shatters and I see and single glance out of it. A scream bubbles out of my throat upon seeing the huge hill we're about to go down.

"Azzy-" Jake shouts just before we tilt and then fall completely down.