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“He’s never chosen me, not once in my entire life, it’s always been about his company and what he can earn,” I manage to grit out before another sob tears its way out of me. This isn’t how tonight should have gone. An hour ago, I was happy and getting ready for an amazing night out with my best friend to go spend the night with my boyfriend and our friends but instead, here I am running away with a broken heart because of my father. “I won’t marry him!” I scream.
“I know!” my best friend shouts. “Now slow the fuck down or we won’t make it there, the storm is bad and you driving like Dominic Toretto doesn’t inspire me to be calm.” Despite my depressed state and spiraling inside my own mind, I manage to laugh at her stupid joke. That’s the thing with her, she knows me better than I know myself, she can bring me out of the dark space I retreat inside when life gets too hard. She is my person.
I ease off the accelerator, earning a relieved sigh from Wave. “I can’t do it, I can’t marry him.” She reaches over and places her hand on my leg, offering me her support.
“I know. All we need to do is get to my house and then we pack our shit and go.” I nod, unable to speak as my tears cascade down my cheeks.
“How do I say goodbye to him?” I choke out. The thought of leaving him behind because I can’t marry his father in order to keep him safe is tearing me up inside—I hate my life. I hate that I am being forced to make this fucking choice. All because my father got involved with the wrong family and is using this to punish me for falling in love with a nobody as he calls him.
“You never have to. He won’t let you go without a fight and he loves you so fucking much, Lakeland, that he even breathes in sync with you when you two are together. He is the person who will always choose you! Never doubt him, he will always find you and make sure you choose him, because without you, his soul would be shattered.”
“Wave, I need to tell you something—” The words die on my tongue as the car is hit from behind. We both scream and I tighten my hold on the wheel, managing to keep the car straight without having a panic attack. Fear grips me when the car shunts us again. Wave screams as I bite down on my lip and jerk the wheel to keep us from spinning out and going over the bank. Rain continues to pelt down and obscure my view through the windshield.
“Lake, what the fuck is going on?” Wave screams. I chance a glance at her and the fear that is etched into her beautiful features spears me.
“I don’t know!” I call back as I glance in the rearview mirror to see the headlights of the other car coming at us again. “Hold on!” I scream as I plant my foot, I just need to cross the bridge and then we will be safe. He knows we’re coming and he’ll be waiting, they won’t let whoever the fuck is doing this hurt us.
“Lake, go faster, they're catching up!”
“I’m going as fast as I can! We just need to get over the bridge—-” Everything happens in slow motion, the car manages to hit the back left fender which sends us spinning out. We have no traction on the road and it feels like we are aquaplaning. I try to correct the car and get us straight but I overcorrect, slamming on the brakes does nothing. Our screams fill the inside of the car as we near the guardrail of the bridge, fear gripping me in its clutches the closer we get to the edge.
“Lakeland!” Wave screams as the front of the car smashes through the rail and the nose of the car hangs over the edge. I try to remain still but Wave thrashes in her seat trying to open her door. I feel the car shift as the back wheels begin to slip. I lift the handbrake and keep my foot on the brake hoping that will stop the car from going over the edge and plummeting us into the water below.
“Wave, stop fucking moving or we’re going to fall over the edge!” I scream loud enough that she hears me over her own screams. She slowly begins to calm and turns to me with tears trekking down her cheeks but it’s the look of terror in her eyes that sparks my anxiety. I have no idea what happened or why this is happening to us, but I know we can’t stay here as the headlights from the car creep toward us slowly. “We need to get out of here.” She attempts to move so I rush to add. “Slowly.”
She nods. I see it in her body language and the way her hands shake that she is in fight or flight mode. “My door is jammed, I can’t get out.” Panic is evident in her tone but I remain calm to try to ease her worry.
“Okay, can you climb over the back?” Her bottom lip trembles as she shakes her head.
“Lake, you climb out and I’ll follow you.”
I shake my head. “No. I need to stay on the brake so the car won’t move.”
“It’s front wheel drive Lakeland, your foot on the brake isn’t doing shit, now fucking move before they come back.” I look out the window and the car is coming toward us but what scares me the most is the fact they are just crawling toward us at a snail’s pace.
“Okay, once I’m out you climb straight over and we run.”
“Okay,” she says barely above a whisper. I fight through my fear and gently grip the handle and ease it open but freeze when the car slips forward. “Slowly!” My heart is racing so fucking fast and it is taking everything inside me not to break down and cry. This time when I open the door, the car doesn’t move.
“Unclip my seatbelt slowly.” Wave does as I ask and we both wait with bated breath to see what happens. When nothing happens, I slowly ease my foot off the brake and shift my body. The car creaks and slips forward when I’m halfway out.
“Tell my brother I love him!” Wave screams, then I’m pushed the remainder of the way out landing on my hands and knees. I push to my feet and spin around to meet the terrified eyes of my best friend who is slipping over the edge. I grab onto the car and try to hold it so she can escape but it keeps slipping.
“Jump out now!” I scream as the front of the car begins to tilt toward the water.
“My leg’s stuck. I love you, Lakeland. Now fucking run before he finds you.” Gut curdling screams tear out of me as the car slips through my fingers and goes over the edge, leaving behind the ghost of my best friend’s screams.
“Waverly,” I cry out, then attempt to move toward the edge but the sound of the engine revving behind me draws my attention. I manage to spin around in time to see the headlights coming straight at me. I’m paralyzed by fear and unable to move, my legs won’t work. I stand here welcoming the end, the only regret I have is not telling him. I should have told him earlier but I was scared and now he will never know. Closing my eyes I stand here and brace for what is to come. A scream rips from me as the car collides with my body, sending me sailing through the air. Pain courses through every inch of me when black spots dance in my vision. Before the darkness can take me, I look up into the eyes of a man I never thought would betray me.
“I’ll make sure he knows what you did tonight, you took the love of my life from me,” Xander spits. I welcome the blackness and pray I never wake up to live in this fucking nightmare.
Knox
Sobs claw their way out of her. I hold her tight, wishing I could take away her pain. I have never felt so fucking helpless in my life. I lift her hand but pause when I feel something clasped in her palm. I pry her fingers open and still at the sight of the necklace. I haven’t seen this fucking thing in years. I turn it over and read the words I had inscribed on it.
I’ll always choose you!
I gave this to Lakeland on her sixteenth birthday and haven’t seen her with it this whole time. Was this the thing she grabbed by the railing? I shove it in my pocket as she jolts in my arms and gasps for air. I wrap my arm around her back and help her sit up. She snaps her eyes open and looks around at everyone but the moment our gazes lock, I see it. My heart pounds in my chest, I try not to hope but I can’t stop it from rising inside me.
