Page 6 of One More Time

Charlie’s heart swelled to bursting as he snuck glances at her. She was still as beautiful as ever. Caught up in the tender moment, he decided it was time to come clean with her, and say what had been on the tip of his tongue all these years.

‘I’m still very much in love with you, Grace,’ he said with his eyes still glued to the road.

It took a few long moments for Grace to respond, and when she did, it was with a heavy sigh. ‘Maybe you are, Charlie, but I don’t know what you want me to say to that.’ She sniffled and fidgeted in her seat. ‘Letting you go was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, as was moving on with my life without you by my side, after you’d promised me you always would be.’

After witnessing the undeniable love in her eyes when he was dancing with her, this was not the response he was expecting, but it was one he deserved. Seeing her dismayed, because of him, again, tore at his heart.

He was a silly old fool.

‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.’ He turned to show the sincerity behind his apology, but the sudden glare of blinding lights had him staring at the front of an incoming truck.

He went to swerve, but it was too late.

The truck struck with violent, jarring force. The airbags exploded. Time seemed to slow. The sounds of Grace’s screams combined with the crunching of metal, the screech of tyres and the explosion of the windshield. Shards of glass pierced Charlie’s face as the car spun, once, twice, three times, and then flipped, before toppling over and over and over along the bitumen road. All sound seemed to vanish for a split second – the rain, the wipers and his very own heartbeat. Then, just as suddenly as it had tumbled, the sedan hit a guardrail, the bonnet crumpling like a concertina as it came to an abrupt halt in a ditch, upturned on the roof.

Charlie was still gripping the steering wheel that was now pressing painfully into his chest. With no room to move, he fought to breathe. Something was digging into his side, the pain of it close to unbearable, but he didn’t care about himself.

He was almost too afraid to turn and look for Grace, and when he did, every bit of air left his lungs. Suspended by her seatbelt, Grace’s body hung limp, blood dripping from a deep gash along her forehead. Strangled noises came from her parted lips. Another onslaught of fear pounded Charlie as he fought off the possibility that she was dying right before his very eyes. And there was nothing he could do about it.

Desperate to free himself so he could get to her, so he could free her from the wreck, he yanked at his seatbelt, but it locked tighter. ‘Oh god, no. Please, not my Grace. Take me instead. I beg of you. Please.’

Running footsteps neared, and a man dropped down beside him. ‘I’ve rung the ambulance. They’re coming, just hold tight, okay.’

‘Please, help me, my Grace, she’s badly hurt. I need to get her out.’ Charlie’s voice was raspy and frantic. ‘Please.’

Hunching down further still, the man peered in, his expression grim. ‘I’m sorry sir, but I really think you should wait for the paramedics to get here.’

Dread ripped through Charlie as he heard Grace’s breathing grow shallower, her murmurs became more smothered, while the smell of fuel grew stronger.

Voices rang out in the night. The man at his side disappeared and more hurried footsteps sounded. Chilling seconds slipped by. All Charlie could think of was the car exploding with them in it. Grace didn’t deserve to die like this, and all because of him.

You silly old fool.

He should have stayed away from her.

Taking her hand in his, he heard the distant wail of sirens and breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Help is coming, Grace, so you hang in there, you hear me? I can’t lose you, not like this.’

Then, while he desperately tried to blink away the blurriness, everything started to spin as Charlie’s world went suffocatingly black.

CHAPTER

3

Stirring from the depths of stifling darkness, Charlie tried to force his eyes open, but blinding brightness made it impossible. A rush of terror frenzied his pulse as he squeezed his eyelids shut, fighting to gather his bearings. He could hear erratic beeping, and someone was saying something to him, over and over, but try as he might, he couldn’t make out the words. He strained to say Grace’s name. Thought he did. But did he? Did her name pass his lips?

Heat brushed over his fingertips. Was someone holding his hand? His mind whirled and his heart beat more wildly as he relived the accident … the rolling, the crunching of metal and smashing of glass, Grace’s screams, and then her whimpers. Were they still stuck in the car? Had they died and gone to heaven? If they had, what right did he have to be here? Grace, yes, but certainly not him. After what he’d done to her, he deserved fire and brimstone.

Desperately needing answers, his conscious mind battled with the woozy and insensible, but his body sank further into what felt like quicksand. He grappled with the invisible, mentally trying to claw his way out of the dizziness. He couldn’t drift back to the darkness. Not now. Grace needed him and for once in his damn life, come hell or high water, he was going to be there for her.

Come on, you old fool. Wake up!

He tried to speak again, but his bone-dry lips wouldn’t move. But then, with grit and determination, he finally found the strength to blink his eyes open. A fluorescent light came into his blurry focus, as did the starkness of a hospital room and finally, Hope’s distraught face.

‘Oh my god, Dad,’ she breathed, squeezing his hand before turning away. ‘Quickly, Kelvin, go and get the nurse.’

A muffled reply followed. Hurried footsteps sounded and disappeared.

His mouth felt as if it were filled with cotton wool, and Charlie fought to string words together. ‘Your mother, is she…?’ He choked on the horrific finality of what he was picturing.