Page 90 of A Second Chance At Forever

Mason stepped on the gas a little harder. We were finally close enough to clearly read her license plate, she swerved again. She jerked the wheel hard and overcorrected. This time the car didn’t come back to the other side, it kept going off the road until it hit an embankment and flew through the air.

Mason stomped the brakes, causing the tires to slide on the gravel road. I turned to watch her car flip in the air before landing hard. The night was filled with the sounds of twisting metal and shattering glass.

After the car rolled three times, it came to a stop upside down.

Mason pulled off his seatbelt and ran toward the wreckage. I couldn’t move. I just sat in the car with my eyes locked on the twisted mess that used to be a car.

I heard my heart pounding in my ears and it felt like all blood had drained from my face. My stomach rolled wanting to void its contents. My mouth started watering and I knew it was going to come up.

I swung open my door just in time to see Mason drag her lifeless body out of the busted window of the destroyed metal.

Not being able to stomach what I saw, I leaned over and emptied my stomach.

I somehow managed to pull myself from the car in time to see Mason on the phone. He had taken off his shirt and balled it up to try and stop the bleeding that was coming from her head. She must have hit the steering wheel in the crash.

I forced my feet to work and ran over to them. I fell at Mason’s side and watched him give her CPR.

It felt like hours had passed before the ambulance finally arrived.

Mason scooted away from her and hung his head.

Flashing lights lit up the dark night while the EMT’s went to work placing Ashley on the stretcher. They moved quickly, but I couldn’t watch them anymore. My eyes were trained on Mason.

His chest was heaving while he stared ahead at the dirt. I knew he was blaming himself and I couldn’t sit back and watch it anymore.

I wrapped him up in my arms. “You did everything you could,” I whispered, hoping he would hear me.

He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have chased after her. I should have just let her leave and let the police do their job.”

I placed my hand on his chin and forced his eyes to mine. “It would have happened anyway with the way she was driving. She knew she would be in trouble, she ran. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

I could tell from looking in Mason’s eyes that he didn’t believe me. Just as I opened my mouth to try and further assure him, a policeman walked up.

“Excuse me, but we need your statements.”

Mason stood and pulled me along with him. “She was at my house,” his voice was shaky. “The police were on their way because she openly admitted to burning down my shop and when she found out, she took off.” He ran his hands through his hair, leaving behind a smudge of blood that was on his hand.

“I followed her. She was driving crazy, swerving all over the road. She finally lost control and hit that embankment. Her car flipped several times before coming to a stop. I pulled her out, I tried my hardest to help her.”

The officer took our information in case he had any more questions and we were free to go.

We were sitting in the car as the ambulance pulled away.

“Mason, please believe me when I say there is nothing you could have done.”

He let his hand fall from the steering wheel and into his lap, eyes straight ahead. “It’s just that, she didn’t deserve this. She was ill, she needed help. I just wanted her to get help.” He shook his head and even through the darkness, I could see the sadness roll off him.

“Let’s go to the hospital and see how she’s doing.”

Mason nodded and started the car to follow the ambulance.

We were sittingin the waiting room when someone else walked in. My eyes landed on a rather drunk woman stumbling into the room.

The woman was thin and pale. Her long blonde hair was stringy and her clothes were dirty. Her blue eyes locked on mine and I knew by looking at those eyes, it was Ashley’s mom.

She sat back and lit a cigarette.

“Ma’am, there is no smoking in here,” the nurse behind the desk said.

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