Page 193 of Teacher's Pet

And then-

Everything turns to chaos.

The car lurches sideways, gravity shifting violently. My stomach drops. My pulse spikes. The world tips, then flips.

The first impact is brutal.

Glass shatters, the windows bursting under pressure. My body slams into the seatbelt, the force knocking the air from my lungs. My head cracks against the headrest, the sharp sting of pain blinding.

We roll.

Once. Twice. Three times.

Metal screams. The car twists and crumples around us.

Then, stillness.

For a moment, I don’t register anything but the deafening ringing in my ears. My own ragged breaths sound miles away.

Hanging upside down, my body sways slightly against the seatbelt, my arms numb, my legs screaming in protest. Blood drips from my forehead, trailing down my face, thick and warm.

Pain pulses everywhere. Sharp. Unforgiving.

Jake isn’t moving.

His head is slumped to the side, a fresh wound bleeding into his hairline. His eyes are shut, his body eerily still.

I don’t know if he’s dead.

I don’t care.

I have one chance.

Just one.

Swallowing the agony threatening to consume me, I reach for my seatbelt, my fingers slipping against the blood coating my hands. I take a deep breath, one last inhale before I commit to what happens next.

Then I press the release.

I plummet onto the shattered ceiling of the car, my leg seizing in agony the moment I hit the ground. A broken cry rips from my throat, but I bite it down.

No time for pain.

No time for anything.

The broken window ahead yawns open, cold air slipping through, a whisper of freedom just within reach.

Stay here… and die.

Or leave.

Fight.

Survive.

I steal one last glance at Jake, his unconscious form barely stirring.

Then, I make my choice.

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