Page 49 of Uncharted Desires
To the moonset.
I’m not even two steps on my route to wake my brother up and tell him all about Sawyer when a deafening sound makes my eardrums hurt.
What the fuck? It’s like a building collapsed somewhere.
The second I turn around, I realize a building hasn’t collapsed.
My life has.
Car alarms pop off one by one, mingling into one giant mass of unbearable noise.
Bright lights flash somewhere in the distance, but my vision barely registers them.
There’s something far worse, making my eyes blurry.
A motorcycle is sliding along the street, collapsed on its side, its wheels turning, the momentum making it spin and bump off the curbs until it comes to a stop several yards away from me. The seat is empty.
I blink, willing my eyes to focus. But nothing else happens. Except for the sounds. The horrible, gut-wrenching sounds from every direction now.
My legs are stiff as if I’m sinking into the ground.
People run by me, some bumping into me on their way.
I barely feel them.
The whole world seems to rush to where the lights are flashing. To where I won’t allow myself to go even in a million years.
My heart stops. I’m not sure I even have one anymore.
Time becomes a dimension I’m no longer a part of.
Loud sirens scream somewhere in the distance, becoming louder and louder.
And then another set. And another.
When an ambulance speeds down the street and comes to a squeaking in the intersection, just beyond my field of vision, I stop breathing as well.
The motorcycle wheels still turn, mocking me, until my eyes drown in tears, and I can no longer see them.
This didn’t happen.
It just didn’t.
I close my eyes, knowing that when I open them again, Sawyer will be standing right in front of me, saying goodbye.
I won’t let him go this time.
I’ll grab his wrist and drag him with me to my apartment. We’ll wake my brother up and Sawyer will introduce himself to him.
They’ll laugh. Then, they’ll come together to mock me, and I’ll pretend I’m mad at them.
And then Sawyer and I will march to my bedroom and lock the door from the inside.
I open my eyes.
The wheels are still turning.
I sob out loud, the sound drowned by the overwhelming noise.
