Page 35 of Wish

I didn’t rest for very long, though, because his scream jolted me awake.

7

Wes

The light was so brightmy eyes watered under the assault. Unable to see, my hands locked up on the wheel beneath them, and then I started screaming, the force of it burning my lungs and throat but my ears somehow deaf to the sound.

The car rolled and groaned, landing with a hard jolt before rocking into a tree. From the chaos, utter silence was born. Not even the sound of my heartbeat could be heard.

Fumbling, I undid my seatbelt and crumpled onto the ceiling of the car, which was now the floor. Glass cut my stomach, piercing me with multiple jabs of pain as I shimmied out into the brightly lit silence.

The scent of wet leaves and turned-up earth permeated the air. The night sky was dark, but those headlights were so bright the quiet was disturbed. The other car was lying on the opposite side of the road, its shape and size brushing me with familiarity.

I stumbled and dragged my limp leg behind me, swiping at the blood dripping into my eyes. “Hello?” I called out. “Are you okay?”

Please be okay.

The second I was within touching distance of the car, I dropped to my knees and started to puke. It went on and on, so much coming out of me like the little bit of life I had left was trying to get away.

When I was done hurling, I sagged onto the pavement, completely spent. Remembering there could be people hurt, I crawled toward the car, which was also upside down. The window was busted, shattered glass littering the dim road.

The second I was close enough, I leaned in, squinting at the bodies in the car.

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

No answer.

I moved a little bit closer, and recognition slammed into me as I stared at the familiar yet empty faces of the dead people confined in their seats because of the seatbelts.

“Mom,” I whimpered. “Dad?”

The woman turned her head, the bones in her neck creaking. “Wesley,” she croaked as one last flicker of life sparked, then sputtered out, leaving her lifeless and cold, my name the last thing on her lips.

“Wes!” An insistent, panicked voice reached into my personal horror, trying to offer me escape.

I continued to yell, continued to stare into the eyes of my dead parents as they stared at me in accusation.

“Fucking Christ,”the voice rasped, and then a heavy yet reassuring weight settled over me.

As I wheezed, my eyes sprang open, and I flinched against the dark. The dream had been so bright and harsh that this dark, quiet reality was equally as shocking.

“Hey.” A set of reassuring, warm palms cupped my face, callused thumbs brushing over my cheeks. “There you go. Look at me. Here I am.”

“Max,” I rasped, then dissolved into a fit of coughing. Sharp pain shot through my head, and I recoiled even as I continued to cough.

Max slid off my lap, fitting himself on the side of the mattress to drag me up into his lap. I went eagerly, beyond thinking, reacting only to what I could feel.

My ankle also screamed in pain when I dragged it up, wrapping my legs around his waist and clinging to him like a spider monkey. My breathing was more like gasps, my top lip brushing his skin and the lower lip caught in the neckline of his tank.

His palm dragged down my back, and I started to tremble, all my aches and pains vying for attention over that hideous dream. “It was just a nightmare.” I reassured myself.

“I know,” he murmured, rubbing down my back once more.

My eyelids fluttered shut, and I dragged in an uneven breath, expelling it half onto his skin and half onto his shirt.

Looping my arms around his neck, I rubbed my cheek against him, sighing a little in delight. The fabric on his shirt caught the scrape on my lip, and I flinched, tumbling away from him as if he’d struck me.

Blinking in confusion, I raised a hand to the throbbing cut, feeling an odd sense of hurt and betrayal.

---