Chapter 2

                                    

                                          


                          
"Oh gosh, I'm late!" I exclaimed and sped toward the theater. 
                          
"Hey, relax. We're nearby anyway," Kayden tried to reassure me.
                          
"Yeah, but I was late the last few times. Christine is going to kill me!"
                          
"I hope she will. There would be one less moron in the world." Hayden's harsh voice was like a slice of a knife to my fragile heart. It was ridiculously easy for him to send me spiraling into darkness. 
                          
My anxiety proliferated. I started crossing the street, typing a text for Christine to tell her I would be there in a few minutes, when a car horn ripped through the night air. I knew what I was going to see next. My chest filled with horror.
                          
Two bright flashes of light blinded me before the car swerved to the side, heading for Hayden. Kayden moved to shield him, but he wasn't quick enough, and they got both hit and crashed to the ground.
                          
The sight put shackles of pain on my heart and mind, and my world crumbled. They didn't move, both lying in a pool of their blood. I approached them in daze of desperation, noticing how the night changed into the day, and the scene transformed into a more recent one.
                          
My gaze flickered between them before it settled on Kayden, whose limbs were spread at odd angles. His empty eyes drowned me in despair, and I burst into tears, dropping to my knees. I grabbed his arm to shake him and called his name repeatedly, but it was useless. I saw this moment many times, but it was always the same. Kayden would never come back. He was dead.
                          
Dead.
                          
Dead.
                          
Never coming back... 
                          
"You killed him," Hayden accused me, and I whipped my head at him, quivering in wrenching tears. He now stood right next to me, with the crimson blood surrounding the scar on his face. His cold eyes that were so similar yet so different than Kayden's warm ones bore into me, reminding me I had done this. "This is all your fault."
                          
"I'm sorry," I cried out. I clutched my chest and bent over when fresh pain hit me. "I'm so sorry, Hayden. It was just a mistake... I was careless."
                          
"It was a stupid mistake! We got into an accident because you didn't pay attention, and now he's dead! I'll hate you forever!"
                          
I jumped to my feet. "Fine! Then I'll hate you too because you did the same thing! You were blaming me all this time, but you made the same mistake. How could you be so careless?! You went into the street without even looking!" I let out a wail, unable to control myself anymore. 
                          
Everything was silent. All the people around us were frozen in time and space, reminding me of my mistakes and regrets.
                          
"Now I don't know if you're ever going to wake up again..." My voice broke, and I reached out to him, but he began fading away.
                          
"And now you're going to lose me too. I'm not coming back."
                          
NO. No, no, no.
                          
Don't leave me!
                          
"NO!" I rushed to him, but he was already gone, leaving devastation in his wake. My blood ran cold as I looked back at Kayden... 
                          
Only he wasn't Kayden anymore. He was Hayden, who lay unconscious on the street in front of the hospital. A huge wound opened in me, and there was nothing I could do about it...
                          
I fell to my knees and grasped his shoulders. "Please, wake up. Wake up, Hayden."
                          
Please, wake up.