Okay. This is the beginning of a collaborative story from Kadence and xXtristeXx.

We usually try to return the reviews you leave. It's only polite, after all, and since it's two of us writing this, you might even get TWO reviews. See how that works?

So read this and like it.

PROLOGUE

KATELYN

“MOVE!” I heard him shout. He and I were on the sidewalk in front of my house, walking me home from our long afternoon on the beach.

“What?” I didn’t understand, until I saw the weaving car headlights. I felt his hands push me roughly, and I slammed hard into my neighbor’s white picket fence, stars dancing across my vision as my head cracked on the hard wood.

My world stopped with the screeching of tires and the crunch of metal. In my dizzy state, I couldn’t quite figure out what was happening. I just sunk to the ground and my vision turned to black.

I heard a faint call, as if I was under water and someone was shouting at me from the side of the pool. I struggled to open my eyes…I felt like I was swimming through the darkness.

I heard my name again.

I tried to respond, but I couldn’t find my voice.

And again it came, sounding more frantic and scared than before.

The voice was much closer now, right next to me. I recognized it as belonging the widow who lived next door, and I tried to open my eyes. Light was streaming through the slits my eyelids had created.

“Darling, are you alright, can you hear me?” I opened my eyes fully and nodded, though I stopped that very suddenly.

“My head hurts like hell,” I said honestly.

“Somebody call an ambulance!” she shouted.

“What?” I said. Why did we need an ambulance? I wasn’t that hurt. In fact, I could actually sit up and stand on my own. I did this, just to prove my point. My head throbbed, but that was the worst of the damage. I could feel an intense heat coming from my left, and I turned my head slowly.

It was a car; a black Mercedes, shiny from a recent wash. It had smashed into the telephone pole, and front end crumpled and buckled around the tall wooden shaft. The force of the impact had cracked the wood, and the pole bent forward, in danger of falling over on top of the expensive vehicle. The driver wasn’t visible; the balloon-like airbags had been activated and obscured my view. Smoke was billowing from the front end, wafting towards me on the wind. I coughed as it invaded my lungs against my will.

The reality of it all came crashing down on me like four hundred pound barbells.

“NO!” I screamed, scrambling up and out of the grasp of my neighbor and scanning the street. He wasn’t hit, he wasn’t hit, I thought to myself, willing myself to believe it wasn’t true. He got out of the way, he was alright…

But he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I ran my eyes all over the street in front of my and he was nowhere. I ran around the destroyed and smoking car, my heart in my throat.

And then I saw him, lying in the road…motionless, eyes closed. Tears clouded my vision as I ran towards him with all the strength I had. I screamed out his name again, hoping he would hear the pain I was in and sit up, so I would know he was going to be all right.

He was lying behind the car, very haphazardly. As I crashed down onto my knees next to him, I could see that one of his arms and one of his legs were bent unnaturally. It distracted me from my own aches and pains.

More tears streamed down my face again, to splash onto his shirt.

“No…” I whispered now, cradling his head gently in my arms, using the sleeve of my shirt to stem the flow of the blood that was pouring out of the large cut on his forehead. “Please, please say something. Please speak to me.”

Memories from this afternoon flooded into my head, unbidden.

I laughed as he and I ran down the beach, enjoying the feel of the setting sun on our faces. Our discarded shoes lay back at a table down by our favorite spot, at least a quarter of a mile back behind us. He stopped and pulled me to him. I could tell he was about to say something, but I leaned up on my tiptoes and kissed him instead, wrapping my arms around his neck. I felt him kiss me back, warm and soft. I was on fire. I entwined my fingers in his hair and pulled myself even closer to him, if that were possible, so it was almost like we were one person.

After what seemed like way too short a time, he pulled away. “You know I hate it when you do that,” he said, a smirk on his face and laughter in his eyes. “When you make me lose my train of thought on purpose.”

I smiled devilishly. “Yes…I am known to have that effect on people.”

He pulled me in for another kiss, and I nearly swooned right there in his arms, like in the old black-and-white romance movies.

He was still unconscious. I would not have been able to tell that he was still alive if I couldn’t feel the slight movement of his chest underneath my left hand. But his breathing was too soft, too shallow, to bring me much comfort.

We collapsed on the sand and watched the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. I tucked my head under his chin and I felt him wrap his arms around me. My right hand rested on his chest, and I watched it rise and fall with a lazy contentment. I loved to have him so close to me.

I heard him say my name quietly in my ear.

I lifted my head up and looked at him. “Yes?”

“IthinkI’minlovewithyou.” He said it really fast and almost unintelligibly.

I already knew this, but my heart swelled to the bursting point when the truth was solidified in words.

“Really?” I asked, unable to keep the ear-to-ear grin off my face.

“Yes. Totally, hopelessly, and completely. And there’s nothing I can do about it.”

I pushed a stray hair out of his face as he lay in my lap, bloodied and bruised. It was hard to imagine that not five minutes ago, he had been upright and laughing, holding my hand. Remembering this, I slipped my hand in his and squeezed gently, to let him know that I was here.

“Come on…please…”

There were a few moments of silence, only broken by the crackling sound of the burning car and the shouts of people trying to rescue the driver.

He whispered my name then, so soft, that it was entirely conceivable that I had just imagined it.

But I looked down, and his eyes were open. I could see that he was in a great deal of pain. I sobbed, unable to say anything.

“Don’t cry,” he pleaded. “Please don’t...you know I…I don’t like it when you…you cry.” He reached up, very slowly, and shakily wiped a tear from my cheek. I covered that hand with mine, holding it close to my face and leaning into it.

“You’re going to be okay,” I said. And this wasn’t just optimistic encouragement. It was an order. “You’re going to be okay, do you understand me?” I tried using a firm voice to tell him this, but I don’t think it worked out that way.

He just nodded, and I saw his eyes close again.

“No! Look at me!” I said, my voice rising. “Look at me! Don’t give up on me, do you understand?”

His eyes opened again, and our eyes locked together. “You cannot leave me,” I demanded. “Because I’m totally, hopelessly, completely, in love with you.”

He sighed, and I could see the slight hint of a smile play across his lips.

“And there’s nothing I can freaking do about it,” I added hopelessly.

“I know the…feeling,” he whispered. We were silent a bit more. Then he spoke again. “I will never…stop loving you,” he said, looking at me seriously.

I didn’t like where this was going. “Don’t you do that,” I said, tears coming up again. “Don’t you dare say goodbye to me.”

He coughed again, the motion racking his whole body, and didn’t say anything.

“I’m sorry,” I continued, tears flowing freely down my cheeks now. “I’m sorry it took me so long to get it. When I think now of how much…time it wasted, all the time we could have spent together…”

Nick closed his eyes and I shook him. “No!” I said. “Please…you’re going to be okay.”

“I love you,” he said softly. “Always remember that, okay?”

Then he closed his eyes again.

“NO!” I shouted, shaking him gently. “Please open your eyes!”

But he didn’t. He was limp in my arms, his head lolling in the crook of my elbow.

“No…” I whispered. “No!” I shouted his name and I shook him again, harder. The wailing sounds of the ambulance reached my ears as it tore down the street towards us.

The awful truth slammed into me.

“NO!” I screamed. “No! Please!” Tears obscured my vision completely as I held him close to me. The world was a blur. I wasn’t aware of myself anymore. I couldn’t function; I couldn’t breathe.

Strong arms lifted him out of my arms, but I didn’t let go of his hand.

“Darling…” My neighbor’s voice echoed back to me as if from a thousand miles away. “Darling, you have to let him go…”

“No…I can’t!” I choked. “I can’t…”

As I recalled every memory of him, something inside me ripped to pieces. I doubled over on the bloody pavement…the mental agony was so intense.

“Don’t leave me,” I whispered. “Don’t leave me…”

“I love you. Always remember that, okay?”

Stay tuned for scenes from our next episode...

Okay...sorry. I couldn't resist. :)

So, while Miss Triste plays with her tape ball, Miss Kadence will blabber a bit. So, yeah. This story is a co-authored one, between me and my awesome friend. We came up with this over coffee, and we decided to share our lovely talents with you. :D This is what happens when you put us in a room together. Review, and we'll return it. :)