Hold On to Me

“Sure thing.”

Alyssa’s blonde locks covered the side of her face as she dialed, the phone nearly slipping through her fingers when they hit a pothole. John watched as she tucked her hair behind her ear then raised the phone. Her creamy soft skin glowed from the moonlit sky as her foot bounced rapidly on his dashboard.

Glancing back to the road, he could see Jace’s silhouette lean over, probably trying to grab his phone. Jace swerved sharply in an attempt to avoid a group of bushes. He hit a pothole, pulling the truck abruptly to the right even more and nicking the shrubs and trees on the passenger side of his truck. The sound of the impact made him think of a gun going off, the pinging getting louder and louder.

Jesus Christ. John’s heart dropped into the pit of his stomach as a shiver ran through his body.

With wide, panic filled eyes, he watched Jace’s truck hit a small tree, then another, a domino effect moving in slow motion. Pieces from his truck flew off onto the shoulder–a broken headlight, the side mirror. From the corner of his eye, Alyssa dropped her feet to sit up higher. She drew in an audible breath and leaned forward, blindly reaching for John and squeezing his forearm. The horror in her grip mirrored his. Tires screeched as a cloud of dirt puffed up behind the truck and rocks went flying.

Jace continued to fishtail, causing him to pull hard to the right where his truck caught a large bush, ripping the front bumper off. Was he pressing on the accelerator? Did he not know not to do that? It looked as if he was going faster when he needed to be slowing down.

“Oh my God,” John heard Alyssa whisper before Jace’s truck teetered on its side.

“Fuck.” Jace had lost complete control. Glancing ahead, he spotted an old tree that stood out on the shoulder.

Right in the path of Jace’s truck.

“Oh my God. Oh my God. Nooooooo!”

Time slowed, John’s mouth parted in shock as Jace’s truck collided head on with the tree. The screeching tires on the dirt road, the smell of burning rubber, and hearing metal crunching nearly stopped John’s heart. The impact was deafening, and the crunching metal caused John to draw in a loud breath, air filling his lungs to the brink of pain as Jace’s truck came to a stop, wrapped around a motherfucking tree.

John couldn’t breathe. Even in the dark he could see the underlining of the truck and how it bent at an unnatural shape.

Pulling to a halt, John threw the gearshift in park. He switched on his high beams for light and flung the door opened running full speed to his best friend, screaming behind him, “Alyssa! Call an ambulance!” Smoke began to flow out from under the hood and his stomach curled at the sudden thoughts running through his head. He needed to get Jace out immediately.

“Johnny!”

Glancing over his shoulder, John saw Alyssa climb out of the cab. Mother fuck. She was running for him.

“Get your ass back in the truck, Alyssa!” he yelled at her.

Who was he supposed to save if something happened and the wreck caught fire, he thought as Alyssa was gunning for him. His girl? Or his boy?

Running around to the driver’s side, the windshield was cracked into a million tiny pieces and covered in blood. John needed to think quickly.

A few steps to the right and he was looking through the back cab of the truck window.

Jesus Christ.

If John wasn’t trying to save his best friend’s life, he would have vomited all over the place at the sight before him. His stomach rolled tighter. No one could see their friend like this and not be affected. Blood covered the shattered windshield and the front of the truck was crushed like a soda can. Peering through the window, Jace’s head was sandwiched between the door and the steering wheel, his body hunched over and his eyes closed as he lay against the driver’s side door, unconscious.

“Jace! Jace! Can you hear me?!” John yelled, running to the other side. “Fuck man! Open your eyes! Jace!”

Yanking the door open, Jace’s torso fell out of the truck, his head rolling onto John’s arm as he caught him. Lifeless. He gave a little shake, and in an effort to wake him up yelled, “Jace!” Shards of glass were sprinkled on him and slipping onto the grass. He reached in to pull Jace out, but he was stuck. He could hear Alyssa’s frantic screams in the background and he prayed she would not come any closer. He didn’t want her to see Jace like this.

Reaching down, John laced his arms under Jace’s laden, blood soaked body and lifted him. Something sharp dug into his forearm, but it didn’t register in his mind as he tried to rescue his friend. A few more tugs but he was going nowhere. Jace was stuck, and not only that, he was dead weight. Reaching in further, he tugged on his belt loops for leverage to pull him out.

“Come on, buddy … I sure could use some help right now,” he muttered as a tear threatened to roll down his cheek. He stepped closer and a piece of metal dug into his shin.

Nothing came from Jace. Not a grunt or groan or even a huff of air.

With everything he had, every last inch of willpower, John struggled to breathe as he tried desperately to pull Jace out of the smoking truck.

“Fuck,” he murmured. “This isn’t going to end like this, bro. Please … fuckin’ help me get you out.”

Gently he eased Jace down back on to the seat, and as he did, Alyssa appeared.

“Alyssa, get the fuck outta here!” He wasn’t trying to hurt her, but he couldn’t stand the thought of one piece of hair on her head being injured.