Chapter 462

A car crash. The thing I feared most. And now, it was happening to me. Despair hit hard—like what my parents must have felt. No, theirs had to be worse. They didn’t survive.

My mind spiraled, but Hayden’s voice pulled me back. “Kiki, hang on. Help’s on the way. I’m coming too.” He kept repeating it, pushing me to try getting out. I tugged at the door, again and again, but it wouldn’t move.

“Stop… it hurts,” Jace groaned beside me. I froze, afraid to even breathe. “Kiki, why aren’t you talking? Are you okay?” Hayden’s voice crackled through the phone, worried.

“I’m fine,” I answered, forcing myself to speak as quietly as possible, not wanting to alarm Jace any more than he already was. “Check if the car’s on fire or if you smell gas,” Hayden said, his voice tight. My stomach dropped. If the car was leaking gas, we were done for.

I shifted, trying to look forward, but as soon as I moved, the car jolted and everything spun again. “Ah!” I screamed, grabbing for anything. The rolling stopped, but my heart pounded in my chest. I heard someone shouting my name, faintly. “Kiki! Kiki…”

It was Hayden, but where was he? Where was Jace’s phone? It was gone. The flip had thrown it somewhere. I yelled, “Hayden, the car flipped again!” “Please, Hayden! Get someone here, fast!” Panic clawed at my throat. I couldn’t hold back the fear anymore. It’s human instinct to fear death. And I didn’t want to die—not like this, not without knowing the truth about what really happened. I couldn’t even look outside, too scared of what I might see—flames, or something worse.

Then, I felt it—someone’s fingers hooking around mine. My eyes flew open, and there was Jace, his bloodied face inches from mine. Blood was pouring from a cut on his head, covering half his face.

“Rea… I’m in so much pain. I’m so tired… Could you talk to me?” His voice was barely a whisper, his pinky still curled around mine. I’d seen this in movies—people with serious injuries always got sleepy before… well, before the end. My stomach dropped, and I reached out with my free hand, but froze, unsure where to put it.

“Let me stop the bleeding,” I said, scanning the car for something, anything, to help. But there was nothing. “Don’t… just stay and talk to me,” Jace mumbled, his voice fading. Ignoring him, I ripped off my jacket and pressed it against his head wound.

“Jace, you can’t sleep. Hayden said help’s coming,” I forced myself to sound calm, even though I was barely holding it together. The panic was gone, replaced by a cold, terrifying focus. Jace didn’t respond. His eyes were already closed. I shook him gently, panic creeping back in. “Don’t-”

Before I could say “sleep,” he groaned, “Hurts…” I glanced at the gash on his head. It didn’t seem bad enough to cause this much pain. He had to be hurt somewhere else, somewhere worse. Looking at his body pinned under the wreckage, a wave of fear and grief hit me hard.

“I won’t move, but you can’t sleep,” I whispered, eyes locked on his face. Half covered in blood, half still clean. He looked thinner—a lot thinner. I’d noticed it before, but now, up close, it was even more obvious. The change hit me hard.