Cursing into the night, I pick up a rock near my feet and chuck it into the forest. Tears brim my lower lash line and my vision begins to blur into a kaleidoscope of colors. I have no idea what to do, and as each second ticks by I visualize the life slowly leaving Jessica's unconscious body more and more. I stumble around to the driver's side door and try to pull it open, hoping I'll be able to help her somehow. The crushed metal won't budge.

What do I do?

I look around; we're in a valley completely surrounded by forest and the only hope for civilization is high above me. I look towards where we dropped. It's an almost vertical climb but it has enough slant to it that if one were to climb it, it would essentially be a steep hike. And it's our only way out.

I brace myself for the pain that I'm about to endure as I make my way towards the base of the hill. I find a durable limb along the way to use as a walking stick. Once I reach the base, I'm already sweating from the struggle to just get over here, and I'm leaning my weight against the wood. This leg of mine is really going to hinder me through this climb, but I have to make it out of here to not only save Jessica but also save myself.

Just one foot in front of the other, I chant in my mind as I hum along with Kris Kringle's voice, trying to distract myself.

I let a long breathe slide through my gritted teeth, and I take my first step. I use my good leg and swing my other forward, trying to put the least amount of pressure on it as I can. I repeat this action four more times as I slowly, but surely, make my way up. Surprisingly, the pain is almost nonexistent since I don't have to actually step with that leg, just drag it along. Although its dead weight is exhausting, it's bearable. My spirits rise and a smile crosses my face; maybe I can do this after all!

Five minutes later and halfway up the hill, I'm leaning against a slender tree trying to catch my breathe. Trickles of sweat patches coat my face and soak my clothes, and I drag my forearm across my mouth to wipe away the salty flavor. I look down at my progress, intensely annoyed. With two good legs, I could've made it up this hill within three minutes. It looked much longer from the car, but now that I'm here I realize it's really only steep, and if I didn't have to carry a quarter of my weight up the hill then I could've been at the top and finding help by now. Knowing how slow I'm going, anger flares inside of me and I decide to pick up the pace, but there's only one way to do that: start using my bad leg.

I push myself off of the tree and begin my trek once more, this time purposely putting weight on my bad leg as I step forwards with it. White hot pain strikes me like lightning. I stumble forward, clutching my thigh and yelping out in pain. It hurts so much, but I know I have to keep going so I pick myself up and push on. Each step is followed by agonizing pain and as I near the top of the hill I begin to wonder whether I will be able to make it.

With only twenty feet to go, I've had to resort to crawling the rest of the way up. I'm not fully on my hands and knees, but I'm bent over and using my palms to not only push myself but also add some traction as the cliff has gotten even steeper.

Come on, Scarlett. Come on! I beckon myself. Digging deep to recover some will power I lost along the trip, I reach for a root in the ground in front of me to pull myself higher. My shaking fingers stretch towards the root while I also try to calm my exhausted, irregular breathing. Upon grasping the wood, I wrap my fingers around it and tug forward.

Suddenly, the remaining root surfaces with a crack and splits out of the ground. As if in slow motion, I watch my fingers slip out of their clutch on the wood and I start to feel that horrifying feeling one gets when falling backwards, like when you tip back just too far in your chair. With a light gasp, I tumble down the hill. My side slams against the base of a tree, knocking the wind out of me. I'm not allowed the time to focus on breathing, though, as all my mind can target is the excruciating pain resonating from my leg. The fall threw my torment into a whole other level, the pain and fear becoming all consuming. I couldn't find my voice after the initial contact, but now that I can breathe again I let out a blood-curdling scream that scares away perched birds nearby. I can hardly hear the rustle of leaves from the birds' movement over my own voice. Tears flood my eyes, and I don't hold back this time. I let them stream down my face, uncontrollably.

Never-ending. That's the flow of my tears and the conclusion I've come to make about my anguish. I can't find the strength to go on. Thus my tears fall harder as I chastise myself for letting everyone down. Jessica needs me to get help. My mom and friends need me to come back safely. And Damon needs me to clarify and to apologize. I cry harder knowing that I may not make it, and therefore may never get the chance to make things right between us. His last memory of me will be seeing me kissing his brother, and I'll never get the chance to explain why and how it meant absolutely nothing.

"Because I want to be with you, only you," my hoarse voice chokes out, "Because you're the only one who makes me feel secure."

"Because I love you..."

I close my eyes and let the tears continue to run down the sides of my face, dripping off at the base of my ears. Still lying on the ground, I curl in closer to myself and rest on my side.

And I'm sorry I never let you know...

My head begins to fog as I feel myself slowly losing consciousness. I probably have some unaware internal injuries; I bet I've been bleeding out for awhile now. How convenient. My limbs start to feel heavy and the pain is erased. Is this what it feels like to die? It's not too bad. The only problem is now all I have left is my fear and disappointment eating away at me, and that's not a pleasant way to die. I suppose it can't be helped.

Ahead, I can hear the crunch of gravel. My ears quirk up as I strain to listen. Silence...but then again I hear the patter of gravel moving across the ground; almost as if something is moving along with it. I squint, looking above me. Sure enough, into the distance, I can see the slow swaying of headlights as a car drives along the dips and curves of the road. My heart leaps, and I find the courage to push myself up off of the ground, although my leg contradicts. The lights grow larger and the sound gets louder. The car is nearing where we flew off, and I sit with a lump of hope in my throat. Sure enough, when the car breaches the turn, I hear it start to slow down. The headlights are to my right, shining between the trees. I hear a door slam shut and then I hear the faithful crunch of gravel as somebody walks towards the ledge. I see our savior, clear as day, with his hands in his pockets leaning over the edge and looking down the cliff. He looks as if he's in his mid-forties, with salt-and-peppered short hair and a strong face.

Without a thought, I start to scream for help. The man's attention swiftly darts in my direction. His eyes widen before he yells out, "Don't worry, I'm coming!" I watch him run over to the hill's edge and quickly jog down between the trees. He reaches me and cups me in his arms.

"Help, my sister...in the car...," is all I make out before I black out, my mind finally receiving assurance for the future.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"We've been driving for over an hour, Damon!" my brother whines at me.

"And?"

"Listen, I have a full schedule tomorrow; lets just go back to the school. I bet she's already there," he suggests.

"Nobody asked you to come along."

Aggravated, Carter slumps down further into his seat and throws his hands up. I can't help but crack a small smirk at his childish actions. Seeing him so annoyed makes me happy, but there's also something else. The constant irritated banter that has gone on throughout the drive reminds me of younger days, when we used to get irritated with each other but still get along. Never aloud would I admit that I miss it, but I guess here in my mind I can be truthful.

I notice Carter glaring at me out of my peripheral vision, "What do you want?" I ask.

"To go home."

"Well that's unfortunate, for you at least. Anything else?"

"What's so special about her so much so that you would be out driving around in the early morning searching for her?" he questions.

I pause for a second; what is so special about her?

"I'm not so sure, everything I suppose, absolutely everything."

My answer is brief, but I feel like I could go so much more in depth. I glance sideways at Carter, expecting him to point out how brief my response was. He's not looking at me anymore though. Instead, he's watching straight ahead. I can't read his expression so I can't tell what he's thinking, but then he goes ahead and tells me.

"Alright then, let's keep looking."

I look back towards the road, a smirk playing about my lips.

A couple of minutes later, the song blaring from the radio ends and the speakers' voices kick in. I reach my hand out to change the station, but as I do they switch over to traffic news. What I start to hear halts my hand and chills my blood.

"Injury car accident right off of Wekaiwa Road slowing down drivers trying to exit the highway as the police tries to clear out. Two teenage girls flew off of a curving cliff-side along the road. Both girls are unresponsive and in critical care."

My body feels like stone, heavy and immobile. My fingers begin to tremble against the tuning knob. I knew that there was something wrong.

"That's right near us, right near the school...you don't think...?" I hear Carter ponder beside me, "But she never mentioned anything about her sister taking her back; maybe it's not them."

Ahead of me, I can see blue and red lights flashing back and forth. Two ambulances' sirens wail through the early morning sky. All of the cars on the highway pull over to the side, and the speeding trucks pass by with a whoosh of noise. Without thinking, I sharply jerk the wheel to the left and cross over the space between the two highway sides.

"What are you doing?" Carter yells.

I don't respond. My car sways as it lurches over the dip and onto the road. I floor the gas and speed after the ambulances.

A few minutes later we reach the hospital. I follow the ambulances into their entrance, even though I know I'm not allowed in the back with them. I abruptly slide to a stop, my car parked sideways in the middle of the parking area. I leap out and rush over towards the truck on the left. Multiple paramedics and ER doctors are outside, opening the doors of the trucks and in the process of getting the girls out. Inside the truck I went to first, an unconscious girl lays with blood streaked all through her brown curls. I don't recognize her. Maybe Carter is right; maybe she's not here. I glance over to the other truck. Paramedics are surrounding the other girl and I can't get a good look, but then they clear out as they begin to take her out of the truck.

My stomach drops and I lose my ability to breathe. The sight petrifies me as fear fills me from my toes up. I watch as a very pale, very bloody Scarlett is unloaded from the back of the ambulance. She's also unconscious and has an oxygen mask covering her mouth. Tubes run in and out of her arms. I've never seen her so battered, so bruised.

Adrenaline shatters my petrified shackles, and I sprint over towards her with a burst of energy. I'm only a few feet away and some guy steps in front of me.

"Sir, you don't have clearance back here!"

"See if I give a damn!" I yell at him while shoving him aside.

I jog up to Scarlett's side and grasp the bed rail. From this distance, I can see the damage more clearly. I look at the cuts and dirt covering her weak body. Then, I feel nauseous when I see the large gash in her thigh. It's clearly a stab wound, and a mangled one at that. Something must've been shoved into her leg during the crash, and sorrow fills me thinking about a scared Scarlett having to pull the object out of her leg alone. I feel sick for leaving her at the firm; this never would have happened if it wasn't for my hot-headed assumptions.

"I'm so sorry, Scarlett," I speak to her unknowing body, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Sir," one of the doctors turns to me, "You need to step back, let us do our job; we'll keep her safe don't worry."

"Scarlett, you better stay alive, I'll be so pissed. I need you Scarlett, you can't leave me."

The heart monitor attached to her starts to beep shrilly. I stand still, terrified, as the doctors rush away and all start talking at once.

"BP 88/52 and dropping!"

"She must have serious internal bleeding."

"Pick up the pace; we need to get her to an OR immediately!"

Carter is inside of the ER with me now and watching with me as the elevator doors open and they push Scarlett inside. Then, a heart-shattering sound pierces straight through me and knocks the air out of me again: the continuous beep from her heart monitor flat-lining. I can see the screen's waves of signals flatten out and a doctor start compressions against her frail chest.

The doors close and Carter wraps a reassuring arm around my shoulders and pulls me towards him.

"I'm sorry Damon, for...everything," he silently adds.

A slow stream of tears from my left eye starts to pave a way down my face.

You can't leave, I think to myself.

Because I love you...