“We’re gonna be so late!” Erin muttered. It was her own fault but I knew better than to point that out. I had to admit that I was on edge too. I couldn’t be late to Biology again; I’d been late three times already this quarter. I was lucky Mrs. Marshall liked me. I warily watched the speedometer. The needle wavered around 40. I wasn’t much of a stickler for speeding because I felt the same need for speed as most people but for heaven’s sake, we were in a residential zone.
“Erin, slow down some, come on,” I tried but she just shook her head. I couldn’t suppress an eye roll. I loved Erin but she was dramatic. Unfortunately, Erin caught me.
“Megan, just don’t. I can’t stand being late, okay? You know that so please, just, just don’t,” she said shaking her head the whole time. It was times like these when I just took a deep breath and let it go. We were coming up on a red light but we weren’t slowing. I couldn’t let this one go.
“Erin, you’d better stop,” I warned.
“We don’t have time!” She sounded like she was still convincing herself that she had to run the light. I pounced on her indecision.
“You’ll get a ticket and we’ll be even later. There’s always a cop at this corner. Erin, stop!” I tried to sound calm but we weren’t slowing and the light was merely meters away. I glanced toward her and saw beneath her curtain of blonde hair that her jaw was set and her eyes straight forward. I felt hysteria creep up on me as I thought of my Uncle Bob, run over by a bus when he ran a light because he fell asleep.
I felt myself tense up as we began to fly through the intersection and my reflexes were breakneck when I heard Erin shriek. My head snapped to the side in just enough time to see the huge headlights of a semi charging relentlessly. I felt myself curl into the fetal position facing away from the truck, but still watching it morbidly. The impact jolted Erin’s Oldsmobile, the semi’s horn was blaring, and everything happened at once. The car flew into the air and I felt it slam back to the ground on my side. Pain exploded like nothing I’d ever imagined and I knew nothing could distract me from it as it crushed me. That’s when Erin screamed.
I’d only seen Erin cry once and certainly never heard her scream. This agony-filled, soul-shattering scream tore me in two and I was indeed distracted. I managed to locate her hand amidst the mess of metal and junk in Erin’s car. I gave it a quick squeeze as the car flipped again. My previous hysteria was gone and all that mattered was that Erin stop screaming. However, when the car landed, I got my wish and I immediately wanted to take it back. Her scream had cut off suddenly, simultaneous with the impact. The hysteria was back with full force and I felt the pain sharper than before and heard my own scream echo Erin’s. The car rolled rapidly and just before the blackness took over, I whispered to my best friend the words that had always been between us but never said. “I love you.”