| Jamie felt the wind whipping her hair against her face, making her skin sting even more, since they were raw from trying to wipe away all the tears that refused to stop flowing. She lifted her backside from the seat and pulled back on the gas, making herself seem to fly faster and farther away from the emotions she did not want to deal with. No matter how fast she sped or how loudly the wind rushed past her ears, she couldn't get Jimmy's voice out of her head. She shook her head hard, the ducked down and tried to let the rushing wind sweep all her feelings away, the amount of alcohol she'd had did not seem to be doing anything to make the pain and confusion stop this time. She closed her eyes for just a moment, but the only thing she saw were's Taylor's dark blue eyes, fiery with anger and hurt. She let out a roar of frustration and tried to make the bike go faster, not really caring where she ended up, or knowing where she was headed. The only thing she knew for certain was that Taylor wanted her to say the words, and mean them, and she wasn't sure she knew how or what they really meant. All the while Jimmy's voice echoed in her head, trying to tell her she needed to ignore what was in her heart. A sudden realization hit her in the chest like a ton of bricks as she sped through the darkness, her hair making tiny stinging lashes at the tender skin on her cheeks. If she was not in love with Taylor, why would Jimmy need to tell her to ignore her heart? She rode on at that frightening pace, not really seeing the road ahead of her as a tidal wave of images flooded through her head and Jimmy continued to nag her tortured brain. She let her body lean into the twists and turns of the road she knew so well, trying to let the wind take her actual thoughts, as she let herself become an extension of the machine. But her brain continued to be uncooperative, she shook it hard to clear it again and did not see the next curve. She felt the bike slip too far sideways and the pavement burned her skin as it tore the leg of her jeans away. "Dammit..." she muttered, pain searing through her arm as the softer earth of the road's shoulder slowed her down a bit. Finally, she and the bike separated and she felt herself tumble painfully into the ditch. She thought she felt grass against her skin, cold and wet, before her head hit the soft patch of it and she sunk gratefully into blackness. Taylor raced through the darkness, watching the road carefully, searching for any sign of Jamie, or any sound of her bike. He didn't know whether to be angry,or hurt, but he did know that he was not going to let her run and hide from her feelings anymore. He vowed that he would make her see, if he had to shake her until her brains rattled. He punched the button that would let his window all the way down, and let the wind blow against his skin to make him more alert. He felt a deeper sense of urgency all of a sudden and his chest tightened even more as he found himself scanning the side of the road, instead of the road ahead. "OH GOD... NO..." he gasped, his eyes widening in shock as he realized he was looking at what used to be Jamie's bike, lying mangled in the ditch. He pulled the car over to a screeching halt, and grabbed his cell phone as he jumped, both feet first out of the car, scanning the area frantically for Jamie. "Jamie!!! JAMIE!!" he yelled, knowing from the looks of her bike, she was probably not able to answer him. He kept looking around, his heart pounding so hard in his chest he thought the cavity might split open. Instantly he was on the ground, when he spotted her, her arm twisted grotesquely next to her body. His eyes filled with tears as he saw her leg, bloody where her jeans had given way to the pavement. He touched her face lightly and let out the massive amount of air he'd been holding in his lungs when he discovered her skin was still warm, her cheeks still damp with tears. "Jamie..." he spoke her name softly, near her ear, and listened to her shallow breathing. "Jamie...baby...can you hear me?" he asked, a little louder his eyes stinging with the tears rolling freely down his face. He listened to her silence and shallow breathing for another moment and shook her again, gently. "Jamie PLEASE...open your eyes baby..." he begged, quickly wiping tears from his cheeks with the sleeve of his jacket and sniffling. "Come on Jamie...PLEASE..." he begged again, his throat almost closed in fear. He knew he wouldn't get an answer. He flipped his cell open and dialed, taking a deep breath to make sure he could speak. Issac and Jade lay in each other's arms, silent, stroking each other's hands and listening to the other breathe. "Jade?" "Hmm?" She twirled one of his curls around her finger, watching as it sprung back when she let go. "Now what?" he asked, concern for her in his soft, dark eyes. "What do you mean, Ike?" she asked in a matter-of-fact tone. "We get back to living life. Josh deserves whatever he gets and I hope he and Angel lead a very happy life together." she snapped. Then a realization hit her. "I'm not angry anymore, Ike." she stated, making him look up in to her clear green eyes. "No?" he asked, squeezing her hand gently and placing a soft kiss on the back of it. "No." she told him. "Just think, if not for the two of them, I would not have found you. I wouldn't know that it was YOU I loved." She smiled right back at him and Ike's heart soared. "I love you Jade, but I am still angry at Josh." Her eyes widened in curiosity. "Because he put me in the middle, and he did HURT you Jade..." he quickly told her before she could ask the questions. "It'll all work out I am sure." he smiled again and squeezed her hand to reassure her. "You'll see, Jade. I promise." Jade smiled at him again and lifted her chin so his lips could meet hers. He kissed her softly, tenderly, conveying all he was feeling in that moment when they were suddenly jolted back to reality by Ike's cell ringing insistently. "Hello?" Ike answered it leaning slightly up from Jade. Jade wondered what was wrong when Issac's eyes widened in disbelief. Both sat bolt upright and quickly adjusted their clothing as Issac tried to calm his frantic brother down. "WHOA TAY!! TAY....Tay slow down I am not understanding you...Take a deep breath and say that again?" he asked. Jade could not stem the flow of tears that immediately raced down her cheeks knowing from the way Ike was talking to Taylor and the look on his face that something was seriously wrong with Jamie. She gripped Isaac's arm and bit her lip, straining to hear what Taylor was saying to him. "Did you call for an ambulance Tay?" he asked. "No...ask Jade...where...where exactly am I?" Taylor managed to ask between sobs. Jade listened carefully to all that Taylor said from that moment on, Isaac holding the phone to her ear. She told Taylor exactly where they were, since he was looking for Jamie he was not paying that much attention to landmarks out on that stretch of higway. No one had passed by and he did not want to leave Jamie's side to go looking for a mile marker. "Okay, Tay, you have to call an ambulance now dude...Jade and I will meet you at the hospital. Just calm down okay?" Jade winced and bit back more sobs as Taylor let out an angry tirade at his brother. "Ike..I will...I am calling 911 right now..." she said and got up to make the call. Ike kept Tay on the cell while Jade made the call, then reassured Taylor that the ambulance was on its way. "Tay...we're coming okay? I will call mom and tell her what happened to Jamie. Jade and I will meet you at the hospital...and Jade and I will pick up Jamie's dad..." he let that sentence trail off as Jade's eyes met his, the green in her gaze darkened with sadness and fear. "Okay, Tay. Just hold her hand, don't move her. Jade and I are coming, okay?" After a short trip to the bathroom and a reassuring hug for Jade, the two were out the door, both silently praying for Jamie and Tay. |