Chapter 20: Worse Than I Expected

Nolan's car made strange noises as we sped down towards the highway.

There was a black car tracking us.

We needed to reach the cops before the stalker cornered us. Nolan's phone was dead, but I still had a fifty percent battery. I called my mom in a panic. She picked up and completely caught me off guard.

"Your letter from Princeton came." She gave the news.

"What?!" The moment I had been waiting for. "What does it say?" Nolan frowned at me, confused by my question. Whatever. Princeton was more important.

"Accepted on a partial scholarship," Mom answered and I could hear the excitement in her voice. A huge erupted on my face. I got in! That too, on a partial scholarship! I 've never loved Valentine's day so much! Nolan mouthed me to get help. "Wh--when are you coming--?"

The phone call ended with a network error popping up on screen.

I immediately realized the situation I was in.

"Oh shoot," I muttered. "No service." I didn't even get to tell her!

"Are you stupid?" Nolan asked, keeping his eyes on the road. "What was so important that you felt the need to neglect our current dilemma?" I was about to answer but he continued. "If anything happens to us, Helen, I swear I'll hold you responsible." He muttered curses and kept checking the mirrors.

"Oh yeah, what about the time you said you didn't have your phone when we were stuck in the vents?" I challenged. "When you screw up, it's okay. When I do it, it's WWIII."

He simply shook his head.

What was done was done.

I scowled at my phone and tried to move it around to get service. When I opened the window, the cold February breeze filled the car, chilling us. Nolan shook his head as I quickly pulled up the window. Hardly two or three cars passed by us. The weather outside seemed dark due to somber clouds hovering over our town. Hold on.

We weren't in our town.

Lonely trees surrounded the roadside which surprisingly hadn't expanded to multiple lanes yet.

"Why aren't we on the highway?" I asked worried.

"I may have taken a wrong turn in my panic," Nolan said in a nervous voice. I didn't know how to respond. He claimed to hold me responsible when he was the one pushing us into more danger. To add insult to injury, our transportation device began producing bizarre noises. I checked the speedometer. Everything appeared fine, even the gas was more than half full. "Something's wrong with the car." Even Nolan noticed.

We were going to die.

But I just got the good news about Princeton!

I checked the side mirror and saw the black car not that far away from the trunk of Nolan's car. I couldn't exactly make out the face of the driver.

"The stalker's closing in," I said terrified.

Nolan's anonymous texts definitely weren't based on some prank.

We were legitimately screwed.

Who could it be? I had my doubts on Chase and Paris, but Chase was in New York, right?

Paris was at the same mall! But why would he want to kill us?!

Nolan didn't step his foot down from the gas pedal. We were shifting more and more into an unfamiliar, isolated zone. Nolan's hands tightly held the wheel. I tried to find service, but no luck. The other car as close as it could physically be on Nolan's car.

"Nola--" A sudden jerk cut me off.

The stalker bumped into the back of our car with his.

Nolan swore and checked mirrors, picking up more speed. My breaths came out shorter and more anticipated. An unknown and terrifying pressure fell on my chest as I anxiously watched the mirror to see what the car was doing. Neither one of us expected the bump. But both of us were concerned about another one coming.

Which did.

With more force.

Pushing our car off the road!

Nolan somehow managed to swerve it back on track.

The engine of Nolan's car still made weird noises. We were speeding past one hundred miles per hour! The car couldn't take it, most likely.

"Damn damn damn," Nolan kept repeating.

We received another blow not so soon. The entire back of Nolan's car got pushed to the back of our seats. My pupils dilated as I realized how bad this was. The persistency of the killer nearly gave me a heart attack. I didn't know how Nolan managed to keep up. I was almost in tears when it hit me super hard that any moment now . . . We could die. My heart raced and the sound of my blood pumping harshly echoed in my ears. I bit my lower lip hard and clutched my knees.

"It was nice knowing you," I whispered, my voice cracking.

To some degree, Nolan was my first "friend" after a long time. While I may have served some injustice to him with the Paris Scheme (that's what I labelled it), I didn't hate him. At least not enough to wish death upon him.

"I really like you," Nolan said and coughed.

He didn't even meet my eyes and his words still managed to make an impact. I winced, realizing that my feelings were . . . inexplicable. I didn't hate him and the romantic interest I showed in him was forced. Did I like him?

I don't even know!

My desperation and confusion flew out the window when I took a good look at Nolan. His chest was quickly rising and falling. One of his hands often went to his . . . heart.

No, no, no, no, no!

"Nolan," I said, grabbing his shoulder. The car had begun decelerating and it gave me no relief. "Hold your breath for a couple of seconds and then release it," I guided.

He nodded and did as told.

But we received another hit to the back of his car which cause Nolan's car to get out of control. We were headed straight into a tree. On instinct, I turned my head away and so did Nolan, waiting for the impact.

It was a worse than I expected.

With a great force, Nolan's car barged straight into a thick, tall tree. The glass shattered, many pieces scratching the bare skin of our faces and necks. The other car slammed into the back of ours.

Goddamn, it hurts.

My whole body ached.

I didn't even know when I fell unconscious.

A burning smell returned me to my senses. In my half conscious stupor, I glanced at the unconscious driver next to me. Nolan's head was falling over towards me. With a trembling hand, I checked his pulse at his neck with the pads of my index and middle fingers. There was a slight drumming that brought me hope. I sighed, retreating. The airbags had popped up, pressuring our chests. My eyes hardly opened and I couldn't even describe the pain my body was going through.

Was this death?

What was that burning smell?

Confused, I opened the car door with great difficulty and fell out. The front of the car was burning against the tree! Winter was dry weather. The friction between the tree and the car . . . Not good.

"Nolan," I called out weakly.

No response from him.

I used the car to stand, my legs shaking. Slowly, I managed to get around to Nolan's side and pull him out to the best of my capability. My eyes stung from the smoke as I dragged him out. The more human side of me urged me to check who put us in this position, but the car's was empty and the driver seat's door was open.

Maybe the killer escaped.

I hobbled into the woods for more safety, pulling Nolan by the arms because him leaning on me didn't work out too well. There were more internal injuries than physical ones. We were dressed in layers due to the chilly weather. Thank god for that.

But the cold wind hurt the cuts and bruises I had on my face and hands.

What was this?

The Hunger Games?

At a small distance, I saw a bunch of small houses.

"Help," I meekly yelled. My body was giving away and tugging along Nolan was winding me out faster than expected. I kept yelling for help until my legs gave away.

There was something small running my way. Before I could get a clear view, my head spun, giving me a wave of nausea.

Before I knew it, I fell unconscious.

¤》¤《¤

I hadn't even opened my eyes completely, when I heard someone say, "Slowly."

Taking small and even breaths, I blinked my eyes open, blinded for a second by the light coming from the window near me.

"Here, drink some water." A black haired man with tan skin passed me a cup of water. I carefully sat up with his help and drank the tasteless liquid.

"Where am I?" I asked. A groan escaped my lips as my head ached.

The guy mentioned an unknown city name. Seeing my baffled expression, he said, "We're in the outskirts of Maryland. Close to Pennsylvania."

I nodded, not caring, before it jot down on me that I was hurt.

Oh god, I was in an accident. Stalker. Car hit. Accident. Nolan!

"Where's Nolan?" I asked, immediately worried. Did he make it? He better have. Otherwise, he might haunt me as a ghost, asking for help for a revenge against the killer.

"The boys are still unconscious in the other room," the guy said. The boys? "One will be fine, but the other won't make it."

What?!

I was getting off the bed within a matter of seconds, ready to check. One had to be the killer! Could it be Paris? The man ran behind me, telling me to rest and check up later. I ignored his protests.

The other room was pretty simple with a huge bed in the center and a portable lamp next to it. No other accessories. On the bed lay two guys. One's head was turned away but the closest to me was Nolan.

I ran to his side and cried upon seeing his pale body.

He had stress cardiomyopathy.

I didn't even need the man to tell me Nolan was the boy who wouldn't make it. Hot tears flowed down my face as I realized this was the second death I was involved in. Why? Just why me?! Wouldn't it have been better if I died? Why did others have to die on my behalf? I held onto Nolan's cold arm, burying my face in it.

"Your cars pretty much burned. The accident was quite terrible," I heard the man say. His voice was pretty far away from me. "We couldn't take you three to the hospital. It would've been too late by then. All home treatment." I kept crying as I listened. This situation was Karma. Nolan and I hurt so many couples, and it served us damn right to almost get killed. I coughed and sobbed. I heard footsteps nearing and the mid-20s guy bent down near me. "I'm sorry," the guy said.

"It's not your fault," I whispered. "I can't believe Nolan won't make it." I held the unconscious guy's cold hand tightly.

"No, no. The other boy's health is deteriorating fast. This one--Nolan--will be alright." The guy gave me a reassuring glance as I stared at him surprised.

Nolan was fine?

I let his hand go and immediately rushed to the other side to see the stalker.

Seeing his face made me break down into tears all over again. Of course, it'd be him. Why me?! His neck was half burned and long cuts marked his face. I fell down by his side, sobbing harder than ever. Even though he was after us, I didn't hate him. His reasons were valid even if his reprisal wasn't.

Oh Chase.

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A/N

Did you see that coming? (Not the weekly update, but the chapter itself XD sheesh).

I mean it wasn't that hard to guess. Either Paris or Chase. *Jolly ranchers for everyone!* I'm feeling nice.

Anyways, what are your future predictions?

Helen got into Princeton! Nolan is safe. Feel bad for Chase?

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P.s. no, I do not spell it wrong. Vommenting = (VO)ting + co(MMENTING). Coting = (CO)mmenting + vo(MMENTING). Do whichever option you like xD. Thank you so much for over 6k votes!