Second Chance - Nikki Weidner (comprehension books .txt) 📗

I raised my arm up to unbuckle my seatbelt, but my arm felt heavy. “Help!” My voice was scratchy and made me cough. I lifted up my arm again and reached for the seat buckle and I fell on the hood of the car. I laid flat on my back coughing then I rolled on my side and grabbed Rachael’s hand and squeezed it. “Rachael…!” I shook her hand but she didn’t say anything. I just laid there feeling the tears roll down my face, hearing people yelling and sirens of a paramedic. I closed my eyes still hearing all the noise around me.
I felt someone pulling me out of the car and I let go of Rachael’s hand. I was put on a stretcher. I opened my eyes slightly seeing a women looking over with a flashlight to my face.”Sir, you got to stay with me, okay?” They put an oxygen mask over my mouth and the female paramedic held my hand. I closed my eyes again and then saw a bright light.

I woke up in a hospital bed, wearing a hospital gown with an IV in the crack of my elbow. My eyes were heavy and I had the hugest headache. I looked around and saw Quinn standing in the doorway wearing a purple tank top, black leather jacket, and blue jeans. She was looking at her hands, I could hear her sobbing. “Quinn…” I said softly. She looked at me and I could see black tears fall down her cheeks; her tears smeared the mascara she was wearing. She walked right next to the bed and she grabbed my hand. Her hand was soft and smaller than my hand. I looked at our hands together than I looked back at her face. “What happened?” I asked eagerly. She looked down without an answer. “Quinn?” I tried to look at her face but she looked away from me.
“Car accident, you had a car accident with Rachael in the passenger side with you.” When she told me I thought it was all a dream but it wasn’t.
“Is Rachael okay?” I asked as my eyes started to well up because I expected the worst. She gave me no answer. “Quinn!” She looked back at me and I grabbed her arm.
“She-she died….. She lost a lot of blood and she died on the operating table. They tried everything they could to revive her but nothing worked.” Tears flowed a river down her pale face. She cried harder when she talked about Rachael.
“No, s-she can’t be……… wha……..” I couldn’t finish my sentence as I choked up, holding back tears. I could feel my eyes well up even more. I rubbed my eyes and then tears fell, I couldn’t hold them in anymore. I covered my eyes with my hand and sobbed. Quinn’s hand was tangled in my messy hair. I wrapped my arms around her waist and buried my face into her chest. I could feel her hands clench the hospital gown and her head was leaning on top of mine.

Friends and family were at my house after the funeral. I was in the backyard watching some of the little kids playing soccer. The backyard was huge but empty, Rachael hadn’t finished putting plants in the ground and I haven’t set up the outside table and umbrella. It was cloudy and smelled like rain was coming. I looked up thinking I might be able to see Rachael up there but all I saw were clouds rolling in. Someone had come up next to me, I looked to see who it was and it was my mother wearing a black dress with a black shall over her shoulders and she had dark brown hair like me. “Sweetie, I’m sorry about Rachael.” She held out her arms open for me to hug her and I did. I placed my head on her shoulder. She placed her thin hand on my head and rubbed my back with the other. I clung to her for comfort; I needed my mother for this time of my life. I let go of her and she placed her cold hand on my cheek and I placed my hand over hers. “Are you gonna be okay?” she asked me. My hand fell into my pocket and she removed her hand from my cheek. I looked at the ground and rubbed my eyes getting rid of tears at they fell.
“I don’t know?” I said looking at her with welled up eyes. She cups my cheeks and wipes away some tears with her thumb.
“Rachael was a sweet girl, ya’ know?” she reminded me. “I love you son.” She kisses my forehead like a mother would. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and she wrapped her arms around my waist.
“I love you mom.” My voice trembled in sadness. She let go of me as did I. We walked into my house and then I saw Quinn sporting dark blue jeans, a black blouse that was short sleeved, and she was holding her black leather jacket. She saw me and she came toward me and hugged me. “Are you…okay?” I asked her when she let go of me.
“I’m still trying to get over it but Rachael being gone seems to stick with me now.” She starts to sob.
“This is something we can never get over.” I said.
“What about you, how are you?” she asks me.
“I’m like everyone else; grieving.” I held back tears. “Do you mind helping me go through Rachael’s possessions after everyone leaves?”
“I’d figure you would want to wait a while to do that.” She says to me.
“I just mostly want to know if you wanted to keep anything of hers.”
“Yeah, I think I can do that.”
“Okay.”

After everyone left, Quinn was sitting on the couch looking through a photo album of Rachael’s. “Do you want a beer?” I said going into the kitchen and heading towards the fridge.
“Yes please!” I heard her holler. I grabbed two Sam’ Adams from the back of the fridge. I walked back into the living room and handed her a bottle. I set mine down on the coffee table and took of the jacket, loosened my tie and rolled up the sleeves to my elbows. I opened up the beer bottle and took a drink of it then placed it back down on the coffee table. I had a couple of boxes left of me and Rachael’s stuff that we hadn’t looked at yet. I opened the box and Quinn looked inside of it. I spotted Rachael’s heart shaped locket. I held it in my hand and opened it. There was a picture of me and her when we went to fair last year. “You guys really love each other.” Quinn smiles at me.
“Yeah, we did.” I was still looking at the necklace and I gave it to Quinn, “Keep it.” I say to her.
“No, you keep it. Because, it’s a reminder to that she will always be in her heart.” She takes my hand and lays the necklace in my palm and closes my hand into a ball. I smiled back at her. She was looking through another box and she pulled out DVD of a home video I made. I took it and put it in the DVD player and grabbed the remote. I pressed play and on the screen I was recording Rachael reading Wuthering Heights one of her favorite books. I sat down and leaned back putting my arm on the back of the couch. Quinn lay back as well. As we watched we laughed and drank are beers.

I woke up sitting up on the couch, with Quinn’s head lying on my lap asleep. She clutched Rachael’s photo album. The DVD was still going, I looked at my watch and it was 1:00 in the morning. I grabbed a pillow and laid Quinn’s head on it when I got up. I then grabbed an afghan and laid it over her. I turned off the T.V. and went upstairs to my room. I loosened the tie more and took it off. When I got into my room I threw the tie on my dresser. The room was painted a dark red the curtains and bed set were red as well. I untucked my dress shirt, slid my shoes off and took of my socks. I went into the bathroom next to the king sized bed. I turned on the faucet from the sink; I cupped my hands to get water and then splashed it on face. I turned off the faucet and grabbed the hand towel on the counter and wiped off my face.
I went back into my room and crawled on the bed and laid there on my side facing the doorway out into the hall. I laid one hand on the other side of the bed were Rachael used to sleep on. I closed my eyes picturing her next to me in this bed still asleep every time I woke up. I move her hair out of her face. The way she smelled when I held her in my arms when we went to sleep. I would open my eyes and she would be gone. I could feel the tears start to come again so I covered my eyes. I felt alone without Rachael next me, I was on my own. Need You Now- Milo's POV

It’s been a month and a half since Rachael died in the car accident. I will never forget that night. I feel like it’s my fault that the truck hit are car. I needed to get out of the damn house, so I went down to the bar, Tooley’s, downtown. I stepped into Tooley’s and Stan, the manager greeted me. “Hey Milo. I haven’t seen you around here in a long time.” He was cleaning shot glasses with a white rag.
“Yea, I’ve busy lately.” I replied.
“Well, what will it be for ya’?” he asked me as I sat on a stool up at the counter in front of him.
“Two shots of whiskey.” I rubbed my eyes and Stan placed two shot glasses in front of me and poured some whisky each glass. I took one of the shot glasses and raised it up. “Bottom’s up.” I gulped down the whole glass of whisky in one swing. I swallowed it and my mouth started to burn like hell.
“So what’s been going on with you lately?” Stan asked me when I gulped down the second shot of whisky and I gave a sour look on my face.
“Got married or was married for a little bit.” I said “Can I get a Sam Adams please?” Stan grabbed a bottle and handed it to me.
“What happened?” He asked.
“About a week after we got married, I was driving us to the airport to go to Brazil for our honeymoon and on the way there a truck crashed into us. Flipped the whole car