Sweet Little Big Lies

Chevelle

**September 14, 2014**

11:45pm

I watch the illuminated numbers against the dark dashboard as they slowly creep closer to midnight. Sierra and I cruise through the rain-slicked streets of downtown in her new 350Z. The headlights glancing off of the wet roads, leading our way.

We’re both singing at the top of our lungs, dancing in our seats. Not having a care in the world. I’m bobbing my head and tapping on the dash with my finger drumsticks, watching as the light changes from red to green.

*Aaannddd we don’t move. *

None of the cars in line do. I glance at the vehicles in front of us, taking in the oncoming traffic, hoping that we get through the light before it changes again.

The two left turning cars finally turn, the last just barely squeaking by as the light changes from yellow to red.

* Again.*

Thunder rolls and lightning strikes overhead, announcing the arrival of yet another storm that’s been moving its way across the state over the past few hours.

*Gotta love Oklahoma! If you get tired of the weather, just wait a few minutes, it’s bound to change.*

Amy Lee, the lead singer of Evanescence, croons through the speakers as I catch sight of the time.

“Wake me up inside. Wake me up inside.” Sierra and I both belt out the lyrics at the same time, causing us to fold over in a fit of giggles. Singers we are not, but that fact alone doesn’t stop us. Never has, never will.

My will bidding powers are seriously lacking! We are still stuck at the cursed stoplight; the truck in front of us obviously giving up, as they drive through the light. Sierra glances in my direction, asking for permission to follow suit. I shake my head *no*; it’s not worth the risk.

The headlights of an approaching vehicle from the left ricochets throughout the car, casting Sierra in an eerie glow. Chills breakout over my skin, a feeling of dread racking my body as a pair of headlights from behind glare against the pouring rain.

The vehicle from behind doesn’t appear to be slowing down and the dread turns into fear as it slowly begins to creep into every part of my body, spreading through my veins, seeping into every cavity.

“Sierra!” I holler, looking in the side mirror and verifying how close they are to her car, and then glance in her direction when I hear the blast of a horn.

“Chevy!” she screams, as her eyes make contact with my own, a knowing look written clear upon her face.

The sound of tires screeching against the wet asphalt sounds in the suddenly too silent air around us. The crunch of impact, the unmistakable sound of metal connecting with metal assaults my ears as screams filter into the air, blending in with the chaos all around.

The force of the impact causes me to slam sideways, my temple making contact with the passenger side window.

Everything happens so quickly and yet in slow motion.

My mind tries to process everything going on around me when I feel a second impact from behind. A second crunch. More metal sliding against metal, more screaming.

My body thrusts forward, the resistance of the seatbelt searing as it cuts into my chest. Even with the resistance of the seatbelt, a sharp piercing pain immediately radiates through my skull, my forehead smashing against the rock-hard dash.

I feel the slick warmth of blood running down my face as everything around me becomes obscured, fading into a silent, black nothingness.**