Contagious Chemistry

The sirens wailed and people were shouting and yelling, rushing around the damaged area and the collided cars. By passers or media that already found out about the accident surrounded the area, but the polices were bordering the area with the yellow tape. Some of the crowd was the girl’s friends or relatives or just fans that were anxious to know what was their friend, their relative or their idol’s condition. The truth was she was still alive under the wreckage.

Her breathing was already heavy and ragged, knowing that something was hurting her lungs. Her legs were trapped between her seat and the steering wheel. Her vision was blurry and blood dripped down from her temple onto the cold ground beside her or just simply streamed down through her forehead and her cheek. She could hear the familiar voices, screaming her name from afar. The screams were hysterical, but more like terrified rather than the usually hysterical screams she heard when she was on stage.

It was surreal and blurry. She never thought that escaping her reality for just two weeks, meaning going on a vacation, would end up escaping the world for real. She didn’t know how long she would survive if the fire fighter or paramedics got her out, but all that filled her mind was her daughter. The images turned from her daughter into the men that she loved. She bit her lower lip and her hand balled up into a knuckle, knowing that she’d break his heart by leaving.

24 hours ago.

The suitcase that Ally would bring on her little ‘break’ was still opened, while she was rummaging through her closet for the clothes. The brilliant lights in her closet shined and reflected all her clothes that she had been collecting ever since the band became internationally famous. She sauntered to one counter to another, picking the right clothes and dumping them into the suitcase.

Casey was fast asleep in her room and Dana was helping her pack. She was the only one that knew about Ally’s break and the only know that she could trust about Casey. When Ally got out from the closet with hands full of clothes, Dana was staring at a picture that was framed and placed on the bedside table.

“Do you still remember this?”, she chuckled and picked the picture up before showing it to Ally. It was a picture of the band before they went off to their very first Warped Tour, in front of Ally’s house with their old van. “I still can’t remember this was only four years ago.”

Ally smiled and placed the clothes on her bed. “We changed so much, didn’t we?”

“Yeah.”, Dana nodded and smiled a bit. “I still can’t believe we made it. Do you remember that the rest of the kids in our year thought we were crazy?”

“But they were wrong. Look at us now, Dana, we proved everyone was wrong back then.”

Dana sighed and placed the picture back, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Do you really need to go?”

“Yes. It’s the only way. I’d be back in two weeks, with the new me and all of that.”

“Okay. I’ll take care of Casey for you.”, Dana smiled before standing up and saying her goodbye because it was already late and she had plans. Ally watched from the window of her room as her friend got into her car and drove away.

It was hard for her to leave, but it was the best for everyone. She wished when she’s away, everyone would be back to normal. John would be happy with Lori, as well as Stephen and Jess. She wanted to say goodbye to Jack because no matter what, he was still her best friend and they never really broke up, per say. Ally sighed and closed her suitcase shut as she passed by some pictures of her and Jack, along with them and Casey.

Three years their lives were somewhat peaceful, before Stephen and John made their comebacks into her life, making everything complicated just like the past. She thought right after she decided to erase John and Stephen from her life, she wouldn’t meet them again, but reality had some other plan. Ally glanced at the clock on her nightstand and it was only midnight. Quietly, she went to her daughter’s room and kneeled on the bedside.

Casey was fast asleep, with her chest rose up and down along with her steady breathing. She looked a lot like Stephen when she was asleep and Ally ran her fingers lightly through her auburn hair. She bit her lower lip, couldn’t let go of her own daughter but it was the only way to restore her upside down world.

She didn’t know how long she stayed in the position until birds outside Casey’s window was already chirping. Ally looked at the window and it was already dull purple outside, almost sunrise. Without her intention, tears were forming in the corner of her eyes. Ally wiped them off with the back of her hand before standing up. She needed to pack Casey things for two weeks because she would be staying at the band’s apartment or even Zack’s.

When she was done, Casey was already stirring in her bed before her eyes fluttered open and revealing her brown eyes. The little girl narrowed her eyes at her mother. “Mommy, what are you doing?”

Ally smiled a little and went over to her daughter, leaning down and kissed the toddler’s temple. “Hi, sweetie. I’m packing your clothes.”

“Where are we going?”, she asked delightedly and clapped her small hands. Ally shook her head and ran her hand through her daughter’s hair one more time.

“Can you help me, Casey? Please.”, Ally kneeled at the bedside again and looked into her daughter’s eyes, that were identical with her father’s.

“Mommy, why are you crying?”, Casey frowned and touched the corner of Ally’s eyes, popping a tear.

Ally shook her head and took a deep breath before continuing what she had to say. “Honey, I need you to stay with aunt Dana for a while, okay? Mommy needs to go for a while, and aunt Dana will take care of you, okay? Uncle Pat, uncle Lance, and the others.”

“Uncle Jack?”, Casey asked, but there was a slight of fear in her eyes.

“If you don’t want to be near uncle Jack, you can tell aunt Dana.”

“I missed uncle Jack, mommy.”

Her heart skipped a beat and Ally held her breath. Even though Casey had seen Jack at his worst, but she still missed him. “Me too, Case-Bear.”
“Will you come back, mommy?”

Ally leaned forward and kissed her daughter’s temple, letting her lips lingered on it, inhaling her daughter’s scent. “Of course, sweetheart. Mommy will be back as soon as possible, after everything is done.”
*************
After breakfast, Ally dressed Casey and would drop her off at the band’s apartment. They were having their day off from the studio and recording, so Dana and the others could start their day by bringing Casey around. The drive to the apartment was filled with Casey singing some children songs and it made Ally smiled when she knew that Casey liked to sing, like her mother and father.

When they arrived at the apartment, Ally parked the car and unbuckled her seatbelt before doing Casey’s. She got out from the car and rushed to her daughter’s side as the little girl opened her own door and jumped out from the car. “Honey, I’ll help you, you could’ve fall!”

“But I didn’t!”, Casey laughed adorably, making Ally forgot about the plan to scold her daughter. Just in time, she saw Pat and Lance went out from the building and rushed to both of them. “Uncle Pat! Uncle Lance!”

“Case-Bear!”, Lance exclaimed as he scooped Casey off her feet and into his arms. “How are you today?”

“Good!”, she sang. “How about you?”

“I’m good too, thank you.”, Lance bumped his forehead with Casey, making the toddler laughed hysterically.

“So, got everything all set?”, Pat asked to Ally as they got Casey’s stuff out from the trunk.

Ally shrugged and looked to her daughter, who was playing peek-a-boo with her band mate. “I think so. I just couldn’t bear to leave her, actually.”

Pat followed Ally’s eyes and sighed. “Al, you know we love you and we don’t want you to leave, but it’s your choice, and Casey’s gonna be safe with us, you know that.”

“I know, I know. It’s just… I wish she knew.”

He knew what Ally was talking about. She was talking about Stephen. Pat placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder and smiled sincerely. “She has the right to know, Ally cakes, but it’s your choice again to set the time to tell her.”

“I don’t want her to grow up, not knowing who her father is.”, Ally looked down to her feet and crossed her arms. “I just don’t want to take her right, or Stephen’s right.”

“Well, tell her the truth then. I bet she wouldn’t understand completely if you tell her today, but it’d be painful for her if you tell her when she’s a teenager, or worse, you wouldn’t even tell her.”

Ally looked over to her daughter again. She was the splitting image of Stephen; no one can denied that. “I wish I didn’t tell Stephen to forget about me three years ago.”

“You couldn’t turn back the time, Ally, but I do know that you can fix the future by doing something in the present.”, Lance smiled. “Now, I recommend you to do the right thing.”

“I’ll miss you, Pat.”, she muttered before pulling her friend into a hug. “I’ll be back soon.”

Pat nodded and hugged his friend back for a moment, before they pulled away for the last time. “Casey will be safe here.”

“I know.”, she nodded and walked over to her daughter, crouched and pulled the little girl into her arms. She didn’t say anything, just letting the moment last, inhaling her familiar scent and rubbing her small back. “Mommy will be back soon.”

“Bye mommy, I’ll miss you.”, Casey buried her face into her mother’s shoulder. “I’ll miss you.”

Ally took a deep breath when she felt tears stung her eyes, and pulled away from her daughter, cupping the little girl’s face in her hands, and kissed her temple. “Be a good girl, okay?”

Casey nodded and smiled. “I promise.”

She bit her lower lip and stood up, wiping her tears off with the back of her hand. Ally rushed to the car and got in, not wanting to show Casey that she was crying. She looked out from the window and her daughter was waving her hand to her, she waved back, not knowing it’d be the last time.

It was only lunchtime when she decided to go to the hospital where Jess was still staying. She needed to make peace with her old friend and to put an end on their cold war. After parking the car, she got out and walked into the crowded lobby. Every step that she took to the room was heavy but lighter when she got closer. The wooden door was now the only border.

Ally peeked from the small window on the door, that Jess was alone now. She was flickering the channels on the TV with the remote in her hand. Ally took a deep breath before knocking and opening the door a bit.

Jess snapped her head in the direction and raised her brows, waiting for that person to come in. “Come in.”, Jess proceeded.

Ally walked into the room as she gnawed the inside of her lip. Jess’s eyes widened and narrowed in the next second. “What do you want?”, she sneered.

“I want to apologize.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“There is.”, Ally walked over to her bedside and looked down to her friend. She identified the burned wound on her arms, bandaged and there were still blood marks on the white bandage on some spots. “Can I sit down?”

“I can’t stop you, can I?”, Jess snorted and rolled her eyes. Ally pulled a chair and sat down, before looking into Jess’s eyes.

“Jess, we’re friends, okay. We’re friends since we met three years ago, and I don’t want that to stop because of a guy, even though it’s Stephen. You know that Stephen and I had a thing, but it was three years ago. I’m sorry that Stephen still had feelings for me, and yes, I still have feelings for him, but now, the feelings that I have are gone.

“The feelings that I have for Stephen is just based because I have his daughter, his own flesh and blood, but about love, to be honest, I didn’t know about that for three years. I loved him, Jess, but now, I want him to be yours.”

Jess looked at Ally for a few minutes before pulling her friend into a hug. “I’m sorry, Ally. For everything. For taking Stephen away from you, for being jealous, for not wanting to listen to you, and for ruining our friendship.”

“I’m sorry too, Jessi.”, Ally whispered and smiled, knowing that the war ended.

After a little more chit-chat, Ally excused herself because the view from the window was already dull orange. She stood up from her seat and went out from the door, but bumped into someone outside. “I’m sorry!”

“No, no, it’s my fault.”, the voice muttered as he crouched down and picked up the dropped apples. He looked up and greeted by the bright ocean eyes of the girl that he loved. “Ally?”

“I gotta go, Stephen.”, she muttered quickly and rushed off to the lobby, ignoring Stephen’s call of her name. She had enough of the drama and the rectangle love that had been invading her life for three years. Ally peeked from the corner of her eyes to the windows or glasses that she passed through, to see that Stephen was following her.

“Ally! Stop!”, Stephen kept on shouting, trying to get her to stop, but she wouldn’t. When she reached the lobby, she bumped into another person.

“Hey, you okay?”, the person asked as he grabbed Ally’s arm, trying to help her to get her balance back.

Ally looked up and found the familiar green orbs that she knew. “Ally? You okay?”, John asked.

She bit her lower lip and shook his hand off her arm, before running out from the hospital. Her car wasn’t that far and she unlocked it even though she was still a few feet away. She got in quickly and turned on the ignition before pulling out from the parking spot and drove off. The tears were blurring her vision, but she needed to get out from that place, that damned place.

The confrontation was too much for her and she was in the brink of her sanity. She needed to get the hell out of California as soon as possible. The sky was already turning dark and she decided to stop at a convenient store before heading out to the highway. The traffic was as hectic as always, making her to arrive at the store at nearly 7pm. After she parked her car and sauntered into the halogen lit store, she felt in peace.

The lady behind the cashier smiled at her when she walked in and she had to smile back. There was no reason for her to wear her shades because when she looked around the store, no teenager or someone that might be her fan. Ally walked to the back where the row of fridges displayed drinks and dairies.

Ally wasn’t that much of a drinker, but she needed at least an escape from her reality. She picked up a few bottles of beer before going to the cashier to pay it all. The lady behind the counter looked at her before scanning the label. “Rough day?”, she asked in her Latin accent.

“Kind of.”, Ally answered shortly, but she was kind of surprised that the lady knew.

The lady nodded and put them all in the paper bag. Ally placed a 50 dollar bill and picked up the bag, before walking out from the store. The outside was noisy and bright with the lights from the cars or the buildings. The sidewalks were kind of smelled like the gas from the cars or even the gutters.
Ally sat down on the concrete and leaned back onto the bumper of her car. Some people gave her a look or more like a disgusted look and she had to thanked God because those people didn’t even know who she was. She opened the first bottle of beer with her teeth and chugged it halfway down. She wasn’t used to alcohol and half bottle of beer already making her tipsy.

After she done all of the beers, Ally stood up but almost fell down because her now dubious balance. She stumbled up and got into the driver seat. When she was about to turn on the ignition, her phone rang. Ally rummaged through her bag and found her phone with the picture of Jack on the screen as the caller ID.

She tapped ‘Answer’ before pressing the phone against her ear. “What?”, she hiccupped.

“Al, where are you!? I went to your house, but no one was in!”

“I’m going away from California, okay?! Don’t even try to look for me!”, she blurted out and leaned forward, resting her forehead against the steering wheel of her car.

“Ally, are you drunk!? Holy shit, you’re drunk!”, Jack panicked, knowing that Ally couldn’t control her alcohol when one was already in her hand. “Where are you?”

“None of your fucking business!”, Ally snapped with the mixture of groan. “We’re fucking over, Jack, get a fucking life.”

Before Jack could even reply, she ended the call and threw her phone onto the passenger seat. She turned on the ignition and drove off. The traffic wasn’t that hectic anymore and it was already 11.30 at night. Her eyes were red and tired because the alcohol was already taking its toll.

Her mind reviewed her day. The confrontation with Stephen and John, the conversation she had with Jack, the goodbye she shared with her band mates and her own daughter. Ally screamed in the top of her lungs and beat her steering wheel when something happened.

She was driving through a red light because she was so busy with her mind. The brilliant headlights came from her side and when she looked over to the direction, it blinded her. It happened so fast, making Ally couldn’t even process it when the other car hit hers.

The collision made Ally’s car flipped a few times because the other car was speeding up. She screamed until the car stopped and her voice was muted. Her temple stung because a piece of glass from her window made a huge cut. She couldn’t move because her hips were broken. Every breath that she took was painful because her rib was broken.

Images filled her mind, reminding her about the life that she would be leaving any second. The image of her parents and herself when she was still a child back in Arizona, How her parents loved her and wanted a future for her, but she turned them down by being a musician. The image of her band’s very first Warped, how they were so proud of themselves. The image of her and her band mates, the friendship they’ve shared. The image when she first met Stephen, John, and even Jack. The image when they were confessing their love for her. The image when she was in the meadow with Stephen, the night where he life would change. The image when her dad died. The image when she left Stephen and John. The image when Casey was born. Everything rushed into her mind.
Ally balled her hands into knuckles and bit her lower lip, praying for the last time. She knew she couldn’t leave, but God wanted her now. He was ready for her, and she was ready to meet Him. Ally swallowed the lump in her throat before closing her eyes, drifting into the eternal slumber.