Bittersweet Sundown

"Hi, Matt," Ash greeted, seeing him walking towards her in the driveway. She was going to visit Val and Matt was obviously just leaving.

"Hey, Ash. What's up?" he asked, stopping at the side of his car.

"Not much. Just came to see if Val would come to the beach with me," Ash smiled, walking backwards to the house.

"Okay. Have a good day then," Matt winked and got into his car. Ash turned around and saw Brian and Zack coming out from the front door. Zack looked frightened.

"Matt! Look out!" he yelled suddenly.

Ash turned around quickly and saw a big truck speeding down the street. But the frightening part was Matt's car slowly sliding back and he didn't seem to notice it. He was messing with his stereo instead, so he didn't hear Zack's warning.

Without losing another second, Ash ran to Matt’s car and dived in from the open window, head first. She reached for the hand brake before she even landed on Matt. The car was partly on the street by the time she jumped in, so she knew there wasn't any time to get out. Instead she turned on her back, ignoring the pain in her ribcage and pulled her legs in too, almost hitting Matt’s chin with her knee. Next second a big bang and sounds of metal tearing was heard. Ash pulled herself into a ball, scared beyond her mind. She didn't even sense Matt's hands around her. All she was able to think was that she was going to die like her brother.

"Oh my god. Are you alright?" Brian asked, shocked from what he just witnessed.

"Ash? Are you hurt?" Matt tried to see her face but she held her hands firmly in front of her face.

"Ashlee, please tell us something. Are you okay?" Brian tried too, but with no avail. Only response they got was a quiet sob.

"Go get Jimmy," Matt said to Brian, sounding concerned. Brian cast one more worried look at Ash, then ran inside.

Zack walked around the car, inspecting the damage. Almost half the drivers side back end was bashed. The truck had stopped after smashing into the neighbors oak.

"Come on Ash, please talk to me. Are you hurt?" Matt tried again, fearing that something could be seriously wrong.

"Matt? Oh god! Are you okay? What happened?" Val ran out, pale with fear.

"I'm okay honey. I think I just bruised my shoulder. I'm more worried about Ash, I can't get any answer out of her," he explained, holding her as gently as he could without moving her.

"What happened?" Val asked again, now looking at the smashed up truck. The driver was just staggering out from his vehicle, holding a hand on his bleeding head. Zack ran to him, to see if he needed help.

"Ash? Matt? What's wrong?" Jimmy suddenly appeared, without a warning.

"I don't know, she won't say anything," Matt sounded desperate already. He was scared to even think that she could be hurt.

"Hey bestie! What are you doing?" Jimmy asked, standing right in the middle of the car, leaning down, next to her hidden face.

​"Please tell me I'm not gonna die. I don't wanna die like Kyle," Ash sobbed, she was trembling now, totally lost in her fear.

"She's having a panic attack," Jimmy announced calmly. "Ash, baby, you're safe with us, you’re not gonna die. I promise nothing will happen to you. You’re totally fine honey,” he tried to calm her down.

“No I’m not. I’m gonna die, I feel like dieing,” Ash complained between short breaths.

“You’re not gonna die baby, trust me on that. You’re starting to hyperventilate. Ash, listen to me,” Jimmy preyed her hands away from her face and forced her to look in to his eyes. “Can you tell me what calms you down? Please baby!”

“Hot water. Jimmy, I don’t wanna die,” she cried, sensing only bits from reality.

“You won’t die,” Jimmy soothed before stepping outside of the car. “We need to get her in to shower. Can you slide her out?”

“What if she’s hurt?” Matt doubted, still afraid to move her.

“She’s not. I don’t see any bleeding or anything else in her,” Jimmy said calmly.

“How can you be sure?” Val worried.

“Because her energy field looks normal. If she’d have a bleeding or a broken bone, her energy would gather to the injured spot. She’s fine, trust me,” Jimmy explained. He could see a slightly darker spot on her ribs but it wasn’t anything serious, probably only a bruise from the gear lever that was tightly against her.

“Okay. I think it’s best if I come out with her, I have a good hold on her,” Matt said before slowly sliding out of the car. He stood up, making sure that Ash was still okay in his arms.

“Is she okay? I’m so sorry, I didn’t see your car before it was too late,” a guy who was driving the truck, came to apologize, holding a rag against his bleeding head.

“We’re fine. She’s just shocked. Zack can you deal with this?” Matt said while walking towards the house.

“Yeah, sure man,” Zack agreed, stopping the truck driver with him. Everyone else followed Matt and Ash inside.

“Honey, can you help me get her clothes off,” Matt asked his wife. Ash had a loose t-shirt on, which was showing that she had bikinis under, so there wasn’t anything that Matt hadn’t seen already. Nodding, Val stepped closer.

“Guys, I think you should leave. She needs peace to calm down,” she said to the others who were all crammed at the bathroom door.

“Right. Bri, lets go see if Zack needs help,” Jimmy agreed, seeing that Matt too needed some calming time. Brian cast a worried gaze at Ash before he let Jimmy drag him away. All this time Ash had been sobbing quietly, gripping Matt’s shirt in her fist.

Val quickly filled their jacuzzi with hot water, glancing worriedly at her husband and the shaking girl he was holding in his arms.

“Maybe I should leave too?” she questioned, standing in front of them.

“No,” Ash uttered almost inaudibly, while grabbing a hold on Val’s hand.

“Okay, I’ll stay. Let’s get you warmed up, honey,” Val nodded her head at Matt to get in to the jacuzzi. She herself sat down on the edge, slipping only her feet in. All this time she held Ash’s hand.

Matt still didn’t feel like letting go of Ash, so he propped her up on his lap slid both of his arms around her. He knew his wife was sitting next to them but he hoped she would understand. He only wanted to help Ash calm down.

“Thank you,” Ash whispered almost ten minutes later, breaking the silence at last.

“For what?” Matt was confused, he was the one who should be thanking her.

“For this,” Ash smiled weakly, gliding her hand over the surface of the water. She felt much better now.

“Are you kidding?” Matt squealed with surprisingly high voice. “ I don’t want to even think what would’ve happened when you hadn’t stopped my car. I’m the one who should be thanking you. So thank you, Ash,” he rambled on, making Ash smile again.

“Don’t worry Matt, that’s what friends are for,” she hugged him, planting a kiss on his cheek. She was just glad that he was okay, that they both were okay.

She stood up and climbed out of the jacuzzi, gladly accepting the fluffy white towel Val held out for her.

May 26, 2010

I did something good today. There was a truck that had lost control and it was speeding down the street and Matt’s car started to slide back, he didn’t even notice. That nice police officer said that I probably saved Matt's life. I didn't think much, just ran and jumped in. Thank god I didn’t think about it because otherwise I wouldn’t been able to do this. Matt has become a good friend to me and I just couldn't stand and watch. And I'm not telling you about my panic attack I had when the crash came. But at least Matt is okay. It's enough to make me happy.

I have managed to ignore and avoid Brian for almost a week now. He's given up on his attempts to apologize to me. Luckily. I don't know how long I can pretend that I don't care. I do care, I'm just not ready to let it go yet. He really did hurt me that night.

I found a nice apartment yesterday. So I'm going back to Jamestown tomorrow, to get my things. It really doesn't feel like going home. I'm pretty happy about my decision to move here.

I don't look forward to that long bus drive ‘tho. It's gonna be nothing but a pain in the ass, literally :( But I have to do it sooner or later so better to have it done now.