Accidents and Emergencies

It was a hot July night in Baltimore as Audrey Newton drunkenly stumbled around the small playground. She was in a daze of her own as she looked up to the dark blue sky and saw the stars twinkle and make designs that she had never laid her eyes on until that very moment. She was in awe of everything Mother Nature had to offer tonight. It hadn't been a good day -- or month, sadly -- but tonight, with the mighty help of Captain Morgan, everything seemed utterly delightful.

Audrey swayed back and forth to twist the chains on the swing to hear them creak with their old rustiness. She wondered how many kids actually came to this place anymore. When she was growing up, this place was a magical kingdom to her child's eye, but seeing it at the age of twenty-four made it seem like a complete dump. Nothing here but rusting chains and fading paint.

Still, she was in her own realm of thought as she had been since she arrived at the park almost two hours before. She knew then that she would not be able to drive herself back to her apartment, so it was time for her to walk back and she prayed that no cops would see her trip and walk out of line. Stepping foot into the street, she turned her iPod on to a mix of Allister and The Ataris and put in the earbuds, turning the device up as loud as it could possible go. A block down from the old playground she started to walk in zig-zags on the street knowing that this part of town was dead past 2 a.m. on a weeknight. She felt drowsy, felt like she would rather sleep in someone's lawn for the night instead of walking the few blocks back to her place.

It was when she thought that a car barely scraped her back legs. She almost didn't notice, but the headlights behind her were just too bright to ignore. When she looked to see who was driving, she couldn't see much except for black and an outline of a person who looked devastated.

The door opened and she heard a man sigh. "I am so, so sorry, ma'am." The man slowly rubbed his face and turned to look up at her. That's when the entire world seemed to have stopped for these two. He looked at the girl noticing how small her body was, how her bones looked frail though they were wrapped tightly over pale white skin. Her hazel eyes glimmered in the headlights and her nose was red as if she had been crying prior to this encounter. Her auburn hair came down past her shoulders and curled right at the tips.

He stepped further into the light so she could see his face also. She noticed that the man was quite tall and looked to be around her age. He was quite noticeably tired and his stubble cried out that he hadn't felt the need to shave in however many days. His hair was longer, but not too lengthy, and it was a dark brown color now. His big, brown eyes were breathtaking and the look on his face was worrisome.

Then, everything came flooding back to the two so-called strangers as the stood in each others presence, neither of them able to form a single word at this point.

It took several moments, but finally Audrey placed her iPod on pause. "Do you remember my name?" She frowned, leaving wrinkles on her forehead.

"Audrey." He cocked his head to the side. "But I like to call you Rey." Of coursed he remembered her, how could he have forgotten? She ran a hand through her already messed up hair and let her bangs rest on top of her head as they continued to stare at each other. "I thought you lived in Seattle."

"Well, I had to move back." She snapped, partially because of the alcohol and partially because she planned on living out her life Alexander Gaskarth-less. "Sorry about that."

"Rey, I'm sorry about this and whatever you're clearly so upset about that you took your problems to alcohol." He could smell her from where he was standing two feet away. "Let me drive you home."

"It's fine." She plastered a fake smile onto her lips.

"Rey, I've mis-"

"I don't care, Alex. I truly don't." She started to turn around and walk away from the car and from that single man. "Goodnight now." She turned her arm around to wave at him, but not her face.

Alex got back into his car after a minute and pulled along side of her. "Rey, get in the damn car. If I almost hit you, who the hell knows what could happen next." Audrey's response was a half-assed chuckle, but Alex wasn't giving in. "Please, get in the car and tell me where to go. You'll never have to see my face again after this, okay?"

She stopped and turned to him. "I live in Baltimore, Alex. I always have to see your damn face whether it's in memory or on some billboard glorifying All Time Low as hometown heroes." Her tone was nothing but pure bitterness that struck a chord somewhere with Alex.

"C'mon, Rey, just get in." After five more minutes of trying to get her to obey him she got in his car from irritation. "Thank you." He sighed and sped up. "Tell me where to turn."

There was nothing else between them other than the occasional "turn here." The radio wasn't on, the iPod was no longer blaring "Better Late Than Forever", and no sounds were coming from outside the car either and it felt like it was killing the both of them.

"I'm gonna walk you up, okay?" Alex asked when he finally got into the parking lot. Before she could disagree, he turned off the car and got out to open her door.

"Dammit, Alex, I've got it from here." She groaned and started walking towards the building. "I'm drunk, not two years-old." She gasped at what she had said and turned to look at Alex. Audrey's eyes were wide and looked apologetic, but Alex looked completely hurt. "I didn't mean… you know…" She stopped trying to muster up the words and turned around to keep walking.

Alex had followed her up to the sixth floor and as Audrey searched for her keys, he leaned against the wall and shoved his hands into the pockets of his black skinny jeans. "Do you ever think about him?" His voice was low and full of pain.

Tears came crashing to Audrey's eyes. "I think about him all the time, Al."