Second Chance

Prologue
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"Come on, Ellen, I'm not ready to even begin thinking about kids," I say, not bothering to hide the exasperation in my voice.

"You're not ready now, okay, fine. But I would at least like some type of game plan, y'know? What you want to do in these upcoming years to prepare for later in life," she explains.

The rain picks up, and I reach to turn up the speed of the windshield wipers.

"I'm only twenty-two for fuck's sake, Ellen. If I knew you'd start jumping on my ass about all this "future" bullshit, I never would've given you that damned ring."

I slam on breaks just as the light directly overhead turns red. The car barely makes it to a stop with the lack of traction from the now-pouring rain. On top of this, I'm becoming increasingly annoyed at the fact that I'm missing the game.

The light turns green.

"If you don't want a future, Vance," Ellen says in a barely audible voice, just as I press the gas, "Then maybe you should take the ring back."

"Maybe you--," I begin, but before the thought is finished, I am momentarily blinded by the brightness of a truck's headlights approaching my side of the car.

Ellen's screams pierce the air. A horn blares, seemingly inside my head, but miles away at the same time.

Within seconds, a crashing sound silences all of this.

I feel nothing as darkness washes over me.