Best Thing In Town

Tre was the last of the guys to turn thirty-four. It was the night of December 9th, technically the 10th, considering it was well past midnight and therefore a new day. They had rented out an entire restaurant in Berkeley for the younger guy's big day. They partied hard, with the exception of Audrey would was now almost two months pregnant with her and Mike's child. They were excited because by March, they'd be able to find out the sex of the child and hopefully the doctor got it right this time.

In the past month, Mike had gone and gotten three new tattoos. On his right forearm he had Lorelei's name with a really girlish font, surrounded by a few hearts. On his left forearm he had Katarina's name with a tiny picture of the old fashion Barbie profile beside it. On his chest, however, right over his heart, he had Audrey's name, like this: 'Audrey, my love.'

The tattoo made Audrey smile each time she saw it. She even promised that as soon as the baby was born, she get one with their names wrapped around her wrists and ankles.

As they drove home from Tre's party, they were talking about the Christmas holiday coming up in a few weeks and what they wanted to get the kids. With Katarina, anything affiliated with Barbie would be fine. Estelle was a little harder to buy for only because she was going to be ten years old in April and was already getting moody like a preteen.

They decided to take the long way home, turning on the radio to some alternative rock station but finding that nothing good was playing, so Mike popped in a CD. It was My Chemical Romance's 'Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge.'

"You know these guys toured with us before. They were our opening act for the second leg of our American tour in spring of last year."

"Ooh, what's this song? I think I've heard it before."

Mike listened closely and pursed his lips in thought. "Oh, uh...'Helena.' Yeah, it's a good song. Kinda bittersweet, y'know?"

Audrey nodded, leaning over to rest her head on Mike's shoulder and just enjoying the song as they drove along. She winced a little, moving slightly in her seat. "Damn seatbelt. It's cutting into my neck and stomach." Popping the button on the seatbelt, she slid it off and was able to return to Mike's side more. "Take it slow, okay? The roads are still slick from this morning's rainshower."

"Don't worry. I'm gonna take my time with you. If I don't you'll castrate me," he teased.

'Helena' came to and end and Audrey reached her hand out to play it again. Mike looked down at her and she replied she just liked listening to it. He smiled, removing one hand from the wheel and wrapping his right arm around her shoulders, placing a kiss on the top of her head. They both watched the road almost hypnotically as drops of water began to hit the windshield.

"Uh, looks like rain again. Ladies and gents, Californian winter is here," he smirked as he removed his arm from Audrey's shoulder and grabbed the wheel again in order to flick on the windshield wipers with his left hand. The rhythmic sway of the wipers were just as hypnotic as watching the road when headlights from way up ahead began to cut through the darkness. "And here I was starting to think we'd have the road to ourselves," Mike remarked.

He sat up a little straighter in his seat and so did Audrey. And then something caught his attention about the other vehicle. Its headlights seemed to move back and forth, which only meant one thing. The driver was swerving all over the road.

"Oh great," Mike mumbled. He gripped his steering wheel a little tighter, preparing to swerve if need be. He tried hugging their side of the road as the vehicle up ahead got closer, and he could make out that it looked like a moving truck.

"Damn, this guy is really swerving. Mike," Audrey gripped his leg. "Careful." Fearful thoughts began running through her head but Mike just nodded.

"It's okay."

But it wasn't. The truck had swerved again, and this time it was totally in their lane and then riding the middle. There wasn't enough room for them to get out of the way.

"Oh shit, shit, shit," Mike cursed. "Fuck, buddy! Get the hell over!" he shouted.

"Mike...oh God, oh God..." Audrey braced herself, scrambling to get her seatbelt back on when Mike's eyes went wide.

"Oh, FUCK! Fuck, hey!" he screamed as if the driver could actually hear him from inside his own BMW. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"Mike!" Audrey screamed in unison with his cursing as he swerved to the left.

That was the last thing he heard Audrey say as the truck came barreling toward them and plowed into the passenger's side with an ungodly force. He heard Audrey scream, but the sound of crunching metal and busting glass drowned her out. He lost control of the wheel as his car began to turn over and eventually upside down as it skidded across the wet pavement. Mike was jumbled around, finding his chest pinned against the steering wheel just as the airbag came out and pushed him back, knocking the wind out of his chest.

He felt the pain of his head hitting the side of car, skin against busting glass. He felt the gradual dripping of warm liquid from his scalp down his temple and the aching in his chest as well as the horrible ache in his left arm.

When the BMW stopped skidding and came to a slow halt, Mike opened his eyes, realizing he was upside down, but his seatbelt kept him dangling, causing the blood to rush to his head. Lifting his right arm, he reached out to pat around for Audrey, but when he felt nothing, he turned his sore head over to the passenger's side only to find it empty.

Severe panic shot through him. "Audrey? Audrey!" He started to pant from fear and worry as he clawed at his seatbelt and eventually fell down to the ceiling of the car with a thud. He laid there for a moment, too in shock from what had happened to just move when someone came up to his door.

"Hey, man. You alright?" came the voice.

Mike turned his head as best as possible, glaring up at the man staring down at him. "Does it look like it, asshole?" he snapped.

"Let me help you out." The man pulled on the driver's door and somehow wrenched it open and carefully pulled Mike out, laying the lean man on the wet pavement. "I called 911. Help's on its way."

"Uh-huh," Mike mumbled, rolling over onto his hands and knees while groaning from the pain he felt. "Audrey..."

"Who's Audrey?"

"My wife. She was in the car with me, b-but she wasn't there...I gotta find her..." As Mike slowly brought himself up to his feet he found the other man looking away nervously. The bassist looked around and saw his car and how accordianed it looked. Then he saw the moving truck, the driver's door open and the driver missing. Looking back at man before him, Mike put two and two together. "You're the asshole who was swerving, weren't you, you fucking asshole?" Mike shouted, pushing the heavier man as the ran began to pour down his face.

"I'm so, so sorry. I fell asleep, and I--"

"Audrey!" Mike screamed, turning away from the truck driver and whipping his head around frantically as he peered through the rain and darkness. There weren't many lights on this part of the road except from the headlights of both vehicles. In the distance, Mike could hear police and ambulance sirens as they drew closer to the scene of the accident.

Just as Mike spotted Audrey up ahead. And his heart seemed to just sink there where he stood. He felt like throwing up.

Audrey lay on the side of the road, being pelted by rain, crumpled like a rag doll that had been discarded by a careless child. Limping over to his wife as fast he could, Mike dropped to his knees as he rolled Audrey onto her back, his mouth dropping in horror by the sight of blood that was rolling down her face and pooling on the pavement around her. Not that it was gallons, but it was enough to put the fear of God in him.

"Baby," he moaned. "Audrey, baby. C'mon. Wake up. It's Mike, baby." He was too scared to move her any further for fear of what moving her would do. His hand shook as they moved about and inch above her, unsure of where to put them, what to do... "You're gonna be okay...help's coming, baby."

He was breaking. The trauma of seeing Audrey like this...he was horrified. Not a second later, it seemed, the police and ambulance and even a fire truck pulled up. Paramedics rushed up and tried pulling him away to attend to Audrey.

"Sir...you need to step back."

"Get the hell away from me!" he barked out through his tears. He heard one of the paramedics mumbling that it didn't 'look good.' And he snapped. Mike began to shake and sob at the same time. "Audrey..." he cried. "Don't leave me, Audrey..."

But Audrey just laid their motionless. He didn't even know if she was alive. And he just asking himself, 'Why? Why did this happen?' Things had been going to awesomely for them. They were so happy.

"Audrey..." he moaned through his sobs.