Siana Jade

Chapter 13: Faking It

I sit straight up in a cold sweat for the millionth night in a row. I look beside me to see my dad sleeping soundly. I grab my phone and text Keith.

"I had another bad dream." I text him. He responds almost instantly.

"I'm on my way over, okay?"

"ok. hurry." I type back.

I get up and make my way to the kitchen. My head throbs as I open the fridge door and the light shines brightly at me. I bend over and feel the familiar ache of my ribs. The pain in my head puts me in the floor and I stay there until I've gathered enough strength to get back up. When I finally grab a water Keith is walking in the front door with a large pizza and some Dr Pepper.

**

"It's not your fault Carter. It was a drunk driver. The only thing that matters is that you're both alive." Keith tries to comfort me as I lay across the couch in the only comfortable position I can manage.

"I can't help but keep thinking that it's my fault. I wasn't paying attention to the road. I could have killed my baby, Keith." I look at him and a tear streams down my face.

"But you didn't. That's what matters." He takes a huge bite of pizza and hands the box over to me. I shake my head and push it away.

"I almost died." I look at Keith and he puts his pizza down. He stares at me for a moment and then scoots closer to me and pulls me into his lap.

"But you didn't Carter. This is God's way of saying you have a second chance. You need to take it and stop sitting around thinking of what you did wrong. Instead think of what you could be doing right. Look, I love you but it's been two weeks since the wreck and you're alive! Be happy! Usually near death experiences make people wake up and smell the roses. They go spend their days petting cats at the animal shelter or help old people cross the street. Not sit on their couches moping about how they "could have died". Carter this is life." He looks into my eyes and I can't help but tear up.

"Thank you." I hide my face in his chest.

"For what?" He asks, confused.

"For being here." I squeak.

"Anytime. I'm your best friend." I can hear his smile and I laugh.

**Dylan's POV**

I finally get Siana to fall asleep after an hour of her crying for her mom. I make my way to the kitchen to grab a drink. I see the wine bottle sitting on the second shelf of the refrigerator and fight myself not to pick it up and chug it. All of the stress lately has really been getting to me. After getting a bottle of water and some Aspirin I head up to my bedroom where Charlie has already fallen asleep. When I climb into the bed she moves over to me and rests her head on my chest. I embrace her familiar flowery smell and sigh.

How did I get into this mess? This mess I call my life. Why can't I go back to highschool when everything was easy and I had the love of my life? Now I'm in bed with a woman who is pregnant with my kid and I don't even know if I love her. I love Carter. I love Siana. They're my family.

A tear falls down my cheek as the endless thoughts circle my mind over and over.

**2 months after the wreck**

*Carter's POV*

Keith is going to see some friends from his old school this weekend and invited me to tag along. I'm kind of nervous because they're all friends from college and I have no idea what they'll think of me. I've never been good with meeting new people. Or people in general. Keith is pretty much my only friend other than the moms at the daycare. And even they scare me because they're all a lot older than me.