The Truth Hurts

23 │haunted

As the sun begins to rise, it drapes the small town of Riverside in a glistening, yet humble, hue of gold. The scarlet sky appears to be blushing overhead, watching the city as it awakes to yet another day.

Over on Fifth Street, the O'Neil residence appears as tranquil as ever. No sign of Garrett, Hannah, or any life for that matter.

That is until Taylor's car speeds past it, twisting the corner of the winding road rapidly as she carelessly types a text message on her phone. Music blares out of her rolled down windows, disturbing the serenity of the neighborhood.

The song fades out. A man talks for a few seconds before another tune begins and, excitedly, Taylor tosses her phone into the passenger's seat and looks at the radio. "Ohh, I love this song!"

She leans down to grab the volume button and twists it, turning it up as loud as she possibly can. The steel shell of the car begins to vibrate, trembling to the beat of the song. She sits back up, turning back to the windshield, and gasps as she quickly steps on the brake pedal.

But it's too late. A thin line of blood splatters onto the windshield as the car slams into the bike, sending the young boy tumbling into the pavement and underneath her front bumper. The car lifts up and then quickly drops, as if she drove over a speed bump, before coming to a screeching halt in the middle of an intersection.

Taylor stares forward, frozen in a moment of dismay, and watches the blood ooze down the window as she feels her hands begin to shake. A thick cloud of dark grey smoke rises from the bent hood. She can taste it with each heavy breath she takes as it slips in through the open windows.

Suddenly, there's a loud banging. As if somebody was angrily slamming their fists on the trunk of the car. Or banging from the inside of it, trying to free themselves.

"Taylor..." A female voice, all too familiar, softly speaks from a distance. It is as inviting as it is eerie.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a figure move near the light post and turns to look out of the passenger's window. The constant banging grows louder with each blow.

Watching from the sidewalk, Paige steps off of the curb and into the street. She screams, her voice seeming to echo throughout the community. "That blood is on YOUR hands!"

The sheets nearly fall off of her bed as Taylor jumps up, waking from the nightmare. Her t-shirt clings to her chest, drenched in sweat, and she continues to breathe heavily as if still inhaling the smoke from her dream.

A knock comes from her bedroom door. "Taylor?"

"Come in." She says, brushing her frizzed bangs out of her face.

Morgan cracks the door open and lingers in the doorway. "God, you sleep like a rock. I've been knocking for over a minute."

"Sorry." She says, sitting up straight as she pulls the covers from her legs.

He wipes at a smudge of oil on his left cheek with the back of his hand. "It's cool. So I fixed your car. Temporarily anyway. Looks like the battery was out and something might be wrong with the engine."

Rather surprised by his sudden nice gesture, Taylor rubs at her eyes to ensure she's actually awake. "Uhh... Thanks?"

"No problem, sis." He smiles before pulling back into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

Lately he's been acting better. More calm. Relaxed. Like he used to be, that is before the accident shattered all their lives to hell.

She gets to her feet and stumbles to the foot of her bed, walking around it, as she approaches her windows. She twists open the blinds and looks into their driveway at her car, as if to ensure the hood was still intact.