A Perfect Moment

by Becca Lee

  Ella

  As soon as I sat next to him in his truck, I felt the unease and tension. Ben was almost rigid as he drove. Attempting to make light conversation, I asked him about his trip to Byron. Asked him why he was there in the first place. He was being evasive. There was a clip to his tone, a clip that sent my nerves into warning mode.

  It didn’t take long before I realised we were driving in the opposite direction of the coffee house. I slowly felt at my pocket, immediately realising my mistake; I didn’t have my phone. This whole situation was screwed.

  “Ben,” I tried desperately to keep the tremble from my voice, “the coffee shop is in the other direction. How long did you say you’d lived here again?” I aimed for smooth and nonchalance. Instead, I knew my fear was on the surface, and easy for Ben to see and hear.

  He didn’t say anything for a moment, his eyes glued to the road ahead. An uncomfortable few seconds passed, his hands firmly on the steering wheel. Just as I was about to speak, he finally spoke. “There’s somewhere I want us to go first. Somewhere I need you to see.”

  “Really? Do you not feel like getting a coffee first? I promised Jo we would only be fifteen minutes. She’s being crazy protective and will begin to worry, plus I need to take my painkillers.” I looked at Ben and all around me, taking in the direction we were travelling. I knew the area, knew it quite well. Before I knew it, we pulled over to a small car park near a crossroads. Rush-hour traffic passed by, oblivious to my fears. Daily commuters were speeding in all directions, no doubt heading to work. For a moment, I considered leaping out of the car and heading toward the cars. A niggling in my gut stopped me. “Why are we here, Ben?” I needed answers. I needed to understand what was going on. Ben had clearly brought me here for a reason.

  Ben removed his seat belt and clipped mine. He turned to face me. The moment my eyes met his, a mixture of dread and sorrow filled me. He was in pain. Not the physical pain of our collision, but the pain of a broken man, a broken human being. His eyes were filled with an emotion I could barely describe. It was so different from my own heartbreak and devastation of my destroyed wedding. No, this was so much more.

  “Ben,” I whispered softly, my hand reaching for his. Fear still laced my system, yet it was impossible to ignore the sorrow of the broken man in front of me. “Why are we here?”

  A softening of his eyes and a glistening of tears was there for a fraction of a second before they were replaced by bitterness. “Do you know how easy it is to disappear? To be broken? To be left behind?” He turned his head away from me and focused on the traffic lights to our right. I followed his gaze before returning them to him. “Everything was perfect. I was due to get married, but it was all ripped from me. Having your heart pulled out of your chest, ripped in two, is beyond comprehension. Nothing can ever be the same again.” He was still talking into the distance, no longer even speaking to me anymore.

  “If she hadn’t been out that night, stubbornly determined to pick me up, then she would still be here. It would never have happened. It shouldn’t have happened.” Ben’s gaze returned to mine.

  I looked around once more, really taking in the road and area I was in. Realisation hit me, hard and fast. It was impossible. It couldn’t be true. It made absolutely no sense. “Oh, my God,” I gasped. “How is this even possible? I don’t under ...” My voice trailed off.

  “It was Preston. It was his car that killed her and destroyed me. The report said it was her brakes; they were faulty. Did you know she’d only just gotten them fixed the previous week? Apparently the garage had replaced them.”

  My hand covered my mouth. I shook my head no. Was this why he was here? Did he really think Preston was responsible? A rush of blood thrust into my heart, causing a pang in my chest and an ache in my ribs. “No, that’s not true. Preston was not responsible. Her car ran a red light; there was no way Preston could have stopped. I know it was not her fault. She was not in control of her brakes locking up. It was wet; she spun out. Nobody could have prevented this. It was a tragic accident.” And it was. I’d had so many similar conversations with Preston over the years, especially just after it happened. My heart ached for Ben, but whatever he had planned, whatever he was trying to do, I knew would solve nothing. I repeated one last time, “Why are we here?”

  “They’ve all been made to pay. Everyone who should have stopped this from happening. They’ve been made accountable. Now there’s just Preston.” His voice was devoid of emotion. No anger, no shouting for vengeance; instead, what his lack of emotion said seemed a whole lot worse.

  A deep-seated fear was firmly planted in my stomach. I had no idea what he was talking about, or what he planned to do. “Ben,” I spoke tentatively, “I’m so sorry, for Sophie.” His eyes whipped to mine as I mentioned her name. “Yes, I know who she was. Preston spoke about her a lot. He was devastated about her death. Broken, even.” He frowned and looked all shades of pissed off. I rushed ahead, trying desperately to talk him down from whatever he was planning, and I just hoped I didn’t make the damn situation worse. “He blamed himself for a long time, but I stopped him from doing that to himself.” I anxiously watched his knuckles become white as he gripped the steering wheel. “I did. It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t her fault. It was a freak mechanical problem. Nothing could have prevented this. It’s devastating, and I’m so sorry for you, Ben, so, so sorry, but this isn’t Preston’s fault or yours. You can’t keep doing this to yourself. You have to mourn Sophie’s death and move on.” I hadn’t realised until a sob caught in my throat that tears had spilled out of my eyes and were rolling down my cheeks.

  “No.” He shook his head. “This is the only way for it to be over.” With his eyes firmly fixed on the crossroads, he started the engine and revved it.

  I reached the door handle in panic. I needed to get the fuck out of there, and fast. When I grabbed onto the handle, it was slack in my hand. I pulled, pressed and shoved at it, but with no success. “Ben, you need to let me out.” He revved the engine and dropped the car into gear. “Ben, please, let me out of this car.” I sobbed loudly, now hammering at the window. Pain crushed my side from my broken ribs as I hit heavily on the glass. The car lurched forward. “No!” I screamed. “Let me the fuck out, now.” This was bad, beyond what was comprehensible.

  The car picked up speed as he raced around the car park heading toward the exit. With no seatbelt on, I heaved myself over the seat, falling into the back, crying out as I landed on my ribs. I called out in pain. Fuck. Everything hurts. I clambered for the doors in the back, but found them the same. The lifeless handles filled me with despair.

  I groped around the backseat, looking for something, anything to break the window. My foot would have to do. After one kick, I knew any healing which had started on my ribs was now destroyed. “Open this fucking car door now, Ben.” We were on the road, weaving through the traffic, which had begun to thin out. There was no one in front of us, just a red traffic light. “No. Don’t fucking do this.” I launched myself at Ben, reaching over and grabbing for the steering wheel, the handbrake, anything I could touch.

  Pain exploded through my head, similar to the pain of the surfboard beating down on me a couple of days earlier. I fell back behind Ben onto the back seat and rocked to the footwell. I heard the screeching of tyres, not ours, and the blasting of horns, before my head was thrown back, hitting the car door with a deep thud.

  I had barely a moment to know I was screwed before darkness took over. Again. I was getting really tired of this shit.

  Chapter Twenty

  Preston

  I got out of my car while I was waiting for the police to meet me. I bounced on my feet, too worked up to wait patiently. With every vehicle that drove by, my head whipped in its direction. Two minutes felt like two hours. Every fifteen seconds I’d swipe my phone open to check the time; it didn’t help. Time still moved at a fraction of its usual speed.

  I just wanted to be woken up from the nightmare I was living. The eve
nts of Sophie’s death, the absolute finality of the grief I had experienced and managed to be dragged out of was still thick and clear. But now, years on, it was still haunting me. Finally, I thought I’d found my peace. I had the most beautiful woman in the world who was mine. Damn, we still hadn’t even had a conversation to discuss us, but I knew without a doubt that there was and always would be an us.

  As far as I was concerned, she was the woman who I was going to marry. I’d throw her over my shoulder and drag her there if I needed to. But with absolute certainty, she would be wearing my ring.

  I couldn’t do it. Barely three minutes had gone by, but waiting around for fuck-knows-what to happen was simply more time to put distance between Ella and myself. I just couldn’t live with that risk. “Shit!” I exclaimed aloud. I pulled open my door, jumped in and started my engine.

  There was only one place I could think of worth driving to. A place filled with memories that haunted my dreams. I jammed the car into gear and sped off, heading north. I pressed my history button on my phone and dialled Liam. He answered immediately. “Meet me at the intersection out at Noosa. Get your arse there, quick. I’m ten minutes out.” I threw my phone down on the passenger’s seat without switching it off. Liam would know where I was heading. I just hoped he was even closer than I was.

  Racing down the roads, cursing at the traffic, I kept my eyes glued to the streets, refusing to clock watch. My phone began to ring after just a few minutes. I considered ignoring it for a split second, but instantly changed my mind. It was the Detective. “Where the hell are you, Preston? One of my officers arrived to find you gone.”

  “I know where they are. I hope, damn, it’s the only place I could think of to look.”

  I heard voices calling out in the distance from the other end of the line and a car engine starting. “Where to? We’ve tried his address and—”

  “Noosa.”

  “Damn, the site of the collision. We were following his next suspected arson attack site. We’re six minutes out. Hold tight, and whatever you do don’t approach him. He’s dangerous.”

  Like hell I wouldn’t. He was telling me Ben was dangerous and expected me to sit back and twiddle my goddamn thumbs? Not in this lifetime.

  He continued to speak when I didn’t answer him. “Preston, I’m serious. Ben’s responsible for the arson attacks. We were able to get a warrant for his property.”

  “Shit. I’m two minutes out. Just hurry.” I ended the call and cursed. I hoped I was right and I was heading right for Ella. If they weren’t at Noosa, then I had no clue where to look. It didn’t bear thinking about.

  Pressing my foot on the accelerator, I turned the corner, knowing I was just a kilometre away. Traffic had built up, forcing me to slam on my brakes and press my horn. I navigated around vehicles and entered the opposite lane, not giving a crap about the oncoming traffic who were pulling over to the side. I saw a space up ahead and re-entered the correct lane.

  That’s when I saw a black jeep speeding across a car park, about to enter the road ahead. As the car pulled out, I caught a glimpse of the driver. Ben. I could see no sign of Ella in the split second I was able to look through the front window. The rest of the windows were blacked out.

  I accelerated and overtook the two vehicles in front of me. I was gaining on the traffic lights and the Jeep. Nothing was in front of it. I watched in horror as the lights turned to red and the Jeep picked up speed. Fuck. This couldn’t be happening, not like this.

  I had no idea what to do. I was confident Ella was in the car in front, and if they ploughed into another vehicle at the speed they were going, I had no doubt Ella would be lucky to survive. Hell, I knew from experience the likelihood was slim.

  I had no choice, and I had just a few moments to make a difference. Knocking into a lower gear, I pumped the accelerator and took off at a breakneck speed. I had to reach them.

  I had to get them off the road. The only way to do that was to create damage. It wasn’t the best plan in the world. Damn, it was dangerous as fuck, but it was all I had. Ella would most likely be hurt, but I had to weigh up my options. A nudge and a spin compared to a head-on collision? My odds were on my bullshit plan.

  Finally positioned behind and to the right of the Jeep, I went for it. I nudged left with a heavy and fast turn of the wheel. I sent out a silent prayer, hoping I wasn’t screwing this up even worse, and jolted at the impact.

  My car immediately fishtailed out and spun before making impact with the Jeep. I spun out a few feet away from the other vehicle as I saw it do the same. It hit the pavement and crashed through the row of bushes before crunching against a tree. I managed to breathe a sigh of relief before I was jolted forward, my head cracking against my side window. I heard the loud crunch and felt myself come to a sudden stop.

  I looked around. The sensation felt too much like déjà vu. I tested the use of my legs as I caught sight of the Jeep in the distance. My car was in the opposite lane and I was pushed close to another vehicle. I checked the car I’d crashed into briefly and saw the owner get out, a look of fear on his face. He was fine.

  Wiping the moisture out of my eyes, I barely paid attention to the smear of blood on my hand and arm. I crawled over to the passenger’s side—my door too crumpled to open—and pushed open the door. Sirens wailed in the distance, but I still had to get to Ella. I had no idea if she was okay.

  As I stumbled toward the car, a feeling of unease spread through me. This time I had really caused the collision. If I’d lost her, I would never be able to live with myself. I half-ran, half-staggered to the Jeep. It was stationary. The front window was smashed and the airbags had been deployed.

  I reached the passenger’s side door and took hold of the handle. It felt loose and wouldn’t budge open. “Shit. Open the door, you bastard.” I continued to pull at it, my energy ebbing with every yank. My adrenalin spiked, refusing to feel the pain in my shoulder and arm. I needed to get in the car.

  I tried the rear door but it was the same. I looked around my feet, searching for a brick, anything, to break open the window. When I did, my attention was drawn to a call of my name and pounding feet. It was Liam. Thank God, he was here. “I need to get her the fuck out of there, Liam. Get her the fuck out.” My heart pounded heavily; my heart constricted and I felt a shortness of breath in my growing panic. I couldn’t hear anything, not Ella, not even Ben. What if she’s dead? A rush of nausea and deep-seated fear hit me in my chest and threatened to overwhelm me. I staggered backwards, and a firm hand took hold of my arm and pulled me back. I went to fight, almost laughable in my state—I was pretty sure I’d broken my collarbone—but stopped when I saw it was Liam carrying a crowbar. I had no clue where he’d managed to pull it from, but I was damn relieved at the sight.

  Two heavy hits to the window had it shattering. Preston cleared out the shards of glass with the bar, before he peered inside. “Shit,” he bit out. “Ella? Fuck, Ella?”

  Fear, a fear I had never heard before laced Liam’s words. The force of them hit me square in the chest, and almost brought me to my knees. I could not even begin to imagine a world without Ella in it, and this time, I would be the one to blame. I deliberately drove them off the road. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to help her, save her, yet in just a moment, I had screwed it all up. A pain unlike any other I’d ever experienced before, threatened to crush me. My heart was close to splintering. My breathing was shallow and sped up.

  My world crumbled and shattered around me. I fought for breath. “Liam,” I cried out, unable to keep the fear or tears out of my voice, “is she—” I couldn’t even finish the question. I sent a silent prayer to God, or Allah, or whoever the fuck was up there, that Ella would survive. None of this was her fault. It was all down to me, and that fuck, Ben. I hoped for his sake he was dead. If not, with absolute certainty, I would kill him with my bare hands.

  Liam didn’t answer. Instead, I looked on, weak and broken, as he climbed through the window. A moment passed before
I heard loud bangs and saw the passenger’s door shudder. I dreaded the door opening. If she was gone, if she hadn’t made it, I knew my world would be over. Just as the door flung open, I heard screeching tyres, sirens and then shouting. The paramedics and police were here.

  I leaned in towards the car, needing to get to Ella. She was lying in the footwell of the back. Her eyes were closed; her face had fresh cuts and scratches, and a terrifying amount of blood covered the right side of it. “Ella? Oh, my God—”

  “Preston.” Liam’s voice was clipped, harsh, and demanded my attention. “She’s alive. She’s breathing. Now get the fuck out of the way so the paramedics can do their thing.”

  I stepped back, trusting Liam completely. A few steps away, my legs finally gave and I fell to my knees. A paramedic was immediately by my side, while two more rushed past me and headed to Ella.

  The paramedic attempted to ask me questions, but all I heard were murmurs. My eyes and focus was completely on Ella. It didn’t take long before they were able to remove her from the Jeep and place her on the waiting stretcher that one of the paramedics had collected. It became clear to the paramedic who was trying to assist me I wasn’t going anywhere or doing anything until Ella was secure in the ambulance and safe.

  Watching a mask being secured to Ella’s face, my heart briefly stopped as I waited for condensation to form. The moment it did, I closed my eyes. The terror of losing her stuck in my throat. I had to force it down, knowing I had to keep my shit together.

  I followed the trolley to the ambulance, refusing to let Ella out of my sight. I thought of all the times I had managed to screw things up in my life, or simply fucked around a little too much. The ridiculous moments that now seemed insignificant. This was it, the future, and there was no chance in hell I was going to screw up again.

  Just as I was climbing into the back of the ambulance with Ella, completely ignoring the paramedics requesting me to get on the trolley in a different vehicle, Detective Richards made his way over to me.