Page 131 of Rock Me

"And if I wasn't driving... then I didn’t..."

"You didn't hit me. You didn't get in the car drunk. And you didn't cause my injuries and even more importantly, you didn't cause yours."

All I can do is blink.

It’s starting to make sense but not make any sense at the same time.

I understand his words, but not how they could be accurate.

“I… I couldn’t have been driving,” I say it again, trying to believe it. “I can’t drive a stick.” I look at him, he’s nodding, giving me time, space to process. “But… how do you know that?”

“You told me. That night.”

“That night?”

“Yes, the night of your birthday. You told me you couldn’t drive a stick. Actually, you said you couldn’t ride a stick.” He chuckles, and there’s something misty in his eyes, like he’s reliving the moment. A moment, I have no recollection of.

“I told you that?”

“Yeah.”

“And you remember?”

“I told you, I remember everything. Every word. Every touch.”

For a moment, I let my heart indulge in the need to be close to him. And then my mind pulls us back to reality.

“So, if I wasn’t driving… then what happened? Who did?”

His smile fades, and his eyes turn sad.

“I’m so sorry, but…”

“No.” Paige speaks up and she takes the steps down to us. “Let me tell her.”

Her eyes are red and wet as she reaches out to touch my shoulder. Her lower lip quivers and she bites down on it.

“Paige…”

She just looks at me, blinking, releasing the tears to fall down her cheeks.

And it dawns on me.

“No…”

Her lips clamp down on each other, like she’s holding back the words, but her eyes tell me everything.

“I’m so sorry,” she sobs, her hands coming up to cover her face.

I pull her hands away. “What did you do, Paige? What did you do?”

“I’m so sorry!”

I grab her by the shoulders and shake her, the blood thumping in my ears. “Stop saying that and tell me what you did!”

“That night… that night, you didn’t realize until we were in the car that I’d… I’d had a few drinks. And you were trying to get me to stop. But I wouldn’t let you. You kept yelling at me to stop. I didn’t… I didn’t see him. I swear, I didn’t see him!”

“Oh my god.”