Enemies With Benefits (Book One)

twelve

Chapter Twelve

Saturday

When Collin pulled his bright red car into my driveway, I noticed how a few of my neighbors were standing around street. It made me furrow my eyebrows and turn to Collin. He glanced around as well before meeting my eyes and we both stepped out of the car. Upon doing so, I realized that everybody looked lost as well, and that made me know that something was wrong.

I walked up to my nearest neighbor, Shannon, who was wrapped up in one of her blankets. She was in her late 30s, and I always hear her leaving her house every  morning for work. Since it was almost 12 in the morning, the fact that she was up at this time was odd. "Hey, what's going on here?" I ask, feeling as Collin stepped up next to me.

The red-haired woman shrugged her shoulders slowly, and that's when our other neighbor walked up to us very fast. Her name was Nicole, and she always had information on  what went on in our area. "I heard that there was a massive car accident and it shut off the power for a few blocks." Nicole informed, and I could tell that she couldn't wait to share her gossip.

"Really? What, did they crash into a utility pole?" Collin questioned, and I replied sarcastically because what else would they have crashed into?

Right after he asked that question, my phone rang from my pocket. Pulling it out I see that it's Peter calling me. When I told Collin that I was stepping away to take the call, he muttered something about me playing girlfriend. I just shook my head and stepped back over to his car.

"What's up, Peter?" I questioned, and in almost an instant he blew up at me.

"JENNIFER WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? I HAVE BEEN CALLING YOU FOR THE PAST TEN MINUTES AND YOUR PHONE IS GOING STRAIGHT TO VOICEMAIL!" He exploded into the phone, I had to pull mine away from my ear to save my eardrum.

"Whoa, I'm home, Peter. I didn't hear my phone ring at all, it's probably because I didn't have any service on the highway." I explain, wondering why he was panicking. Was it solely because he didn't know where I was, or was there another reason?

"Oh thank goodness, when I saw the news I got really scared because I remembered you said you were going out with Lilly tonight." He confessed, making me confused instantly.

I furrowed my eyebrows slightly. "W-Wait, what's on the news, Peter?"

The boy paused for a second, probably not believing that I haven't turned my TV on yet. "You didn't hear!? Some drunk driver ran their car into another one, and then that car slammed into a huge ass pole. They haven't identified the drunk driver, but they said that Lilly and Marcus were in the other one." Peter explained, and I instantly hung up the line in a state of pure shock.

As I stared off into space, my phone dropped onto the pavement, and it alerted Collin within seconds. He whipped his head over to me and saw that I was stunned, so he rushed to my side. "Jenn, what's wrong?" Collin asked, and picked my device up off the ground as he awaited my response.

"We need to go to the hospital, there's been an accident."

Forty Minutes Later

I decided to drive us to the hospital, due to the fact that as soon as we got in the vehicle, Collin Myers dipped into his alcohol stash. I convinced him not to drink his anxiousness away, because it wouldn't end well. Trust me, I am one for drowning in booze, but in this situation, that isn't particularly ideal.

"C'mon Jennifer!" Collin rushed from a few feet ahead, but I couldn't go any faster in my current state. So, I bent down and took my heels off so that I could keep up with him. Together, we pushed through the revolving door, making sure not to waste any more time.