Broken Pieces

By Kelsie Blanton

Losing the love of your life is one of the hardest things a person can experience. Losing the love of your life in an automobile accident that you walked away from is even harder.

When everything in her life falls apart, Allie Combs is left to slowly piece it back together. In a matter of just a few hours, her life hits rock bottom, and the only person she has to help her through it is her best friend, Macy Philips.

Going on a journey around the world, Allie will learn much about herself. Will she finally let go of the guilt that has consumed her since the accident and live life to the fullest? Can she put the pieces of her life back together and still remember her love’s smile?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kelsie Blanton
• Release date: Jun 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301836864

Kelsie Blanton

Kelsie Blanton is a fun-loving young woman from a small town in Kentucky. Writing has always been her passion and when she’s not working at her full-time job, she is at home writing on something. Her hobbies include reading, writing, singing (poorly), dancing (again, poorly), and talking...a lot.Surrounded by amazing friends and family that support her, Kelsie is following her dreams. Happy reading!

Book preview

– Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights

The sound of metal crunching seemed as though it lasted forever. Shards of glass floated through the air as though time had almost come to a complete halt.

"I was wondering if I could buy you a cup of coffee." Someone with a deep voice asked.

"Well I’m actually working right now but thank you." I barely spared a glance in the stranger’s direction.

"I understand, but you can’t very well work without coffee. You’re in a coffee shop and you don’t have any coffee."

Irritated, I looked up at the guy hovering by my table prepared to give him the screw off speech. Instead, I couldn’t form words. He was devastatingly handsome, but in the smart, nerdy way—sandy blonde hair cut short, clear blue eyes, and glasses. Uh—I—sure.

"Okay, I’ll be right back. I’m Jacob, by the way." He grinned and I could almost hear the angels singing a hallelujah chorus.

"I’m Allie. It’s nice to meet you."

When the car flipped, I could have sworn it lasted a lifetime. It took so long and yet ended so quickly. Suddenly, blackness took over and I heard nothing. I felt nothing. Unfortunately, that didn’t last nearly long enough.

When I came to, I was hanging upside down—surrounded by smoke and covered in blood. I looked over at Jacob to ask if he was all right but he wasn’t there.

"You want us to move in together?" I asked baffled.

"Well yeah. I mean, we’ve been together for two years. I think it’s time for the next step."

"You want to live with me—a slob?"

"I love you. I don’t care if you’re a little messy. We can work on it. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. So?"

"Yes! Of course I’ll move in with you!"

The driver’s seat was empty. The man who had proposed to me less than an hour ago was no longer behind the wheel. He wasn’t in the car at all. Carefully, I placed one hand on the roof and unbuckled my seatbelt with the other—catching myself as I tumbled down into a pile of glass, blood, and rubble. I slowly crawled out the window and searched the darkness for any sign of movement, listened for any noises and got absolutely nothing.

Jacob! I screamed, frantically searching for him. Blood streamed down my forehead into my eyes, blurring my vision. Jacob, where are you? I ran up the bank back towards the road.

Please be all right. Please, God, let him be okay.

Please! I screeched. Jacob, baby, please tell me where you are. Tears began to mix with the blood.

Allie. Finally I heard his voice. Over here.

I sprinted towards the woods, thirty feet away from the car, until I came across my fiancé lying at an awkward angle with a large tree branch protruding from his stomach. Oh my God, Jacob! Sobs wracked my chest as I tried to hold down the bile rising in my throat. I dropped to my knees and tried desperately to wipe the blood off of his face but it kept coming back.

I’m—so sorry. I shouldn’t have—. He hissed as he tried to talk, struggling to breathe. I shouldn’t have tried to avoid the deer. I should have just—hit it.

Shh, it’s not your fault. I wiped my face with the back of my hand. It’s nobody’s fault.

I—I love you. He grabbed my hand and kissed it. Promise me you won’t—promise me you won’t shut everyone out. Promise me you’ll move on, eventually. I don’t want you to be—alone. I love you so much.

No. Jacob, don’t you dare talk like that. You are not going to die. Everything is going to be fine. Someone will find us and we will have our beautiful perfect wedding. You will be there at the altar, waiting for me. It had been his idea to leave our cell phones at home. He thought it would make the night more romantic, not having any interruptions. Therefore, I couldn’t call 9-1-1.

Allie, a person knows when they are—dying. His breaths were getting shorter.

I love you too. I squeezed his hand.

Can you—help me think about—something else?

Um, I—I don’t know what to think about. I can’t lose you, Jacob. I keep thinking about that.

The—wedding.

Okay, I took a deep breath preparing myself for the hardest thing I would ever have to talk about. Um, we will get married outside, under the stars—with lights and lanterns everywhere. I had secretly been hoping that you would propose soon so I already picked out the dress. It’s an a-line dress with a sweetheart neckline—strapless and all lace. I closed my eyes to imagine the perfect wedding that we would never have. I have my hair curled and pinned to the side. The music starts playing and I walk down the aisle to meet you. The look you have on your face is one of pure love and joy. I—.

"I can’t imagine my life without you, Allie. I love you so much and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" He was down on one knee holding open a velvet box with a two carat, princess cut diamond in it. Tears sprang to my eyes.

"Yes! Yes! A million times yes!" Gently he slid the ring on my finger and stood up.

"You just made me the happiest man in the world." He kissed me passionately—putting his hand on my neck to deepen the kiss.

His hand went limp and I looked down to see a single tear slide down his cheek, glimmering in the moonlight. He let out his last breath and died with a smile on his face. He had told me he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. I never would have imagined that would have only been a little over an hour.

Jacob? I gently shook his arm and his head rolled to the side. He laid there motionless. Jacob, wake up, please. Don’t leave me here alone.

Breathing became a struggle and I began hyperventilating so badly that pain seared through my chest, tearing through my heart. Jacob! My screams echoed throughout the tree-lines and I collapsed beside his lifeless body.

I didn’t leave his side—even when the sun was well risen and I could no longer keep my eyes open. I was going to sleep next to my fiancé one last time and no one was going to convince me otherwise.

Ma’am? I heard from a distance.

Her name is Allie. Someone whispered. My wife is her best friend. Her name is Allie and—that’s her boyfriend, Jacob.

Mother of God. This is horrible. I didn’t even bother opening my eyes. I prayed that it was all a bad dream. However, if the hardness of the ground was any indication, when I opened my eyes it would all have been real. Someone gently rolled me over onto my back and began checking me for injuries, I assumed. Then their arms were under me and I was being tucked into their chest as they carried me away. I couldn’t open my eyes. Exhaustion swept through me and it took everything not to fall asleep again. Get her in the ambulance, Vance, and go with her to the hospital. She’s your friend. She needs you and your wife.

Will do. He stepped up into the ambulance. Instead of placing me on the stretcher, he sat down and rubbed my back.

Vance? I grabbed onto his shirt and slowly opened my eyes as the doors were closed. How did you find me?

Someone drove by and saw your car. They called the police and requested some ambulances, explaining that the car looked pretty bad, but they couldn’t find anyone in it. We put together a small search party and found you in the woods.

Jacob’s dead. I whispered.

I know.

Something wet hit my face and I glanced up to see Vance crying. In a trance, I wiped the tears from his face and held up my left hand. He asked me to marry him. Said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. It lasted an hour—the rest of his life only lasted a damn hour! I hid my face in his chest and sobbed hysterically. How is that fair? Why did this happen? I screamed.

Shhh. He rubbed my tangled, matted dark red hair—soothing me. I don’t know. I’ve been called to the scene of accidents so many times and wondered the same thing. But when it’s your friends, it’s even worse.

I should have gone to get help. I should have done something to save him. I cried.

Allie, listen to me, there was nothing you could have done. He spent his last minutes on earth with the girl he loved. That meant more to him than you going out in the middle of nowhere to try to find some help. It would have been unsuccessful. Hardly anyone drives these roads. It would have been hours before you found someone. He would have already been gone when you got back. Don’t ever regret staying there with him.

He wanted me to get his mind off of everything. He asked me to talk about the wedding. I stared off at a light as he continued to rub my hair.

I need to call Macy, He said while pulling out his cell phone. All I could do was nod. Numbness began flowing through me. I listened as he explained everything to the girl that had been my best friend since elementary school. When he hung up, he looked at me. She’ll meet us at the hospital.

Why are we going to the hospital? I asked hoarsely.

Because you have a cut on your forehead that is going to need stitches, and you need to be examined.

Oh okay. Finally the ambulance came to a stop and the doors opened as people rushed out to meet us. A doctor forced Vance to put me on a stretcher, but let him stay by my side while I was getting stitches.

We’re going to get some X-Rays and a CT scan just to make sure there are no broken bones or internal bleeding. Shock and adrenaline can do a lot as far as numbing physical pain. You’ll need to wait in the waiting room while we do that.

Okay. I need to check and see if Macy is here yet anyway. Allie, are you going to be okay alone for a while? Boy if that wasn’t the question of the century. I simply nodded.

I barely noticed what was being done to me. The X-Rays and the scan all went by in a blur. All I could do was keep reliving the previous night. It played over and over again in my head, causing my anxiety to spike. The only man I had ever loved was dead. He was gone and I would never see him again. He was lying on the ground in the woods—I couldn’t leave him there.

Where’s Jacob?I asked when they brought me back to my room. Macy and Vance walked in shortly after. Where is he? No one will answer me!

Vance looked over at Macy whose face was red and puffy from crying.

"Where is he?" I screamed.

Allie, he’s gone. Don’t you remember? Vance reached over and grabbed my hand.

I know that! But where is he? We can’t just leave him in the woods! He’ll get cold. I sobbed.

He’s not in the woods anymore sweetie. They took him to the—well he’s just not in the woods anymore. Macy came up to my side and grabbed my other hand.

Is—is he in the morgue?

Vance and Macy exchanged glances and she nodded.

Can I see him? Please? I just want to see him one more time.

I don’t think that’s a good idea, The doctor said.

Please? I know how he looks. I was there when he died okay? I know about the branch, I know about all of his injuries. Please just let me see my fiancé.

Alright. I’ll have a nurse take you down there. Vance, you should probably go with her. Macy is it? Macy nodded trying to hold back more tears. I would suggest you go sit in the waiting room.

I want to be there with her. She’s my best friend. She’s like a sister to me. I need to be there for her. Besides, I need to see for myself.

Suit yourself. The doctor nodded at the nurse and she led the way as Vance pushed me in the wheelchair, following behind her. Macy walked by my side the whole way down.

Are you sure you want to do this? Vance asked as we stood in front of the window. I couldn’t force myself to answer over the lump in my throat, so I nodded instead.

My breath caught as they wheeled in a body covered by a white sheet. A part of me knew Jacob was dead but another part of me refused to believe it. How could it be his body under that sheet, when not even twenty-four hours ago we were having dinner and he was asking me to be his wife? The medical examiner glanced in our direction and Vance gave her a slight nod, indicating we were as ready as we were going to be. Slow motion doesn’t even begin to describe the way time passed as the sheet was pulled back—time crept by. At first, I saw his hair—his beautiful sandy blonde hair, then his forehead, his eyes, nose, and finally—after what seemed like forever, the sheet was folded over his chest and his entire face was revealed. I couldn’t do anything but stare blankly ahead. The branch had been removed, the blood had been cleaned—had it not been for the ashen color of his skin, I would have believed he was just sleeping.

Beside me, Macy slowly began to lose her composure. Vance quickly grabbed her before she collapsed. I waited for the overwhelming wave of emotion to crash over me, but nothing came. I listened to my two best friends sob while I did absolutely nothing. I couldn’t take my eyes off of his face. I knew that would be the last time I ever saw him, and all that I felt was an empty void where the joy used to be.

Come on honey. I looked at Macy’s red swollen face and yet, still felt nothing.

Why—why can’t I cry right now?

You’re probably in shock, Vance said.

Yeah. Slowly, I turned away from the window and suddenly my legs could no longer support my weight. I grabbed the wheelchair and collapsed into it. Let’s go. I mumbled.

It had been weeks since the accident. The days seemed to run together so I had absolutely no idea how long it had actually been.

Everything after the hospital went by in a blur.

I could barely remember the funeral and for the life of me, I couldn’t tell you a single person who attended. I vaguely recalled the reading of the will, and that was only because something the lawyer said had shocked me out of my own mind for a brief moment.

"Half?"I blurted out.

"Yes. The lawyer looked down at the will and began reading it again. To the love of my life, Allie Combs, I leave you the house, the car, and half a million dollars."

"I didn’t even know he had that much money," I whispered.

"Well here it is." He held out an envelope and I glared at it—too afraid to touch it. It was almost as though it would burn me if I did.

"Allie, take the envelope," Macy said.

"Um, okay." I reached over and gently took it.

"To the woman who has helped my love through