Maggie-

"Buckle up."  I tease with a laugh as Jackson settles into the passenger seat, but the very moment my fingers grip the steering wheel everything changes. The scene menacingly warps around me until I find myself in my old Sonata.

Jackson's gone, the seat beside me is empty with nothing but my iPhone lighting up continuously as if someone's desperate to get a hold of me.

The violent rain smashes down into the windshield and scatters about making it impossible to see where I'm going and the fog building up on the glass doesn't help matters.  I grip the sleeve of my sweater, attempting to wipe it clean but it's no use.

My phone once again lights up beside me and Jackson's name flashes across the screen beckoning me to answer. Despite my urge to reach for it, to stop this confusion and contact Jack for help, I feel my foot press harder on the gas as if I'm desperately attempting to outrun something or someone.

The world passes around my Sonata in streaks of red and white and I roll down the windows slightly, stretching my hand out of the window to catch the raindrops and allow the smell of rain to enter my nostrils.

My phone lights up again in the corner of my eye and I glance quickly in its direction noticing his name flashing over and over. Agony and regret stream through my chest but I feel myself attempt denial before rolling my eyes to pass off my hurt as an annoyance. Despite my best efforts, my mouth involuntarily turns to a frown and a few extra tears fall.

My weary eyes are back on the road just as my car begins swerving back and forth. Weightlessness falls over me as if my car is drifting on water, the tires unable to properly grip the tarred street.

I try my best to adjust the steering wheel back in the direction of the road but I've completely lost control as the water washes beneath me. My car starts veering towards the canal that's filling dangerously quick with rainwater. Flash floods are a well-known killer during Arizona's monsoons and the sudden fear of drowning grips my chest.

In a panic, I slam as hard as I can on the brakes and twist the steering wheel, attempting to correct my deadly mistake.

The world quiets as my body becomes weightless and an unnerving calm washes over me. What feels like minutes is only seconds, as my Sonata flips through the air in a clumsy ballet which is disrupted time and time again by the deafening sound of metal colliding with concrete.

The weightlessness ends and my body is thrown over the steering wheel causing my forehead to collide with the window.

Pain

I awaken to find myself upside down, the car still, and blood rushing to my head. My arms limply hang to the floor which used to be the roof of my car and I force myself to move.  With every movement, the air is sucked from my lungs and the capacity I'm able to inhale becomes less and less with each breath.

Pain

My bones ache as I attempt to unbuckle my belt and release myself from this hanging trap but my fingers crack with every movement.  I fumble with the strap for what feels like minutes but could only be seconds until I realize it's no use. I want to scream, to beg for help but I know there's no one around.

Pain

My hands hang loosely in a pool of water that's begun to seep in through the open windows and smashed windshield. A coppery taste pools in my mouth, clinging to my teeth and dripping to the floor. Wetness covers my eyes and I attempt to wipe what I originally thought was rain but it only smears further.

Help

My breathing slows, unable to continue gasping for more air to scream, wasting the effort seems pointless. My throat closes and my thoughts begin to fade, a call for help no longer muddles my mind.

Spots appear in my already blurry vision and the breath that once filled my lungs escapes my grasp. Static fills my mind and a buzzing noise fills my ears as I drift in and out of consciousness, until-

Nothing.

"Maggie?" Jackson calls out or me but I can't seem to move, completely engrossed in the scene I've relived. 

My chest rises and falls swiftly and nausea overcomes my stomach.  The taste of iron lingers on my tongue as if I was really there covered in my own blood.

"Maggie what's going on?" Jackson asks, slightly more concerned and I notice my knuckles are pale from gripping the steering wheel so tightly.

I tear my eyes from the street and concentrate on the shallow breaths I haven't been able to catch since I seemingly flipped through the air of my Sonata just minutes ago.

"Maggie, Love."  Jackson pleads and my tired eyes finally meet his.

"I can't." I manage to whisper in a shaky voice. After reliving my last moments and feeling my will fade away, accepting my demise speaking seems incredibly difficult.

What can I even say?  

"You can't what Love?" Jackson asks, clueless to the hell I just experienced.

His diamond eyes carefully examine my pale face until recognition washes over them.

"It's alright." He whispers as he reaches across to unbuckle my belt.  His fingers gently attempt to pry mine from the steering wheel that I hadn't realized I was still gripping onto and he pulls me into his arms. "You don't have to."

I hide my face in the nook between his neck and shoulder and close my eyes, concentrating on finally getting a good intake of air. I feel his lips press against my temple before his fingers run through my hair and his familiar scent washes over me.

The scene replays in my mind once more, taunting me and despite how badly I wished to regain my memories, I can't help but want them gone again.

I've already been through the accident, survived, and started thriving again.  Will every harsh memory come pelting crudely into my mind like this?

I half expect myself to break into tears, but none come.  I suppose it's for the best, what good would crying do at this point?

"I saw it."  I whisper, trying to explain the scene embedded in my eyelids.

"Saw what?" He asks, confused. 

"The accident." I admit, letting him know of the heinous memory I've just relived and his hand, which was rubbing circles in my back, freezes in place.  

"What all do you remember?" He asks before clearing his throat.

I close my eyes once more, trying to analyze what I've seen and find a way to describe it.  The phone, the rain, flipping through the air, the blood, the silence, the nothing.

"Maggie?" Jackson's voice shakes as if he's in fear and I instantly push away from him so I can examine his face. 

His tormented diamond eyes meet mine and my brows crinkle as I watch an intense worried expression completely take over his beautiful face.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to worry you." My mind instantly switches from my own distress to an immediate need to comfort Jack. My fingertips brush against his warm cheek before I try to explain what I remember. "It's just fragmented.  It's raining and I'm driving down a dark street.  I'm reaching for my phone and then suddenly I'm panicked and upside down."

Jackson takes a deep breath as if he hadn't been breathing this whole time.

"Are you okay?" I ask, worried that he may be taking this far worse than I have been.

Jackson shakes his head in disbelief before brushing his lips gently against my forehead.

"You just relived a traumatic memory and you're wondering if I'm okay?" He asks.

"Well, you looked like you'd seen a ghost." I admit.

"I was worried for you that's all, but this is a good thing right? It means your memories could come back." A mixture of emotions flashes across his face before he settles on a sympathetic smile. 

"Doctor Moore did mention it could come back in pieces, but I hadn't thought it would be so dramatic." I admit.

"I'm sorry Love." Jack says as his warm fingers caress my cheek. "I almost wish I'd experienced it before so I could give you a heads up, but unfortunately this is all new territory for us both."

"Let's just hope the rest of the memories are more pleasant." I sigh, stretching in place then reaching for the door.

"Headed out for a stroll in the middle of the desert, Love?" Jackson teases and I can't help but smile as he lightens the conversation. I was never one for weighty topics.

"Oh yes, I love stranding myself in the middle of the desert as my boyfriend drives off in his car." I mock and his diamond eyes widen. "What? I was only kidding, don't you dare leave me out here."

"Your boyfriend?" He questions.

"What?" My brows scrunch together with confusion.

"You just called me your boyfriend." He says, leaning closer as my back presses tighter against the driver's side door.

"I think you should get your hearing checked." I tease.

"My hearing is perfectly fine, I know what I heard." A smirk plays across his lips.

"Maybe your brain then, because you're definitely imagining things." My nose scrunches in denial but I'm caught off guard as his face inches ever closer.

"I think, your mind is the one muddled. Maybe you just slipped, or-" His words pause and his brow raises cockily before he continues. "You want this to be real and not simply a one-night distraction so badly that your heart is forcing the words from your lips."

His soft lips are less than an inch from mine, and the sweet scent of mind causes the hairs on the back of my neck to stand and my mind to scramble. Despite the electricity surging through my skin, aching to pull him that last inch, my mind cautions at the rapid pace we're moving.

Too fast.

My hand, which had been secured on the door handle slips, opening the driver's side door and I find myself flat on my back.

The deep tone of his laughter spurs my own until we're both clutching our sides and tears have streamed from my eyes.

How we can go from such an intense sensual moment to an emotion so insanely different is what makes every moment with him a surprise. Maybe in the end, it's a gift to relive these moments with him. I admit, initially I had been looking at my situation with a pessimistic mind but I think-

I hadn't realized Jack had run around the car until he's standing over me with a hand reaching to help me up. I can't help the smile that lights my face as I accept his offer.

"Are you deep in thought?" He asks as he dusts off my behind and I slap his hand away.

"I'm perfectly capable of wiping my own ass, but thank you." I smirk.

"Question still stands." He's terrible with dropping subjects.

"I was." I admit and his brow raises as if advising me to continue. I roll my eyes but accept defeat. "I was thinking despite everything, I'm happy."

A proud smile tugs at his lips but he only nods.

"Should we continue on?" I wonder.

"You're not tired?" He asks, clearly hoping I'm not ready to leave him.

"Not yet." I admit, unwilling to end this night which has echoed into morning.