After We Collided Book Novels & Stories

At first, they started circling around one another slowly and then really fast until they collided with each other. A blinding light flashed the moment the stones collided and they remained suspended in the air, far apart now, as if asking us to grab them. I took the one close to me and Marcus took the other one; they weren't hot anymore. I fell into blank space for a second before landing on a snow-covered sidewalk of a busy street, with Marcus right next to me. "This is the intersection that I got hit by the bus!" I said, taking Marcus's hand for support to get up.

The walls shudder. “Go!” Yohan barks. “Get out first!” Evelyn needs no more convincing. She bolts for the entrance. I move to follow, but the ground beneath me tilts. The sudden force knocks me back—right into Yohan. Heat radiates from his body as we collide. But before I can register the moment, the room lurches again. The book slips from my grasp. I scramble for it, but Yohan catches it first. We land hard, Yohan’s body pinning mine against the cool stone.

When I woke again, Luca was beside my bed, still wearing the same blood-stained shirt from the night before. His face was pale, his eyes swollen. “You’re okay,” he said softly, like he was convincing himself. “Both of you are okay.” I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. All I could do was look at the tiny bundle in his arms — our child, sleeping peacefully against his chest. For the first time in months, I didn’t feel anger. Just exhaustion. And a strange, quiet ache that didn’t know which side it belonged to anymore. When we were discharged a few days later, he insisted on driving us home.

Soon enough, I heard the familiar soft footsteps. "Hey, Cole," Zye whispered, appearing from behind a bougainvillea bush, her hair a tangled mess of curls. She held a magnifying glass to her eye, squinting at a tiny beetle crawling on a leaf. "Hey, Zye," I replied, a small smile touching my lips. It was a comfort, her quiet presence. A small anchor in the storm that was my life. "What are you reading today?" she asked, her voice hushed. "I am reading a book about mummies and pyramids," I said, holding up the book so she could see.