After We Collided Novels & Stories

The anchor's crisp, formal voice rang out, "At approximately 3 p.m. yesterday, a serious accident occurred on Clem Road in the suburbs…" Liam's head snapped up, his eyes locking onto the screen. The footage cut to the crash site—mangled metal, scattered debris, the red and blue lights of emergency vehicles flashing violently. That intersection was exactly where he'd left me yesterday. "Liam, what's wrong?" Alexa noticed his face had gone ashen. Following his gaze to the TV, a secret thrill flickered in her chest. 'If Khloe is dead, all the better,' Alexa thought gleefully.

Then, Carmen slid back into the driver's seat, grumbling to herself, saying, "Lucky for me that nosy old hag didn't screw things up. My sweet ride should be showing up any minute now." Patrick was practically buzzing with excitement, rubbing his hands together, saying, "Awesome, we're going to be filthy rich soon!" The folks in the back seat paid them no mind, convinced they had lost their marbles. As predicted, ten minutes later, Carmen pulled up to the spot where my car had been rear-ended in our previous life. Sure enough, a sleek, limited-edition luxury car pulled in right behind us.

I fell more than once but picked myself up and continued on my track right away. We met halfway, and I collided into him like nothing else mattered in the world. Well, technically, nothing else mattered to me.

Said his name was Rome. Didn’t let him in. But you might want to call him back. —V Meekey froze. Rome? He was one of the old crew. Back when things were dirtier, faster. He’d vanished not long after she was arrested—rumors said he either skipped town or flipped. Now he was back? And looking for her? She felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck. Drew was watching. And now, so were the ghosts. Meekey exhaled slowly and poured herself a glass of water. Her hands were steady. She wasn’t the same girl who went down fourteen years ago. And whatever was coming—she’d meet it standing.

​As the RIBs sped north, cutting through the dark water toward the safety of the hills, Roman looked back at the city skyline. ​The three-pronged attack was complete. Arthur Blackwood was officially bankrupt. The resources were gone, the tech components were stolen, and his private wealth was sitting in waterproof cases at Roman’s feet. ​"All teams, check in," Roman commanded. ​"Alpha clear. Jersey is a mess. Miller is crying," Mario reported, laughing. ​"Bravo clear. Brooklyn is glowing nicely. Arthur sounded... upset on the intercom," Jean-Pierre added.

The line moved. Stronger now. Cleaner. The creatures faltered. Retreated. Finally. But not broken. Never broken. “They’re falling back,” Mira said. “Yes,” I replied. “But not done.” A final wave came. Hard. Fast. Desperate. We met it. All of us. Together. And this time. We didn’t just survive. We ended it. The last creature fell. Silence followed. Heavy. Cold. Real. Darian stretched his shoulders. “That was fun.”

I didn’t realize how much I’d leaned on her presence, even when we weren’t on the best of terms. A gust of wind lifted my curls right into my lip gloss. I rolled my eyes, tugging them away as I stared at the campus gates. Then in a blink of an eye— I wasn’t paying attention. Not to where I was going or at the stupid iced coffee in his hand. Nor the fact that he was definitely taller than me and definitely not watching where he was going either. We collided. Cold liquid soaked into my white tank top like karma had been waiting all morning for the perfect moment to strike.

I heard him mumbled with cold voice. We heard a beeping sound from a car. It was heading our way. It happened so fast and the next thing I saw, our car collided to it, making our way to the end of the cliff. I could feel the heavy feeling in my body and the impact of hitting my body to the dashboard. I can feel the impact of it like my body collided to some heavy rock as my eyes became blurry. I looked at Zaine. He is unconscious and his forehead were bleeding. "Zaine..." That was the last word I said before everything went black.

I jerked my wheel the opposite way, leaning my whole body into the turn. ​BOOM. ​The collision was massive. My car flew backward, and August’s car spun three full times before slamming into the center pillar. ​The buzzer sounded. "Game over! Please exit the vehicles!" ​I sat there, gasping for air. I looked over at August. He was slumped in his seat, his eyes closed. ​"August?" I called out, my heart skipping a beat. "Are you okay?" ​He didn't move for a second. Then, slowly, a low, melodic sound began to vibrate in the air.

“I was joking.” “I know.” I walked towards the door. “Sometimes I wonder if you even like me.” “You talk too much.” “That isn’t an answer.” I opened the door. And immediately walked straight into someone. Papers exploded everywhere. “Shit!” I stumbled backwards. “Sorry!” The woman I’d collided with dropped to her knees, frantically gathering the papers scattered across the hallway. “I’m so sorry,” she said. I bent down to help. Then I stopped. Because I recognised her.