Ethan's POV
I was driving faster than I should have, but I didn’t care. I needed to get to Ella, and that was the only thought in my head. Every turn I made, every mile that passed, brought me closer to her, but also closer to everything I feared. My mind was racing with all the things I needed to say, things that had been trapped inside me for too long. I was terrified that she wouldn’t listen, that I was too late to fix this. But I couldn’t let that stop me now.
I gripped the steering wheel tighter, my heart pounding. The closer I got, the more anxious I felt. 
What if I’ve already lost her? 
The thought made my chest tighten painfully, but I shoved it away. I had to see her. I had to try.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed from the passenger seat, the screen lighting up with Khian's name. He probably wanted an update, but I couldn’t think about that right now. I needed to focus. Without even looking properly, I reached over and hit the silence button.
Just as I turned my attention back to the road, it happened.
A loud, piercing horn shattered the silence, the squeal of tires screeching through the air. My heart lurched as I slammed on the brakes, but it was too late.
————Crash!————
The front of my car slammed into something massive. A school bus. Everything happened so fast, and yet, it felt like slow motion. The force of the impact sent me flying forward. My seatbelt yanked me back hard, cutting into my chest, holding me there as the car crumpled like paper. The windshield shattered, glass raining down on me. The noise was deafening, but somehow distant, like I wasn’t really there.
I felt the world spin out of control, and for a moment, I let out a bitter laugh. A broken, twisted laugh that felt more like a cry. Of course, this would happen. Of course, nothing ever worked out for me. I hated this world for how cruel it had been, hated destiny for always pushing me away from the things I wanted most.
And all I could think about was her. 
“Ella…” her name slipped out of my mouth, a whisper, barely audible. My vision blurred, my head pounding. The smell of burnt rubber and gasoline filled the air, choking me. My body felt heavy, like it was sinking into the wreckage. Everything hurt, but nothing hurt more than knowing I was still so far from her. 
I tried to open my eyes fully, to get my bearings, but my head was spinning. I looked down at myself, at the shattered glass around me. Blood dripped from a cut on my forehead, sliding down my face. I tried to move, to reach for my phone, but pain shot through my entire body, pinning me in place.
I let out a soft, breathless laugh, though it hurt like hell to do so. Was this how it was all going to end? A car wreck, a few miles from her house, right when I needed her the most? 
Fate had always been against me, from the moment I met Ella as a kid to this very moment. Every time I thought I was getting close, something got in the way, something pulled us apart. And now, this. It felt like a sick joke, like the universe was laughing at me, punishing me for daring to want something so badly. 
“I just wanted… her,” I muttered, barely able to hear my own voice. 
The bus in front of me had stopped completely. I could see the kids getting off, some crying, some screaming. Their faces were filled with terror, but they felt so far away. Like I was watching from the outside, not really part of it.
I hated this world for making me feel this helpless. 
I hated that every time I tried to reach for something good, something beautiful, it slipped through my fingers. But most of all, I hated that Ella was slipping away from me. And there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Through the blur of pain and broken glass, I tried to focus. I tried to keep my eyes open, but it was getting harder. The sirens in the distance were getting closer, but I barely registered them. I was slipping, and there was nothing I could do to fight it.
“Ella…” I whispered again, her name the only thing that mattered, the only thing I wanted to hold onto. 
My chest tightened painfully, my breathing shallow. I could feel the darkness closing in, could feel myself fading. The last thing I saw before my eyes fluttered shut was a pair of wide, terrified eyes staring at me from the bus. A kid. 
And then, I lost it.
---
The sound of sirens grew louder, but they felt like they were coming from a different world. A world I wasn’t part of anymore. My body felt cold, and numb. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe properly. Everything was slipping away from me.
I thought of Ella. Her smile, her laughter. The way she looked at me when she didn’t know I was watching. How I had wasted so much time, thinking I had forever to tell her what she meant to me.
Now, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get the chance.
And in that final moment, as the darkness pulled me under, all I could do was whisper her name one last time.
The world turned black.