Four is a bad number

November 1

Friday

6:34 am

Amira's pov

I woke up early to fix a three-tier lunchbox full of white rice, smoked salmon, fried chicken, sunny-side up eggs, stir fry vegetables with oyster sauce flavor and a handful of oranges for dessert because Lara and I decided to spend this day at the cemetery.

It's been a year since we visited there and even though the weather today was too cloudy and the ride took an hour due to rush hour, we still went ahead and brought bouquet of flowers for our late parents and expressed how much we miss them.

Afterwards Lara spread the plastic sheet over the grassy area behind the gravestone and we started eating lunch while chatting about what happened last night.

"Oh no, can you believe that guy? He literally jumped on every girl on stage and forgot I was even around." She laughed and handed me a can of beer. "I ended up talking to random dudes who offered me free drinks so I need more of these to balance it.

"Wait, aren't you driving?"

"Yeah but a single can won't do no harm. It's like a juice to me."

"This is a bad idea."

"Well then I trust you'll bring us home safely."

"Yeah." I rolled my eyes at her chugging the can so I had to warn her. "I'll be calling the cops instead." I meant it as a joke but she kind of went along and made me feel bad in the end.

"Yeah. You probably should." She sighed deeply.

"I'm just kidding. Sorry." I flicked her nose and changed the topic to the recent popular celebrity news and began eating.

A few people come and go but we were so engrossed at our random conversations, we remained there till tiny raindops started to fall.

I stacked the lunchbox back into one piece while she folded the sheet and hid the empty cans of beers she brought and drank all by herself.

I didn't even notice she has consumed that much but I have no time to scold her for it.

We ran on the wet grassy path back to the car and arrived just in time before the rain poured down relentlessly. Good thing we both had chosen to dress casually or else it would've been hard to move on high heeled shoes.

"We should wait it out." I suggested while we're wiping our hairs dry using the face towels I've always left in the compartment for emergency purposes.

"Yeah I agree. It's too dangerous."

I was relieved she actually listened.

Unfortunately, two hours later it just got heavier and Lara eventually decided it's even worse to drive at night so we left the cemetery in a hurry.

The location was a small hill so we haven't encountered traffic like what we experience everyday at the city.

However, the long winding road is quite slippery so Lara had to adjust her speed slower than usual. Everything was fine till we reached the intersection at the foothills and is forced to stop behind three small cars.

We were just minding our business while waiting for the green light when all of a sudden, something rammed our back and my arms slammed over the black dashboard, breaking my mom's last present before I became an orphan, my dark green antique-designed bangle watch to pieces.

My neck got a whiplash and my eyes blurred as I stare on the car's ceiling for a minute.

The music in the background was drowned by some static noises so I followed the sounds and that's how I realized it was the heavy rain smacking over the hood and the mess our pickup truck did on three other cars in front.

It was clearly heard due to the windscreen torn to pieces and countless shards of glass are scattered over the black hood.

I slowly raised my eyes to check what hit us from the back and saw the delivery truck's front crumpled all the way to the driver's seat. I can't even distinguish the driver from the wreck due to the rain.

The thick bumpers at the trunk and front definitely played a huge part for destroying every vehicle that came in contact with our pickup truck and I felt bad for it.

"Ungh… fuck…"

I groaned at the pain my neck is having whenever I move even slightly and I wasn't even holding the wheel.

"Lara…" I called and moved my body along with my head to lessen the soreness and avoid making my injuries even more complicated.

"Are you… alright…?" I whispered but she wouldn't respond. I thought she must've lost consciousness so I forced myself to turn faster instead.

"L-Lara…?" My heart skipped a beat upon seeing the driver's seat empty. I had no choice but to go outside to find her and since my legs are as strong as a veggie, I fell on my knees and almost cracked my neck if not for the guy behind catching my head before it smacks over the cemented ground.