Note: This story is set in two fictional places: Iridis and Wishword City. Iridis is a small lake town, the main character's hometown, and Wishword City is a big city she will move to, and it's about a four and a half hour drive between the two places. I hope this will help you not get confused ahead in the story.

Picture on the side is of Emily Rudd, character inspiration for our heroine. What do you think of her?

I hope you'll have fun reading this chapter. :)

Chapter edited by crystaltmlinson.

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Chapter One

The thought of chasing after those perfect moments was a paralyzing one, because once the moment had passed, the perfection of it ceased to exist. Looking back at the last few years of my life, I realized that it was a series of 'it's just how it's supposed to be' morphing into 'that's not how it should have been.' If only the changed feelings could change the past.

Walking into the high school with my two best friends on either side of me, smiling back at a senior, going to sit at the popular lunch table that I was invited to, walking away from it for my crush, wearing that cute black dress for my first date, getting my mom to do my hair, having my dad threaten my date on our porch, gushing with my best friend about how it went, letting that new friend comfort me for never receiving another call; it all seemed so perfect then, but now, it only felt like misconceptions, and it would do me no good dwelling over it yet again.

Smiling like I had been listening the whole time, I dropped the photographs into the pile that they had previously rested in and tuned back into what my best friend was saying.

"Don't pretend like you've been listening, Raelyn." Ah, a second too late.

Shayla's eyes were as angry as her voice was calm. Snatching the photographs from the pile, she shoved them back into her bag and muttered an incoherent pseudo-curse under her breath. She knew exactly what I was thinking about.

Picking up another photograph from the pile that littered my blue sheets, I put it on top of the neat stack that Shayla had made on my left. "You sure we can't change getting a tattoo to getting betrayed? I can put double ticks on that..." I trailed off as Shayla made a face at me, all amusement drowning out of my voice. "Too soon?" I cringed at her expression. It confirmed her answer before her voice could.

"Too soon."

Sighing, I flipped to the next page of our 'Bucket List Scrapbook', reading out loud the task written in bold letters on top of it. Shayla and I had decided to make a joint bucket list of '23 things to do before you turn 23' when we were sixteen, and Shayla, being the fervid one, made us a beautiful scrapbook to frame the photographs of us doing those tasks. It had been a tradition ever since that we tallied our scores as to who had crossed more things off of the bucket list each year on our birthdays, and today was mine.

Turning a few more pages, Shayla heaved out a sigh. I glanced at her before fixing my eyes on the task that she was complaining about. "I'd never be able to complete that one! How do you expect me to go gadget free for twenty-four hours? It's plain stupid!"

I let out an amused chuckle at her accusing tone. Tallying bucket list scores indisputably had to be one of the best things about our birthdays. Turning a few more pages, it was my turn to breathe out a wistful sigh. "Twelve. Kiss someone of the sex you aren't interested in. Now, that I'd never be able to cross off. What were you even thinking while writing it down?" I asked finally glancing at her face, only to find her lips pursed and her shoulders shaking as she tried to hold in her laugh. Aggravated, I punched her arm while pouting like a little kid who had dropped their ice cream.

It happened in a flash. Shayla was so close to me that she may as well have been sitting on my lap, her hands pinning down mine, while her face was too close for comfort. Leaning further in, she brushed her lips against my ear. "Let's make it happen!" she whispered, masking her laughter behind a low seductive voice. 

Raising a bored eyebrow at Shayla's antics, I was about to push her away when my courteous little brother--with an ideal timing--decided to barge into my room without knocking. Again.

"And now you know why I don't knock when you two are together," Ethan said with his lips curved up in a triumphant grin, before taking a seat on my desk chair and motioning his hand in an elegant arc towards us. "Please, conclude what you started. Don't let my presence halt you, Shayla."

With cheeks simmering red in an unparalleled polarity to her black hair, Shayla fell off of my lap, and then off the bed, in one swift movement. Glancing from Ethan's amused stare fixed on Shayla, to Shayla's embarrassed glare fixed on Ethan, I closed the scrapbook with a dramatic slam and got off the bed. I walked out of the door, but not before exclaiming, "Ah! The sexual tension between the two of you."

Only a few people in the world could ever understand the peculiar relationship that those two shared. They were both good friends who flirted with each other, but were hell bent on not having their relationship progress to anything more than that. It was something to do with Shayla's credence that boys matured late, so any sensible girl should go for a guy a little older than her, and Ethan's rationale that Shayla was like our family member--which she was--making her nearly a sister to him. Peculiar and disturbing!

Just to annoy my eleven-year old sister, I sneaked up on her as she sat near her window, making yet another handicraft, and poured some of the glitter that she was using in her hair. I knew better than to stay there and listen to Leah yell at me, so I rushed out the very instant that she turned around. As I closed her door behind me, a luscious aroma of mom-made Twinkies hit my nose, prompting my feet to lead me to the kitchen. I couldn't hold back a smile at the adorable scene in front of me when I got there. While my mom was setting a tray holding those mouth-watering Twinkies aside, my dad had decided that it was the best time to show off his non-existent culinary skills and destroy the rest of them. Oh, the poor Twinkies!

Snorting at my dad's terror-stricken face, I walked further inside the kitchen and patted his shoulder just in time for mom to be welcomed by the sight of a now-white counter. The appetizing crème that once filled the insides of the dainty Twinkies was decorating the black marble counter, enticing me to run my finger over it and let it dissolve in my mouth. "Mom's going to kill you for that, dad," I said, tasting the crème that was still secured in a broken Twinkie as my dad held it in his hand, "shame you wasted such delicacies."

My dad's narrowed eyes soon widened at the sight of my very angry mother. "Raegan Theodore White! What in the God's name are you doing? You know I have a dinner to host for..." Mom began, taking a daring step forward as my dad took one backward, prolonging his oncoming demise.

Disregarding my mother's recurrent lecture, I stole an intact Twinkie from the tray that she had kept aside. It was nothing new at the White's residence for Kaitlyn White to lecture Raegan White for his ruination of well-prepared dishes.

My dad was extremely good at being a husband and a dad, but at cooking? Even the thought of him being a decent cook was funny to me. He could spoil dishes by just looking at them. Still, he never gave up. He kept cooking, no matter how bad he was at it. It was something that I admired about him, and I hoped that I would inherit the same trait. 

My dad scowled, and pointed at me in the middle of his profound apology to my mom as I placed a cross on myself, making a show of praying for his wellbeing. It was getting harder by the second to not let the laughter escape from my pursed lips.

The sounds of footsteps approaching told me of my siblings' and best friend's arrival, and a quick glance in that direction confirmed it. Dad placed his lips on mom's for a quick peck that made my mother forget her anger, and my siblings groaned in disgust. However, my reaction was unlike theirs. Lately, my parents' adoration for each other was the only thing giving me hope that I, too, would have that someday, my own perfectly imperfect partner. Mom sent a reassuring smile my way, telling me that I would. Words weren't required for my mother to understand my feelings or for me to know her own thoughts. We just worked like that.

Giving her a smile of my own, I walked out of the kitchen, only now noticing that my siblings and Shayla had already left. Following the clamor, I reached the living room where Shayla and Ethan were arguing about what to watch while Leah conveniently sat herself down on the couch away from them and was now picking out her favorite show on Netflix. The doorbell rang, marking the arrival of our guests and making me turn away from Leah to walk towards the door.

After a quick peek through the peephole, I was welcoming my aunt Ruby and her husband, David, into our home. They each gave me a hug paired with a cheerful birthday greeting. 

"I can't wait to babysit your kids!" I said at the sight of aunt Ruby's now-showing belly, giving her another hug as she mirrored my excitement. She and David were already two and a half months into the pregnancy and were expecting twins.

Aunt Ruby laughed as she hugged me back. "I am so going to hold you down for that. I'm thinking of getting everyone who says that to give it to me in writing so they can't back out later on."

My chuckle merged with everyone else's as they huddled around us. I allowed aunt Ruby to hug everyone else, taking a step back, just as the doorbell chimed again. Opening the door, I was engulfed in the second round of hugs by the Summers as the three of them wished me a happy birthday. Robert Summers was my father's best friend in college, and ever since then, our families had been close-knit. His wife, Amanda, was a psychiatrist and was always there for me in my times of need. Natalie, their daughter, was five years older than me, and sharing my feelings with her felt like sharing them with an elder sister. Seeing how approachable and helpful she was with me made me want to be like that for Leah someday.

Everyone exchanged pleasantries before my mother led us to the dining table that was lined with scrumptious dishes. Easy conversations flowed through the table while we ate, and before I knew it, mom had wiped the table clean and placed a familiar chocolate cake on it that was surely baked by Shayla. My favorite.

I would have liked to say that I didn't really want to cut the cake on my eighteenth birthday, but who was I kidding? I loved it. Cutting cake on my birthday was a must. Blowing out the candles, I wished for this year to be less eventful than the past three years of my life.

After devouring the delicious cake, I was cramped on the couch between Shayla and Leah as they poked my sides to get me to unwrap their present first. I decided to open Leah's, and was merrily surprised to see a handmade explosion box birthday card with my favorite chocolate inside. It was artistically crafted, adorned with many photographs and birthday messages from my sister. She really was a gifted kid! Telling her how remarkable it looked and how happy I was to have it, I placed a soft kiss on her cheek before unwrapping the next gift that was shoved into my hands by Shayla. She had not only baked me that toothsome chocolate cake, but had also brought me a pendant necklace that I had been eyeing at a store that we had gone to last week. Trust Shayla to have remembered even as small a detail as that.

Ethan had bought me a four-book box set by John Green that had me letting out an excited shriek, especially after finding out that they were hardcover and author signed copies. Aunt Ruby and David had given me a black floral cross-body bag that complemented my style, and Robert had bought me a white spring dress of the brand Gaze, which was listed amongst the 'top ten fashion brands of the world.' I was sure that the dress wasn't even introduced in Gaze's new collection yet, but Robert, being the CEO of the fashion company, always managed to get me the newest styles. Nevertheless, its graceful and expensive eyelet crochet panel wasn't the focus of my scrutiny, but its length was. 

"Oh my God!" Shayla's whispered words fell on almost deaf ears as she continued in a more leveled voice, "This dress is so pretty. You've got to try it on, Raelyn. Like, now!"

I stiffened at her words, my hand involuntarily reaching to the back of my left thigh, where my jeans secured a four-inch long scar. The dress was stunning without a doubt, but it was too short for me to be at ease in. My eyes met my parents', and I saw them forcing a smile. They knew of my insecurity towards the scar, even after having them tell me otherwise on numerous occasions.

"No!" I blurted out in an urgent rush to avoid wearing the dress, before taking a calming breath and molding my scattered thoughts into a fitting excuse. "I-I mean... I can't try on this dress right now, I still have one more gift left to unwrap." I turned towards my parents with a quivering smile on my lips and an outstretched hand towards them. "Where's my gift?" I tried to sound as eager as one could with a massive lump in their throat.

Dad came to stand next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, his touch and his nickname for me easing out some of the tension from my body. "Choco chip, your mom and I had got you a car, but they couldn't deliver it today. It should be here tomorrow, though."

"A car?" Ethan, Shayla and I asked at the same time with equal surprise in our voices, while Ethan's held a bit of yearning too.

"Can we please go get it now? You, mom and I can go..." I asked with a pleading voice. "I know it's late, but please, dad! It's only a fifteen minute drive," I added when I saw the hesitation on their faces. I wasn't quite sure if this desperation was for the car or just for getting out of this place. Of course, I had always wanted a car, but at that moment, I was still on the edge from the bitter reminder of the 'accident'. As if seeing right through my enthusiastic façade and realizing my true motives, they both nodded their heads, and soon, we were settled in my dad's car while everyone else waited for us to bring my new car home.

"Thank you for coming out with me to get the car," I said in a quiet voice, looking out the window as houses blurred past us. I knew what conversation was to follow, but didn't know how to escape from it.

While dad just nodded his head, mom hummed in response, before adding, "I still don't get why you shy away from any clothes that might show your scar. You don't have to be insecure about it, darling," she said, turning around in her seat.

"Your mom is right, Choco chip. You're beautiful, and no scar could ever subtract from that." Dad met my eyes in the rearview mirror for a second before fixing his eyes back on the road.

Despite my conflicting thoughts, a smile curved itself onto my lips. "Thank you, dad! I know you and mom truly believe that, but I am-" 

My sentence was cut off as a thunderous crashing sound was heard. I could feel that the car was spinning, sending me flying in my seat, notwithstanding the seat belt. Sounds of massive collisions reached my ears, along with the screeching of tires against the asphalt road and glasses shattering into countless little pieces. The uproar of the sounds made my senses go dull, and I couldn't comprehend anything that was happening.

A jolt sent me sideways in my seat, making my head hit the window and causing it to break due to the impact. I felt a sharp pain from the right side of my head, and a sensation of thick liquid running down my face followed. Cautiously, I reached for the aching side of my head with a trembling hand, and my suspicion was confirmed. As my fingers pressed against the glass shard that penetrated my skull, an ear-piercing scream resonated through the exhausted air, and only a moment later did I realize that it was mine. Trying to get the shard out was of no use.

Feelings of disorientation, shock, confusion, and, most of all, fear, were fogging my brain. After a lot of effort, I was able to unbuckle my seat belt and lean forward to wake up my parents. The sight of a red, cracked windshield sent my heart thudding in my chest and I shook my father's shoulder. No response came. Shaking my mother's shoulder, I cried for her to wake up, to help me wake dad up, but she only grunted in response, and the sound was growing quieter by the second. Another jolt vibrated through the car, and I was thrown to its ceiling. A mixture of my tears and blood left a salty and metallic taste in my mouth as I realized that the car was in a rollover state now.

Weariness caught up to me. My throat began to close up and my eyes started to droop. A barreling thought amongst many other swiveling ones made me register my need to call for help. Failing to find my phone, I began to shout for help, hoping that someone would listen to my feeble voice. I tugged at the car door to no avail, before deciding to try and slide out of the broken window. My hyperventilation finally registered in my brain when I was halfway through the window. Distant sounds of sirens renewed my hope and gave me strength to continue when something heavy fell on my head, sending the glass shard further inside my skull. A strangled scream escaped my lips as my head plummeted to the ground. 

The sight of my blood dripping down the road and tinging the concrete into a scary shade of gray and thick red was the last thing that I saw before my vision turned black.

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A/N: (To keep it short and interesting, I've come up with a structure for my author's notes. Let me know what you think of it. :p)

Dedication of the Chapter: Dedication for this chapter goes to my dear friend racsmat for introducing me to this amazing world of Wattpad. Thank you, Racs, you not only gave me access to so many delightful stories but also gave me the right passage I needed to venture into the writing field, and thank you for always being supportive of me.

Guys, she herself has started writing a beautiful romance story. It would mean the world to me if you'll take some time out to check out her work and lend her the support you are giving me.

My Highlight of the Chapter: For me, the highlight was the scene in the kitchen with Raelyn's parents. It was just adorable how her father destroyed the dishes, how her mother scolded him, and how Raelyn teased him. I admire the relationship she shares with her parents so much.

What was your highlight of the chapter, if any?

Questions of the Chapter: What do you think of the peculiar relationship shared by Shayla and Ethan? Do you think they would be together in the future? Do you want them to be together in the future? And, what is your stand on Shayla's belief that boys mature late so girls should go for the boys a bit older than them and Ethan's logic that Shayla should be like a sister to him?

And, of course, what are your thoughts on the entire chapter, the characters, the scenes, anything and everything?

Don't forget to show your support through comments and votes, so that I'd know whether you're enjoying the story or not and can also thank you for reading it! Follow me to get updates on this book and on any other works that I write in the future! :⦆

Hugs & Kisses,

Shagun