[b]"I'll be right back, James. Mind clocking me out while I take this out?"[/b] Claire called out, already removing her apron. She moved towards the back of the store, a large black trash bag slung over her shoulder. She back door closed as the front door opened with Lucas walking in. 

The dumpster wasn't too far from the store and Claire quickly threw the bag over the side, the bag hitting the bottom of the metallic container with a thud. She smiled softly and stretched her arms up to the blue and pink sky. The sun was setting and Claire looked forward to the thought of talking with Lucas and watching the sun set over the beach. It felt like a dream, honestly. For a girl who'd spent most of her life in central Georgia, the beach was refreshing and calming and everything she wanted in life.

It was just a moment; a moment in time. Claire would remember it for a while to come. Time seemed to slow down in that moment. Her arms slowly fell back to her side as with a small smile still on her face, she looked over to a teenage boy standing in the center of the road, glaring at nothing in particular. 

Her smile faded as her head turned and she noticed the on-coming traffic. Without much thought, Claire bolted for the boy. She felt every pound of her feet hitting the asphalt like it was the pounding of her heart beat. It felt like ages before she finally reached the boy, but it was too late. Just as she grabbed onto the boy, she heard the screeching tires of the car heading for them. Luckily, because the driver stopped in time, the impact was much less. The car slide out of control and the right bumper of the car smacked into Claire's knee. The boy tried to push her away but she held on tight as they both flew to the ground, hitting their heads on the asphalt. 

The boy was out cold, a probable concussion, and Claire was barely conscious. She heard people shouting and yelling but it sounded more like listening to people whisper from underwater. She could tell they were yelling, but it sounded so quiet and peaceful. She could see in front of her, but everything was blurry and seemed to be moving very slowly. How many people could she see? 3? 6? She couldn't tell. 

She kept drifting in and out of consciousness. At one point she remembered seeing James, another she saw white lights, bobbing up and down, another she saw the same pink sky moving slowly away from her, and then she saw lights looming over her. There she slept, her face seeming peaceful as she laid on the hospital bed. The boy was a few beds down, also sleeping peacefully.