Seth... Saved

Seth...Saved...

Studs & Steel #7

Heather Mar-Gerrison copyright 2018

Smashwords Edition

Beautiful front cover design courtesy of

Selfpubbookcovers/viergacht

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work.

Seth

I woke up. For a second, just like every morning, I turned over, expecting to see her next to me – for a second, I forgot that my life was over...

Then, as it did every single day, it all hit me again. My chest ached with the overwhelming feeling of loss. My skin started to tingle, and I was almost able to feel the burning through my clothes.

I was reliving the car accident. Hearing her screaming again, as loud as if we were right there, going through it all again and then finally the gut-twisting, ominous silence. And even though her screams of pain were quite possibly the most awful sound I’d ever heard in my life, the silence was worse – because that meant she’d gone. And she was never coming back...

Chapter 1 – Interview nerves....

Joel

I was excited. Well, I was excited in a terrified sort of way. More terrified if I’m gonna be completely honest about it – but excited all the same...

I might have been a disappointment to the rest of my family – not that they’d ever be rude enough to say so – but I didn’t want to follow in any of their footsteps and particularly not Harley’s. The idea of putting my life on the line, day in, day out, like he did was horrifying.

And the funny thing was, that he was as hard as nails, even though he was far more the ‘gay as a rainbow’ type than I was. I really didn’t look gay – no one had any idea unless I came out and told them straight that I was gay – not that I ever did because I was still undecided and well, it wasn’t really anyone else’s business anyway. I was pretty sure I leaned more towards fancying guys, but I could still appreciate a pretty female face – it was the rest of them that I found hard to really appreciate. I really did like cock...

Regardless of the way I looked in comparison to my older brother, I couldn’t possibly do what he did. That night, almost a year ago (Jesus, had it really been that long?) when I went on his ‘Take your child to work day’ had been enough for me...

Now, obviously I wasn’t Harley’s child – I was his younger brother, but Mum had insisted I go along to see what a ‘proper job’ looked like. I will never forgive her. That night traumatised me for life...

The evening had started out quite slowly and I was beginning to think that Harley was a right old fraud and that his job was eating doughnuts and drinking coffee... Then we got the call that changed all of our lives...

"Report of an accident on the B6995. Early indications suggest that it’s a hit and run; there seems to be only one vehicle at the scene. It’s an overturned car with at least one occupant trapped. Possible multiple casualties, anyone in the vicinity, please attend immediately."

Harley looked at his work partner for the evening, some older guy called Roger, That’s just around the corner from here, isn’t it? he asked.

Roger nodded. He picked up the radio, Roger that. He said, which struck me as rather amusing since it was his name and I’d always had a childish sense of humour and thought names like Roger were ever so slightly rude.

Stay in the car, Joel. Harley barked as he opened his door.

Stay in the car? Fuck that. People needed help – they could be dying... I unclipped my seat belt and got out of the car.

The sound that reached my ears above all of the other noises going on – cracking class and groaning metal of the car heating up with the flames that were licking around the bonnet, was of the sobs of the heartbroken young guy that was trying his damnedest to get back into the car. His heartbreak was going to stay with me forever, I was sure... I’d never heard anything like it before in my life and I never wanted to hear it again. The guy was fucking distraught.

I knew, deep down that what I was going to see wouldn’t be pretty. Of course I did. But I followed Harley towards the burning car regardless and I was shocked to my core by what I saw. Harley was doing his best to reason with the distraught guy. But it wasn’t just that he was distraught. He was covered in blood – some of it his own, but there was too much blood on him for it to all be his. Fuck. Whoever was trapped in the car was in a bad way, then... I took another step towards them and realised that Harley was wrestling him to the ground and rolling him from side to side. Fuck. He was trying to put flames out on his clothes. Fuck. He was burning... I swallowed but it was futile. My mouth just kept filling up with more and more saliva and I knew I was going to be sick. He had burns to his arms and hands, his skin was shiny red and wet looking – and yet he was still screaming that his girlfriend needed saving. Fuck. What the hell was he doing? He was in such a bad way. He needed to go to hospital – now. This was too much for me. I turned and puked my guts up. I knew now why Harley had told me to stay in the car... I was such a lightweight when it came to stuff like this. Hell, I couldn’t even cope with a paper-cut...

I turned back. The burned guy was still crying and sobbing and having absolutely none of it. He was going absolutely crazy that his wife or girlfriend or whoever it was still trapped inside the car had to be got out.

Harley was yelling at him that she was already dead and that he was going to go up with the car if he didn’t move and that he had to leave her there. Finally all the fight went out of the guy and Harley managed to pull him away. We all ran for cover as the car exploded.

I felt sick again as I sat and watched the car burn and tried not to think about the person inside it. I tried my best to just tune it all out. I had no idea Harley had to deal with stuff like this on a pretty much day-to-day basis. I’d kind of thought it was all someone else that did that. And call me naïve, but it had never really occurred to me that they sometimes couldn’t get people out of burning cars. I thought the emergency services were some kind of super-heroes. That they always managed to get the victims out... That poor woman. She’d died for sure...

*

So, the uh, the woman in the car died? I asked quietly. Well, obviously... stupid question Joel.

Harley nodded, She was already dead, mate. he replied wearily, "She was hanging there, staring straight ahead. She’d already gone… he just couldn’t... he didn’t want to accept it..."

I swallowed hard. The poor bastard. He must have really loved her... And what about the distraught guy?

Well, he has some pretty bad burns and his left leg was damaged badly – he’s broken his femur – that’s the bone at the top.

I already knew that. Harley sometimes thought that he had to educate me... I stared at him, But he was running around like a lunatic… I said.

Harley nodded, Adrenalin. he said, It makes people super-human at times.

I nodded, dragging my hands down my face. I was still in shock. Fuck. That was heavy stuff. Stuff I never wanted to witness again for as long as I lived.

Yeah, he’s been put into an induced coma – and that’s probably for the best. Losing the love of his life and all…

I frowned. The love of his life? That was a little presumptuous of my brother, We don’t know that. I said. We had no idea what the set up was with their family. How did we know that she hadn’t deliberately run them off the road? That they hadn’t had a domestic and it was a deliberate act and that he was just distraught by what he’d done to make her want to do that? All kinds of things happened to people...

Harley nodded, "Uh, actually, we do this time. He looked completely worn down with life in that moment. I frowned at him. What the hell was he talking about? It was Seth. Our Seth, he added at my blank look, you know who I mean – my mate from the club that Alfie works at – he’s the barman there – you almost lost your shit over him at the wedding..."

My jaw dropped, Oh, my God… I’d hardly ‘lost my shit’, as he so eloquently put it, but it was the guy I’d been admiring at Harley and Alfie’s wedding only a few weeks ago. I hadn’t recognised him as the same beautiful guy when he was covered in blood and screaming and crying… Fuck...

I bit my lip. Was it too weird that I wanted to see how he was doing? I didn’t even know him but I just had to know that he was going to be okay. Can I go and see him?

Harley shrugged, I guess you can – but don’t go getting any stupid romantic ideas about this guy, Joel. I’ve already told you he’s straight – and it’s going to take him a lifetime to get over losing Siobhan – he absolutely worshipped the ground she walked on…

I nodded, I know that. I mumbled, suddenly feeling mortally embarrassed that my brother had just about read my mind. I just don’t want him being alone. I added lamely, my face bright red and my palms beginning to sweat. No one’s come to see him.