It was Four in the afternoon when her eyes finally opened. The afternoon sun pierced the thin crevice of her eyelids. Katie tried to open them, but her vision was blurred. All she could make out were a few darkened blots and what could only be blurred form of her Archery trophies that sat high upon the shelves that hovered over her room. She blinked and rubbed her eyes carefully until gold and silver blobs came into focus. The sight brought Katie to the realization of when she was. As soon as she sat up in her bed a sharp pain came over her, centering at her forehead. A full on Migraine that she couldn’t shake off. Her first instinct was to get out of bed and search for the bottle of pain pills that she normally kept in the drawer of her nightstand.

  Katie pulled the drawer out and began shuffling through it. All she could see were a bunch of papers and mismatched socks. She even came across lipstick tubes and even nail polish bottles, but nothing to help get rid of her headache. After a minute she gave up and pulled out the bottom drawer. She scanned the inside of the drawer for a few seconds before she finally found it. She grabbed the bottle of pain pills instantly and started to open it. To her dismay, there was nothing inside it. She held it up for a second to try to get a better look, but she still couldn’t see anything. Frustration took hold and she tossed the empty bottle at the trash can in the corner, but she missed and hit the door of the bedroom instead. “Babe? Is everything alright in there.” came a familiar voice.

  “It’s fine!” she shouted back with a wide grin. Katie knew that voice from anywhere, It was Mark. The feelings rushed back to her in less than a second. Her mind took off at Fifty miles an hour. The series of events running through her brain like a movie. This was the day that she lost him. A sadness started to wash over her, but she pulled herself out of it by thinking about the opportunity that was presenting itself. It was the day that she sent Mark to the store to grab something. She thought for a second about what it was, until her eyes came to focus on the empty bottle. It was the pain pills. He was on his way to the store to grab another bottle of pain pills when the crash happened. The crash that killed him. Her eyes widened when she heard his footsteps coming down the hall. Her heart began to race, practically beating out of her chest.

  The door of her room flew open and caught Katie by surprise. Her shirt had barely slid over the crown of her head. She was frozen in her tracks at the sound. Her shirt fell down over her torso and she peered over her shoulder at Mark. At once the feelings rushed back to her. It took every ounce of self control for Katie not to just lunge forward and hug Mark. She wanted to hug him so badly that her fingers twitched at the thought of it. She knew that she had to contain herself or she might raise questions that would give away what she already knew. “How did you sleep?” came Mark’s voice, the second their eyes found each other. “Why are you looking at me like that?” He asked with a confused look on his face.

  Her reply came late after scanning the broad shouldered figure of the man that stood in front of her. His skin was paper white and his hair was a chocolatey brown color. “No reason.” she said, flashing him an ear to ear grin. ”I’m just glad to see you, that's all,” she lied between her teeth. Katie turned and scurried over to her bed, plopping herself down on the edge of it. She rubbed her forehead gently, still nursing the headache.

  Mark answered, by raising his eyebrow and shaking his head. “Well I’m heading to the store, do you want to come with me?” He paused for a moment to watch the ginger haired lady. “Is your head hurting? I’m sure we can grab something for it.”

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  Katie shook her head a little and rubbed it again in a feeble attempt to ease the pain. Normally she loved going with him, but she couldn’t this time. Katie had felt responsible for what happened to Mark for a majority of her adult life so far. She felt that it was her panicking that caused the crash. “I overslept and woke up with a migraine. Sooo maybe something to soothe my headache?” she asked, turning her head to make eye contact with him.

  “Sure thing!” He said, flashing her a smile. “I’m just going to grab a few things to go with dinner. I won’t be too long.”

  “Drive safe!” Katie shouted as he turned and walked away. She couldn’t help but smile as she stared down at the floor. Her thoughts began to take over. An excitement filled her heart. She could have the first man that she loved back. The sorrow that lingered over her heart for so long would be no more. As soon as she heard the door shut, she rose up from the bed and walked into the living room. She walked over to the tv and turned it on before heading into the kitchen and getting a start on cooking their dinner.

  She took out a knife and began to chop the vegetables, keeping the remote close while she turned it to her favorite medical drama. She finished making dinner and sat down in front of the television. She ripped her gaze away for a moment to watch the front door. Her mind was littered with anticipation throughout the night. Looking over to see if the door would open.

  The short brown haired man stuffed his keys into the ignition of the car. The groceries were tucked safely into the passenger's seat where Katie would usually sit. Mark took off out of the parking lot of the grocery store and came to a steady halt in the turning lane at the four way stop. His mind was set on Katie. She acted a little strange to him before he left and he couldn’t help but wonder why. He glanced up at the stoplight that shifted to green. Mark’s feet pressed into the gas, but quickly hit the brakes, when he caught sight of a man at the crosswalk. His heart raced as he waved the man across. Mark waited patiently for the man to cross with a a hint of nervousness.

  He hated sitting in the middle of the intersection, especially so close to the off ramp on the freeway. A jar of bean dip had flown out of the bags that sat on the passenger’s seat and spilled open on the floor of the car. Mark glanced over at it, without noticing a car coming up the empty street. Before he could press on the gas pedal, it rammed into his car at full speed. The impact caused the car to spin out. Mark couldn’t gain control and the car rolled down the hill and landed upside down on the freeway.

  All the while Katie waited and waited. She’d finished her food and her show and focused on the front door. She reached over and pulled out her phone, hoping that maybe Mark would have sent her a text, but she got something else this time. It was a notification from the News app she kept on her phone. Normally Katie cared little for the news as it never seemed to herald any good. The headline on the Notification read; “Breaking News! A car rolled over onto the freeway, causing a five car pile up on the on ramp!” A foreboding feeling washed over her as she clicked the notification. The article that she read struck her like the venom of a deadly snake. “NO!! No! No! Nooooo!” she cried out as her eyes skimmed through the article. Katie planted her feet on the floor of the living room and leaned over, burying her head in her hands. Tears streamed down her elbows and soaked the socks that covered her toes. “Why did this happen?! It wasn’t supposed to happen! I prevented this! Why??!!” she screamed. Her breathing grew heavy and shallow. Once she finally caught her breath, she dug her fingers into her pocket with haste to grab the bottle again. Without thinking, she shoved a capsule into her mouth. There had to be something she could do differently. That was the last thought she had, before she started to disappear.