"I'm still a virgin… this rapist and Taylor don't matter… I'm still a virgin…"
Kate kept repeating it under her breath.
Over and over.
Her voice shaking.
Her hands gripping her arms tightly like she was trying to hold herself together.
"I'm still a virgin…"
Julia drove.
Fast.
Eyes locked on the road.
She didn't interrupt.
Didn't correct her.
Just listened.
Kate's breathing was uneven.
"…I am," she whispered again, quieter this time.
Julia tightened her grip on the wheel slightly—
But didn't say anything yet.
"Whatever Ray thinks of it. He can't just go and treat you like that!" Julia snapped.
Kate flinched slightly at the tone.
Her hands tightening again.
"But he did," she whispered, staring ahead.
Julia exhaled sharply through her nose.
"That doesn't make it true."
Kate shook her head, blinking fast.
"He said it in front of everyone…"
Her voice cracked again.
Julia didn't look at her.
"Then he'll say something else in front of everyone when we find him."
Kate didn't answer.
Just sat there—
Still trying to hold herself together.
Julia kept driving.
Straight ahead.
Not slowing down.
"…he can't have gone far," she said instead, eyes fixed on the road.
Kate looked at her.
"He's drunk," Julia added. "He'll take the first road he thinks of."
Kate swallowed.
"…and crash."
Julia's jaw tightened slightly.
"Not if we get there first."
Meanwhile, Ray was speeding down the highway. The road towards the hospital that they took yesterday. Bottle of Whiskey in his hand. "Fucking slut..." he muttered. Taking another sip.
The car swerved slightly.
Just for a second.
His grip on the wheel tightened.
His breathing uneven.
The words didn't even sound convincing anymore.
Just angry.
Loud.
Empty.
He took another drink.
Eyes barely focused on the road ahead.
The lines blurred for a moment—
Then snapped back.
Too fast.
And...
The car drifted—
Just a little too far.
A wheel caught the edge of the road.
Ray jerked the steering wheel.
Too hard.
The car snapped sideways.
Tires screamed—
Then lost grip completely.
Everything spun.
Fast.
Out of control.
"Fuck—"
The world flipped.
Metal crushed.
Glass shattered.
The car rolled—
Once.
Twice.
Then—
Silence.
A final impact.
Hard.
The front slammed into a tree with a sickening crunch.
Everything stopped.
For a second—
Nothing moved.
Smoke rose slowly from the engine.
The bottle rolled somewhere out of sight.
Ray didn't.
Not at first.
There was no fire.
Good for Ray.
He layed there.
Still.
Breathing—barely.
His body wouldn't respond.
No matter how hard he tried.
A weak sound left him—
More air than voice.
Everything hurt.
Everything.
The world around him blurred.
Then dimmed.
—
On the road—
Julia's eyes narrowed.
"…shit."
Up ahead—
Smoke.
Thin.
Rising above the trees.
Her foot pressed harder on the gas.
"Hold on."
Kate followed her gaze—
And froze.
"No… no, no—"
Her voice broke instantly.
"That's him."
Her hands started shaking.
Tears falling without control now.
"Julia—please—"
Julia didn't answer.
Just drove faster.
Eyes locked on the smoke.
They turned onto the highway—
Fast.
Julia didn't slow down.
Kate leaned forward slightly—
Then saw it.
Far ahead.
"…there."
Her voice cracked instantly.
The car—
Twisted.
Still.
Smoke rising faintly above it.
"No—"
Kate's breathing broke again.
Her hands gripping the seat.
Julia pressed harder on the gas.
"Stay with me," she said, focused.
The distance closed quickly.
Too quickly.
As they arrived, Julia slammed the brakes, the car stopping a few meters from the wreck.
"Stay back," she said immediately.
Kate was already reaching for the door.
"Julia—"
"Stay back!" Julia snapped, sharper this time.
Kate froze.
Just for a second.
Then nodded quickly, shaking.
Julia was already out of the car.
Moving fast.
Careful steps as she approached the wreck.
The car was destroyed.
Front crushed into the tree.
Glass everywhere.
Smoke still rising faintly.
"Ray?" she called out.
No response.
She got closer.
Heart pounding.
"…Ray."
And that's when she saw him…
Covered in blood.
Julia stopped.
Just for a fraction of a second.
"…shit."
Then she moved again.
Faster.
"Ray—can you hear me?" she called, getting closer to the broken window.
Inside—
He didn't move.
Not much.
A faint breath.
Barely.
Julia's jaw tightened.
"Stay with me," she said, sharper now.
Behind her—
Kate stepped out of the car anyway.
"Julia—?"
Her voice shook.
Julia didn't turn.
"Don't come closer!"
"Fuck… fuck."
She took her phone out.
As after a few seconds she spoke.
"911? Yes, there was an accident on the highway 81. Young man, 21 years old."
Her voice was steady—
Forced.
"He's unconscious… heavy bleeding."
She glanced inside again.
Trying to assess.
"Car hit a tree. No fire. He's still breathing."
A pause.
Listening.
"Yeah—yeah, I'm staying with him."
Behind her—
Kate stood frozen.
Hands over her mouth.
Tears falling nonstop.
"…Ray…"
Kate took a pack of cigarettes with her hand trembling, she took one out as the pack fell from her hand onto the grass. She took her lighter out as she lit it. Crying.
The flame shook.
Barely catching.
She inhaled too fast—
Coughed immediately.
Didn't stop.
Her shoulders shaking as she tried to breathe through it.
"…no…" she whispered, voice breaking.
The cigarette burned unevenly between her fingers.
She heard a scream.
"RAY, STAY WITH ME!"
Kate flinched.
The cigarette slipped from her fingers.
Her head snapped up instantly—
Panic taking over completely.
She knew there was no way to stop the bleeding as soon as... he stopped breathing.
"No—"
"Please you idiot, you're too young to die now!"
Julia's voice cracked this time.
Her hand pressed near him, trying to keep him steady.
"Stay with me—"
Kate stumbled forward a step—
Then another.
Not listening anymore.
"Ray—!"
Her voice broke completely.
Julia snapped.
No more control.
No more calm.
She pulled him slightly, positioning him—
Hands shaking—
Then pressed down on his chest.
"RAY, PLEASE STAY WITH ME!"
Her voice broke completely now.
She counted under her breath—
Lost it—
Started again.
"Come on—come on—"
Her hands pushed harder.
Faster.
Desperate.
Kate dropped to her knees.
Right there.
She didn't even feel it.
"Ray…" she sobbed, shaking her head over and over.
"No, no, no—"
Her hands hovered uselessly, not knowing where to touch, what to do.
Julia leaned down—
Breath—
Then back to compressions.
"Don't you dare—" she choked out. "Don't you fucking dare—"
Sirens.
Distant.
Getting closer.
Kate looked at him—
At the blood.
At his face.
Unmoving.
"…please," she whispered.
Barely a sound.
Julia didn't stop.
Wouldn't stop.
"Stay with me—stay with me—STAY WITH ME!"
The sirens grew louder.
Closer.
Too slow.
Still too slow.
Kate's vision blurred completely.
Everything shaking.
Everything breaking.
Ray didn't move.
Not once.