F***! Shane said aloud in the drivers seat. The clock on the panel read 12:00 and she knew she should already be standing outside the hotel room by now. Already at 80 mph, she was driving recklessly enough to warrant about 10 tickets, but didnt care at this moment. Her cell phone vibrated. She had forgotten she had thrown it over to the passenger seat in her rush. Reaching to it, she read the caller id while keeping her eyes on the road.  Alice. Flipping the phone up, she said rudely Im 2 seconds away Alice!  Hurry Shane, shes been in the room now for close to 10 minutes. Shes probably about to open the door at any second! Alice quietly screamed into the phone so as not to be heard from the stairwell.  Alice, I said Im right down the street, and if you see her come out, you may just have to stall her. Im going as fast as I – Shane dropped the cell phone onto the floor.

Carmen opened one of the ring boxes. She hadnt known when Shane had bought rings, she only assumed when they walked down the aisle, that Shane would present them to her. But now looking down on the gold bands, the wall she had built around her heart began to crumble just slightly. She slipped the gold band onto her ring finger and stared at it, admiring how it shined against the light of the candles.  This feels good, she thought.   How can I be even thinking of forgiving her for what she did?  Because youre still in love with her. The answer came easily, and she knew she needed to face Shane at that moment. They needed desperately to talk. She wanted to let Shane know what she thought of the words on the slip of paper.  Per the letter, all she had to do was open the door.  

Shane?  Shane?  Carmen looked both right and left down the hallway but saw no one.

Shane reached down to pick up the phone from where it had fallen, taking her eyes briefly off the road.  When shed retrieved the phone, she looked up, only to see headlights coming straight towards her. She turned the wheel to avoid the oncoming car, but the car still swiped the side of her jeep. Just enough to cause her vehicle to flip several times, landing with a horrible crash on the embankment of the road. Inside the car, everything around Shane went black.

Song playing in the hotel room – Anytime Brian McKnight