Eleanor's POV
The impact slammed me forward, the seatbelt digging sharply into my shoulder. For a moment, everything was a dizzying blur of shock and the acrid smell of deployed airbags.
This was a completely terrible idea. My head throbbed, but I pushed the crumpled door open with my legs and stumbled out, coughing from the dust and smoke.
The disruption worked instantly. The blare of police sirens, which had been distant, now screamed from every direction, and three cruisers skidded to a halt, boxing us in. An officer rushed to my side. "Miss! Are you alright? What happened?"
"It happened so fast," I gasped, putting a hand to my forehead for dramatic effect. "I didn't even see the van!"
The van's driver was already out, his face a mask of pure fury. "What the fuck! Are you blind? Why did you hit my van?" he roared, even as another officer tried to calm him.
