Hi! This is a short story-type piece of writing that I did a while back. I have a vague idea on how to continue the storyline, but for now I thought I'd share with you the short version. Thanks for reading!
The colors glide around me, the shadows shifting as the car turned and changed lanes. The lights swam over my face, slide past my thirsty eyes. The houses around us were dark, as if asleep along with their inhabitants. The road was quiet, dormant, undisturbed. I felt as if we were trespassing as I looked ahead, the taillights of the car in front of us looking blurred from the fog on the windshield. I looked at my lap, at the camera in my hands. The smooth black, the shiny lens. I clutched it, knowing it was all I would have left soon.
I need to be prepared I thought to myself. I need to be aware, ready for the blow. I need to know what will happen, because it’ll hurt less that way. I felt my heart flutter, as if to remind me that it’ll hurt no matter what.
I looked at his dark outline, his stern face, staring at the road, even though he’s driven it more times that I can count. He looked hurt somewhat, and I started to feel a little better. No, it’s just the light. He looked tired, frustrated. Like he always did. Leaning all he way back, one hand outstretched on the wheel. The irritated driving position. I couldn’t help but notice he was completely still in the silence. As if he liked it, he cherished it. He didn’t like too much talking. He was one with the darkness, the silence. A bat who shunned the sunshine, regretting ever coming out of it’s cave. I quickly looked away, back at the trees hurtling past. I rubbed my thumb over my camera, pleading with myself not to make a fuss. These things happen, it’s a small thing, I can’t let it define me, make me upset.
He sighed as he turned the wheel, as if he heard me thinking. He drove slower on my street, slowest when he pulled into the driveway. The lights were on. I knew they would be. The windows were glowing it seemed like, like a lighthouse against black velvet. The air inside the car was running out, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t feel my heart beating anymore, it was waiting. Waiting to be broken apart.
“Thanks for driving me home.” I said quietly. I pulled my bag onto my lap, my camera’s strap over my head, my hand on the door handle. I looked at him, but he was in the same position.
“You couldn’t walk home.” He said, not looking at me. I shuddered.
“Right, right. Um...” I looked at the house, the windows occupied black silhouettes, watching. I looked at him again.
His eyes were dark, grim, tired. “This isn’t any of our faults, Charlotte, you know that.”
I swallowed. Door, house, run. My thoughts tumbled over each other, coming too fast, in the wrong order. “I…I guess.”
“It’s just a falling out, it happens all the time, it happens to everyone.”
I looked down at my hands. “Okay.”
He shifted in his seat. “Goodbye.”
I took a deep breathe, and looked up at the sky. “Take care.”
The blast of complete, fresh, pure, freezing air woke me up. I shut the car door and walked calmly, slowly, up the driveway, up the steps, away from the car. My breath swirled in white puffs, disappearing and appearing again. I fumbled for my keys. The engine revved, and he was gone. I turned and watched. I watched him leave. A mistake, I knew it the moment it happened. But I had seen it, I couldn’t undo it. My heart fluttered again, heavy. I opened the front door, but couldn’t bring myself to walk in. I couldn’t leave this moment, I couldn’t let it pass. He couldn’t go. He wasn’t supposed to go, that’s not how it works. It’s all wrong, and I couldn’t go inside, and except how it happened. I couldn’t go to my bedroom and go to sleep, and wake up the next morning to an empty driveway, and empty mind, numb from the coldness in his eyes.
“Char. Come in, Char. It’s okay.” I looked up and found Chelsea in her pajamas, green eyes bright with worry. I looked down, just standing there helpless in the doorway. She took my hand and pulled me ever so gently into the house, my shoes making soft taping sounds on the glossy tile floor. The door shut. It locked. The lights were dim, and all I could see is her watching me.
“Charlotte don’t look at me like that. Don’t ever look at me like that again. Tell me what happened.”
“He left.” I said, my voice clear. “He’s just gone.”
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