I'm Home
“Good night, love.”
“G’night.”
“Sweet dreams.”
“Sleep well.”
“Get some sleep, alright?”
“Sure. Drive safely, kay?”
“I always do.”
“Text when you get home? I don’t like how the weather looks…”
“Of course.” Amber turned the key in the ignition, starting the car with a low growl. Jack brushed the blowing hair out of his eyes as he leaned in to the open window to snag one last kiss before letting his girlfriend depart. It was the same thing every night. A few exchanged words, some brief kisses, and a promise to see each other the next day. There was usually the occasional text message including “I’m home. <3 I love you.” to mention that the other got home safely, especially in weather like this. Weather like this, meaning 40 miles per hour wind gusts with occasional lightning strikes. Pretty normal weather, if you’re residing in Minnesota during the spring. But the weather was the last thing on either of their minds as they kissed each other again.
“I’ve got to get home, hun…” Amber said, stifling a giggle as Jack kissed her again. “I know… but we don’t get to see each other tomorrow,” He pointed out, stealing another kiss and taking her hand. Amber sighed, knowing that tomorrow was going to be tough; classes all day, work after that, and a pile of homework for the both of them. It was something they’d both have to endure. For now.
“Well, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, hun.” Amber said, her eyes glinting in the only working streetlight on that street. Jack smiled and squeezed her hand. “Of course.” He answered, kissed her one more time, and backed away from the car window. Amber secured her seatbelt, and threw her dirty little car into reverse. She stole one last glance at Jack, threw him a kiss, and smiled. She really loved that man. He was so much more than she deserved. Thinking about the week ahead of her, she threw the car into drive and started her drive out of town.
Living out of town does have it’s perks, but Amber would much rather live in town. Living in town, you don’t have to worry about spending a lot on gas. And trips to Wal-Mart would only take 5 minutes instead of 20 minutes there and back. But it wasn’t really up to Amber where she lived; she could only afford to live with her parents for the time being, so she decided just to be happy with that.
Slowing to a stop at the last stop sign out of town, she glanced around and saw no cars on the desolate road. Stepping on the gas, she sped off towards the interstate entrance ramp. She knew that if she took the interstate, she’d be able to get home faster than she would if she took the long way around. She glanced at the clock, reading 10:25. Shit…I’m going to be late, She thought briefly, and slowly sped to 70 as she tried to keep her car on the road. The wind felt stronger on the interstate, she noticed, when she felt resistance in the wheel in her hands as she drove. Driving in weather like this made Amber nervous.
Trying to keep her mind occupied for the 20 minute trip, she turned the knob of her radio to one of her favorite soft rock stations, and turned up a Bon Jovi favorite. She mouthed the words to the song as she drove, trying to drive straight in the strong wind: “Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame… you give love a bad name…” She murmured, now watching the lightning strikes in the southern clouds. Storms were always something that Amber has admired, but she didn’t really enjoy driving in them. She’d much rather watch them either from a distance or standing still.
Before she knew it, small droplets of water were falling from the sky, landing with small thuds on the windshield as she sped along at a steady 70 mph. With a flash and a crack, a bolt of lightning crashed above her. She jumped, and her grip on the wheel loosened slightly. She regained her grip once she realized that she was almost driving off of the road, and turned on her windshield wipers.
“I hope this doesn’t get any worse…” She muttered, her gaze steady between the road and the clouds. It was black as night outside, but that didn’t stop the lightning from lighting up the sky. The lightning was getting worse as she spoke, drawing steady spider webs across the sky. Mesmerized, she watched the lightning for a moment.
Before she knew it, there was a massive flash of light, and an immediate crack of thunder. Shocked out of her state, she jumped and her grip on the wheel loosened once more. Before she had a chance to think, she found her car sliding all over the road, slick with water, and she became stiff with fright.
“Oh my God --” She sputtered, trying to regain control of her vehicle. All of a sudden, Amber’s car skidded off of the road, and slammed into the ditch. All that could be heard from her car was her sputtering engine and a steady, repetitive falling of spring rain.
----------
The clock read 11:30 on the alarm clock in Jack’s slightly disorganized room. She said she would text… he thought, glancing up at the clock from the television announcer giving out storm warnings. Jack was starting to get anxious. He would like it better if she would text to mention that she got home, but would understand if she forgot and just went to sleep right away. They both had a long day, and he wouldn’t hold it against her if she forgot. Things happen.
But he was going to call anyway. He just wanted to make sure she made it home safely, that’s all. Just a quick call.
Picking up his cell phone off of the couch cushion next to him, he quickly dialed Amber’s cell phone number. In only a few short rings, he realized that she wasn’t picking up. That’s not like her to not pick up…a voice in the back of his mind told him, but he quickly shook it off, thinking that her phone probably died, that’s all. He would just call her home phone.
It rang once. Twice. Three times. And finally a click and a voice. Jack found it hard to comprehend what the person was saying, but picked out a few noticeable words.
“Hello?” He asked into the phone, confusion written on his face. “Hello, who is this?” Asked the voice on the other side, and Jack raised a brow. “It’s Jack… is Amber there?” He asked, never really one to give away too much information about why he was calling. He just wanted to make sure she was home. There was a sniffle on the other end of the line, and then silence. Jack was certain that the line had died, so he tried talking again. “Uh, hello? Is anybody there?” He asked, and was greeted again once more with a sniffle and a cough. “Oh Jack… I don’t know what to tell you…” Said the voice, obviously Amber’s mother. Jack was half watching the news reports and half listening to the phone, but now his phone call held much higher importance than news reports, and therefore everything else except for the voice on the line was blocked out. “What are you talking about…? Can I speak to Amber, please?” He asked again, trying to block out the screaming voices in the back of his mind. He was going to think rationally. Nothing was wrong. Nothing bad has happened. Nothing -- “Jack… Amber has been in an accident.”
Jack stopped breathing. His pupils dilated, he tried to regain his breath. “Wh-what are you talking about?” He asked, although he had heard her perfectly clear. There’s been an accident. But wouldn’t Amber had called him? Unless it was serious enough where… no. He would not think like that. Everything is fine. Nothing is wrong. Everything is just… fine.
“Jack… she didn’t survive.” Said the voice. It wasn’t even registering in his brain. He heard the words, but he wasn’t paying attention. Smaller, less important details were given to him by her mother, but he wasn’t listening. Those words were resounding in his mind, in his heart… didn’t survive… didn’t… survive…
“I’ve got to go. Bye.” He said, softly, and hung up. He was motionless as this new information sunk in. He leaned back in his couch, the tears starting to well up in his eyes. How could this happen? How could it… what the hell…? I… I don’t know what to do… what happens now? WHY? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? WHY GOD, WHY?!
He brushed away a tear angrily, and buried his face in his hands. He didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do next. All he knew was that he needed her with him, to feel her hands in his, to feel her lips on his…
That’s when the tears really started flowing. He started thinking about how far they’ve gotten together, all the things they’ve gotten to do in the last year… all of the things we didn’t get to do…
He coughed and buried his face in his hands again. Lost in thought, it didn’t register automatically that he had just received a text message. After a few moments, he picked up his phone and flipped it open to see who in their right mind would be texting at this time at night --
“I’m home. I love you. <3”
His breath caught in his throat. He couldn’t breathe. How could this happen…? He thought, confused, as he checked what time the message was sent, almost certain that he ended up getting it late. Sometimes the phone company was stupid like that and he wouldn’t get his messages until 2 hours later, maybe this was one of those times…
But the time was the current one, 11:40. From Amber. But how could this be…?
He didn’t know. He didn’t care. A slow smile spread across his face. She was alright. She… she was home. And that’s what mattered. He knew that he wouldn’t ever forget her… but he had a feeling that she’d be with him wherever he went. Always and forever.
“I love you too.”
You are very good at making the emotion come alive and showing how the character feels. I really only found minor, technical things.
Keep writing!!
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