A Twelve Hour Romance.
Romana drove along the highway, looking for somebody who looked like they were in need of a ride. That was her hobby, giving people rides who looked like they needed it. Finally she found a kid, no older than 18 walking along the highway.
“Need a ride kid?” she asked.
“No ma’am,” he replied.
“Kid, get in here. It’s frickin freezing outside.” He seemed hesitant and about ready to run, “kid, I’m not gonna hurt you. Just get in here and tell me where you’re going.”
Finally he climbed into the car and shut the door. “Thanks ma’am.”
“No problem kid. Where’re ya headed?”
He shrugged, “I don’t know, just looking for some place warm to sleep tonight.”
“You’re coming home with me.”
“No ma’am, I wouldn’t-“
“Just shut up, I’m driving you home; you look frozen to the bone.” She turned the heater all the way up and the music. “Hope you don’t mind my music, its kinda old school.”
“It’s fine.”
Romana looked at her watch, “she’d better be home when I get there or she is in so much trouble.”
“Who?” he asked.
“My daughter, she’s got a habit of staying late at her boyfriend’s house lately,” she growled and turned the radio up louder. Within the hour she pulled into her parking spot and went into her house. “Little girl!” she shouted, “are you home?”
He watched from the doorway while a black haired, grey eyed, beautiful girl came out of no where and faced her mother. “Yes mommy dearest?”
Her mother pressed a kiss to her forehead, “good you’re home. I was going to have to lock you away when you got back.”
She looked over her mother’s shoulder and looked at him critically, “picked up a stray have ya mom?”
“He’s got no where to go,” she said defensively, “figured we’d let him crash on the couch tonight.”
She shrugged and leaned around her mom again, “want some hot chocolate? Or coffee?”
“No thanks.”
She glared at him, “you’re getting one of the two. Your choice to which one.”
“Hot chocolate.”
“Good choice.” She grabbed his jacket arm and hauled him passed her mother and into the kitchen. “Stand here, it’s a space heater.”
“You guys are too kind,” he protested.
“Not really,” she said turning on the faucet and letting the water get into the kettle. “We’re just doing our job.”
“Your job?” Do they do this often? They’re going to get themselves into trouble. Shame, they’re such nice people.
“Helping people, granted this is the first time mom brought somebody home but we try to help people as much as we can.” He watched as she gracefully put the kettle on the stove and turned the oven on. “I was just making some cookies.”
She pulled out a chair for him to sit in, and when he refused she shoved him down in it. “What’s your name?” he asked.
She paused grabbing a mug from the cupboard, “Beckah.”
“Pretty name.”
She smiled and sat the mug down in front of him, “I always thought so.” She scurried around the kitchen getting out marshmallows, the hot chocolate mix, and some cookies. They made polite small talk as they waited for the water to get hot, it seemed to take forever before she realized she had left the burner off. “Brilliant,” she said as she switched it on High. “Shouldn’t take too long now.”
“Let’s hope not.” He said starting to shiver. Without another word she stood up, went into the living room and came back with a blanket. She smiled as she wrapped it around his shoulders and pulled the space heater closer to where they were sitting. “You really like doing this huh?” he asked as she handed him his mug, now full of hot chocolate.
“Doing what?” she asked taking a sip of her own.
“Helping people.”
She shrugged. “It’s kinda a second nature to me.” She looked at the clock and her beautiful blue eyes went wide. “Merde, I gotta go to bed. I’ll help you pull out the bed on the couch.”
“Alright.” Together they moved the coffee table away from the couch and pulled the bed out of the couch. “Wanna talk a little bit?” he asked, reluctant to stop talking to her since he’d be gone in the morning. But he knew he shouldn’t be making ties with anyone, he didn’t know if he’d be back to say good-bye again.
She smiled, and it seemed to pierce the loneliness that invaded his whole life. “That sounds nice.” She stretched out on the bed next to him and looked into his deep blue eyes, they were clouded with loneliness that made her want to cry. “Where are you headed?”
“Somewhere warm, I don’t really know where exactly. I just have to get as far away as possible.”
She propped herself up on her elbow, “why?”
He shocked himself by answering with something more than what he usually told people who answered that. “My mom always told me that my dad walked out on us. I don’t know why she said that when really I was a child of rape.” He scanned her eyes to see a reaction he could loathe, but he didn’t get anything. “Well my dad came back one day, told me the truth,” he closed his eyes, “I couldn’t stand the thought of him being anywhere near my mom. I put him in the hospital, got him an ankle bracelet that makes sure he stays a hundred meters away from my mom. But he’s after me now.”
She reached up and brushed a patch of hair away from his face, not saying anything. But in her eyes he saw something he hadn’t seen in his entire life. He saw genuine love. “When are you leaving?” she asked with non-too-subtle regret.
“Tomorrow morning.” He cupped her face and held her gaze, why she loved him he had no idea, and unless he stayed with her for years he never would know. “You know,” he said, “you’re the only one who ever showed me kindness.” He brushed a faint kiss across her lips. “But I know that’s not near enough to repay you for what you’ve given me.”
“We only gave you some hot chocolate and a bed.”
He kissed her again, a little more deeply this time. “No, it was more than that. You gave me kindness. Something I’ve never felt before.” He paused, drinking in her beauty, “but let’s talk about something less depressing now.”
All through the night they talked, they talked about what his life was like before his dad came back, how her life was like now. On and on they talked, and with every word that passed through her beautiful lips his heart grew heavier at the thought of leaving. How could one girl affect him so only hours after they met?
He could tell she was dozing, and she had one more thing to say, “you know,” she said smiling, “we don’t even know your name.”
“Well I haven’t said it,” he said his tone soothing, slowly trying to urge her to sleep.
“So handsome stranger,” she smiled, “what is your name?”
“Riley.”
She smiled and closed her eyes.
“Beckah?” he whispered.
“Hmmm?”
“I love you.”
Her eyes opened and went wide, “you what?”
“I love you. Crazy as it seems, I love you.”
She smiled and leaned up to kiss him, “I love you too.”
He held onto the kiss as long as he could, he’d never felt this way before in his entire life, and he knew that unless he stayed, or took her along, he’d never feel this way again. But could he do that? He couldn’t stay, his father was always too close on his tail for him to stay somewhere for too long, and bringing Beckah along with him would lead her into the horrible life he led.
At ten in the morning he slid out of the bed couch thing, leaving Beckah tucked safely inside. He looked down at her one last time before turning away. He’d had only twelve hours with this girl, but he knew that he loved her, he didn’t know how, didn’t know why, but he fell in love with her so quickly.
He saw her cell phone on the coffee table and picked it up. Encoded somewhere in it was her phone number, and he etched it on his hand with his pen. On a paper he wrote a short farewell, coupled with the promise to call if he ever got the chance.
“I love you Beckah, and I won’t forget you,” he whispered before kissing both her eye-lids and walking down the hall. He would be gone from her life forever, he realized morbidly as he shut the door behind him. He would never see her again…No! he screamed at himself. He couldn’t bear the thought of being gone from her forever.
“I’ll come back for you,” he whispered to the door, hoping that somehow, she would hear him and know that he always kept his promises. He glanced back at the house one last time before disappearing into the dawn.
End
) I still have something to say about it.
. But I think it was a really good one. It moved really fast, but it is a short story, my teacher said they are supposed to move really fast, and be full of action not matter what kind of short story.
Points: 4495
Reviews: 228
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