Skipping my last class of the day was the worst thing I could have done. Making it home a few hours earlier than normal caught Rick’s attention almost immediately.
I heard music blasting from the auto garage and decide to walk behind it. He wouldn’t see me and the music helped bury the sounds of my footsteps over the broken branches and loose rocks.
When I opened the door to the house, it flung into Rick who was carrying a cold six-pack. He dropped the pack and at least two of the cans cracked open and began to spray across the already dingy walls.
I should have checked the auto garage before walking to the house. I should have made sure he wasn’t in the house. But all the drama from school had me off my game and I was distracted.
“What the hell are you doing home?” He yelled while yanking me into the house by my arm.
“Rick!!!” I screamed. “You are hurting me.”
“You think I’m going to raise a delinquent. Are you trying the cops to my steps?”
With his free hand, he slapped my face before throwing me down to the floor.
“I don’t care if you had only two weeks left in school, as long as it’s open, you’ll be there.” He yelled.
I covered my face as tears rolled down my burning cheek. I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t skipping, because I was. But why did he have to hit me?
Anger boiled inside me. “Why did he have to hit me? He could have been like a normal parent and punished me. ‘Two weeks with TV.’ Or, ‘No going out with your friends this weekend.’ It was hard to say which one he should have used because I didn’t know what a normal parent would say.
What was the going rate for skipping school these days?
I heard a buckle unraveling and I opened my eyes, just in time to see Rick releasing the belt from the loops around his pants. He swung high and brought it down hard. Once on my leg and then again on my back.
It stung harder than the slap to my face.
That was it for me. I had reached the end of my straw. I wasn’t going to show him fear or pain anymore. This was the last he would get from me.
Rick picked up the remaining beer cans and walked over to the couch. He was actually going to sit there and watch whatever sports show was airing during this time.
“Go take a walk.” He said shouting over his shoulder.
It was his way of asking me to reflect on what I did wrong. He knew if I had just gone to my room, I would have slept to escape this nightmare. And he knew I would never run away from this house that my late grandfather called home. The home he gave to me, but I would never have. He knew he could do whatever he wanted and I would never leave this place.
I walked out of the door and inhaled a bit of fresh air. But no matter how much I tried to calm myself, I was angry. Angrier than I had ever been before.
Soon I found myself walking away from the house toward the main road. When I reached the edge of our property, I was going to keep going. I was going to keep going until I got to the end of that road. Maybe even until I got to the end of town. By then, maybe I could find the courage to just leave everything behind.
It was not like anything of importance was keeping me here. I had no loving parents. No warm, inviting home to come home to every night. I had nothing and no one.
The uneven pitch of a radio changing songs stopped the debate going on in my head. I was now standing in the middle of the road, looking back and searching where the sound came from.
Rick left the old radio he kept in his garage on and it was turned up to the highest notch. I shook my head thinking about how he nestled into the couch with half a six-pack and no intentions of coming back to the garage.
These were the things he did. Drink and forget. He forgot everything including the fact that he was supposed to take care of me.
I let out another deep sigh as I approached the garage. The music was so loud, that I could feel the vibrations in my ears. It was a wonder how a radio so small could make so much noise.
Turning it and the lights hanging from the ceiling off for the day, I began searching for the keys to lock up. My eyes stopped on a black key with bold ‘K’ on it. The key sat aside from the other keys, but that wasn’t why it caught my eye. It was the gold-like key chain it was attached to.
A golden rectangle plate adorned the end of a small chain. On it were two letters. D and H.
I wasn’t sure what DH stood for, but I knew where the key belonged.
My eyes searched the many vehicles for the nice black motorcycle I saw when I left for school earlier that day.It had moved since I last saw it. No longer right up front, but off to the side with the other finished cars and bikes. Rick once told me that a row of finished cars represented his money. When the owner came to collect, so would he.The motorcycle was black all over except for a silver plate that read Kawasaki and the grey letters on the side that read Ninja. It stood apart from the other bikes on account of how clean and new it looked.Rick was a good mechanic, but the rumors of his beer-filled life got around and the expensive vehicles stopped coming. Who would trust a drunk mechanic with such a possession?I ran my finger across the beautiful bike as I imagined being free once again. And without any thought, I threw my legs over the leather seat to straddle it. The machine was cold and dead between my legs. I’d worn some blue jean shorts and a black screen-t with some bl
I closed my eyes and waited for the car to hit me. I didn’t have to pull too much into the direction of the car because the bike took on a life of its own once I let the handles go. In less than a second, I was already completely in the wrong lane.Smiling for the first time in a long time, I embraced the last moment I would feel the wind on my face. The last moment of my life.My eyes popped open at the sound of tires screeching across the graveled road. But they weren’t my tires. The sight of the black car sliding across the road and stopping a few feet away from me dragged a hint of regret to the pit of my stomach.When the car came to a complete stop, I turned my focus back to the road, but it was too late.The road was curving and I tried to turn with it at the last minute. I panicked and all at once, I yanked the handle and pressed the grips. The bike leaned too far right and I began to slide across the road. Somehow my body separated from the bike and I rolled into the grass, r
The guy before me couldn’t have been more than a few years older than me. And yet, at that moment, he made me feel like a little girl who just stole a cookie. I panicked. “You’re bike?”“Yes. The black bike that you just crashed.” He reminded me.“Where is she!” Rick’s voice boomed through the halls of the hospital. I didn’t have to guess that he was angry. Everyone on this floor knew he was angry.I squeezed my eyes together. There was no way this could end well. Soon I would be trapped in a room with some random guy and my raging, probably drunk father.“Sir. Can you please keep it down?” I heard a woman say from the hall.“There the little brat is.” Rick stumped inside my room. He commenced yelling. “Do you know how much trouble you are in? And the damage you caused? I am not paying for this. Do you hear me?” He narrowed his eyes. “I’m not paying for this.”I kept my eyes closed and prayed he would stay by the door. That he wouldn’t come near me. And also, that he would calm down.
Those words finally got his attention. “And how do you plan on doing that?” He turned his head to look back at me.I didn’t answer.“Do you have money?”I shook my head.“Do you have a job?”I shook my head.“Then how do you plan on paying for the damages you caused.”The pretty nurse appeared in the doorway to say. “Times up sir. Visitation hours are over.”Mr. Hardin took one more look at me. “Get some rest, Danica.”I closed my eyes just as he walked out of my room. Finally leaving me alone.The next morning brought a mixture of unwanted thoughts. But the biggest one was regret. Regret that I took the bike. Regret that I didn’t try to crash that bike into a tree instead of a car. Regret that I woke from this accident.But I also woke with something else inside my head. Thoughts of him. Mr. Hardin. I wondered what he saw when his dark grey eyes stared back at me.“Morning.” I heard a man call from my door.I sat up to see the doctor come in with a clipboard.“My name is Dr. Willard.
I sit back and relax as Mr. Hardin makes his way to my house. He takes the road that runs through the downtown area instead of Lake Road. I can’t help but wonder if that was on purpose. Perhaps he wanted to steer clear of the place where I almost died.Death by a motorcycle crash.I caught a glimpse of the coffee shop I applied to yesterday and began checking my phone for missed calls. It was dead.“Do you need to charge your phone?” This was the first thing he asked me since I jumped in the car.“Yes. Do you have an iPhone charger?”“No. I have an android.”I smiled a little. “Thanks anyway.”The car veered toward the parking lot where the coffee shop sat. “I hope you don’t mind. I’m starving.” He said.“No. Go right ahead.”He jumped out of the car. “I’ll be right back.” Before he could close the door, he popped his head back in. “Do you want anything?”I had no money. Rick never gave me an allowance. In fact, the only thing my tiny wallet carried was the city-sponsored bus card I a
We rode in silence for the first mile. I would like to think we both wanted to avoid the elephant in the car. That thin piece of paper in his lap that had the ability to weigh me down. I could tell from the eagerness in his voice that he was far from wanting to avoid the subject. “I bring a thirty thousand dollar bike to a shop for a two hundred dollar tune up and now I’m out seven thousand dollars.” I almost chock on the last bit of coffee I just swallowed. “Seven… thousand… dollars?” I asked while trying to keep my breakfast down. How was I supposed to pay back seven thousand dollars and save to move out of Ricks house? Suddenly I felt the sir around me disappear. Every goal I set seemed to be getting further and further away by the second. “That’s right. Your father just gave me an estimate of seven grand.” “That’s no problem,” I said pushing the words out. “I have a job or two lines up. And soon, I should be able to pay you back.” I spoke aloud, trying to convince myself more
Dmitry pulled away as I trotted up the sidewalk. His car clock read 9:10 am. The courtyard was practically empty now, as everyone before made their way to class. I thought about skipping this class altogether. By the time I make it to my locker to gather my English book, English class would be over.My next class was chemistry. I weighed the option of skipping that class too. I had too much on my mind to safely mix chemicals today.I should be happy that I had a job. Though happiness isn’t what I felt when he offered the job. I would be practically working to pay off a debt. Not to save money for an apartment. Not to save money to get out of town. I need another job.Lost in my thoughts I was stunned when a pair of hands grabbed me when I entered the hall where my locker was stationed. I was pinned against a corner wall. My head nearly bounced off the wall from the sudden movement. I closed my eyes from the pain and when I opened them, I wasn’t surprised to see Lucas. He was the onl
“Get in.” Dmitry demanded.“What are you doing here?” I asked grasping my chest, still shocked by his cars sudden stop.He put his car in park. “I was trying to catch you when you first got out of school, but I was held up in a meeting. You and I have unfinished business. Now get in.”I knew what he meant but I still found myself asking the question. “Like what?”“Just get in the car.” He said while hitting the button to unlock the door.I hesitated for a second before getting in. “Are you taking me home?” I asked as soon as I was inside the car. ‘Rick will be expecting me to arrive soon.”I tried to hold my fear but for a moment I relived the day I came home later than usual. It wasn’t a pretty conversation between me and my father.“No worries. I will have you home soon enough.”Dmitry continued down the same road I walked every day going home. Soon we found ourselves turning on Lake Road. The same road our lives collided even though our vehicles did not.I kept my eyes on the road