Crash

It’s funny that when you’re driving, you never really think of the people you’re driving by. I would be driving by someone on the freeway, going the same speed as them, our wheels moving in sync and I’d be currently involved in their lives if only for a brief moment. If they looked to the side, they’d see me, and my face would take a small space inside their memory and it’d stay there for most likely forever, yet they wouldn’t even know. I’ve never met this person, I don’t know their name, or how they were raised or what their views on certain things are; all I know is that I was once apart of their life and then not- in a split second.

“Peyton, I need you to go to the grocery store for me and get us some pasta for tonight.”

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up at my dad holding an article from the newspaper and trying to read it by placing his glasses 10 inches away from his face and then trying to see through the lenses.

“Keys?” I asked. My dad handed me the keys, a little bit of money and I left without saying another word. My father and I never really said much to each other, but we both knew that we had a small smidgen of respect for one another, so it was left at that.

I quickly stumbled into the garage and opened the driver’s side door and plopped in. I found a few Xanas in my drawer that Tyler Harrison had given me a few weeks ago before he started ignoring my calls and not responding to my text messages because of stupid Micah Burroughs, so I was a little out of it. My body felt slick and smooth and my eyes were drooping over. I quickly grabbed a water bottle from the floor of the car and drank half of it, trying to wake myself up.

I drove slowly but confidently to the grocery store, and once I stopped the car I took a deep breath, grabbed my keys and my purse and got out of my car and began walking inside. I flipped the keys around with my fingers and slowly stalked down aisle 5, suddenly feeling really weak and tired. I’ve never gotten this type of reaction from swallowing any pills before, but I tried not to be worried.

I grabbed a small bag of dried pasta noodles and traced my hand along the food shelves, trying to keep my balance.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” Some woman to the right of me asked.

“I’m fine,” I said back and tried to straighten up. I began walking to the front of the store to check out the item when I heard a loud giggle that sounded oddly familiar from the aisle I was just passing by. I stopped walking and looked to my right, and what I saw made me drop the dried noodles right on the ground. My mother was holding hands with another man, and was laughing wildly as he kissed her neck. She smiled and grabbed his face and kissed him hard, making me feel even more ill.

I just stood there awkwardly and watched my mom act like a complete slut with some hairy dude with a thick black mustache and caterpillar eyebrows. I stood, staring for a few seconds and was just about to approach her when my eyesight began to get blurry, and things were beginning to spin in circles. Everything was suddenly in slow motion.

“Peyton?”

I saw Micah approaching me and then looked back to the aisle only to see my mother and that man completely gone. I clutched my stomach, suddenly feeling nauseous.

“I need to get out of here,” I stated and ran out of the grocery store. Micah ran after me and at the entrance, grabbed my wrist to turn me around.

“Are you okay?” He asked quietly. I looked up at him, and just as I was about to say something, my eyes rolled to the back of my head and I collapsed.

-x-

“Yes, thank God you’re awake.”

I opened my eyes slowly to see that I was in a moving vehicle zooming down the freeway. I quickly sat up and looked to my left to see Micah gripping the steering wheel. His hair was disheveled and his plaid shirt was rolled up tightly around his elbows.

“What the hell?” I murmured while grabbing onto my head. It felt like someone was just punching me in the face from the inside of my skull. I felt awful.

“You collapsed outside of the grocery store,” Micah said while getting off of an exit. “I got you half awake and into my truck and I’m taking you to the hospital. What the hell did you take, Peyton?”

“Just a few Xanax,” I replied while clutching my head with my hand. “Damn, that’s never happened to me before.” I muttered to myself.

“Peyton, are you positive you just had a few?” Micah asked and pulled into the hospital parking lot.

“Yes, Micah,” I replied. “I haven’t been getting much sleep lately so maybe that’s why I reacted to it the way I did. I didn’t overdose so there is no reason for me to be here. Why are you even here anyway? Did you follow me into the grocery store or something?”

Micah glared at me for a second before grabbing a plastic bag with a half melted ice bag inside of it.

“I was getting ice. Seriously, you really really need to stop flattering yourself,” He replied.

I just rolled my eyes and sat back in the car seat. I closed my eyes for a second before the flashing images of what I saw in the grocery store created a screenplay in my brain.

“Oh my god,” I muttered. Micah looked over at me confusedly before I leaned down and put my head in my hands. “My mom is having an affair.”

“Can someone pass me the garlic bread?” My brother asked at the table later that night. After convincing Micah not to force me into that hospital, he took me back to the grocery store where I purchased the pasta. I was just about to get into my car to drive myself home, but Micah refused and grabbed the keys from me. He told me he’d pick me up later tonight when I felt more aware to go pick it up. I was too tired to argue.

My mother grabbed the basket of garlic bread and handed it to my brother while I stared blankly at her, wondering how in the world she could just be sitting at this table when merely an hour before, fucking Chewbacca was attempting to give her a hickey. She obviously didn’t see me there, or else she definitely would have said something to me.

“So, mom, where were you tonight?” I asked. I took a sip of some water and placed the glass back down on the table. She paused for a second and then looked up at me.

“I was at my book club like I am every Tuesday night, you know that Peyton,” She replied. Her thin lips rubbed against one another and she then took a bite of salad.

“Oh really?” I asked. “What book are you all reading?”

“Jane Austen’s ‘Frederic & Elfrida’,” She replied. “Why are you asking me this? You’ve never been interested in what I do before.”

“Oh, you know, I’m just wondering,” I replied and clasped my hands together. I shot her a sadistic smile and continued. “You have been to these book club meetings for a while mom, so you must be almost finished with the book. What page are you on?”

My mom eyed me for a second and then looked at my brother and my father who were both eating, yet definitely listening to our conversation. She gripped her napkin tightly and looked back at me. I put my elbows on the table and rested my head in my hands. I cocked my head to the side and broadened my sarcastic smile.

“Well, i-it’s quite a long book, sweetheart. Last time I checked, I’m pretty positive we’re in the late three hundreds. Thank you for asking,” She replied. “Fred, can you please hand me some more pasta?” She asked my dad. My dad nodded and handed the bowl to her. She then turned to my brother. “Kingston, your math tutor called and canceled your-“

“That’s so funny mom, because I remember just reading that book a few months ago. And as I remember, and I can check because the book is in my room, that it actually ended right around the 300 mark,” I interrupted. She stopped and turned towards me, her lips pressed together and her eyes narrowed. I just smiled again and raised my eyebrows at her, staring right at her. “Well, now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go back to the grocery store to pick up dad’s car.”

My mom’s mouth dropped when I spoke the the words "grocery store", and I pushed my chair back and grabbed my jacket.

“Wait, my car isn’t here?” My dad asked after me. I didn’t answer him; I just opened the front door and slammed it behind me.

Micah was coincidentally parked in front of my house, just about to get out of his big ugly loud truck to walk to the door. He saw me and opened his mouth to speak but I just opened the passenger door, got in and slammed it. He got back in the truck and tried to speak again.

“Peyton-”

“Don’t open your mouth. Drive me to my car,” I replied. Micah paused for a second, before shaking his head and starting the car.

“You’re so lucky I’m a nice guy,” Micah replied and pushed his emergency break down and accelerated. He shot me a look but I didn’t even respond as he merged back onto the road and drove towards the grocery store.

“Did you talk to your mom? Maybe it wasn't her that you-”

“I’m sorry, but didn’t I say to not open your mouth?” I replied. I looked outside the window, watching as we zoomed past houses. All of a sudden the truck halted to a stop and my head jerked forward from the whiplash.

“Be a bitch to me one more time, Peyton, and you’re walking the two miles to the store,” Micah said angrily. I raised my eyebrows at him, my jaw clenched. He glared back and I just sighed.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered. It was Micah’s turn to raise his eyebrows.

“Wow, did Peyton Oleander just apologize?!” He asked. “I never thought I’d see the day to be honest with you.”

I just rolled my eyes and he smiled and started the car back up again.

“Yeah, and you’ll probably never hear it again so don’t get too excited,” I replied. “I just said it because I’m having a rough night and I don’t feel like walking anywhere.”

A few minutes later of silence, Micah pulled into the parking lot and handed me my keys. I opened the door of his car and closed it and turned around to look at him through the open passenger side window.

“Thanks for the ride,” I stated. Micah just shrugged.

“It’s fine. Just don’t do this again, okay?” He asked. I sighed loudly. “I mean it, Peyton. Just stop doing this to yourself.”

“Thanks again,” I replied, ignoring his statement. I began to walk back to my car when I stopped myself. I took a breath and walked back to his truck.

“Yes?” Micah asked while running his fingers through his shaggy curly hair.

“I just wanted to let you know, that this whole night doesn’t change how I feel about you at all whatsoever. I still think you’re annoying as hell and to be honest, I think we should just end this whole thing where we keep seeing each other around right now and stay away from each other like we did when we didn’t know one another,” I said in one big breath.

Micah looked straight at me, and then suddenly turned off his truck. He opened the door and got out and walked around the back of it and straight towards me. I stepped backwards as he got closer to me. His eyes bore into mine.

“So, you don’t want me around you anymore?” He asked.

“You’d think I would have made that clear by now,” I replied with a scoff.

Micah didn’t say anything back. He only stared at me. Our eyes locked, and I looked up at him warily, feeling vulnerable. I didn’t like that feeling at all.

“See you around, Micah,” I whispered.

“I thought you didn’t want to see me around.” He remarked. I didn’t say anything back, I just looked at him one more time before slowly backing away and walking to my car. I heard him get into his truck and heard his car door slam loudly. He revved the engine and drove out of the parking lot, leaving me in my car feeling like I would regret what I just did.