Chasing Cars

The words shot through John like a bolt of lightning. Officer Stevenson was attempting to control the woman as she was now positively fuming, eyes darting all over the waiting room. Suddenly, her gaze snapped over and met with John’s. His heart stuttered, tripping over itself as she stared down at him with the same deep brown eyes that he had stared at just a few hours prior when her daughter stood in front of his rapidly approaching truck. Her eyes however, narrowed into slits. He watched, frozen, as she shoved past the officer and stalked over to John. She was shaking by the time she stood in front of him. John’s mouth went dry as he stared up at her, his eyes unable to severe the connection with her.

“Ma’am…” Officer Stevenson started, but she cut him off.

“You.” She seethed, freezing John’s ice in his veins. “You killed my baby!”

Officer Stevenson surged forward, catching the woman’s arms before she could swing at John. She fought against his grasp, screeching in pure anger as her fingers attempted to claw at John’s face.

“Ms. Best, Carly is alive.” The officer soothed. She immediately stilled in his arms.

“She’s alive.” It was barely even a breath.

“Yes, she’s alive. She’s in the ICU but she’s stable.”

Her body sagged, all of the fight leaving her. Officer Stevenson led her to a chair just on the edge of John’s hearing range. John stayed silent, but his eyes tracked both of their movements with hawk like precision.

“Ms. Best, I need to ask you some questions about your daughter.” When she didn’t respond, the officer continued on in a quiet voice. “Do you know what she was doing tonight?”

She shook her head, but even from a distance John could tell she was lying. It appeared Officer Stevenson did too, but he moved on to a different question rather than push the issue.

“Why did she leave the house?”

“We got in a fight…” She trailed off, her dark eyes darting over to glance at John for just a fraction of a second before she looked up at the officer again. “It…it was an accident right?” Officer Stevenson paused for just the right amount of time that she started trembling again. “Wh-where did you say she was?”

“She was on Wilson Street. Right near the intersection at –”

“13th Street.” Her whispered breath cut the officer off. The trembling got worse. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “It wasn’t an accident. She was running.”

John watched as she took an unsteady step away from Officer Stevenson. The officer reached for her but she kept moving away, shaking her head.

“Ma’am?”

“She was running. It wasn’t an accident. No. Not again. I told myself after Ashley I wasn’t going to do this again. No.” Without warning she turned and took off back towards the exit.

“Ms. Best? Ms. Best, where are you going!?” Officer Stevenson began taking long strides after her but she refused to slow. “Ms. Best, you can’t leave! Your daughter needs you!”

She came to an abrupt stop, pivoting so that she was face to face with the officer. Her eyes flashed meeting the officer’s gaze without flinching. She stood tall, her shoulders squared and spine stiff.

“No, she doesn’t. That girl hasn’t needed me for years.” For one single moment she let her posture sag and her eyes cloud with pain again. “I can’t do this. Not again.”

John watched open mouthed as she shook the man’s grip off and stalked out the same door she had stormed in barely half an hour earlier. Officer Stevenson turned his gaze on John, silently asking just what he planned to do now. John’s own eyes swept the room. All around them the hospital continued to pulse with people and patients. No one gave them even a passing glance. Then his eye caught on the door that was still swinging slightly in Ms. Best’s wake. He locked his eyes back on the officer’s.

“I’m not leaving her.”