Despite being terrified of storms, Victoria eagerly drove off into the dark. She was well aware of the distant lightening and the rumbling thunder but assumed she would have a decent amount of time before it poured.
Victoria was always watching weather reports, constantly worrying about storms, from scattered showers to tropical storms. She hated them. She feared them. It was a common joke within the family, but tonight she wasn't laughing.
She had planned on staying inside, enjoying a glass of wine in the family room next to the open fire. She preferred to avoid the windows, not even liking to look at storms. It was not in the cards tonight.
Their banter started simply enough. Conrad insulted her; she smiled and hurled a few hateful words his way. She threw his affair with Lydia in his face and he threw David in hers. The wounds of her past love split open and before she knew it they had waged war on one another. Impulsively she hurled a vase at the large mirror next to her, which shattered glass all around her. She was so angry she didn't notice the damage it caused to her hand. The fight was cemented by Conrad telling her that he had no regrets about what happened to David Clarke. If anything, he seemed to gloat about it. Victoria had enough and she grabbed her keys, heading to the door.
Outside, she heard Conrad yell to her but she maintained the same pace, refusing to stop and hear him out and refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he caused her to walk faster. She immediately felt the chill in the night air. She had a sheer cardigan over a thin camisole and a pair of jeans with boots. She couldn't stop her teeth from chattering as she turned the key into her car and sped off. She winced every time a lightening rod illuminated the sky. She didn't know where to go, but she needed to figure it out. Quickly.
She had decided to get a room at an inn on the edge of town. She knew he'd look for her at the South Fork Inn, so she headed in the opposite direction. She had just reached the twisted road that cut through a wooded area when hard rain started pouring down. Her windshield wipers weren't quick enough to give her a clear view of the road ahead. Her phone lit up and she foolishly glanced down, eager to hit the ignore button on Conrad's call. The phone fell from her hand and she struggled to reach it from the floor, looking up every so many seconds. She almost didn't see the SUV speeding down the other lane. Almost.
She swerved the wheel hard, avoiding the other car. The tires hit the slick spot on the road and her car flew deep enough into the forest to be hidden before crashing into a tree.