The worst day of my life?
Summary: This was more than Chloe could handle on one day.
How was I going to survive this? My life always had been my work and now? Now I lost my job, my dreams shattered into thousands of pieces. You're fired. Those words echoed through my head. These were the words that ended my life.
If I still had friends or any kind of social life there would be a reason to keep going but there was no social life. How can that be, you want to know?
It's really easy. I live for work. That means I get up and go to my work place where I stay longer then necessary. When I come home I do some additional work until I go to bed. On the weekends I tend to sleep in since I never get enough sleep during the week. Usually I do some cleaning and read a book to relax.
That means I tend to neglect friends without meaning to and after some time I don't have them any more. People always said I was a helpless workaholic but I thought they were exaggerating.
Looking back know I know they had been right. My work defined me. Stupid right?
I knew that running away wasn't going to help me in the long run. No one can outrun his problems but at the moment it made me feel better. I didn't know how long I was driving or where I currently was but I knew that my car wasn't supposed to make such stuttering noises.
I pulled over just before the car died down and got out looking around I realised that I was in the middle of nowhere. Great! Just what I needed.
Intending to call for help I realised that I forgot my handbag at home. Of course my mobile was in said bag. Could my life get worse? Probably not.
I couldn't remember the last time I had seen another car or when I had passed the last town. Having no better idea I started walking.
The scenery reminded me of Smallville. Wide open fields and blue sky. Not one cloud hiding the sun. The first mile was an enjoyable walk but now I hated my shoes. I had been in love with them when I first saw them in the display window and I never regretted buying them even if they had been quite expensive. Until now that is. High heels were just not meant for long walks.
The sun shown bright and normally I would enjoy the rays caressing my skin but today the heat was wearing me down. I took off my shoes and carried them but after an hour I left them on the side of the rode. I was thirsty and hungry.
Still no sign of life on this god forsaken road! Looking at my watch I saw that I had been walking for three hours straight but I couldn't take a break. I knew that it would make me more tired so I walked on with a rumbling stomach.
When was the last time I had eaten? I couldn't tell. I was starting to get confused. I couldn't believe it. I, star reporter of the Daily Planet, no scratch that. Ex star reporter was walking on a road that was less dangerous than my own closet. I hadn't even seen an animal so far.
Could get my life any worse?
Suddenly I heard thunder rumbling. Looking up I saw clouds darkening the sky. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. That was not happening.
No, it wasn't going to rain. I tried to convince myself but another rumble interrupted my thoughts. Think positive Chloe, it's just a little warm summer rain. I walked a little faster and started looking for shelter but there wasn't even a tree or bush in sight. Surrounded by fields I had no choice but hoping for something good to happen.
My hope vanished when not a little shower as I thought but a full blown rainstorm had me soaked in a matter of seconds. The wind increased sending cold raindrops splashing in my face. I wished for my shoes when muddy rainwater seemed to swallow the road and with it my bare feet.
What had I done to deserve that? Ok, fine. I wasn't religious and I hadn't been a good friend since I was abandoned by my best friend back in high school but did that make me a bad person?
I worked and lived to discover the truth. Didn't knowing the truth about big industries help people too?
What went wrong in my life?
I guess I didn't deal well with anything but work. I couldn't take being disappointed by people. I hadn't been the girl my first crush wanted. My first boyfriend cheated because I wasn't enough and my friends stopped going out with me. They didn't want to see me getting hurt because they secretly preferred having fun with my ex.
Somewhere on the way to grow independent I decided that having no friends wouldn't hurt as much as loosing them. But now that I was truly alone I questioned my former way of thinking. Maybe I should have cherished every second I could spend with my friends. I shouldn't have been thinking of the possibility to get hurt.
I shivered. My blouse was now a see – through. My skirt was soaked and my feet were nearly frozen.
Night fell causing everything to darken even more and the wind got stronger. I hoped that I would soon find a town but I couldn't see any lights indicating it. The full moon was barely visible behind dark clouds. I couldn't believe I had already been walking for seven hours.
I sat down on the side of the road not caring how muddy and wet the ground was. It didn't make a difference. I was deadly tired and before I even registered it I had fallen asleep.
"Oh my god. Miss? Miss are you alright?" I heard someone while being shaken awake. I blinked sleepily.
"Come on, you have to get out of the rain." The guy said dragging my still half sleeping body in a car.
He got behind the wheel, turned up the heater and started to drive. I needed a few minutes to realise what just happened. Normally alarm bells would be ringing. Warning me about the danger lurking from strangers picking up girls in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night but I was too tired and too cold to care.
"My name is Oliver. I'm glad I found you. No one takes this road when a storm is coming. I have a little cabin not far from here. What's your name?" My saviour wanted to know.
"Chloe." I stuttered. I couldn't stop shivering. My limbs felt numb and no matter how hard I rubbed my hands I couldn't get warmer. The car came to a stop some time later. I hadn't realised how much time had passed or that we were in the middle of a forest now.
"Come on." Oliver ushered me into the wooden cabin.
"You should take a nice long and hot shower. I'll leave some dry clothes at the door for you." He instructed and showed me the bathroom.
He was right the shower helped me but I still felt cold. As promised he left long sweat pants and a T- shirt that was much too big for me. I rolled up the pants so that I wouldn't trip over the hem.
When I left the bathroom I smelled food. Oliver stood in the kitchen cooking.
"Thank you, Oliver."
"No problem. I thought you might be hungry." He said smiling. Oh boy, was I in trouble. Not only did he look good. His smile made my knees go weak. Wasn't there a law against too good to be true good looking guys?
"Starving actually." I replied hoping he didn't catch my wandering eyes.
"Let's sit by the fire." He suggested and handed me a cup of tea.
We went to the living room and sat near the fire. Oliver draped a blanket over me. I felt bad because it was the only blanket so I suggested that we share. For a while I silently enjoyed the warmth and watched the flames.
"What were you doing on that road? You could have died out there."
"I know." I whispered. "My car broke down and I forgot my mobile at home."
"There isn't a town for miles. Where were you going?" he asked.
"Nowhere. I was just driving." I said and noticed his confused expression. "Let's say that I should have stayed in bed this morning:" I explained and tried to smile.
"I know that kind of day. That's why I own this cabin. No one can find me here so I can pretty much hide from the world for a while. This may sound strange since I'm a stranger but if you want to talk about it I am a good listener. Just think about it. I'm going to check on our dinner." He offered.
Oliver returned shortly later with two plates. Hungrily I dug in without a care. I halted when I heard a laugh. Embarrassed I looked at Oliver.
"Don't be embarrassed. I'm glad you like the noodles." He said smiling.
"I'm sorry normally I have manners but I haven't eaten all day." I explained and ate more slowly. When I finished I yawned. I was tired.
Oliver set aside the dishes and wrapped the blanked around me more tightly. My eyelids grew heavy and soon I fell asleep. My last thought was if this really had been the worst day of my life.
The END