Parting
Evening after the first day of school: The Okay Cafe
Rebecca and Richard sat at one of the booths that populated the 1950's themed diner. Outside the snow had stopped but had been replaced by a howling wind that whipped snow in all directions. Inside however, the restaurant was warm and smelled of a mixture of different foods cooking. The patrons where being noisy, most of them having just gotten out of school too. Rebecca and Richard had been making small talk until the young man had taken their orders and left.
"So..." Richard began apprehensively. This seemed like the moment to face the elephant in the room, but in between words his voice failed him as a knot appeared in his throat.
"So we need to talk about... Us... Where we go from here" Rebecca said, "I guess-"
"I'm sorry!" Richard blurted out, somewhat louder then he meant to. Luckily no one in the room seemed to have noticed except Rebecca. She blinked looking surprised. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you, I'm sorry I yelled, I'm sorry I was stupid driving, I"m."
"Whoa take it easy" Rebecca said hastily, wondering in the back of her mind what else he could be sorry for, and how long he hadn't wanted to say all of this. "I accept those and whatever else you were about to apologize for... Because you weren't entirely wrong. The night we crashed, the reason I asked you to pick me up was because Billy came onto me. I told him to back off and called you." Far from cheering Richard up he seemed to turn pale at hearing Rebecca had spurred Billy.
"That still doesn't excuse me being an ass hole like I was" Richard muttered, staring at the ketchup bottle.
"No it doesn't... But I knew all along that Billy still liked me so I was a fool to think he wouldn't at least try something." Rebecca said. It was hard to sound like she believed they were equally at fault.
"So... Where does that leave us?" Richard asked, his throat tightening again. Rebecca sighed.
"In less than seven months I'll move hundreds of mile away to go to the University of Colorado, and you'll still be here" Rebecca said. This more than anything was what she had dreaded the most, and she hated everything that she now had to say. "We both knew this couldn't be long term, we both said we don't do long distance."
"But I'll go to UC with you!" Richard protested.
"You can't afford that" Rebecca said, she felt like the biggest bitch in the world as her eye's started to burn. "If you went there and didn't like it or we broke up you'd blame me for the situation and we aren't going through that drama... I'm not braking up with you because of the accident, I'm just saying now is the time to end this, like adults." The two sat in silence as the wind howled, swirling snow outside. "I still love you Richard, but this is the end for now."
"For now?" Richard asked surprised.
"You never know what the future holds" Rebecca said, her eye's still sparkling slightly. A moment later she propped her elbow on the table and extended her hand. "Friends?"
"To the death" Richard said dramatically, shaking her hand. They both roared with laughter and for a moment it as if they had never been apart.
The fighting between the group finally died out after that. Everyone except Billy had started talking to Richard again. Rebecca was off her crutches within a week and things seemed to be looking up. However the group still didn't see much of each other outside of school. Graduation looked a lot closer from this side of Christmas and that meant that college application time was upon them. Forest was being scouted by several high caliber college basketball teams, Billy was trying hard to be accepted at the Naval Academy, while Chris was applying to the Air Force Academy. Richard had resigned himself to attend a nearby community college and Jill along with Joey had made no real college plans. Joey had struck a deal with his parents to spend a year on the west coast before starting school and no one knew what Jill's plans were.
Two Weeks Later: Joey's Garage
"So what are you gonna do in California?" Richard asked, shivering slightly and moving closer to the space heater in the corner.
"Party" Joey replied bending over the engine and tightening a bolt. "I promised my parents I'd go to UCLA and try really hard if they'd give me a year off... They wanted to send me to Europe but I'd rather just have a nice warm climate."
"Lucky you" Richard said, failing to keep the bitter note out of his voice.
"Sorry man... Nothin' I can do" Joey said, straightening up. "Is there no chance you could get into a university and live on campus?"
"I could get in, but how the hell would I pay for it?" Richard asked sarcastically. He sighed heavily. "I'm hoping I can work a lot and save money. Once I finish my associates maybe I can go somewhere bigger and not have to take out to many loans."
"There's a good plan" Joey said brightly. "On a less depressing note your car is nearly ready."
"You mean the engine's almost done?" Richard asked, brightening up at once.
"No the engine IS done, I'm just waiting for the tires to come in. You can't drive it until then but if you wanna start it up" Joey jingled the keys in his left hand. Richard snatched them away and hurried passed. Richard yanked the drivers side door open and flopped down. Adrenaline rushed through him as he felt the key slide into the ignition. As he turned the engine gave a feeble splutter and failed to start. The excite meant drained away as Joey walked over and rested his arm on the roof, looking over the car door at him. "Push the gas a couple of times, it's cold you have to push the petrol into the line." Richard obeyed, when he turned the key the second time his heart leaped as the engine roared to life. It sounded wonderful, the car had a deep rumbling sound like only old cars have. It filled the garage and echoed as Richard tapped the gas and the engine revved up.
"I don't know how to thank you Joe" Richard said as he turned the key and the glorious sound faded.
"You can thank me by not rapping the damn thing around a tree" Joey said as Richard climbed out and Joey slammed the door behind him. "The tires should be in sometime this week, after that it will take a while to put them on plust I still need to put new pads and rotors on the brakes but after that you can have it." Richard's smile had faultered at the reference to his car accident.
"Too soon?" Joey asked, smiling unashamedly.
"I guess I deserved that" Richard said deeply.
"You and Rebecca doin' alright?" Joey asked, sounding concerned.
"We've hung out a few times... It's a little awkward" Richard added, smiling halfheartedly.
"I'd say it gets better, but I really have no clue if it does" they both laughed heartily at that. "So are you ready to come back to basketball next week?"
"Yeah, I'm just nervous after all this time." Richard said.
"You'll suck at first, but I do know this gets better with time" Joey said in a matter of fact tone of voice.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence bro, I really know you're pulling for me!" Richard said, laughing.
The Following Friday: The Redfield's House
Joey stumbled out of the front door, beer in one hand, bandana in the other. He stared around wildly before taking another large gulp of his beer as the front door slammed behind him, shutting out the cold and muffling the sounds of music and laughter from inside. Joey admitted to himself that he might have over indulged a little. It was nice when someone other then his parents went out of town for a weekend. Joey swayed slightly, watching the snow swirl in the wind as a pair of headlights cut the darkness. Joey turned and slumped back against the wall of the house before draining what was left of his beer, depositing the empty can I the mailbox and stumbling to the car.
"Thanks for the ride Sher" Joey said as he flopped into the passengers seat, causing the entire car to rock back and forth. His voice had the dreamy quality of someone who is fighting hard to control their own body.
"Just don't puke in my car please" Sherry said, torn between amusement and disapproval.
"You really are great you know that?" Joey asked as they set off back toward the far side of town.
"You're just drunk" Sherry said, laughing.
"Oh so congratulations aren't in order?" Joey said and his voice lost it's dreamy quality as he grinned at her. "You mean you didn't just find out that you are officially the valedictorian?"
"I did" Sherry replied, surprised. "I guess you're right, I am just that good!"
"You are" Joey said as they approached the four way stop in the center of town. The neon glow of the Super America was obscured by flying snow. The roads however remained quite clear. Joey felt the car jerk to a full stop before he couldn't stop himself. "I love you Sherry." her head whipped around as her eyes grew wide. She stared at him for a moment. "You don't have to say it back" Joey said quickly as some of the alcohol haze lifted in the adrenaline rush.
"I love you too... I just didn't expect that" Sherry said, still sounding slightly shocked. Joey reached out and placed his left hand over her right that she was resting on the gear shift. Sherry pressed the accelerator and moved into the intersection.
For the rest of his life, Joey tried to remember exactly what had happened after that. All he knew was there was a deafening crash and Sherry's scream of pain, a sensation of spinning like you do on rides at theme parks. A blinding flash of white and a throbbing pain in his nose as warm sticky blood spilled from it. Moments passed as Joey blinked, staring at the deflating bag in front of him. He could feel the warm trickle of blood down his face but other then his nose he felt no pain. Joey slowly turned to look at Sherry, some part of his brain trying to prepare him for what he knew he would see.
By the pale light of the gas station sign in the background he saw Sherry's face was covered with blood, her head rolled onto one shoulder, her eyes closed. Her breathing was raspy and sounded painful, yet even as he listened the rasps seemed to weaken. At that moment something slid back into place as the shock was replaced by horror. Joey unfastened his seat belt and wrenched the door open. Sprinting around the other side he attempted to pull Sherry's open, but the crash had bent a piece of the frame over part of the door. Panic filled Joey's chest as he let out a cry of desperation. A voice sounded from the nearby.
"You guys okay?"
"Help! Send help! Please get an ambulance!" Joey screamed in a high panicked voice. Then he seized a portion of the door that had been bent so that it made a good handle and pulled with all his might. The frame seemed to give a little. Joey placed a foot on the back part of the car and gave another mighty pull. The frame fractured as the door hinge disintegrated and the entire door broke free. Joey threw it aside and pulled Sherry out of the car. He laid her on the cold wet ground and felt for a pulse. The distant sounds of sirens could be heard.
"Sherry please no, they're coming just hold on!" Joey pleaded as he checked her pulse, it was weak but there. Sherry opened her eye's a little and Joey looked into them. He had always thought her eye's were her best feature, they were a light warm sky blue. She didn't seem to realize what had happened. Her mouth twitched into a weak a smile and she mouthed the words, "love you" before her eye's closed again and her body went limp.
A/N: This chapter was tough to write, thus the delay. I should probably mention to anyone that picks up this story and thinks the story is a little disjointed because of the style I'm using, that it is. I started this story a long time ago and my writing style has evolved and changed since then. At the time wince I was placing everything within the confines on one year the bold lines of time/place seemed prudent. Now however I prefer to bridge time using paragraphs that give more information. Anyway as always I hope you're enjoying the story and, like it or not, please review!
