Related Fic: Two-Hour Honeymoon

Prompt: Paralyzed by Fear


The ride to the county jail was longer than Big Red wanted. It was barely half an hour in reality. He couldn't move when he was informed the other driver wanted to meet him. When the cops caught her, she confessed to being the other driver and being intoxicated when it happened. The other driver appeared to him often in his dreams. She was a monster with claws. The thought of confronting her made her sick.

Big Red knew she couldn't run from her forever. Three weeks past since the crash. He was discharged from the hospital one and a half weeks ago. While he was in the hospital and after they let him go home, everyone in the drama club visited him. EJ's dad was going to give him representation during the legal stuff. According to him, the case was going to be a cakewalk.

Big Red knew seeing her behind bars wouldn't fully heal him. The doctors said his injuries were going to heal neatly. However, Ashlyn was still gone. There was nothing that could bring her back. The first woman he ever loved was gone. Everything else felt small in comparison.

His father parked in the jail parking lot. Big Red had to get a ride to the police station since his car had to be totaled. There was also the fact that his arm was still in a sling, and he had a minor concussion from the crash. The idea of getting behind the wheel again made him sick, even though a judge decided the accident wasn't his fault. "You don't have to do this," Mr. Redonovich said. "No one will blame you if you can't."

"I'll have to confront her one day," Big Red sighed. "I don't want to put it off."

"You're strong," Mr. Redonvich responded. "Stronger than I would be."

Then why am I so terrified? Big Red thought. The two men walked into the jail. Mr. Redonvich talked to the receptionist, and she led them to another room. Big Red was frozen in fear when he saw her.

The woman wasn't like she was in his dreams. She looked normal. She had wavy blonde hair with chocolate eyes, and she was wearing an orange jumpsuit. Her eyes were puffy from crying for days. A guard stood in the corner. After a few moments, Big Red sat in one of the metal chairs. His father sat in another. The woman, who Big Red remembered was named Katie, was handcuffed.

"Thank you for meeting me," Katie muttered. Big Red didn't respond. "I was surprised when you said you would meet me. I wanted to apologize in person. I know all the 'I'm sorries' in the world will not heal what you lost. You and your lawyers will probably go for the maximum sentence, and I hope the jury rules in your favor."

"I'm not a drinker," Katie said. "I was having a rough day. I was laid off from my job that morning, and my fiance recently left me. I just wanted to forget it all. I was going to check on you two, but once I saw how bad the damage was, I got scared and ran."

Big Red was surprised at how human she was. As far as he knew, he had never met a killer before. From what he saw on TV, they were nothing like this. They were always stone-cold and talked about their crimes with sick joy. "I heard your girlfriend was the other passenger," Katie said. Tears welled up in her eyes. "The one who didn't make it. Again, I am incredibly sorry."

Big Red's phone lit up with a text from Gina. The entire club was grilling him when he got out of this meeting. He assumed Gina was probably at Ricky's place or was with Kourtney. His lock screen was a selfie of him and Ashlyn at the final rehearsal for Once Upon A Mattress.

Big Red made eye contact with Katie. "I think I'll forgive you," Big Red said. "I just can't today."

Mr. Redonovich took that as a cue. The father and son left the jailhouse.