What if she's gone?
The previously blurred buildings and lights were now solid objects. He could clearly see each one as he passed it. It felt like the tires weren't spinning and the engine wasn't running. He couldn't get back to where he had started from fast enough.
It was the longest ride of his life.
He just hoped it wasn't going to be in vain.
What if he went too far this time? What if this was the time she finally cracked? He knew how much he pushed her, but she had always been strong enough to take it, to even push back most of the time. But things had been bad lately...and he didn't know if this was going to be that one straw, the one that would break her.
Jude. Jude. Jude.
Her name kept him going, almost egging him on. Tommy finally realized something: without her, what was the point of anything? Besides her, there was nothing that had made him want to get out of bed every morning. It was only her. If he lost her, what would he do?
How could it have taken him this long to figure it out?
Screw professionalism.
Screw responsibility.
Screw rules.
Screw laws.
Screw age.
Screw anything and everything that told him not to, that he couldn't.
Screw himself for listening.
Screw this damn red light!
It finally changed to Darius' favorite color, and Tommy was gone before the other drivers even realized that it wasn't red anymore.
But what if he was too late?
That's an easy one.
He wouldn't be.
Except for the fact that traffic was completely stopped one block away from his destination.