Oath Ch 4 (2/16/06) 9 PM

In front of Jay, laying on the desk innocently were the two bottles of pills. He knew before these prescriptions were filled that he didn't need them, nor would he take them. His mother wouldn't know this. Jay was out of ideas as to what he would do next but he could not get the image of Adam out of his mind. Jay asked himself why he was pursuing this so desperately but he could not answer that question. He put his hand to his nose slowly, it was still sore. How can he have made all this up? How could he have made pain up? It never felt more real. Nothing has been so true. His heart never burned so strongly for something.

Jay picked up his keys. His mom heard them jingle as he picked them up.

"Where are you going?"

"I want to be alone."

"I don't want you going out right now."

Jay opened his mouth to talk back but decided it best to just walk out the door. He reached for the car handle and pulled but the door did not open. He growled and fidgeted with his keys and put his Mercury Tracer key in. He got into the car after unlocking it and tried to start the car but it didn't work. His cell phone rang as he tried starting it again. The car started while he tried answering the phone. He pushed the Talk button in really hard. Nothing. Again he tried.

"Hello?" Jay reached for the transmission lever.

"Jay, where are you?" Jay watched as his mom walked out the front door.

"One minute." Jay hit reverse and pulled out of his driveway. He wanted to get off his street.

"Sorry back." Jay said this as he drove off his street. He didn't want to say more than what had to be said. He wanted to ponder, to sit and think alone.

"It's fine. Where are you?"

"Pulling out of my house."

"Where you headed? Want to come over?"

"Nah, I'm busy. I appreciate the offer and all."

"What could be more important than friends?"

"Just something bugging me, Lauren."

"Your dream?"

"I don't understand." Jay said this, trailing off in thoughts.

"Want to talk about it, Jay?"

"No."

Jay pulled around a corner with a cell phone in one hand. Tires screeched from the side and as Jay's eyes diverted , his cell slipped from his hand. He grabbed the wheel with his second hand as the car from the side started driving into his front end. His car started tp spin as he hit the brakes. His windshield shattered and the front tire exploded. The other car spun in the opposite direction and stopped on the other side of the double yellow line. Jay's car came to a stop on the sidewlak. Smoke rose from the hood as his engine stalled.

His head rose as he pulled his body off the steering wheel. He unfastened his seat belt as he opened the car door. Reaching for his cell phone by the brake pedal he discovered the LCD screen was cracked and badly damaged.

"Doesn't this just beat all."

The man who controlled the other car stumbled over.

"I'm so sorry man."

Jay looked at his cracked cell phone in hope of reading the clock on it but could not distinquish what it said.

"I don't have time for this."

After he passed insurance papers he started in a run to the mall. It was winter, the sun set at four but it was far past four. The malls would be closing soon, if they hadn't already. As he ran his cell phone rang, his ringtone distorted. He had hit the Talk button but it wasn't responding. He checked the caller ID on the cracked screen. Lauren. She was probably worried.

He started to pant and breathe heavy as he crossed the street and ran into the empty parking lot. He reached for the handle of the door to the main entrance and pulled at it. The door swung open. Surprised the mall was still open he walked inside, only to find all the lights were off. An officer, alerted by Jay's presence, asked him to leave and explained the mall was in fact closed. Jay said he needed to use the bathroom. The guard looked around then motioned to Jay.

"Hurry up." He waved his hand toward the bathrooms on the left.

Jay ran into the bathroom and flipped on the light switch. He looked at the wall of the stall. There was nothing there as he had expected. Sighing he looked into the mirror. A small shard of glass was stuck on his skin from the car accident. He pulled it out and listened as a sliver of his flesh tore. He left a small red wound on his cheek.

"Adam where are you?"

He looked around again.

"Do you even exist? I can't be crazy. What am I missing?"

Jay started dialing his home phone number and hit Talk. Nothing happened.

"Damn I forgot that button doesn't work."

He threw up his hands and spun around toward the door in aggravation.

"I need to find a phone. Where is there a phone here?" He thought for a second. "Police booth. At the other end of the mall. Great."

Jay exited the bathroom and started toward the booth. His ringtone went off again. It was again, Lauren. Phone in hand, he jammed his thumb into the Talk button but it did not respond.

The same officer pulled around the corner.

"Thought I told you to leave."

He moved toward Jay in the dark hall.

"I need to use a phone. Mine is broke." Jay held up his screen and showed the officer he was telling the truth.

"Fine. Make it quick. Come on." The officer motioned for Jay to follow him. They turned the corner and Jay noticed someone closing up a shop late. He looked up at the shop name. Still Line. The name brought a flashback into Jay's head of when Adam said his shirt was from Still Line.

"Excuse me. Do you sell a shirt here, a blue shirt, with a white star on the front?"

"I don't know," the girl replied, "I just started here."

"Who could I ask to find out?"

"Well my manager."

"I need to contact him. Do you have a cell phone number for him or anything?"

The girl took out ap iece of paper in the darkness and started writing down her bosses name and number.

"Come on I want to go home, man."

The girl handed Jay the paper.

"Thank you lady. Don't worry about the phone. I'll walk home."

Jay started home in the dark. He was tired and cold but didn't want to deal with his mother. His car was in the garage and wouldn't be out for a few weeks.

Jay dialed the manager's number on his phone and hit Talk a few times but it didn't work. He kept smashing the button.

The road was abandoned. Jay was passing under a street light as he continued to press Talk. Suddenly the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello?" Jay repeated.

"Who's this?"

"Hi my name is Jay."

"Who are you? I'm in the middle of dinner here."

"I apologize for the hour. I wanted to ask if you knew about a specific shirt. It's from Still Line. It's a blue tee with a white star stitched on the center."

"What about it?"

"Do you have any?"

"No, can I go now?"

"When will you have some more?"

"We haven't sold that style for three years."