AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Yes, I was terrified.
“Lucille, I’m… I…”
Joe stood up. “Of course, she’d be scared of you. What did you expect? You ambushed her like some crazy stalker, now you’re throwing punches around and you’re seriously questioning if she’s scared of you? You’re like in a fucking frenzy, mate.”
Sam held his gaze with mine all through Joe’s speech. Yet I could see his expression changing with every word like he was finally comprehending the severity of his actions.
“You’re scared of me and you don’t want to see me.” Sam murmured, almost to himself more than to anyone else.
Seizing the moment when Sam was off guard, Joe thrust his hand into Sam’s jacket pocket and fished out the stainless steel whiskey flask. He opened the tap and poured out the contents. Only a few droplets came out.
“For fuck’s sake, Sam. You’re supposed to be on painkillers and now you’re drinking whiskey? Are you insane?”
“Pills don’t do shit for my pain. How was I supposed to drive with this fucked-up shoulder?”
“You don’t fucking drive at all.” Triggered by the frustration at Sam’s actions, Joe tossed away the flask on the pavement, almost hitting a passerby’s foot.
Sam remained standing still like a marble statue.
Yes, I was right. Sam wasn’t in his right mind. This whole erratic spectacle definitely wasn’t him at all. He wasn’t the kind of person who’d take irresponsible decisions. And he didn’t look well either. He was dishevelled, with his T-shirt half-tucked in his jeans and possibly bed hair. The dark circles around his eyes suggested he was missing out on sleep.
What had happened to him?
Sam pressed his fingers at his temples as his jaw tautened with a new kind of sudden anger. “I hate this. This fucking loneliness. This… silence.” His eyes settled on me. “I bought a new deck of playing cards. The ones with the shimmery gold you liked. Turns out it’s not fun playing alone. I miss my adversary. I don’t have any adversary at all now because there’s nobody. Everyone’s gone. You left me. All of you.”
His statement wasn’t just directed at me. Sam was looking at Joe too. And I guess he must be referring to his family too – his parents and his daughters, who were all miles away. The pain was plainly visible in his eyes.
An empathic Joe approached Sam in small steps. “Why don’t you come with me? I’ll drive you back home. My car’s parked right up there.”
But as Joe turned to point at his car, Sam slipped away and ran off like a fugitive, back to his Mercedes. He got behind the wheel, shut the door with a bang and instantly clicked the doors locked.
“Samuel! Don’t even think about it.” Joe jogged to the car. Tapped at the windows frantically. But Sam went ahead and fired up the engine, then drove away with the loudest screech. “Damn him.” Joe hurried the way back to me. “I’ll go follow him. You okay to go home by yourself?”
I nodded at him.
“You sure?”
“Yes, just go after him.” I ordered.
Joe planted a big kiss on my forehead before running and jostling through the crowd to get to his own car.
And just like that, I found myself alone on that pavement. I noticed people standing there and staring at me. They must have stopped to watch the debacle. Then I saw the cafeteria patrons gawking at me from behind the glass window.
And at the realization of my infamous spotlight, that was when it hit me. Another damned anxiety attack. There was a sudden heaviness on my chest. There was ringing in my ears and heart palpitations, and the world around me began to spin.
Then I heard the loud bang. The unceasing honks. The screaming. And suddenly, I was more conscious and alert than anyone else around me.
My feet began running down the road before my brain ordered the command. I continued until I rounded the corner and just as I thought, there it was.
Sam’s Mercedes was one of three crashed cars.
Further up amongst the accumulated traffic was Joe’s abandoned car. Joe was already at the crash site, kicking at the jammed Mercedes’s door until it swivelled open.
That was when I saw Sam. His head was on the steering wheel.
Unmoving.
* * *
