Betty's Cardigan

A Coming of Age

Adam had been about to stop a dude from playing catch with his mom's antique vase when the lights went out. 

The chatter died down for a second before the emergency generator kicked in and the party continued as if nothing happened. 

"Put that down," Adam said. 

"Aw, c'mon," the guy protested. Adam grabbed the vase and was about to go up to his room when Betty cornered him. 

"This looks like a proper rager," she smiled and said.

"You like it?"

"YES!" she threw her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. 

Adam wanted to kiss her so bad, but instead he grinned and said, "Let me get this out of the way then."

Before going back down, he saw a few people leaving. It was getting late after all. As he went back down the stairs, he hoped that it had been the last they'd seen of James.

Adam's phone got a notification. 

"Lorraine Willis is dead."

Soon, everyone at the party was looking at their phone. The music had stopped and Betty had disappeared. Lorraine had driven into the local transformer compound and caused a town-wide blackout.

Panic shot through Adam's body.

"Everybody go home," he announced hastily. No one had to be told twice. Most were dumbstruck. 

Ten minutes was all it had taken for everyone to empty out into the driveway. Some stragglers were hugging and crying. Adam couldn't blame them. He couldn't believe that the girl he'd spoken to mere minutes ago would never speak again. 

"I called my mom." Betty had almost made Adam jump. She'd snuck up to him, quiet as  a ghost. "I wanna stay over."

"Sure," Adam whispered. The dreadful silence had engulfed the place ever since the news broke. "I'll get someone to clean up your room."

"I was thinking that I should sleep in your room today."

"Of course." Adam couldn't have said otherwise. Betty turned and went upstairs.

Adam instructed the house-help to deal with the people in the driveway and then he followed Betty to his room. She was standing before the window, looking out at the town which had been engulfed in darkness. Adam could see a cloud of smoke at the horizon. Then, he heard sniffling.

"I can't believe she's gone."

Adam didn't know what to say. He simply hugged her tight and let her cry on his shoulder.

"Maybe we should move away from the window," he said after five minutes. "You must be tired. You should rest."

"It wasn't her fault!" Betty cried.

"It wasn't yours either."

Maybe this was all on James. He messed with both of them. He made Lorraine feel as if she were nothing in front of everyone. But he had not driven the car into the grid.

"I don't know what to do," Betty whispered. "I have to do something." She had started to shake.

"We'll do something tomorrow. We'll figure it out. Please come to bed right now," Adam said. He didn't know how they would manage to sleep, but was trying to act calm. After all, there was nothing they could do that very moment.

Betty finally lay down. Adam took his place on the other side of the bed.

Adam felt his own eyes sting with unshed tears as Betty's breathing slowed and her grip on his hand loosened. He didn't dare shift, lest she woke up. Instead he finally let himself cry  with  silent  sobs.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the free-spirited girl driving too fast. She shouldn't have died. A cop should have pulled her over for speeding. She should have been consoled. She should have missed a week of school at most and then she should have come back stronger. James did not deserve that sort of power. No one should be able to cause so much sadness.

But worst was when Adam finally fell asleep.

*****

It wasn't Lorraine who had driven into the compound.

Adam found himself standing helplessly beside the street, watching the compound from a distance. He couldn't move, he could only stare as his nightmare unfolded. He didn't need to see through the windows of the car to know who was sitting behind the wheel.

He tried to scream her name. His throat felt raw and cracked as if he'd been screaming for so many hours that he'd finally lost his voice for good.

Betty couldn't hear a thing as her body blew up in the explosion.

*****

Adam woke with such a start that he almost fell off the bed. Betty stirred and she opened her eyes. She must have seen the wild horror in his eyes because she furrowed her brows, worried.

"Nightmare?" she asked.

Adam was afraid that his voice would desert him in reality. There were so many things he wanted to tell her. He couldn't keep it in anymore.

"Why are you looking at me so strangely?" Betty's concern had grown. She sat up beside him and touched his cheek.

Adam couldn't breathe. "You're my best friend." He hoped she knew what it was. He was in love.

"Oh, Adam," Betty whispered. Her eyes were glistening, but it wasn't with sadness. Despite the loss and heartbreak, this they were stronger than ever in this moment which seemed to stretch on forever. Betty brushed his lips with hers before laying her head on his shoulder.

There was something beyond passion in her soft touch. It was trust that he would be there and understand her no matter what. And it was a sort of love which people could only hope to find in their life.