The Friend

Alicia

A month passed, Thanksgiving was only a few weeks away. Although, Alicia missed the calm, fall weather, she didn't mind the cold. It gave Rodney the excuse he needed to hold her. Whenever he drove her back home after a date, he'd stopped the engine and look at her with those chocolate eyes of his. He'd ask her if she was cold before guiding her into the backseat, leaning in and wrapping his arms around her. The radiator in her apartment never warmed her up this good.

They'd stay that way for another hour or so. Talking and laughing, whispering and murmuring, their faces close, until eventually their lips met. In the beginning, she was shy about having make out sessions with him, but they did it so often that it was impossible to be scared about stuff like that for long. Most of the times he was well-mannered, but there were a couple times when his hold over her would tighten and his lips became hungry over hers. At first it was overwhelming and she didn't really understand what was going on, but soon she learned to respond to the fervor within him. Those make out sessions were the hardest to stop.

One bright Saturday morning, Alicia slipped on some tights, her hiking boots, a pullover sweater and her jacket. She grabbed her backpack that she had packed last night and tiptoed out of her apartment.

It was nine a.m. and Rodney and she were doing a day trip to Bear Mountain before it closed for the season. When she got outside, she saw Rodney in his car waiting for her. She waved hello and entered the passenger's seat.

"Good Morning," she said.

"Good Morning," he smiled. "Ready to go?"

She nodded, setting her backpack in the back seat. She started to reach for her seatbelt when she noticed that the engine was off and Rodney was frowning at her.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked.

She glanced at her book bag, "...No, I think I have everything in there—"

"Not that," he said. "Think."

She looked around him and then at her book bag again, but she was coming up short. Rodney narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head. He slumped in his seat, his head falling back, as he let out an exhausted sigh.

"Ugh, I don't think I'll have the energy to drive all the way there. I'm way too tired. I wish I had something to wake me up," he said, extending his cheek towards her.

She grinned at him, leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"Wow! And just like that, I have all the energy in the world," he said, feigning seriousness, "Don't worry, you can count on me to get us there."

"Aye, aye, Popeye," Alicia said.

The engine came to life as Alicia fumbled with connecting her phone to his aux. Rodney cleared out of his parking spot as the car filled with some R&B. As he swerved the car around, Alicia opened a granola bar and took a bite. She cut a chunk off and extended her hand to Rodney's mouth. With his eyes on the road, he opened his mouth and she tossed the piece in.

Not even a block later, they saw that a huge accident was blocking cars from moving forward. There were several ambulances and police cars with caution tape that blocked off the street. A large crowd was behind the tape. Some were gossiping, others were crying and screaming. The car in front of them u-turned around, honking his horn because of the people. Alicia sat up, concerned.

"What do you think happened?" she asked Rodney.

Rodney didn't answer her. Though they couldn't see the street where the accident happened, he couldn't take his eyes off the scene. He was engrossed.