Maple

8

As I continued on my unforeseen path through the relentless showers, I wondered if the grocery store girl had a car. What if she was riding a bike to the store? She wasn't wearing anything very weatherproof. I imagined the relentless downpour against her skin and her long black hair being stuck to her back, sleek and heavy with water. Was her bread soaked through? What if all she had to eat tonight was leftover pasta and her whole plan was to make garlic bread and watch TV? Would she watch a Romcom or an action flick? Even caught in this unforgiving autumn weather, I was full of questions and couldn't stop wondering what it would be like to know her.

"Wait, Jared, wait!" Someone cried. I pressed myself against the wet cement of the nearby apartment building, alarmed.

"Oh, Jared, please!" it was a young woman's voice. I strained to see through the rain. Someone was running down the sidewalk, out of the alley, chasing after a man. Jared? A saw a blur of blonde hair.

"I can't do it anymore, Kris. I can't!" It was him. There was no mistaking that southern drawl, no matter how bent out of shape he sounded.

"Come on, stop, Jared. Just wait a minute." She sounded so desperate, so sad. "Please," her voice broke, "Just please, wait a minute." I could see them clearly now as my eyes focused through the downpour. They were both soaked through to the bone but didn't care. I could see mascara running down the woman's pale, freckled cheeks and her red bob stuck to her cheekbones.

They were on the sidewalk, right outside what I assume to be their apartment. I stayed stuck to the wall, frozen in place. I guess it would be the best time to make a scene...when the weather was so bad there weren't many people to witness it.

Jared stopped and turned, "What, Kris." I couldn't tell what haircut he'd gotten because of the rain. All I knew was that nothing else mattered. His heart was broken, I could see that. His face was contorted and his chest was heaving, tears becoming just another aspect of the storm. It was like watching a watercolor painting come to life.

"I can't..." She seemed to choke on air for a moment and then regained herself, breath shaky and hands clutched at the sopping fabric of her tee shirt. "I am so sorry. I can't even begin to express..."

"Save it!" He cried. He leaned back slightly and looked up at the sky for a moment, his eyes blinking away tears or rain, I couldn't tell. He spoke without looking at her. "I can't trust you anymore. I just can't...."

"It didn't mean anything Jared, I swear!" She stepped forward and reached her hands out, but he only moved back, closer to the road. A car sped by and splashed the back of him with water. He didn't seem to care.

"I cannot believe you. It doesn't make sense..." He ran his hand along his face as if that would dry the rain off. "I come home and you're literally sleeping with someone else!" He laughs, but it's more of a sob.

"It didn't mean anything...." She was ugly crying now, her shoulders heaving. She looked weak. "I love you..." she said it as if she couldn't breathe anymore, as if those three words had been the last of her oxygen.

He shook his head. "I need to go, Kris."

"Where?" Her breath was back now. "You can't just leave! At least come get dry and I'll give you a ride..."

"I have to leave now." He shook his head again, like a dog. "I can't see you anymore. It hurts too much."

He turned around to leave, and I could tell he wasn't really sure where he was going. He was in shock. His heart was simply broken.

"Jared, please wait–" She reached out her hand and stepped closer to him and that's when it happened so goddamn quickly. He stumbled back away from her and right into that road. The blue car was a blur as it connected with his body and the water that sprayed Kris was a deep, shocking red.

"No!" It was a loud, guttural 'no.' It was the worst sound I'd ever heard. I couldn't leave either, I felt stuck, witnessing it all.

The car stopped and a young woman stepped out, her eyes wider than the moon. Kris's cries were almost inhuman. No, I take that back; they were so very human.

And just like that, the rain finally stopped.