Loss

The accident

The following day, time can only repeat itself. Another day passes, and I still can't get her face out of my head. Another day, and that car accident never leaves me alone. And I have no choice but to let go, and allow myself to be consumed by the memory of what happened.

[ 1 year ago]

Not long after the sun rose, the clock pierced the air with its obnoxious war cry, drawing myself out of the peaceful slumber my body desperately needed. I turn over with a groan, and shut it off with an open palm. I turn back to face the center of the bed, and another person comes close to my chest, halting me from moving a single inch. The softness of her fur, the gentle touch of her hands, and the subtle sighs of breath escaping her. She touched my sleek, dark fur, and met her gaze with mine. Her eyes were similar in color, but hers were more potent, with the ability to cut any person in half.

"Mmh, morning honey," Aimi softly spoke into my chest.

"Good morning, dear," I replied, hugging her close.

I am the first to kiss her soft lips before getting out of bed. I stretch my arms out before slowly letting Aimi up. We both gravitate our hands to her stomach, where a sizable bump hangs in front of her.

"Maybe tomorrow will be the day to see what our child will be," she said, rubbing her belly.

I looked back at her and admitted, "I'm just as excited as you are, hun."

We stayed in thought for a moment before realizing we both needed to be dressed for work. I finished dressing up and then helped her with her black stockings and flats. We head downstairs and look at the time on our watches as if in sync, and both smile brightly when we see we have enough time to stop at our favorite cafe.

We drove together in our minivan and headed straight to our favorite place for what seemed to be our routine. We have been coming to this place since she discovered it with her friends. And it is not that far from the office either, which lets us sit down for a moment with each other for another 8–10-hour workday. But we make it withstand every minute of that with our weekly stop. Her macchiato and my hot chocolate. It was a dream I never wanted to leave.

We finish our drinks, thank the barista, and leave the cafe. We head to work, and the day continues as usual. Both of us smiled, finished our work, and laughed with our co-workers. We have our lunch, as well as giving small kisses in-between. As the day comes to a close, Aimi starts to not feel so well. We walk out of the office early, with our tails intertwined together.

As we get to the car, I help her in the passenger side. "Should we go to the hospital, hun?" I ask, concerned.

She shook her head and brushed her fingers softly across my cheek, "No, it's fine. I'm just a little nauseous, that's all."

I held her hand to my cheek for a moment, then turned to kiss her palm, before closing the door. We leave the parking lot of our office and begin heading home.

We drove for a few minutes and decided to stop at a fast-food restaurant to get something small to satiate her cravings. She wanted their waffle fries along with a chocolate shake with bacon mixed in. It was a weird request for the milkshake, but they gave it to her anyway. As we drove out of the drive-thru, and onto the far-right lane, she giggled and squealed from taking the first sip of her milkshake. We stopped at a stop light, and I looked at her. Watching her giggle at just drinking something I would never think of tasting. She caught me looking at her, and gave me a wink before pointing at the road, telling me to pay attention. I grinned for a moment, then looked back at the road, waiting for the light to change.

The light changes green, I put my foot on the clutch and start driving, then the next thing I knew, I feel this powerful force hit me from the right side, pushing my car in the direction that force was going, and I look to my left and see we're about to hit another car next to me.