Our Bruised Bodies | Bradley Bradshaw

ACT FOUR - PART ELEVEN

Cheers!

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The journey of solitary through the dimly lit streets, each intersection marking a decision point where she must choose a direction without a destination in mind. The engine hummed in the background, a constant companion to the loudness of thoughts echoing in her mind.

As she navigated the familiar roads, every passing streetlight casted long shadows that seemed to mirror the depths of her inner turmoil. The rhythm of the road, once comforting, now felt like a cruel reminder of the relentless passage of time, the seconds ticking by like a countdown to an uncertain future.

Through the windshield, the landscape blurred into a canvas of lights, each flickering bulb a fleeting reminder of the moments shared and the memories forced back into their small box where they belonged. Tears threaten to spill over as Grace couldn't force her mind to stop replayed scenes of love and loss, the ache in her chest intensifying with every heartbeat. She felt as if she shouldn't breath with ever mile she drove further away from the house.

The radio provided a backdrop of melancholic melodies, each song a haunting soundtrack to her quilt and hurt, her pain. The lyrics resonated deeply, echoing the sentiments of her wounded heart, and yet, she cannot bring herself to change the station, finding solace in the shared sorrow of the music. The shared uselessness.

With each turn of the wheel, she fought with the memories that clinged to the corners of her mind like ghosts of a past life. The streets blurred together, time becoming an abstract concept as they drifted aimlessly through the night, searching for solace in the solitude of the open road.

Eventually, exhaustion creeps in, and she found herself pull away from the main road, only to suddenly find herself of a familiar path close to base. As a child, she had begged her father nearly daily to bring her to this place to watch the jets take off and leaving the world behind. Powerful and mightily pushing up into the sky, into a different world. Grace felt as if she had lived a full circle with reaching this place once more.

She parked by the side of the road, the silence of the night enveloping her like a comforting embrace. In the stillness of the night, she allow herself to feel the full weight of her grief, embracing the pain as an inevitable part of life, before she got out of the car.

The night was unusual cold, but oh so clear. Out here, far away from the town, she could see the stars in the sky, watching over her, looking down at her. It was so peaceful out here, a place she felt life had never touched. Out here, so little mattered. Out here, things felt as if they were easier.

Swallowing thickly, Grace leaned against the side of the truck, as she fished for her phone. The light of her screen nearly blinding her, but her eyes adjusted quickly, only for her to search for the right contact, before pressing her thumb down and moving her phone to her ear after. It rung, once, twice. Maybe three or four times and normally Grace would have given up already, but not this time.

"Grace. What's wrong? It must be the middle of the night at home." Ice said the moment he picked up the phone as he saw it was his daughter that called.

"You need to come home, daddy." Grace told him, not louder than a whisper, but alone out here, even her whisper felt as if she was screaming from the top of her lungs. "I was wrong. I can't do this. He... he told me to return to the Baltimore, to go back seaside." She added, which had Ice hum for a moment. And Grace could almost picture him. Leaning back in his office chair, while he mustered her standing in front of him. He would make another humming sound as if there was a conversation within his head no one but he could hear, before he would direct his eyes back to what he was working on and tell her about his decision with no room for an argument.