Maybe It Was Fate

Chapter 18 - The Breakdown

Chapter 18 - The Breakdown

Louis

               My heart is pounding at full speed. I have to find her. My mind races with all these thoughts and emotions. I run outside and get in the car. "Take me to the park Paul. Hurry!" I ran so fast I didn't realize it was raining. Now I'm all wet but I don't really care. All I can think about is finding Karina. Paul drives fast and soon we're parked in front of the park. It's almost empty with only a few people walking by with umbrellas. My phone keeps buzzing but I ignore it I don't have time to answer it. I grab an umbrella from the trunk and start looking for her. I walk past the big fountain with angels on it and the place where we went a month ago. I don't see her anywhere. I walk to the playground where we ran into the little girl. I stop dead in my tracks when I see a small figure sitting on a bench. I slowly approach it and see it's Karina. I can't help but feel happy and relieved. I finally found her. She's sitting in fetal position looking straight at the ground her eyes distant. I stand right in front of her and she lifts her head slowly until our eyes meet. They're all red and puffy from all the crying. I sit down next to her and she immediately hugs me and sobs into my chest. "I'm so glad I found you. I was so worried." She's ice cold and extremely wet. I take off my jacket and give it to her. She must be freezing. 

She's trembling a whole lot, I swear I can hear her teeth chattering. She takes the jacket and puts it on. "How did you know where I was?"

"I remembered you telling me your father took you to the park a lot. It was the first thing you ever told me about him."

Her face goes solemn again. "Ohh...yeah."

It's hard to keep the umbrella steady and embrace Karina at the same time. "Come on you've got to go home." 

She looks up at me. "I can't." 

"Why not?"

"Because it's my fault." She sobs even harder. 

"What is your fault?"

"Everything! His death!" She bursts out surprising me. 

"Karina it's not your fault." She abruptly stands up and looks at me with anger and guiltiness in her eyes. 

"Yes it is! You don't even know what happened!" She yells at me. 

"Come on Kari you're getting wet." I try to calm her down and get her under the umbrella but she shoves my hand away. 

"I don't care! He wasn't even supposed to be driving that night!" She screams at me, her lips quiver and she tightens her hands into fists. 

"What do you mean?" I stand up and try and close the space between us. 

"He...he said I couldn't go but I went anyways." She's not looking at me now but at the floor. 

What? I am so utterly confused. I have no clue of what she's talking about. "You're not making any sense..." She looks up at me mad and sad. 

"There was this party I wanted to go to and he said I couldn't go. He said I had to stay home...so I...I snuck out." She walks back and forth shaking her head. "He must've noticed because an hour later he showed up at the party. He was so disappointed in me and I was furious. We fought in the car."

"Kari..." I grab her hand and squeeze it. 

"No. Let me finish." I nod. "We were fighting, I was yelling at him saying awful things. Then next thing I know there is a bright light and a horrible screeching sound. I open my eyes and all I remember seeing is blood. All the blood everywhere." She trembles and I take her other hand and pull her down so she sits on the bench next to me. She doesn't resist this time. "I try to move and feel this sharp pain on my side. When I look I have a piece of glass imbedded in me. I remember touching my forehead and feeling the warm blood trickling down." She touches her head where there is a small scar just above her temple. "Then I hear him groan. He grabs my hand and squeezes it. He's bleeding, so much." She starts to breathe fast and looks at nothing. Her eyes stare at the floor filled with pain and desperation.