My Oxygen Is Exhaust Fumes

Chapter 1

August 23, 2015

Danielle P.O.V.

I laugh out loud at the T.V. just as my dad comes busting in the door, with a worried look on his face.

"Daddy," I say, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees to look at him, "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"Something is wrong. Your mom and Becky are going to show up to Becky's house to something bad. I just got this gut feeling, you need to call your mom right now. Hurry." My dad grabs his phone out of this pocket, throwing it across the living room at me.

I dial up my momma's number and throw the phone back to him, "It's your gut feeling not mine, so you call."

He says okay, hits call, puts the phone up to his ear, and just like that he's out the door. I take a deep breath then sigh, leaning back into the couch, returning back to That 70's Show.

The show ends and I sigh again, then pick up the remote and flip through the channels. There's nothing good on, so I turn on the Xbox and put in Where The Red Fern Grows.

The door slams back open and my dad has tears streaming down his face. This time I actually get off the couch and walk over to him as calm as possible. Something seriously bad has happened, daddy doesn't cry.

"Daddy, what's wrong? Tell me!" I say, looking up to meet his eyes. He looks down at me as a even sadder look crosses his face.

"A-Amy k-killed herself," he says, pulling me into a huge hug. My heart drops into my chest, 'No, no! This can't be. She was fine when we left her yesterday. What could have happened in such a short time that made her do this?! It doesn't make sense.' I think to myself.

"Dad? How? What? How did you hear? When? Why? What?!" I ask, my mind not understanding what it just heard.

I feel a few tears drop onto the top of my head, "I don't know sweetie, I just don't know."

My eyes start to fill with tears but I can't cry right now, not with dad here. "Dad, I think I need sometime to think. I'll be back in a few." I give one fine reassuring squeeze in the hug, then break free and walk out the door into the garage.

I grab my chest protector and yank it over my head, down around my sides and quickly snap it shut. Next comes my helmet, that I force over my head, then kicking off my boots I put on my motocross boots, forcing all 6 locks shut to secure my feet. I grab my gloves and goggles off the piano bench, and run out of the garage door to the barn.

The sliding barn door is shut so I force it open, running inside I yank my KX off the stand. I turn the gas on and pull up the choke, while swinging a leg over, I flip out the kickstarter. After a 3 kicks the bike won't start and I stop to take a deep breath. After about 30 seconds I kick it once more and he roars to life under me. 'Thank you,' I whisper. I don't let the bike warm up, so hopefully it doesn't blow up. I just rev up the engine, put 'er in gear, and ride out of the barn.

By the time I reach the point that I need to slow down to turn out onto the road, I had my bike revved out in 5th gear. Only one more gear to go. I slow down into first gear and pull the clutch in, putt up to the road to look both ways, I don't see any cars so I slowly let the clutch out and give it a little throttle and pull out onto the road. I go over the little hill in the road at about 50 miles per hour which gives me a little air.

15 minutes later I pull into my cousin's driveway, he see's me through the window, he can tell something is wrong but he isn't sure what. He's on my dad's side of them family though not my mom's. So he has no idea. I give a lil half hearted wave and head to the race track out back.