Cliche

The Tragic Truth

"Today's the day Geoff, that I join you in the ranks among the greatest. I'm gonna get myself a fiancee." Smiling from ear to ear, Ray strolled through the room over to Geoff who looked impressed as he showed him the ring. "Here's how this night is gonna go. I'll surprise Carlina by getting home early. Then I'll take her to her favorite restaurant-"

"Which one?" Geoff interrupted.

"You know the one where we met, by your favorite bar? Yeah, there. Anyway, there eat dinner, talk, whatever. Then we'll get home, and watch a movie or something. And if I get some it won't be a bad thing either." Ray ended, his smile getting happier by the second, if that was even possible.

"Don't get too cheeky yet, tiger." Geoff said giving Ray a skeptical look, "What if she says no?"

"I'll cross that bridge if I get there, Geoff." Ray looked at his watch, "Damn, I need to go or we won't make it to dinner before 9. See ya later man!" Ray saluted Geoff before he half jogged, half skipped out of the room. Geoff was glad Ray was so happy, especially since he'd been so down after Courtney's accident a few years ago. Hopefully RTX would be much higher security again this year... Geoff shook his head to rid himself of these sad thoughts.

Outside however, Ray, who was literally skipping down the street to his car, was feeling exactly opposite of Geoff. He climbed into his car and took a deep breath of its familiar scent. For a moment he just sat there, almost meditating, until he suddenly opened his eyes and turned on the car, felling ready to do this.

As Ray drove down the busy Austin highways, he dreamed of his future. He dreamed of his kids, of his future house, and mostly of Carlina as his wife. But as he sped down the road, his distraction caused him to fail to notice a pedestrian jump out across the street. Just before it was too late, he slammed on the brake and swerved to the side. The man, he looked like a hobo, barely missed getting hit head on. Thankfully, he dove to the side just in time and missed the car completely.

"Oh my- Fuck!" yelled Ray, as he slowed down and jumped out of his car to check on the hobo he'd just almost hit. He walked cautiously over to the man, who got up looking dazed and scratched, but in tact. Ray began to ramble. "Sir, I am so sorry, if I can pay for a hospital bill, or give you some money, I-"

"It's alright, young man, I'm fine. I should have learned by now that jaywalking across highways is dangerous. But, I don't want anything from you." The shaggy man said. At first glance, Ray had thought that he looked old and frail, but he could now tell by the way he stood that this man was not someone you wanted to get in a fist fight with. Or any fight that matter.

"Seriously," Ray continued, feeling terrible, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

The man looked at Ray for a moment, then said "yeah, I guess. I need a ride to downtown. You going near there?"

Ray nodded, "yeah, I live right there, I can totally take you."

The man nodded and gestured toward the car, so Ray and he got into the car, and back onto the road. The rest of the ride was spent in a contented silence, as the man didn't feel the need to talk, and Ray had no idea what to say to this man he nearly just accidently ran over.

The hobo gave him directions by just pointing when they got to an intersection. Finally, the hobo motioned for Ray to stop in front of a restaurant, and the man exited the car, disappearing into an ally without saying another word

"Man, Carlina's gonna freak when I tell her this story.." He thought to himself, returning home finally.

He walked to the door, and he began to feel himself shaking. "It's alright Ray. You got this." He thought to himself, over and over again. He tried to turn the doorknob, but found it was locked. Taking a deep breath, he fumbled around with his keys for a moment, wondering why the house was locked. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally got the door to open. He opened it cautiously, but inside he found all the lights off, and the curtains all drawn.