Gasoline.

1

I was digging in my refrigerator for something to eat before my date with my boyfriend, Evan. We were going to the theatre to see this new slasher film that I'd been dying to see since I first saw the commercial five months ago. It took a lot of convincing. I'd been dating Evan for nearly two years, and he hated going to the movie theater. He thought it was a waste of money when you could just wait for it to come out on dvd and not have to deal with the "loud people that don't know when to shut the hell up."

"Headed out?" My mom asked walking into the kitchen from the backyard where she was working on her "award winning" garden. I appreciated her dedication and motivation. She was out there any chance she got, and always came back in covered in soil smeared somewhere on her face, and with her hair stuck to her cheek from sweating.

I opted for the bag of green grapes that were laying on a shelf. "Yes. Evan should be here any minute actually," I said. I popped one of the grapes in my mouth. My phone ringing from the living room stopped me from the grape I was ripping off the vine. I rushed into the living room and picked up my phone from the coffee table.

"Hey, babe," I greeted him.
"I'm outside." Something in Evan's voice wasn't right. "I'll be right there." I hung up and grabbed my black purse that was laying on the sofa. "I'll see you later!" I called out.
"Put the grapes back in the fridge!" My mom called out. My hand was already on the doorknob. "I'm leaving!" I shouted. I slipped out the door before my mother could say anything else.

As I approached Evan's car, I could see him tapping impatiently on his steering wheel. I pushed my sunglasses from the top of my head and perched them on the bridge of my nose. I pulled the car door open and climbed in. I leaned in to kiss Evan, but he started the car up. It jerked frontward as he started driving, and I fell back into my seat.

"You should be wearing your seatbelt," he said without looking at me. "You didn't even give me a chance to do so.. Did something happen at home?" I questioned, slipping my seatbelt over me and clicking it in place. "No," he quickly said making a right turn at the stop sign at the end of my block. He was driving quickly down the street. He was driving so quick that the palm trees were blurry flashes.

"Can you slow down and talk to me? What happened?" Evan didn't say anything. I crossed my arms over my chest, and stared straight ahead. I couldn't think of what I could have done. I glanced at Evan. He was still tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. I saw the lump that formed in his throat as he gulped his saliva.

"Can you talk to me?" I asked. This time it seemed to work. He turned to me when he approached a red stoplight. "I want to break up." I don't know if I didn't hear him correctly, or if I just didn't want my brain to process what he said, but I asked, "Huh?"
"You heard me, Lauren. I want to break up." I could feel my heart beating in my chest. Boom boom. Boom boom. "You.. You want to break up? What?"
"Lauren, please don't make this harder than it is," he said as he proceeded at the green light.

I stared out the window as children played tag in their lawn of not so green grass, and a man helped a woman bring her groceries in. Their lives were on play, while mine was on pause. "Can you have the decency to pull the fucking car over, and look me in the eyes?" Evan glanced over at me before pulling his car over in front of someones house.

"How long have you been planning this- this grand break up? Who plans a date night knowing that they're going to dump their girlfriend on the way to the theater?" I was trying so hard not to cry, but the tears forced themselves out. "Listen, I didn't plan for it to happen on the way to the movies." Evan didn't make eye contact. "You're a shitty person, Evan. You can't even look at me!" He glanced briefly at me, and shook his head.