Traffic was hellish the next morning as Maisie drove into the office. Mondays tended to be busy and she couldn't be late for the weekly staff meeting. "No Starbucks this morning," she muttered to herself, braking yet again as the taillights of the car in front of her went red.
Notifications had continued pouring in overnight, and as her phone sat in the cup holder, it lit up every few seconds with more new ones. She'd have to remember to turn the notifications off when she got to the office.
Finally, traffic broke - a car with a blown tire in the center lane had been the cause of the jam. Maisie glanced at it as she passed. It didn't appear that any other cars were involved. She always worried about car accidents, having been in a deadly one as a child.
Her father had driven her and Anabeth to the circus one sunny Saturday. Maisie was four, Anabeth nine. The lights, colors, and animals thrilled young Maisie, who threw a tantrum when it was time to leave, but Anabeth had left unimpressed. An accurate representation of the entirety of their childhood, though Maisie had certainly grown more reasonable in adulthood.
It rained unexpectedly on the drive home. Their father laughed and turned the wipers on, making a game with the girls on when the wipers would reach the center of the window. For many years after, Maisie blamed herself and the stupid game for the accident. If only Dad had been paying closer attention to the road...
But it wasn't her fault, or the game's. A car behind them was going too fast, hit a slick spot in the road, and their brakes failed. The Framptons' car propelled forward, striking another. Maisie was too young at the time to remember the exact sequence of events, but when everything stopped moving and she and her sister stopped screaming, their father was slumped over the steering wheel, a trickle of blood running down his face.
Two other people were injured, but Maisie never learned their names. She knew they had lived, while her father hadn't. In her mind, she pretended they didn't exist.
YOU ARE READING
Searching for Mr. Darcy
ChickLitMaisie is unlucky in love. Not that she considers herself special, or anything - who hasn't been disappointed in relationships time and time and time again? The one thing that always seems to get her through is the handsome, awkward, perfect Mr. Da...
