Short Stories

Satellites

Prompt: Satellite by All Time Low

Kailey sat in the car, staring out the window. The radio was playing softly; and although the classical music that was broadcasted in the middle of the night was far from her kind of music, she endured it. Anything was better than having to talk to the person that was sitting beside her, driving the car. She’d told herself taking the ride that he had offered her was better than having to hitchhike her way to her parents; but now, she wasn’t so sure. It went against all her instincts, being so dependable on the guy that she’d sworn to never see again, but she didn’t have the money nor the driver’s license needed to make it otherwise.
She sighed, glancing backwards. She tensed as she saw the police car driving behind them. She knew that the tail lights of Jake’s car were broken; and if the police forced them to stop, the tail lights probably wouldn’t be the only malfunctioning they’d find. Jake’s car was a poor excuse of a car; much like Jake himself was a poor excuse of a boyfriend, really. Unless you were into cheating assholes, obviously.
Kailey exhaled as the police car drove past them, without giving any indication that they’d seen the lights. Or rather, hadn’t seen the lights. She went with her hands through her hair, adjusting on the seat slightly. Glancing at the clock. At least another hour to go, and it was already the worst trip of her life. The only good thing about the mostly deserted road was the lack of light pollution, which meant that for once, she could see a clear sky, filled with stars. She’d counted them, right when they left Portland, but now she just admired them. She liked the sky, and everything that came with it. Kailey was the kind of girl to sit outside in a storm, watching the thunder, enjoying the rain on her face and the wind playing with her clothes. According to Jake, it was one of the reasons she was just a weirdo, but then again, Jake probably wasn’t the best judge of character.
She looked at a particular bright star, shining in the northwest; the direction that they were going. Shortly, she imagined that the star would light her way, much like the Bible, but no star would ever shine for her as long as Jake was in the car. She kept looking at it, making sure it wouldn’t blink, making sure it wasn’t a satellite. When the next song was introduced by a woman, who was probably way too old to be making radio in the night, she was convinced the star was an actual star, and kept gazing at it.
She thought back to the events of the past evening. It was hard to believe that so much had happened in 24 hours. She’d been dreaming of breaking up with Jake for a long time, but she’d never imagined actually doing it. Until yesterday. Until the girl who spent way too much money on make-up showed up at their front door, their door, asking for Jake. She asked her where her brother was. Kailey had told her, with more pride than she should have felt, that Jake was her boyfriend, not her brother; and that he was out to find them a restaurant for the night. He wasn’t, of course, he was more likely out to get drunk, but the hoe at the door didn’t need to know that. But unlike Kailey had expected, Barbie girl had just laughed at her.
“You’re way too ugly to be his girl, darling. Now, step aside and let me in, it’s freezing.”
Dumbfounded, Kailey had let the girl in, and walked after her, straight into the living room. Kailey hadn’t even thought of it, but the girl was already staring at it; the big photo frame on their table, holding a picture of her and Jake, kissing at a beach in Hawaii. The girl gasped.
“You whore! You’re dating my boyfriend!”
Thinking back to it, it had taken Kailey a very long time to realize what was going on. She knew Jake wasn’t perfect; but she had always been sure she’d been the only one for him. It turned out that Jake had been dating the hoe for five months now, and had promised her recently that he’d move in with her. And where Kailey had been in tears at her lost relationship, Barbie had just walked out, saying that Jake would choose her over a girl like Kailey.
Kailey had already packed when Jake came home that night, and the only reason that she was still there was the same as to why she was sitting in his car right now; she couldn’t get home on her own. She sat on the couch as he came in, surrounded by suitcases, and before he could say anything, she calmly told him that she knew. That she knew about the other girl, that she knew about the drugs, and that she was fed up with it. She wanted a ride home, tonight, and he was going to give it to her, or she’d empty his bank account and trash his car. He complied, and without another word, she tossed her suitcases into his car. He’d tried to talk to her, but in response, she’d just turned on the radio, louder than she liked, but loud enough that talking was impossible.
And that’s what had brought them here, in the middle of the night, making the most awkward trip through the county in her entire life. She didn’t even want to think of what her parents would say, when she showed up at their house in the middle of the night. Or what her friends would say. All she was thinking of, was how she’d made a good decision. She looked back at the stars again, blinking when she saw a small dot of light fall down the sky. A falling star. Smiling slightly, she wished for a better judgement of character. To make sure she wouldn’t fall in love with people like Jake again.
But as she looked closer at the falling star, she saw it blink. It was a satellite.