Short Stories That May or May Not be so Short...

Musical Love

The rain hitting the windshield mimicked the tears streaking down my face. I sat in silence in the driver's seat, waiting for the storm to pass. A Great Big World's "Say Something"  started playing on the radio, so I turned it up to mute the silence. The rain began beating down harder, making it impossible to see the dark reds and oranges along the horizon. 

I removed my hand from wiping away tears to find smeared mascara covering the back it. I grabbed my backpack and dug through it until I pulled out my makeup remover, then I just let it fall back onto the trash-covered floor. My phone vibrated with a Snapchat from my friend, Alexi. I tossed it back onto the seat next to me. The car moved just slightly as I pulled my scabbed knees up against my chest, so I glanced down to make sure the car was in park.

The song changed to Lady Gaga's "Million Reason", so I clicked the 'seek' button. Car commercial. Lawyer commercial. Heavy Metal. Station ad. Country. I kept clicking until I came across the song "Human" by Christina Perri. Goosebumps formed on my legs, so I turned up the barely working heat.

The passenger side door opened causing a gust of wind to make its way up my skirt. I quickly smoothed it down and placed my feet back on the floor as the door closed. Someone had got in, but the darkness masked their face.

Silence. Seconds passed. Then a minute. Once the song ended, he spoke, "I don't care much for that song." After an ad for a salon came on, he muted the radio, welcoming back the sound of the rain against the car.

His voice was scratchy but familiar. I managed to squeak out, "Aiden," with unwanted tears escaping my eyes.

He turned his head, illuminated by the occasional lightning. "You're crying."

I nodded, unsure if he could see. Then I realized I was still holding my makeup wipes, so I removed one in an attempt to clean up my face.

"Don't," he begged as he grabbed my arm. "I like it."

"Oh," a small sigh escaped as I relaxed a little. "Wha-What are you doing here?'

He was eating something now, a granola bar maybe. With a mouth full, he stammered out, "Because it's raining out-" He paused to swallow. "And your car was the closest cover from it."

"There's a building right there." I jabbed my finger up against the glass in the direction of a bathroom.

"Yeah, I know." He had finished whatever he was eating and was rummaging through his bag for something else. "You got any water?"

I just stared at him.

"Water. You know, the clear stuff you drink?" He mimed out drinking something.

"I don't know." More tears crept their way down my face.

"Hey, don't cry. If there's none in here we can always drink the rainwater." He turned around and looked in the back seat, but, just as I expected, found nothing. He continued to look under his seat and then in the glove department.

"There's not going to be anything in there," I disclosed.

He kept digging through miscellaneous papers. "Liar Liar," he said with a grin. "You have, my friend, a one and only Ed Sheeran album!" He popped it into the CD player and turned up the volume. "One" blasted loudly. "Let's skip to the good stuff." he presses the 'skip' button a few times and "Don't" started playing, drowning out the rain.

"Pretty upbeat, don't you think?" I muttered.

"What's wrong with that?" I glared at him. "Fine. How about 'Tenerife Sea'?"

I rolled my eyes. "I really don't care. I don't even know why you're here in the first place."

"I told you, your car was the nearest shelter." I said nothing. "Do you honestly want to know?"

I bursted right then. "Yes I want to know! What kind of effing weirdo gets into a car with someone they've never even talked to!"

Startled by my sudden outburst, he froze mid-bite of yet another granola bar and stared back. Eventually he swallowed before saying, "If you don't want me here I'll leave, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Today was pretty rough..."

A pang of guilt hit me. "Leave." Before I do something I regret.

He shoved the rest of the granola bar into his mouth and grabbed his bag before reaching for the door handle. "Jess, Just know that-"

"OUT" I ordered. "And don't call me Jess!" The tears were streaming down my face at the same rate the rain was on my windshield. I turned so he wouldn't see.

He opened the door and climbed out of my Subaru. Another gust of wind came in and sent shivers through my body."Thinking Out Loud" came on; I sat and listened through to the chorus. Before I knew what I was doing, I opened my door and yelled out, "Aiden!"

He turned and smiled.

I ran up to him, soaking my flats in puddles along the way, and whispered in his ear, "Take me into your loving arms and kiss me under the light of a thousand stars."

"People fall in love in mysterious ways," he whispered back.

Then he picked me up and kissed me with his soaked lips as it downpoured even harder. After I pulled away, he wiped away what the rain hadn't of my mascara.

The tow truck I had called pulled up then.

"For the flat tire?" He was glowing as the rain bounced off him.

I genuinely smiled for the first time in long time. "Yeah. You need a ride home?"