Jade was going fast, very fast. She jumped from 55 to 75. Which is exactly how her plan is supposed to work, but it was becoming apparent that someone had reported her speeding to the local police. Seeing the red and blue lights along with hearing the siren, she pulled over, gradually though. She was very nervous about what she'd say to the officer. After everything that she's thought through, she didn't think about what she'd say. She rolls down her window as the officer approaches.
"Ma'am, do you know how fast you were going?" The officer asks with a notepad already in his hand.
Jade shrugs and answers as innocently as possible, "I'm guessing, too fast?"
The officer nods his head rudely, and asks for license and registration. She hands it over and once the officer checks it, he gives it back. He hands her a ticket and walks back to his car. The ticket was for $175. She knew her dad had plenty of money to pay for it. He'd hit rich when someone important got their car fixed at his mechanics shop. She doesn't remember, because she doesn't care enough to. Since then, he'd opened a whole chain of automotive shops.
Jade's mom died in child birth. So Jade never knew her, and her dad blamed her for his wife's death. Over the years, he acted as if he had gotten over it, but every time he got drunk he'd near attack her and yell at her about her mom. He'd be yelling about how it was her fault, that he'd much rather have his wife than her, and that her mom was and always will be a better person than her. It was rough, and definitely caused some low self esteem and unchecked mental illnesses. He always apologized the next morning. Though, she felt it was just to cover his own ass, rather than because he cared.
She starts off going the speed limit, which is way under where she should be. Before she gets far enough away from where she was pulled over to go back to the 75 she was supposed to be at. She remembers that when she went in to the rest stop place, she didn't get any food because of the accident with the little girl. She doesn't know if, since it was a special circumstance, she should stop again. She decides to do it, partially because she wants to get some food, but mostly because she doesn't want to think about the little girl and her parents anymore.
She pulls into the next rest stop she sees, and walks in. She decides she can definitely afford to spend some time instead of quickly running in and out. The more time passes between when she was stopped by the police officer and the time she continues, probably the better. Although she definitely doesn't want to waste time. She just knows she doesn't have to rush.
She browses the aisles, knowing it's the first and most likely last time she'll be stopping at a point when she can get food. So her main thought is just that this is her last meal. So what should it be? She picks up her favorites: sour gummy worms, chocolate, m&m's, and a take 5. She doesn't take long to decide the drinks she wants. She already knew going into this that she'd probably only want energy drinks like a Monster or a Red Bull. Her personal preference between the two was just that monsters tasted better. She definitely felt her heart speed up when she drank a Red Bull, but she wasn't sure if that was the same as having energy.
She takes a monster and her candy over to the nearest register. She checks out and knows she did the right thing by stopping. She'd definitely be thinking a lot more about the fact that she didn't get snacks or a drink all because of the little girl. Which would make her think of the sweet little girl who died. She could've had such a bright future. She had a whole life to live. She might've been the person who had the ability to cure some terrible thing like cancer or Alzheimer's. The world will never know what was stolen from it though.
Jade catches herself on this line of thinking as she's getting back into her car. She got the food so she wouldn't have to think about the girl, and what was she doing? Thinking about the little girl! As she banishes these thoughts of the girl, she starts her car and turns on her radio to try to keep the thoughts out. She gets back on the main road, and digs into her snacks and drinks.
Focusing on her speed gives her another distraction. Which is really all she was doing at this point, just piling distraction over distraction. Jade tends to distract herself while something's going wrong; it's not even completely conscious. She just does other things, a toxic way to deal with things that she learned from her dad's amazing coping mechanisms.
YOU ARE READING
105 Miles Per Hour
Short Story**TRIGGER WARING: CONTAINS DEATH** Jade had decided exactly what she was going to do. She decided that she was going to go through with it too. She even made rules so she wouldn't give up. She was going to make it to 105 miles per hour, but she was...
