Faye's Diary

Chapter 20: Collision

“Thank God you’re alright! Whatever happened, why did you run off? Where did you sleep?” Aunty Alice asked once we were sat down in the living room. Amy was on my lap holding my hand. She was sucking her thumb too, which I hadn’t seen her do for years.

“It’s ok; I didn’t sleep on the street. I’m fine; I just wanted you to know that I was ok. Look, let me go and do what I need to and I’ll be back in a few days, I promise.”

When I said this, Amy looked up at me, her eyes wide and said, “Don’t go again. Please, I missed you last time.”

I smiled at her, “I won’t be gone for long, a few days and then I’ll come back and I’ll never go away again I promise.”

Amy began to cry and Aunty Alice said, “I’m not letting you leave again Faye. I’ve been worried sick about you and so has Amy. I’m calling your Mum to come and collect you.”

“No! Please, I’m sorry but I have to go,” I stood up and left the room.

“Come back here, Faye please. I know you feel lost but we can help you; I promise, come back.”

I shut the door behind me and walked. I walked past the old church and past the new lot of buildings and I walked past the mall. I didn’t really know where I was going. I was somewhere between my house and my school, I knew that.

I sat down on a nearby wall and closed my eyes. Which way was the train station from here? I had no idea. I wished I had never gone to Aunty Alice’s house now. All I had done was made Amy upset and Aunty Alice worried. And now I was lost.

I tried to reason with myself. I wasn’t really lost because I knew where I was. I knew how to get back to Aunty Alice’s and I knew how to get home, I just didn’t know how to get to the train station, which is where I actually wanted to go.

I sighed deeply and opened my eyes, figuring that I would just have to ask someone for directions. I stood up and turned around, to see a small figure sitting next to me.

“Amy! What the hell are you doing here? You need to go home now.”

“I don’t know the way. I didn’t want you to leave again. Come home please Faye,” Amy cried.

“No! Look, I need to leave, so just go back home,” I said to her, quite sharply.

She looked up at me, “You’re mean!” And with that she ran out into the road.

 ***

“Dad, I have to go looking for her, she’s my girlfriend. I love her Dad and she could be anywhere. She must be feeling so alone. And I didn’t run away from school, it was lunch-time and I planned to be back before lessons started. Come on, I’m sixteen years old now, I can go and look for her on my own.”

“Son, look, I understand that you may think that you are in love forever, but it’s just puppy love. In a few days this will all fizzle out.”

“I think I should know Dad! I’m not saying that we should suddenly get married and have six kids, I’m just saying that I’m worried about her, and I’d like to know where she is.”

“Ok, I’ll pull up the car and we’ll have a little look, but in half an hour we are coming back here and you can get your butt back into school; deal?”

“Ok,” the boy got out of the car and began to run around all of the surrounding streets shouting the name of his girlfriend. After half an hour, he returned to his car looking defeated.

“Don’t worry son, if she was running away, she wouldn’t stay around here anyway. She would have gone somewhere else,” the boy’s Dad said.

They got back in the car. “Come on, we need to get you back to school as quick as possible, you’ve already missed enough as it is.”

“Dad, you’re going over the speed limit, slow down.”

“Oh stop being such a girl.”

They were so busy arguing that they didn’t see a shape appearing on the road ahead of them; the shape of a very angry little girl running out in front of them. The boy’s Dad turned around and saw the little girl. So did the boy.

“Dad! Stop the car, someone’s on the road! Dad!”

 ***

“Amy! Amy, there’s a car coming, come here Amy!” I screamed. The driver slammed on his breaks but he was still going way too fast.

Suddenly, instinct just took over and I ran out into the road too. “Amy,” I screamed as I pushed her out of the way. I looked up and saw her hit the ground. Then I saw the car hurtling towards me.

I felt the impact on my chest as the car hit me. The wind was knocked out of me and I hit the ground with a sickening thud. I heard something crack and I put my hands up to cover my head. Everything seemed so loud and yet so silent at the same time.

I heard Amy crying and the drivers rushed over to my side, but it all seemed so far away. The last thing I saw was Jamaal’s face looking down at me. But surely that was a dream. He couldn’t have really ran me over, could he?