Cursed

--> Ch. 17 <--

Chapter 17

As the brooding clouds dumped buckets of rain onto my windshield, I drove down the road with caution. I was going slower than any car within a ten mile radius because the rain freaked me out- especially when it was this bad. I could barely see anything in front of me without it being blurred to the point of incoherency.

My hands gripped the steering wheel and I kept my eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. It was even more nerve wracking when no one was in the car with me. Of course, I've driven alone in the rain plenty of times, but I'd always sought comfort if another was sitting beside me. I would have taken Brandon with me, but this seemed like something I had to do alone. I figured I could just tell him all about it when I got home.

Suddenly, right as I was switching lanes, my phone began to ring. I glanced down at it, but kept driving. I pulled over into a random parking lot and answered the call on the last ring.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Babe,” Sam responded happily. He appeared to be having a good day. I relaxed my death grip on the wheel. The rain continued to pound down in loud and heavy sheets.

“Oh, hey, Sam.”

“So, are you excited? I'm coming home tonight. Actually, I'll be on the plane in a couple hours. I'm coming home! I can't believe it. It's only been a week, but it feels like a lifetime, right?”

My stomach churned. Truthfully, I hadn't even thought about him coming home yet. I'd been so caught up in the week that Sam was the last thing on my mind. I felt like a terrible girlfriend. In fact, I felt like a terrible person in general. What kind of sick, twisted woman would forget about her boyfriend?

I hitched my voice up. “Yeah! I can't wait to see you again. Tonight at 6, right?”

He laughed. “Yup. 6 O'clock sharp. I'll run by your house as soon as I get home tonight, okay?”

I smiled. “Okay.” I glanced down at my watch. It was still morning. Good. I had some time to get some things done.

He sighed contentedly. “So, I finally get to meet this Brandon guy, huh?”

My face contorted into a grimace. “Oh...yeah...” I could only imagine how that would turn out. Heads butting, chest bumping, possibly even fists thrown. But, then again, that could have just been my pessimistic imagination running wild.

There was some kind of commotion going on in the background for a few seconds, but then his voice came back on. “Oh, I got to go. I'll see you later, though. Love you, bye!”

“Love you, too...” I tried to get out, but he had already hung up. I sighed and put my phone back in my lap, just in case someone else decided to ring again. After a few seconds of still silence, I slowly pulled back out onto the main road, windshield wipers going crazy.

After about an hour of driving and contemplating, I was finally getting close to my destination. The rain had let up a little, but not enough to ease all my nerves. I swiftly picked up the sheet of paper my Mom had given me the other day and pressed it against the wheel, holding it in place with my thumbs. I was on the right street, but I had to find the right number. I glanced up and down between the addresses and the buildings on either side of me multiple times until I found the place. It was a little dingy, but who was I to judge? An alley was on the right side of it, while another building was attached on the left. A sign hung from the roof, portraying what I had come here for.

I parked on the side of the road across the street. There weren't many cars passing by, except for the occasional straggler, so the whole scene was sort of like a horror movie. The paranoid side of me was afraid something was going to pop out of the alleyway and murder me, but I didn't let it get to me. In fact, I grabbed my umbrella and trudged right into the rain, determined to find some more answers.