My Short Life

Chapter 1

I was stopped at a railroad crossing. The lights started blinking, so I knew to stop. I got my phone out to text my boyfriend, Alex. The light of my phone was shining bright on my face.

Me: love you baby I will see you tomorrow night. Happy early anniversary. XOXO.
Baby: love you too. Happy early anniversary to you, too. XOXO.

I turned my phone off and noticed that there was a car honking at me and the driver was motioning at me to move my car.

"I'm going already! Jeez." I yelled back, even though I knew they couldn't hear me. I pressed my foot on the gas pedal and started moving. I looked down and saw that I was almost out of gas. When I looked back up, I saw a deer and swerved to avoid hitting it and I ended up hitting a tree. I got out to see the damage and my radiator was busted. I got my phone out to see if I could call someone to come pick me up since I was in the middle of nowhere. No service. It is pitch black outside and I have absolutely zero bars. 10:09pm and I started walking to where I hoped was leading to a gas station or something that resembled modern civilization instead of all the nature that currently surrounded me. The only noise I could hear were owls hooting and it was a little scary, since I was alone. I picked up a stick and carried it around for protection. I finally get to a road and keep following it. There aren't any street lights, so even if I was close to a gas station, I probably wouldn't know it. I see a street light in the distance, maybe a few hundred yards ahead of me. I finally reached the part of the street where it's lit up. I got my phone out to see if I have service. Half a bar. Not enough to make even one phone call. I put my phone back in my jacket pocket. I kept walking and I finally saw a gas station.

"Finally, some light." I said in my head. I go to the gas station to use a payphone. I laid the stick I had in my hand on the ground and put a quarter in the payphone and tried to call my brother, but he didn't answer. I thought about trying to call my mom, but I figured she would be asleep by now. I look around me to see if there was another person at the gas station and that I wasn't the only one. I was right about not being the only one. I look over at pump #8 and there is this tall, dark-skinned guy wearing a black leather jacket. He has sunglasses on, but I don't know why. It's 10:36pm and he chose to wear sunglasses? He's weird. He got off of his dark red Harley motorcycle and put the kickstand down. His biceps alone look like they could crush an apple. He has a buzz cut that makes it look like he has been in the military before. He opens his mouth to say something and I pay no attention to him, so I put my earbuds in to make it look like I was listening to music.

He yelled across the gas station,
"How you doin', cutie?" Of course I can hear him, but I try my hardest to not turn around and answer. He came over to my pump and looked me dead in the eye. I got a little scared because he is a big guy. He looks like he is 6'4 and weighs 210 of pure muscle. I stare back at him in his seaweed green eyes. He asked again,
"How you doin', cutie?" I gave him a confused look because I wanted him to leave me alone.

I mouthed, "Sorry, can't hear you. Music is blasting." I pointed at my earbuds in case he couldn't read my lips.

"Ohhhh." He said and yanked my earbuds out of my ears, even though he already knew I wasn't actually listening to music. I didn't know what to do. I was waiting for him to do or say something.

"That's a good song. What's it called?" He asked and I couldn't think of a song title off the top of my head so I just stood there looking stupid.

"That's what I thought." He said and then walked back to go fill up his bike.

I got a little bit scared because he started grabbing something out of his bag that he had with him. I thought he was getting out a gun, but I didn't know. Lucky for me, he just got out his phone and called someone. I left the gas station and ended up back in the woods. All I heard was crickets chirping and owls hooting. Later down the road, I realized I didn't have the stick with me anymore. I didn't want to go back to the gas station because I didn't want to see the Mystery Man. But now that I am in the woods, I need some kind of protection. I see my car and keep walking. I finally reach my car and see if I locked it or not. I tried to open the door, but the handle wouldn't open. I must've locked the car when I got out and forgot about putting the keys in my pocket. I am locked out of my car with no one coming to pick me up and nowhere to sleep for tonight. I don't like being outside in the dark because I don't know where I'm going to wake up or what is going to crawl all over me during the night. I clear a spot on the ground before I lay on it. I'm nervous about sleeping in the woods because I've never had this happen to me before. I lay down on my back because I don't want to risk getting any creepy-crawlies in my mouth or nose. I finally got some sleep and it felt great, but when I woke up, there were flies all around me. Of course, my first reaction was to freak out and try to swat them away. I got up and ran as fast as I could to get away from the flies. I stopped running as soon as I reached the road. I took deep breaths to calm me down and I kept walking. I stopped walking and got my phone out to see if I had service: 3 bars. I could actually make a couple calls now. I called my mom first to see if she could come pick me up. Sadly, she couldn't because she was busy that morning, but she told me to call my dad. I don't have his number and I don't really want his number, either. I don't really like my dad that much because he left me and my mom when I was 6 years old. I really wanted a father figure in my life, but since he left so early, I couldn't really have that authority. And, to be honest, I thought he had died over the years he had been gone. So since I couldn't get a ride from my mom or call my dad, I looked through my other contacts to see who I thought would be available to come pick me up. I tried my boyfriend.