My Old Pickup Truck

Cigarettes (part 1)

"We are going to the amusement park!!" Mom exclaims as she drives our pickup truck while I dance in excitement beside her. It's been a while since I last went out with her.

'He had Ischemic Heart Disease.' The letter says.

I look at my mom driving down an intersection.

'The doctors later knew that it had been going on for a while now.'

"Mom!!" I remember screaming.

'He had no way of surviving at the last minute. He kept it from everyone. Even from me.'

"I'm sorry Mr. Salvatorre, but your wife... Had no way of surviving at the last minute she was brought in." I hear the doctors say.

'Your father is gone. I'm truly sorry.'

"Louise, your mother is gone."

7:40am Friday

A dream.

I wake up in my driver's seat with my head on the wheel and a tear down my cheek.

What the fuck am I doing here? What happened? I look outside my window and I see the two bottles I drank from last night.

"Oh, that happened last night." I sighed and threw myself back in the seat. I look to my other side and..

"A PERSON!!" I yell, waking her up. The girl suddenly stretches her back and yawned then looked at me. "Claire?!" I jump in my seat. "What are you doing here?!" I pause for a moment then she looks at me. "Did I pick you up?!" I gasp loudly. "Did we..??!!" Then I point at our bodies. But she just laughs.

"We didn't do anything." She says while giggling. "I went here and.. I found you standing on the edge of the cliff." She says then looking at me in the eye. "Are you okay?" She asks, but I couldn't speak. "I went and bought ibuprofen earlier at a nearby pharmacy. Take it, you're probably having shit hangover right now."

I couldn't process anything then suddenly, my head starts pulsating. "FUCK!" Then I hold onto my head.

"Tsk. Here, take this." She gives me the medicine and a water bottle. I drank it immediately.

"Soooo.. what was that last night?" She asks after I close the bottle.

"What was what last night?" I say pretending not to remember anything last night.

"Well, you were out there and--" she starts speaking but I cut her off.

"Wait! Wait. What are you even doing here?" I ask her, evading the topic she's trying to start with me. "I thought your mom didn't like you staying out? I remember her being so mad at you when I took you to your home?" She just pulls her legs up to her face and rest it there. She sighs then I see on her cheeks are two lines of bruise and the side of her eye is red.

"We had a fight last night." She says and looks at me. I look at her in the eyes and I see a few tears building up in them. "She asked me why I was still out that late. Then I told her that it was not THAT late. Then she walked up to me and slapped me... again.." She holds her left cheek as she whispers that last word. "She told me that I have no right to determine whether it is late or not. I cried and ran outside. Called for a cab and went here." She tilts her head upward then shut her eyes tight.

I never thought a girl as precious and delicate as her can have an abusive parent.

"I'm... Sorry.." is all I could say. I look down, suddenly feeling a pinch on my heart.