Chase your fate

chapter 2

His eyes jolted open into the darkness as his disoriented mind grasped for a stronghold on reality.  Where was he?  Why was he cold and feeling like he was laying on a rock? He quickly sat up in the middle of the darkened street, looking around, grabbing all over his body, in shock, making sure that he was still in one piece, as the memory of what he was doing began flooding back in. He stood to his feet, looking around the darkness for signs of life, then walked back to the field where his jeep was parked.

He was halfway to the jeep when he heard it.  Tires on pavement. A roaring engine.  He turned to see the pickup truck coming down the road, at what appeared to be 100 mph, rolling past him like they were running from the law.  He watched in fear and awe as the truck passed him, going over the place where only a couple minutes before, he had lain sleeping.  Visions of the truck crossing over his sleeping body flashed through his mind.  Thoughts of his mother's tears at his funeral.  Thoughts of her finding his note.  The vision of her heartbreak had he still been sleeping in the road.  "oh god..... what was i thinking?" he cried out as his body began to tremble at the thought of how close he had come. 

His shaking hand reached into his pocket, pulling out the keys as he grabbed the door handle, climbing inside.  "i couldn't have been there very long...." he whispered. He put the key in the ignition, firing up the engine and flipping on the lights.  He froze when he looked at the lit up clock on his dash.  1:26 a.m.?  That couldn't be right.... It just couldn't....  Had he really slept in the middle of the street for almost 3 hours?  Only to move minutes before the truck would have brought him certain death?  He pulled out his phone to check the time again.  1:27 a.m.... and 12 missed calls from mom.  Oh god... he dialed his voicemail, entering the code and listening to his mother's voice.  the first few were her normal cheerful "Chase, we're going out for dinner, be careful sweetheart" messages, but he began to hear the concern as more messages were sent.  Then his heart sank as the last one played and he heard the voice at the edge of panic.  "what have i done?" he whispered..

He checked the time on the last message.  It was 15 minutes ago.  He quickly thought of something to say, calling her number.  "CHASE!" he heard the panic, anger, and love in her voice "where the hell have you been?  Fred said you didn't even work today! where are you? Get home ... NOW."  He knew that nothing he said would soften it saying quickly "I'm sorry momma... I'll be home in 15 minutes."  He hung up and pulled the jeep to the street as another car sped by.  He swallowed hard as the taillights disappeared into the distance.  After a moment of disbelief, he pulled out onto the street, making his way home as fast as the jeep would go.

It was hard to drive with the tears flowing down his cheeks.  His vision blurred and his mind fogged by the reality that he had come so close to dying tonight.  It was then that he realized the truth. He didn't want to die... He wanted to live... He didn't want death. He wanted peace.  He wanted life.  He wanted to survive and prove to the world that they couldn't break him.  He wanted.... And as long as he wanted anything at all... he realized that he didn't want to die.

He pulled up to the house, shutting off the jeep and making his way to the door. And once he opened it, and walked through, his world exploded.  "NO!" he heard his mother call out, a little too late. He turned to see his dad just in time to brace himself for the impact.  The shove sent him stumbling across the living room, losing his balance as he fell to the ground. "WHAT DO YOU THINK? THINK YOU'RE A MAN? THINK YOU CAN JUST DO WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT TO DO?" he heard his father yelling, as his mother tried to intervene. Chase started trying to stand to his feet as his dad gripped his shirt, lifting him and pinning him against the wall. He felt the back of his head hit the wall and saw pinpoints of lights in his vision.  Thinking to himself 'i should just fight back... i should just show him...' knowing that he could never make himself do it. 

His father continued to push him against the wall, yelling into his face all of the things that he'd heard before.  How stupid he was, what a disappointment, a source of trouble and worry.  His mother tried, in vain, to calm him down, but it was no use.  After about 5 times of bouncing off the wall, Chase saw the hand coming, but didn't avoid it.  He knew he had earned it.  As the right side of his face exploded in stinging pain when the backhanded slap made contact, it was all he could take.  Chase lifted his arms, placing his hands on his father's chest, and shoved him away.  His dad stumbled back a few steps but Chase instantly regretted the action.  He braced himself for more, but his mother stepped between them, her back to Chase, facing his father.  "I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!" He looked up, seeing the anger in his father's eyes. 

His dad knew that he'd have to go through mom to get to him, and that was a fight he knew he didn't want, so instead, he took a deep breath and walked out the front door.  Chase's mom turned to look at him, tears in her eyes, pulling him close for a hug. "God Chase.... I was so scared... i thought..... i thought..." "I know momma" he said as he hugged her back tightly "I'm sorry.... I'll... I'll explain"  she sighed, pulling back looking at him "tomorrow"  she said "i... I just cant do this tonight"..

Chase heard the noise of steel moving outside, then his dad came back inside, glaring at him, holding wires in his hand.  Chase looked at him in disbelief..... No way... No... He looked harder and realized what was in his father's hand.  All four of the spark plug wires from the jeep, looking stretched and the ends ripped off.  He realized then what the noise was. Dad had went out and ripped the wires straight out of the engine.  Great... there goes $50...  His dad threw the wires at Chase's feet. "Now we don't have to worry about you not coming home, since you can't drive"

After what seemed like an eternity of scolding, threats, promises of consequences to come, he was finally sent to bed.  He went to his room, still shaking, the side of his face still on fire.  He slowly undressed, laying on his bed in the dark room, eyes wide open staring into nothing, whispering softly into the darkness until he drifted off to sleep.  "It's worth the fight.... it's worth the fight.... it's worth the fight... it's  .... worth .... the fight......"