Short Story - The Red Car (3/4)

The situation with the police was dealt with fairly quickly. They asked their questions and I gave them answers. Hazel came to pick me up after I’d been issued both a hefty fine and been advised to go to a doctor.

I kept seeing the car after the accident. It would pass by multiple times a day, though I got in the habit of pretending I didn’t see it in front of others. People would think I was crazy when I mentioned it. My relationship with Hazel became strained as I tried to explain myself to her - she’d respond to me kindly but it was clear that she wasn’t taking me seriously. She slyly encouraged me to seek help with a therapist. When everyone else was out, I attempted to chase down the vehicle but it eluded me when I tried to pursue it, speeding off out of sight. I knew who was in there, that same hand waving out of the window - Catie had begun to stick her head out now. One day I’d had enough. I saw it trundling by and made a split second decision. I grabbed the keys to my car in the driveway and decided to follow.

I drove for hours, up and down winding country roads until the sun began to set. I was beginning to run out of petrol, but I kept on tailing the car – I was sure it was taking me somewhere important. Even when the car would get lost in traffic I continued along the familiar route; it wasn’t long until I caught up.

It was night and as clouds covered the moon, darkness closed around my car. The dim red light in front of me was my only guide – in pursuit I hadn’t noticed my speedometer which showed my slow increase in speed in order to keep them from getting away. My knuckles were white as I gripped the steering wheel tightly, eyes focused on the car ahead. I ignored all of the flashing lights on the dashboard.

The red car slammed on the brakes.

I wrenched the wheel fiercely to avoid a collision, the car skidding and sliding into the ditch on the side, my heart ferociously beating, my eyes wide, adrenaline coursing through my veins. The front bumper of the car crumpled and the airbags flew into my chest, cushioning me from the worst of the impact as I lay crushed in the tangled metal. Luckily I escaped any serious injury, but the suffocating feeling of being stuck under the wreckage reminded me of back then. Blood trickled from my forehead down my face. With a splitting pain in my skull, I stared through the smashed window at the face of the driver for the first time. His hair was sandy like mine, albeit a little shorter. There were kind wrinkles underneath his eyes, but the smile wasn’t like I remembered. His blue eyes were empty behind his grin.

The driver opened his mouth to speak to me before getting back in the red car and driving away.

“Come home with us Lawrence.”

He sped off as I clawed my way out of the wreckage, the same way as before.

It wasn’t easy to explain the situation to Hazel once I’d gotten out of hospital, so I made up a convenient lie. I’m not sure if she believed me when I told her I’d fallen asleep at the wheel after taking a drive to calm myself down, but it was preferable to her thinking I’d been chasing a phantom vehicle that she didn’t think existed. I spent hours locked in my office, away from Hazel and the kids as old memories fought with what I had thought to be true. I longed to join them again after all this time – they’d finally come to find me after leaving for so long. But I wouldn’t abandon my wife and kids for them, I’d learned to be free from that day. I resolved to talk to them – I needed closure and answers. The car still passed the house every day, and when they drove past I heard it, without fail now, every single time.

            “Come home Lawrence.”

The next day I got in Hazel’s car. I knew where the car would stop and it was there where I’d get to meet them properly again. But when I put the key in the ignition, my throat burned, my hands trembled and I completely froze. Driving wasn’t going to be an option. If I got behind the wheel like this, it would be the end of me. I left without a word and got on the next bus. I’d find a way to get there.

 

[END OF PART THREE]