C3 Crash, Boom, Bang

DESTINY

I was so late. So late. I hyperventilated. Everything was wrong today. My boss was going to fire me. My alarm didn’t go off, I forgot to charge my phone. Now I couldn’t get my damn car started.

“C’mon Susy, don’t let me down!” The starter whined again and after the third try my old beat-up 76’ Beetle gave a cough and revved into life. “Yes!”

Slowly I pressed down on the accelerator. Susy didn’t take kindly to being rushed. Praying fervently for my luck to change – please don’t let Ken fire me today – I steered Suzy down the gravel road. I needed this job otherwise I was going to be out on the streets. The trailer park was all I could afford with what little money I had.

I’ve worked for Ken at the convenience store for six months now. He was a real piece of work, and I hated the way he looked at my boobs when he thought I didn’t notice. At least he hasn’t tried anything. Yet.

Shit! I never even brushed my hair this morning, I realized when I looked in my rearview. My pink hair looked like a rat’s nest. I reached for the glove compartment. There had to be a brush in there somewhere. With one hand on the steering wheel, I scratched around for my brush my foot pressing hard on the accelerator. Susy launched herself onto the tar road.

Damn this brush! It was tangled up in my charger cable. Trying to disentangle the brush I didn’t notice the approaching stop sign.

The next thing there was a bone-crushing crunch. My face hit the dashboard with a force as Susy came to a lurching stop and died.

“Oww! My head!” What happened? Did I hit something? My head hurt so badly. I could hardly open my eyes. Everything was hazy. Something dripped onto my jeans. Blood! I felt my face. The blood streamed out of my nose.

The driver’s door flew open, and I stared into a furious looking face.

“Are you fucking blind?!” the man shouted. He looked wild and dangerous. His hair was long and wild, and he held a motorbike helmet in his hand.

I pinched my nose on the bridge to stop the bleeding.

“Do! I see you perfebly.” I said through my swollen nose.

He frowned. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, more concerned about my poor Susy. Could this day get any worse? I climbed out to assess the damage. This was bad and it wasn’t even Friday the thirteenth yet.

“Did you hit me?” I asked.

“Hit you?! You ran the stop, you fucking idiot!” He threw the helmet on the ground. “Just look at my bike!” he ranted.

I walked around Susy. I gasped in horror.

“Oh, shit!” The black bike’s front was firmly wedged into Susy’s passenger door. My poor car! I grabbed my head. This was possibly the worst day of my life. Not only was I getting fired for sure, but this guy was also probably going to assault me. He was livid.

“I’m really, really sorry. I didn’t see you.” I tried to explain. “I’m late for work and…”

“Look lady, I don’t give a shit about your personal problems.” He stalked towards me, and I re-treated a few steps to get away from him. I noticed his black leather pants were torn. He was hurt. Luckily, he didn’t break any bones, judging from the way he was moving. There was blood on his temple as well.

“You’re hurt.” I said, pointing at his leg.

“No shit! Do you know who I am?” he snarled back at me.

Oh, no! This was worse than I thought. He couldn’t remember his name. He would probably sue me for medical expenses as well. Not that I have a single penny on my name.

I went over to him and placed my hands on his shoulders. “Please, sit down, Mister. I’m sure your memory will return as soon as you get over the shock.” I tried to press down on him to make him sit. I have no idea about first aid, but I was sure he needed to sit down. “If you have a phone, I could call an ambulance.” I offered.

“You’re insane! I know who I am, you fool!” He slapped my hands away from him.

“Oh.” My face heated up like the fourth of July. It was a legitimate mistake though.

“I need your license and registration papers.” He said through tight lips.

“I don’t have a license.” I felt like crying. Now he is going to have me locked up. I can’t go to jail. “Please, please don’t call the police.” It was my father’s car and the only thing I had left of him. He taught me how to drive, but we never had money to apply for a driver’s license for me.

He stared at me like I grew an extra head or something. I knew I must look a sight, maybe slightly crazy even. I couldn’t help it, maybe it was the shock or seeing my Susy in the state she was in and knowing I would be out on the streets. I didn’t even have a cardboard box. I started wailing. Snot and blood and tears streamed down my face.

“Oh, Jesus! Stop crying, Lady.” He approached me, bending down a little, because he was so tall.

The more I tried to stop, the more I sobbed. The man threw his arms in the air.

“Can you just stop your crying for a minute! Fuck!”

That made me wail even harder. He was so mean. I needed a tissue.

“We’ll work something out. Just stop your incessant crying.” He took off his leather jacket. I noticed he wore a black T-shirt with a popular band’s logo on it. My eyes nearly popped out of my skull when he whipped the shirt over his head and gave it to me.

That stopped me crying. He was incredibly well-built and covered in tattoos. With the T-shirt in my hand, I stared at him, not knowing what he wanted.

“Wipe your face, for goodness’s sake. You look like a train wreck.” He said, putting his jacket back on. He left it open.

I couldn’t do that. I had some toilet paper in Susy’s glove compartment. We had a communal toilet at the trailer park. I walked to my wrecked car.

“Where the hell are you going?” Mean guy asked, stalking after me.

“Getting toilet paper to blow my nose. Okay?” I don’t know why I was holding onto his T-shirt. “I won’t drive away, if that is what you’re worried about.”

He snorted. “I’d give you a thousand pounds if you were able to drive this rust bucket away from here.”

Huh! Well, I could give it a go. My Susy was a legend. She was also made of steel, not the plastic most modern cars were made of. I could do with a thousand pounds.

I blew my nose and wiped my face as best I could. I even found my hairbrush and pulled it through my knotted hair.

“Will you be able to take your motorbike out of my Susy’s door?” I asked politely.

“Susy?” he shook his head, glaring at me. He mumbled something I didn’t quite catch. He bent down, looking at the damage. His bike’s front wheel was pushed back badly. Bits of his fender lay on the road. He swore under his breath, words I would never repeat.

“I could take you back home, maybe get someone with a truck to load your bike.” I suggested softly. I didn’t want to anger him further. It was the least I could do.

“Lady, are you out of your mind? Have you any idea how much this is going to cost?” he stood up, wheeling around to face me.

I leaned against Susy to keep myself from sinking to my knees. He looked scary when his blue eyes flashed like that.

“No.” I said, my voice sounding small. “I-I don’t have any money.”

He snorted again, looking me up and down.

“Do you really not know who I am?” he asked again.

Why would I know who he was? He never introduced himself to me. I shrugged.

“No, do you sing in a band?” I thought of the T-shirt I was still crushing in my hands. Not that I went on social media or even the internet for that matter. I only used my phone to make calls. The phone was too old anyway.

“Do you live under a rock or what?” The way he asked that made me feel so small.

“No, of course not.” I felt my face heat up even more. “I live in the trailer park down the road.”

He sank down onto the tar road next to his bike, shaking with laughter. I didn’t get the joke though.

“What’s your name, by the way?” He looked up at me. I was struck by how handsome he looked when he was smiling.

“Destiny.” I said.