Sorry this is somewhat long but I thought it necessary for the background of the story. If I get enough positive feedback, I will continue with the rest of the story as well as the rest of the week!
God I hate Mondays, You have to get up and get ready for that daily grind of the workweek and mine starts at 2 am. There goes that damn alarm clock. I sit up, stretch trying to get the kinks out, shower while thinking about last night and man what a night. I did not get lucky or anything that great it was just a good night. I dry off, brush my teeth, and then get dressed just like every other Monday. I go downstairs to make me coffee and a bagel, get my briefcase and out the door, I go 3am as usual. Damn I am so predictable theses days.
I start up my old beater of a car, back out of the drive and head for the interstate and the start of the 57 minute commute to the office. The office is such a stretch, its more like a small jail cell, and they have the nerve to call it a "cubicle". I turn right onto the on ramp and accelerate to speed and merge into traffic, which there is hardly any of with it being so early.
The car in front of me slams on the brakes and then swerves wildly to the left with horns blaring, I have only seconds to swerve myself and just barely miss the little hatchback that is broke down. I pull over and look to see if someone needs any help, I get out after making sure my four ways are on and no ones coming. I run along the shoulder and try to see inside the car but its dark and I cant make anything out inside, then another car come up quickly, I see someone inside the car with there head down on the steering wheel. I hear the screech of tires as the car slams on the brakes and swerves quickly to avoid the hatchback. I smell the rubber from the tires as it passes by.
I knock on the passenger window twice, no answer, no movement. I knock harder and the form stirs a little, it looks up, I see finally as another car approaches that the form inside is a young woman, I knock again and tell her that she needs to move her car before someone hits her in the rear end. She says something but I cannot make it out, I try the door and it opens. Please, you must move your car before you or someone else dies. She looks up again and I can tell she has been crying, you must move your car before you get hit or worse, I don't care she says, maybe its better that I'm not here anymore, no one will miss me.
I reach over and touch her shoulder; she does not move or say anything. You need to get off the road before you cause an accident miss. She looks at me again, the car will not move its broken I think. Besides, I really do not care. Please miss, you need to try to move off the road, even if you do not care the people that hit you might be a family or a doctor on his way to an emergency call. She looks at me again and then tries the key, nothing happens, no lights, no bells no nothing. Are you able to put in neutral? If so, I can help push you off onto the shoulder. I think so, I can try it, but the shifter does not move. Try turning the key to the on position and try it again, it works this time. I open the passenger door and push, it moves easily and we get it to the shoulder just in time for two semi trucks to go roaring past side by side. I shudder to think about what would have happened if we did not move the car just then.
I look inside the car and see her crying into her hands as I can hear the soft sniffles and the ragged breathing that come from crying. I walk around to the driver door but as I do I look at my watch and notice that it's already 3:45, I'm going to be late, I mutter to myself. It will be the first time ever in my life that I was late for anything. I open the door and kneel down beside her; miss we need to get you some help is there anything I can do for you? Someone I can call or notify? No, there is no one who cares about me. She shivers and I notice she is cold. Would you like to sit in my car? It is not much but its warmer in there then in here. She looks up at me again and just nods her head. I take her hand and help her out of her car just as another semi truck flies by and she grabs me hard and holds onto me so tight that it's hard to breath.
We make it to my car, I open the passenger side door, and I help her in. My interior light is on and I see for the first time that she is a young woman maybe 18 possibly 19 years old, dressed in a white blouse and a summer skirt, red hair that hangs just past her shoulders. Why were you sitting in the middle of the road?
