him suffering from any backlash.
“Don’t be silly. I’m fine.” I put my hand on his arm. “I’ll text when I get home.”
“You’d better.” He stepped aside as I slid behind Betsy’s wheel.
I waved as I turned from the alley onto the street. I couldn’t wait to get home where comfy pajamas and my bed awaited. Maybe my cat would even deign to snuggle me. Independent furball. More and more, he’d been disappearing on me. I could only hope he always found his way home.
A light snow started within minutes of me leaving the main road, slowing me down. I knew better than to speed. Once I hit the lonely trail to my house, it fell thick enough to bounce off my headlights, making it hard to see far ahead. Ever see the Millennium Falcon going into light speed? Same effect but less cool in reality and minus a cuddly Chewie.
Around a slight bend, the ass end of my car swung. A heart-stopping moment until I regained control. After that I crawled. It still wasn’t slow enough to prevent the accident.
20
Something dashed across the road—a tall shape, two-legged, and dressed in dark clothing.
Instinct kicked in. I jammed the brake pedal. The car tried to abruptly halt, but instead it spun, as if the front end were a pivot. Around and around. I screamed.
Steering didn’t do a thing; neither did pumping the brake. My car did a full spin, dizzying enough I closed my eyes and felt it as we flung into another spin then lurched to a stopped. Rocked. Thumped and finally tilted before it stilled.
The breath expelled from me, and for a moment, I could not suck another one in. When I finally managed to heave in some air, I almost choked. My lungs constricted. I focused on not panicking. Breathe, in, out. I spent a few seconds calming myself before I opened my eyes, half expecting to see someone haranguing me for almost hitting them. I saw no one. Nothing.
Where had the jerk who’d caused the accident gone? Would they come back?
For a moment, that was all I could think of as I sat in my car, a sitting duck of a target.
Did I want to get murdered on the side of the road?
The very idea had me laughing suddenly. A touch hysterically. Way to panic over nothing. I didn’t see anyone. Whomever had startled me appeared to have disappeared. And people thought you only had to watch out for jaywalkers in the city.
I took a deep breath. Time to figure out how to escape my newest mess.
The good news? Alive. Uninjured, if a little shook.
The bad? I’d landed in a ditch on an angle.
Perhaps I could drive out. Everything still appeared to work. My headlights shone, and the engine purred.
Hitting the gas resulted in some noise and a tiny jolt of movement, then nothing but spinning tires. Great. I was officially stuck.
Dammit. I slammed the steering wheel and let out a litany of curses that would have made a sailor blush. Apparently, I had a better vocabulary than expected after years of being repressed.
“This is getting to be so unfair. Why me?” I screamed to the steering wheel. “Why does shit keep piling on me?”
The pity party came with friends: frustration, anger, despair, and even a bit of fatality. The kind I’d not experienced since Martin shattered my world.
What was the point of even trying?
Why bother? Obviously, the universe was out to get me.
Wahn. Wahn. Wahn. The tiny violin played.
Poor Naomi. Giving up again.
You don’t understand.
Do you think you’re the only person who has to deal with adversity?
I don’t know what to do anymore.
Then start with the simplest thing.
Simple. What about this situation was simple?
I’d crashed my car.
And?
Would I seriously give up after what I’d already survived? Sure, things didn’t look great right now. My car leaned in a ditch at a disturbing angle, yet despite that, I appeared to have no injuries. Nor was I too far from home.
“Half full,” I muttered, looking for the positive.
I turned off my car and pocketed the key. I hated how dark it was outside. A good thing I had a flashlight in my purse. Because of the incidents at the store and the house, I’d bought several. One for my purse, one that I left in the storage room at the store, another pair for the bathroom and my nightstand.
I pulled out the flashlight before doing anything, now wishing I’d thought to also buy the kind with the elasticized band