Our Love Page 32

  I went over to Eva and gave her a big hug.

  "Thanks," I said while my head was buried into her arm.

  "For what?" Eva said silently.

  "For being my friend again,"

  Eva looked at me and smiled.

  "I'm sorry for not telling you the truth."

  I let go of Eva's embrace and smiled.

  "It's all under the bridge now."

  As we begin to hug each other again, Michael walked into the lobby. He looked over at us two and turned toward the revolving doors. Chris and Ashley ran outside to the lobby and sighed.

  "I'll go follow Michael," Chris said to Ashley.

  "Where is Michael going?" I asked Chris.

  "I don't know, but I need to stop him before he starts driving again."

  Ashley looked at Eva as she went up to her and gave her a hug.

  "Let me go with you," I said to Chris.

  "I don't think that's a good idea Char. I think things need to cool down right now before he sees you again."

  "I don't care Chris. This whole night has been a disaster due in part to me. I need to fix things with Michael, and I'm going to do it with or without your help," I said as I gave Chris a long and mean look. I had to patch things up with Michael, and I intended on doing so tonight.

  Eva and Ashley looked at Chris with a 'let-her-go' look. Chris gave a heavy sigh as he looked at Ashley.

  "You're going to be okay here?"

  "Yeah, I'll just get a ride with Eva, if you don't mind?" Ashley asked while looking at Eva.

  "It's cool. Just go follow Michael."

  "Let's go," Chris said as he started to head toward the revolving doors. As I started to walk behind Chris, I turned around and looked at Eva and Ashley. They looked at me with encouraging smiles on their faces. Things were starting to look up tonight. Now that I made up with Eva, there's still a little hope for Michael and I to start over. I just hoped it wasn't too late.

  34. Michael

  As I hopped back into the Hummer limo, I quickly grabbed the bottle of scotch that was lying under the seat and took the top off. I guzzled the last of the liquor in one long swig. I threw the bottle in the back of the limo and turned on the ignition. As I looked at my surroundings, I took a deep breath. As tonight's events started to creep up inside me, I put my head on the steering wheel and started to cry. Normally, I don't cry, but after what happened between my parents, Danielle, Charlie and Derrick, I felt like a cry was due. I didn't know where my life was heading now. All I knew was that I wanted to go as far away from here as I could.

  As I put the limo into drive, I quickly sped away from the hotel and headed toward an unseen destination. As I was speeding toward the street, I looked in the rearview mirror and noticed a car coming quickly on my bumper. From the looks of it, someone was following me, and I had one clue of who that could be. I shook my head and tried to speed up to lose them. I looked at the speedometer and noticed that I was going seventy in a thirty-five.

  As I increased my speed, the car behind me was doing the same. Without even looking to see if the approaching road was a one way, I quickly made a sharp left turn onto the street, relieved to find out that the street was not a one way. But as I sped down the lighted highway, the same car following me made a sharp turn and was again right behind me, kissing my back bumper. I didn't know why Chris and Charlie were following me, but I wished they would leave me alone. I wished everyone would leave me alone. These past few months have been pure hell, and right now, I just wanted one moment of peace. A moment of clarity where I would not have to worry about anything and anyone.

  I almost jumped the curb on another street, when I realized that my life was not just about me anymore. Now I had a son to think about. An image of Steve's face came into my mind and suddenly I felt sad. How could I not think about Steve? Even though I just found out that he's my biological son, the moments I spent with him earlier today were the best moments I'd had in in months. Nothing in my life has made any sense lately, but at least I know with Steve, my life is better. Just seeing his smile or hearing him laugh made my heart leap with excitement. A tear started to trickle down my cheek as I lowered my head down at the steering wheel. I didn't realize how long I'd been daydreaming.

  Suddenly, I noticed the street was a dead end. Anxiety started to kick in as I tried to swerve the limo in the right direction, but instead of turning onto another street, I made a too quick turn and headed straight for the guardrail coming close to the front bumper. As images of Charlie, my parents, Danielle, and Steve popped into my brain, instead of controlling the limo, I let the limo guide me towards the guardrail. And before I knew it, all the memories I experienced in the past few months vanished from my mind, and my vision became dark and faint.

  Charlie

  As I hopped into the car with Chris, I looked at him and sighed.

  "I'm sorry."

  "Charlie, it's not your fault that Michael is acting this way."

  "I know, but I still feel partly responsible."

  "Don't. Michael has been dealing with a lot for a long time. I think now it is finally coming at him in full force. Right now we just need to get him to stop driving so he won't do anything drastic."

  I nodded my head in agreement, as we started to follow Michael down the highway. With every sharp turn he took to throw us off, Chris took the same extreme moves to keep up with him. Fear was starting to overcome me as I noticed how erratic Michael was driving.

  "I'm scared, Chris. Michael is driving really fast on these small roads."

  "I know, Char. I've never seen him act like this."

  As we turned around another impossible turn, I closed my eyes and gave a silent prayer to God to keep Michael safe in his time of need. If we couldn't stop him from driving like the end was near, then I knew God certainly could.

  But when I look at the dead end coming ahead, my eyes grew wide and I started to rise a little in the car seat.

  "What is he doing?" Chris said as he looked at Michael heading straight for the dead end. It seemed he either wanted to go straight through and crash the limo or he was so drunk he didn't realize that he was approaching a dead end street. But as he quickly turned the car back onto the road, I gave a sigh of relief and smiled up to the heavens. But my relaxation did not last long as my worst fears were starting to come true. My heart was in my throat as I watched helplessly as the limo was going toward the guardrail. It was as if the scene was out of an action movie as we watched the limo crash into the guardrail and plunge front first into the railing. The impact of the big vehicle curving over the rail was an unusual sight, as the loud crash interrupted our ears. Just watching the scene unfold made my heart leap out of my chest and into my throat. It took a moment for me to deliver a sound from my voice, but as I watched the limo wrapped around the guardrail like a plastic toy, everything in me felt like it was lifeless.

  I slowly turned my head and realized Chris was no longer in the car. He was over at the demolished limo with his cell phone attached to his ear, talking to someone whom I was assuming was 911. As I finally got myself together, I got out the car and slowly walked over to the accident scene. As I looked at the driver seat and noticed Michael's body slumped over, all the emotions I had in me came up and I started to cry hysterically. Chris looked at me with a concerned look on his face as he went over to the driver's door. As he tried to open up the door, he noticed it wouldn't budge.

  "Char, I need you to stand back so I can try to open the door."

  "How did this happen? This...wouldn't...have...happened....if we....stopped....him...in...time."

  "Charlie, calm down please. Michael wouldn't want you upset right now."

  I started to feel faint as I took baby steps away from Chris and the limo. As Chris grabbed hold of the door handle and gave it a jerk, I noticed a leaky fluid coming from the exhaust pipe. I looked at Chris with a terrified look as I realized that the fluid could be gas.

  "Chris, get Michael out of there, now!"


  "Charlie, what's wrong?"

  I was about to tell Chris about the fluid, but I didn't have to tell him. He knew right away that the limo was about to catch on fire when he saw smoke coming from the hood.

  "There's no time to wait on the ambulance. I have to get Michael out of here!" Chris yelled as he took off his suit jacket and put it around his hand to protect himself from the glass. As he hit the window pane with his hand, the glass started to shatter, falling into pieces inside the limo. As the flames started to become visible around the car, Chris quickly reached inside and felt vigorously for the door lock.

  "Hurry up Chris!" I yelled out as the flames started to become wilder by the minute.

  Chris found the lock and flung it open, pulling the door out as wide as he could. As he struggled to get Michael out the car, I ran over to help Chris grab a hold of Michael's built frame. As we each took Michael's shoulder and pulled him out from the limo, we began to drag him a safe distance away in case the limo exploded. As soon as we got a few feet away from the burning inferno, a loud explosion gave way, knocking both Chris and me off balance and toward the hard granite pavement.

  After several lifeless minutes, I felt my whole body on shut down mode as I tried to move myself from the hard ground and looked at the scene ahead. If we wouldn't have moved away from the burning vehicle, all three of us could have been dead. I turned to look at Michael's body and wondered if we were too late to save him. I noticed Chris was not moving as well. He was lying beside Michael in a useless heap, knocked out from the explosion. I first put my index finger near Michael's vein in his neck to check his pulse. As I waited for a second, I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized that he was still alive. I looked around my surroundings and noticed that we were the only people on the road, so help was out the question. Hopefully the ambulance is on their way, I thought as I quickly turned Chris over and made a clear passageway through his mouth. As I was about to perform CPR, Chris suddenly opened his eyes and began to cough frantically.

  "Thank God," I said as Chris slowly tried to get up.

  "What happened?" Chris asked. He turned his head slightly and noticed his best friend was lying unconscious next to him.

  "Do you know if the ambulance is coming?" I asked as I put Michael onto his side.

  "I hung up with them before I pulled Michael out," Chris said in a slow and quiet tone.

  "Just try to relax, Chris. At least we're away from the explosion. You need to be checked out at the hospital too."

  "I'm fine, Charlie. I'm just concerned about Michael," Chris said as he tried to reach over to help me, but he put a hand on his head and uttered a piercing moan from the sudden pain.

  "You're hurt, Chris. You need to see a doctor."

  "I'm fine! It's probably just a headache. The one who needs the doctor is Michael."

  It seemed as if my hands had a mind of their own as they took control and started to hit onto Michael's chest. As I counted the thrusts in between, I was thankful that I learned CPR just weeks before at the YMCA with Ashley and several other teenagers through a program given by Houston area schools. As I breathed the air that could save him into his mouth, I felt a sight twinge of fear and anxiety as I noticed my steps did not work. As I started over, I began to wonder if the steps I was doing were right. Is the reason why Michael hasn't regained consciousness because I made a mistake? I was pretty sure that CPR would help a person regain conscious.

  But what if CPR is not enough? I thought as I looked over at Chris. I noticed that he was in agony as he had his head in his hands.

  "Come on Michael! Wake up for me!" I yelled as I continue to do CPR.

  As I was counting, I heard sirens coming down the street and realized the ambulance was finally here. I jumped up from the position I was sitting in and ran over to an area when the driver could see me. As the vehicle came to a screeching halt, two men carrying paramedic bags jumped out of the ambulance and ran over. "What took you so long?" I asked in an impatient tone. I know I shouldn't have been upset with the paramedics, but I had to be angry with someone.

  "We're sorry ma'am, but tonight been kind of busy. How many are injured?"

  "Two. One is unconscious. He's the accident victim, while the other has a bad headache. It could be a concussion from the fall he took from the explosion."

  "Let's go," one of the paramedics said as he rushed over to the area that I pointed to. His partner looked at me with a reassuring expression.

  "You need to be checked out as well."

  "I'm fine. It's my friends I'm worried about."

  "Ma'am, you just experienced a horrific accident and an explosion. I'm pretty sure you were knocked out as well."

  "Listen, I just want to make sure my friends are okay. I'm okay," I said angrily to the paramedic.

  As I tried to turn around, I felt a sudden pain flare through my body and I felt faint. The paramedic noticed the reaction and he quickly grabbed me before I fell down on the pavement again.

  "Just like I thought, you're going to the hospital as well," the guy said as he held me in a tight embrace.

  I looked over the scene. The second worker was putting an oxygen mask on Michael as he called his partner over to help him with the gurney. As he took me to the ambulance and told me to lie on the extra cot, the urge to fight was hard to overcome. I lay my head down on the hard travel bed and wondered what would happen to Michael and whether the paramedics came in time to save his life.

  35. Charlie

  As I looked around the hospital room that I was stationed at, I remembered that I had been taken in by the paramedics from the accident site. That was the last thing I remembered. I looked over and noticed my mom and dad sitting beside me with weak smiles on their faces. From the looks on their faces, they were happy to see me alive but upset that I was in the hospital because of Michael.

  "Welcome back honey," my dad said.

  "How long was I out?" I asked quietly.

  "You were out for a while sweetie. The doctor thought you had a concussion, but the dizziness was from the excitement of the accident."

  My mom looked at my dad and shook her head. I knew what that meant. She was about to start a lecture that I did not want to hear right now.

  "Charlie, what were you thinking going after Michael? It was clear that he wanted to end his life tonight. There was no point for him to drag you along with him."

  "Stop it!" my dad said. "Charlie does not need to hear this right now."

  "Well excuse me for my bad timing, but Charlie needs to hear this. Michael is and will always be nothing but trouble. He has been like that since you met him and tonight clearly shows that he is unstable and you should not be around him. If he wakes up, which from what I hear is highly doubtful, then I forbid you to speak to him, let along look at him ever again."

  As I listened to my mom's ranting, a smile started to form on my lips. No matter what my mom said, the words did not seem to faze me. She would never understand anything about my life because she felt like she had to control me. But she couldn't anymore. In a few days, I would be graduating high school and going off to college. Her days of watch guard were over.

  My mom looked at me as if I'd lost my mind as I started to laugh. My dad looked from me to my mom with a puzzled look on his face.

  "I would like to know what's so damn funny, Charlie Perry?" my mom asked angrily.

  "Mom, when are you going to realize that I'm practically grown now? In a few days, I'll be a high school graduate and going off to college. It's time to cut the apron strings."

  "Not if you're still living under my roof Charlie. Girl, you have a lot to learn about life and I just don't want you to make the wrong decisions."

  "I understand Mom, and I'm not saying that I'm not grateful for you protecting me, but hasn't it occurred to you that sooner or later I will have to learn to face situations on my own? How will I learn anything if you're always going to be in my business?"

  My dad looked at mom with a sympathetic expressi
on.

  "Don't give me that look. How can you agree with her?"

  "Because she's right; think back to when you were young. Did you want your parents all up in your business all the time?"

  I gave a weak smile at my parents. "Mom, Dad, I love you two so much and I am fortunate to have you as my parents, but what if I go off to college instead of going to a college here? I cannot rely on you two to always be there for me whenever I have a problem. You two have taught me right from wrong, and to be an individual, and that is what going to get me through when I go off into the real world. I'm not saying that I don't need you two in my life, I just need you to support me as an adult and let me spread my wings."

  My mom looked at me and smiled.

  "I see we taught you well. I can also see that you are, in fact, my daughter."

  I started to smile. "Well I learned from the best."

  My dad walked over to me and gave me a bear hug.

  "I understand your feelings honey and from now on, we will treat you like an adult. We know that you are going to college soon and to be honest, that scares the crap out of us, especially me. I guess because I will always look at you as my little girl."

  "I know Dad."

  "But since you said that, there are a few conditions you must meet with us."

  "And what's that?"

  My dad looked at my mom and gave her a wink. She nodded her head in agreement.

  "I know this is not the time or place to talk about this but since you decided to make the first move, we feel that maybe it is time for you to know the terms of being an adult."

  I gave my parents a confused look. "I don't understand what you're getting at.""Let's just put it in simpler terms," my mom said. "When you graduate high school, don't expect us to bail you out financially. We will pay for your tuition, books, and board, but as far as personal expenses go, don't look at us for handouts."

  As I looked at my parents, my mouth literally dropped to the floor. Maybe I should have thought about the financial part before opening my mouth about being independent.

  "What did you think? That we were still going to bail you out financially and let you run all wild at college? It doesn't work that way sweetie," my mom said.