Impossible

by Laurel Curtis

  However, I really wasn’t in the mood to roll around on the ground changing my own tire again, and he didn’t look like he was in the mood to give up and drive away. So I gave in, declaring, “Far be it for me to stop you from doing all of the manual labor for me.”

  Once he had gotten the go ahead he’d been waiting for, he got to work and had the spare tire down and was squatting in front of the rear left tire in no time. As I watched him loosen the lug nuts on the flat I thought of a question.

  “How are you driving if you’re fifteen? Out for a joy ride?” I teased.

  He grunted from his exertion and then laughed. “No, ma’am.” I shot him a glare and he shrugged. “I mean Roni. Give me a break, politeness is ingrained in me. My Nan would whip me if she heard me addressin’ someone without respect.”

  Wow. “Your Nan sounds scary.”

  A small smile just barely touched his lips as he answered, “Nah. She just raised all boys, so she had to be tough. She’s the sweetest woman you’ll ever meet...as long as you’re not doin’ somethin’ wrong.”

  He was working quickly and already had the flat off, the new tire seated, and was starting to tighten the lug nuts. As I watched him work, I got distracted by the ease with which he was completing what would have been a gargantuan task for me.

  “It’s a restricted farmer’s license.”

  Huh?

  He turned to me and saw the confusion clouding my face. “The reason I can drive at fifteen.”

  Oh, right. All of that talk about his Nan and I had forgotten. I just nodded and gave him a one word answer. “Okay.”

  He lowered the jack, quickly tightened the lug nuts the rest of the way, and started gathering and cleaning up the tools.

  I could be a real bitch, but I figured I had to at least thank him. It took him far less time than it would have taken me. “Thanks, CJ.”

  He nodded and responded, “You bet, Roni.” He paused for a few seconds after tossing my flat tire in the back for me and turned to face me. “You gonna be around here for awhile?”

  I shook my head as I spoke, “No. Just passing through. Headed down to Alabama.”

  He gave me a look like he was trying to see deep inside me, his eyes assessing but his face soft. Like he knew this was just an exterior and there was more buried inside. It really shook me up, so I moved hastily to get out of there.

  Hurrying, I shut the lift gate and moved to the driver’s side. I opened my door and jumped up and in, but before I could close my door, he caught it.

  “What’s in Alabama?” he asked, his real question- the one in his eyes- much more complex.

  I turned the key in the ignition and started her up. He was momentarily distracted by all of my electronics coming to life, and I took the opportunity to close the door, ripping it right out of his hand. My window was open so I gave him one parting line that said everything and nothing all at the same time. “The action.”

  I pulled the gear shift into drive and put my foot on the gas, not even hesitating to pull out and climb to full speed. As I drove away I could see him looking after me in my rearview mirror for a few seconds before he turned and headed for his truck.

  I felt a little nauseous, and my fingers wandered down to touch my scar for just a few seconds. I knew I would regret it, but I couldn’t help but give myself just a moment to think about what might have been. The life I could have had and the nicer, naive version of myself that would have been allowed to like CJ.

  ********

  Heart pounding and palms sweating, I had my foot to the floor, and I was tearing down a dirt road on the side of a cotton field near Cullman, Alabama.

  I was chasing a cell that had just dropped a funnel, but it had changed direction and was headed right for me. I glanced in my rearview mirror quickly to see that Max and his crew were close on my six. Okay, so his crew was one other guy, but it was a lot more than I had. He at least had a Hardy to his Laurel, a Hutch to his Starsky. Anyway, we had ended up on the same cell and, evidently, in the same bad spot.

  I was driving as fast as physically possible, doing my best to get us both out of there, but it’s amazing how rapidly things can turn to shit in these situations. When I got to the end of the road, I wheeled an up-on-two-wheels, scary as hell turn to the right. I heard a smack hit my roof and knew it had to be the major debris getting to me. I slammed my foot to the floor again and looked back just in time to see Max’s SUV get flipped on its roof. It came down hard, shattering the windshield into a crackly mess and taking about a foot off of its height.

  My heart was pounding in my chest, so hard I could have sworn it was in danger of exploding, and my mind was racing at a thousand miles per hour trying to make an instant decision. Should I go back and help them, likely risking severe injury or death, or should I keep my foot to the floor and get to safety?

  Max was a dick, and lately I was a bitch. But my secret was that this cold, snarky woman was nowhere near who I used to be. And with the adrenaline pumping through my body, returning my instincts to their most basic levels, I couldn’t fight my natural reaction.

  I had to help. No matter what my relationship with Max was. No matter what the consequences would be for me.

  Slamming my foot down on the break pedal, I came to a screeching stop and threw the gear shift into park. I kicked my door open with my foot, slammed it shut, and took off toward the compromised vehicle behind me. Debris was flying and quarter size hail was pelting me. I would surely have welts if I made it out of this alive. The wind was insane, as you would imagine, and I found it difficult to keep my feet and make progress in their direction.

  As the funnel closed in on us, I prayed it would change its course again and give me a chance to get to Max and his wingman, Tony. While I was in the business of praying I added the request that we all make it out of this as the same people, physically and mentally, if not a little nicer in Max’s case. Heck, maybe mine too.

  As soon as I got to the driver side door I fell to my knees and reached into the already broken window to try to free an unconscious Max. He had a cut on his forehead, blood dripping to the roof liner as he hung suspended by his seatbelt. Tony was just starting to come around after being knocked out too, his soft moans just making it to my ears over the roar of the wind.

  Seconds had passed, but it felt like hours as I felt every single piece of hail and debris that hit me. I reached in the window, around Max’s body, and released his seat belt. I put my arms under his head and shoulders to soften the blow of his fall, but he was a big guy and there was only so much I could do. Tony moaned and then gasped as Max fell to the roof with my arms under him. Pulling my head out of the window, I looked back at the storm to see that God had spared us this time. The funnel had changed direction and was lifting back up into the clouds. Such was the way of a tornado, laying waste to one house and leaving the one across the street untouched. It was truly remarkable.

  Remarkable, and in this case, for me, incredibly lucky.

  Sweet merciful Jesus. Thank you, God.

  This was still bad, but this was a bad I could handle. Ducking my head back inside, I realized that the window still had shards of glass at the edges, and if I tried to drag Max through it I’d end up doing more damage.

  Okay, I had to use my brain here. I needed to call for help now that the immediate doom of the tornado was gone. It would probably take awhile for emergency responders to get here because they would be swamped with the outbreak, but I could at least call and then proceed to help in the smartest way possible.

  As I started to back myself back out of the car to go get my phone, I heard Tony croak, “Roni?”

  God, he didn’t sound good. “I’m here Tony. I’m gonna help you guys, but I need to go call for help first, okay? Just hang in there. I don’t want to hurt you more than you already are,” I said, trying to keep my tone light and comforting.

  I looked back at Max one more time and realized I couldn’t leave him like this. He was slumped awkwardly on
his neck, and I didn’t want to leave him that way, even for a couple of minutes because it might make things worse.

  After spending mere seconds thinking about the best way to go about clearing a path, I used my foot to knock the rest of the glass off of what would have been the top edge of the window. I considered using some sort of clothing or blanket to soften the edge even more, but all I had was my shirt. That wasn’t happening; I had never been that nice. Max would have to live with a few scratches.

  I shoved my arms under his armpits, braced myself on my knees, and pulled with all I had. He was a big guy and I was a little girl, but I slowly made progress, inch by painful inch. When I finally got him all the way out, I laid him flat on his back on the road, felt his pulse, and checked his breathing. From what I could tell, he at least had a pulse and was successfully moving air in and out of his lungs. Good enough for now.

  I ran back to my Tahoe, flung open the door, and dug frantically for my phone. Dialing 9-1-1, I put the phone to my ear and listened to the responders greeting. “9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

  “This is Veronica Russo. I’m just outside of Cullman, on a dirt road off of Route 117.”

  I struggled to find an accurate description for exactly where I was, as this road was unnamed, so I just moved on.

  “I have two injured adult males, one unconscious, other injuries unknown, but possibly severe.”

  “Veronica, can you give me a more exact location?” the responder asked, her voice calm and businesslike. It was a little disconcerting since I was feeling anything but calm, but I guess they did this shit everyday.

  Shit. I didn’t know how to describe where we were. “Can you track my cell phone GPS, or my car has OnStar. Can you use that?”

  I actually couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of that before. This was the reason it was there. But my brain felt sluggish.

  “Yes, ma’am. Just activate it for me by pushing the button.”

  I climbed up, reached inside, and pushed the button, only to see blood starting to coat all of my stuff. What the hell?

  My head started to spin, and I knew I was about to pass out. It seems, something had hit me in the head a little harder than I realized.

  Just before I lost consciousness, I spoke into the phone. “Yeah, uh, you better add one adult female to the list of injured.”

  I heard her question, “Veronica?” in my ear, but I had no answer. I was already out, my vision of the inside of my car replaced with blackness, my open laptop a makeshift pillow for my face.

  If my blood ruined my computer, I was going to be seriously freaking pissed.

  Chapter 3

  Coleman Cade. The Original.

  My eyes flew open immediately when I drew in my first conscious breath. The smell of antiseptic was distinct and panic inducing, as my mind raced back to last time I had smelled this very familiar smell. Arguably, I smelled it every night in my nightmares, but this was different. It was real.

  My fingers curled into the sheets and around to my palms so hard that my fists started to turn white from the pressure, and my ears focused to the point that I could almost feel the effort they were putting in. Listening, waiting. When I didn’t hear that sound, the tension in my hands eased, and I started to breathe again.

  Forcing my mind to venture back into rational thought, I figured out the reason I was there.

  Tornado. Getting caught in a bad spot. Helping Max and Tony. I had passed out.

  Apparently, I had done a really good job of it since I had been out the whole time that it took the paramedics to arrive, work on us, transport us, the hospital staff work on us, and be alone in a room before I woke up.

  “Hey there, Sweetie. You’re awake!”

  At least, I was alone. I didn’t know if I could handle a perky nurse right now. Ughhh. I already had a headache from the actual shit that had hit me in the head. I didn’t need more figurative shit pounding me like a hammer.

  When I looked out the window, I could have sworn the sun was coming up instead of going down. I guess I had been there overnight.

  Peppy Mc-Nurse-ing-staff kept on chirping, “Let me just check all of your vitals quick!”

  I rolled my eyes, which she caught. Patting my arm, she did her best to pacify me. “Don’t worry, I’ll be done in a jiffy!”

  As she worked the blood pressure cuff around my arm, I worked to keep myself from saying something bitchy. What would a normal person ask in this situation?

  Oh. Yeah. Max and Tony.

  “What about the guys I came in with? Are they both alright?”

  She smiled sweetly and gentled her voice. Though, it didn’t fully lose its chirpy quality. “Yeah, hun. They’re gonna be ok. I mean, they’re a little banged up, but fine. Good thing you were there to call for help though.”

  Well, that was good. I genuinely didn’t want any harm to come to either of them.

  I guess she took my face relaxing to mean more than it did. “Would you like me to see if you can go visit them?”

  No. Absolutely not. I just wanted to get out of here and get back on the road.

  “No. I just want to go.” When she looked at me harder, I added one more word for her benefit. “Thanks.”

  She kept staring at me like she knew me. Like she knew that I wasn’t such a bitch; that I was covering what was really underneath.

  “Are you sure, hun?” she questioned again.

  So what if she was right? I was getting really freaking tired of everyone reading me like this. Three years of fooling everyone I came in contact with and all of a sudden people could see right though me. What the hell?

  Well, I was going to burst her pretty little bubble. The bitch was coming out, like the Hulk bursting out of his clothes.

  “Just get me the damn papers, so I can get out of here. I’ve obviously been sewn up and fixed, meaning your job is done, so let’s cut the crap.”

  Her face jerked back, startled that I could put so much venom in my voice when she’d been nothing but nice to me. She didn’t understand, but being nice to me was usually the stimulus for my inner bitch. I was actually surprised I hadn’t been meaner to CJ, but I figured it was because he was still young. As much as I’d like my nastiness to be equal opportunity, it wasn’t.

  My hand went to my forehead so that I could lightly touch the cause of this fun little jaunt to the hospital. I knew I’d been sewn up because I could feel the stitches pulling in my forehead. I’d have to make a trip back to the hospital somewhere, because I wasn’t staying in Alabama, to get them out too. Not to mention, they weren’t very comfortable. Every time I pulled my face into a scowl it hurt.

  Bummer. That was my favorite facial expression.

  Whatever. Just as long as I got out of here now. I was this (cue forefinger and thumb held just a scant distance apart) close to really freaking out.

  Peppy Longstocking may know that I was covering something, but she had no idea how ugly it really was. And if I stayed in this hospital much longer, it was liable to explode everywhere. The sights and smells made the memories come, and the memories made it too hard to ignore my pain. Who knows what I would leave in my wake if I lost my hold on control.

  They sure as hell wouldn’t be letting me go on my merry way, chasing storms all over the south and midwest, that’s for sure.

  As she continued to peruse me, no doubt trying to figure out the puzzle that was me, the look on her face said that she didn’t like the way I was talking to her, but it wouldn’t stop her from doing my bidding. Especially when what I wanted her to do would make it so that she wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore.

  Losing some of her pep and adding a little righteous indignation, she said, “I’ll be back with the papers.”

  I shot her a sarcastic smile and a “Thanks” to match.

  ********

  Several highway-eating hours later, I was back to business as usual.

  Getting my car back had been a freaking nightmare.

  When the nurse ca
me back with my papers a couple of hours after she left the room, my patience had run out. I threw on my clothes and got the hell out of there as fast as I could. I didn’t bother to stop and see Max and Tony, and I didn’t ask about them either. I figured asking the first time had shown too much of my compassion as it was, and I didn’t want anyone else to start bothering me again.

  I hadn’t even thought about where my car would be, being that no one in our party had been anywhere near coherent when they brought us to the hospital. Turns out that they sent it to police impound when there was no indication of me having any next of kin or anyone they could contact to take care of it. So, I called a taxi to take me to the police lot, paid money to get my stupid car back, and then got on the road.

  I was pissed that I had to pay, but they charge you no matter what the reason it ends up there, and I just wanted to get back to my life of solitude and forced ignorance. Therefore, I didn’t make a fuss.

  After driving the nearly 700 miles it was from the impound lot to Huntsford, Kansas straight through, I needed some food and to rest. The weather was set to be bad in this area again and when I picked a place to start, I hadn’t been able to stop myself from heading for Huntsford. It was like I wasn’t in control of my own actions, and I really freaking hated it.

  Pulling into a parking spot in front of ‘The Dip and Shake’, which was apparently the main restaurant in this little, rural town, I shut the car off, took a deep breath, and jumped out, slamming my door a little bit harder than usual. I knew coming here was probably a bad idea, and the tension in my body was evidence of that.

  I walked quickly to the door, and as I opened it, I felt the blast of the air conditioning glide over my skin. I shivered minutely from the quick shift from the muggy, hot, storm-inviting air of outside to the cool crisp air of the restaurant, and felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

  A perky young girl with golden blonde hair bounced her way over to me, and wasted no time grabbing a menu and taking me to a table. She was happy, but she didn’t push it on me. And she didn’t even ask me if I was by myself, let alone rub it in. She just smiled warmly, laid the menu on the table, and moved back to the front of the restaurant after murmuring softly, “Jenelle will be over to take your order.”