Accidental Neighbor by Sharon Woods

Chapter 13

Thomas

 

One Year Ago-Flashback

My hand is entwined with hers, resting on top of my thigh as I drive. I’m driving Victoria and myself home from an appointment in the city, taking our time through heavy traffic, taking a little longer than expected.

My mind is still racing and my heart singing in delight as I try to soak in the new information we just received. We both sit silently, no words spoken between us as we share this moment in our Audi. Both of us are keen to get home to our girls—Lily who is four and Rose one. My mom is caring for them while we are out for a few hours. We called Mom just before we left the appointment, but they were having too much fun to come to the phone. I let Mom know we were on our way home and that we would see them soon.

I watch from the corner of my eye as Victoria leans forward to reach the buttons on the center console. She begins flicking stations before settling on Sam Smith’s “To Die For.” The volume increases and the song blares through the car speakers.

Her vibrant angelic voice sings beside me in tune. I take my eyes from the road to take a peek over at her relaxed body settled into the leather seat. Her eyelids closed, absorbing the lyrics, only her pouty lips move to the words of the song as she sings to me in her soft tone. I smile wistfully at how she looks so at peace in this moment, the complete opposite to the fiery self she shows others. I love that I'm the only person to get the whole of Victoria. She is overwhelmingly beautiful and confident but on the other side, what she keeps strictly for me is gentle, caring, and devoted. She is the best wife and mother.

As she sits beside me in the car, she is wearing a pair of slim black pants, a printed top that shows off her hourglass figure, and black heels. I'm dressed in my usual casual outfit of dark-washed jeans and a t-shirt.

My heart is so full of love and peace as we drive along the main street near our home. Our area is a bit out of town, full of nature and other younger families. Victoria and I moved into this area to raise the girls near my parents. Victoria didn’t want to give up her teaching job completely, so being closer to my parents who could help us on the days we both needed to work was beneficial.

Driving along, I notice an older, beat-up car is approaching in the opposite direction, hugging the line that separates us. A wrinkled brow forms on my face; my jaw sets as my eyes watch the car weaving. I unlink my hand from Victoria’s to grab the steering wheel in a tight grip before I slide it across the horn. There are only a few other cars on the road besides ours so when I notice the car speeding directly toward us, I push down and hit the brake. The sound and the feel of the horn under my hand is the last thing I remember before everything went black.

I don’t know how long I was out but when I awoke, I began to blink my eyes rapidly, trying to focus on what had happened to cause intense shooting pain in my shaking body. My back sore; along my shoulders and chest there are small pinches on my skin. My head feels beat up, and I can feel a thumping in the same rhythm as my heartbeat. A cold, wet liquid is dripping along the side of my temple down to my jaw. I gasp at the sight of the hood that is all crumpled and the tree that has pushed the metal up. My eyes go wide and my mouth opens at the sight before me.

I don’t hesitate for a second before I twist my head to check on Victoria, the pain making me curse loudly. I stare at Victoria and notice her head is slumped forward; there is blood trickling on her face, sticking her hair to her face. I lift my hand to tuck the strand behind her ear, but I don’t get it too far before the pain is slicing at my side, making me retract my arm and choke on a breath.

The image of Victoria and the gurgle of sounds coming from her chest is gut-wrenching. I just want to be able to touch her, help her, but I'm stuck, unmoving, and riddled with excruciating pain in my torso. My breaths are rapid as my pulse is slow, but I can hear in the distance people asking if I can hear them. My head is heavy as I struggle to answer. I feel a flush of cool air hit my skin when the sound of a door screeches open next to me, my body hairs standing up from the breeze and the shock of the event hitting my bones. I feel cold; my body begins to shudder, and I shake uncontrollably.

Without warning, there is a tugging of my upper body and red and blue flashing lights in my peripheral vision. I'm pulled out of the vehicle slowly, my feet dragging across the leather seat. I can see Victoria slumped, unmoving in the passenger seat. Her hair is matted with blood and a trickle of blood seeps out of her open mouth. Watching her fade out of my vision, I feel as if my heart is being ripped out of my chest and splattered into smithereens, leaving a shell of a man. Empty and lonely… Without my best friend, my wife, my family. How do I stop them from taking me? I feel my throat closing over, constricting. I can barely breathe let alone mutter an audible word. I close my eyes from the sight, wishing this was all a bad dream.

When I begin to stir, I hear the sound of beeps behind me. “He is waking up; get the doctor quick.”

I hear heavy footsteps and a door screech open and bang close. I flutter my eyelashes and squint, trying to adjust to the brightness. It’s blinding. “It’s okay, sweetheart; you're safe.”

I feel a soft hand stroke my hair but I recognize the tone of the woman—my mom.

I begin to gently glance around; my eyes slowly adjust to the light. I groan at the slicing pain running through my skull. I instantly stop moving and the pain eases slightly. I sigh.

Grimacing into the face of Mom, who is hovering beside me, tears are staining her cheeks; her eyes are rimmed red, and her appearance is disheveled. I try again to gaze around at my surroundings and I can see I’m in a room; my finger has a device attached to it; there is a needle in my arm, and I have stickers and wires on my chest. My brows crease; I’m in a hospital bed.

“Mom,” I say; my throat feels like razor blades trying to talk.

Her eyes go wide, and she lets go of my hair and straightens up. “I’ll get you some water.”

I just blink, too scared to talk through the pain in my throat. I watch her hurry to the bed tray that’s on the side of my bed and pour a glass of water. She puts a straw in the glass and steps toward me, holding out the straw to my lips, I open my mouth and wrap my dry lips around the straw and suck the liquid into my throat. At first, it burns but then the cool liquid soothes and I drain the glass. “Do you want more?” Mom asks.

“Please.” My throat is still dry and painful but it’s better than my first attempt to talk.

As I watch her refill my glass, I dare ask… “Victoria?”

A new set of tears fill my mom’s eyes as she clutches the glass. She walks toward me with a fresh glass of water. Her mouth moves, but the words don’t register. “She is gone… I'm so sorry.”