A story about the dark power of love.

Explicit language

I arrived at the back of her workplace, a vast parking lot filled with hundreds of cars. The different colors combine as one from afar- appearing as a beautiful collage. She saw her friend’s beautiful cobalt eyes light up as she opened the back door of her office. Her long chestnut-colored hair swayed as she ran towards me, enveloping me in a hug. I was so confused.. what was going on?

“Ok, ok a little too tight Claire”, I whispered gently squeezing her shoulders back. I quickly pulled her to my car before one of us got hit by the cars quickly zipping down the lot. We got in my black Sudan sitting in silence, both of us immersed in our thoughts. Our fingers slightly brushed each other as we both reached for our phones… both unsure how to start the conversation.

“So.. what are we doing today” Claire questioned, putting her hands behind her head. If she was acting normal, ok fine I’ll act normal too. I’ll ignore the bouncing energy in my stomach, the strong pulse in my veins. I turned away from her to hide the feelings that were convulsing in my body. The pain and grief of love. I had to go outside. It was all just too much for me, HOW COULD SHE ACT NORMAL?

“Ari, you good?” She asked. Even her saying my name turned me on. Fuck.

“I’m good Claire. I'm so fucking good” I choked, starting the engine. The grief and sadness turned into boiling anger. Tears welled up in my eyes. How could she? How could she? How could she? How could she? She told me she loved me. I started driving. First at 20 mph.. then 60… 90. I couldn’t think. My feelings were driving the car, fueled by my anger. I couldn’t stop. I wasn’t under control, it was my heart.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARI”, Claire roared.

“STOP THE FUCKING CAR”, she begged, tears streaming down her cheeks. We were both going to die. I didn’t know what to do. We were both crying now. My heart burned, the grief slowly coming back in waves, each new one more agonizing. I had to stop the car. I pushed the brake while turning the wheel, the car spinning, crashing by a nearby hill. Both of us howled with fear as we spun down the hill. Blood streaked down my chin, glass shards piercing my skin.. but that pain didn’t compare to the unbearable, unreachable pain in my heart.

“I NEED YOU”, I sobbed. Was I going crazy? I didn’t care. I reached for Claire, burying my face in her shoulder, both of us clinging to each other. I didn’t care if I died right now.

————————- 30 minutes later ————————-

Sirens wailed from afar, or were they close? I couldn’t tell. Red and blue lights pierced my eyes as someone pulled me out of a broken car, where was I? I touched my face feeling something wet soak my fingers, the liquid streaming down my arms. Something red.

“Don’t worry, you're safe” someone cooed in my ear as they took me into a truck. I only had one thing on my mind. Where was Claire?

————————— 2 weeks later —————————

I arrived at the funeral, hundreds of people covered in black seated in rows. Everyone combined to look like one colossal black hole. I took my seat in the very back, watching the love of my life sink into the ground. It was classified as an accident. That’s what my attorney told me to tell everyone. I wish I died.