Bustin' Glass

Heather heard the deep rumble of an engine behind her, the bright white light of the sun blinding her blue eyes. Seriously? She thought as she waited at the stop sign that continued the road leading into nowhere. Someone is behind me now? She glanced in her rear-view mirror and was struck with awe as her adrenaline spiked.

Outlined in the mirror was a car, but not any car. Its sleek black body and golden eagle emblazoned on the hood was a telltale sign of one of the most classic cars of the past decades.

“Babe? Let’s go, no one’s coming. This guy is gonna start eating our ass,” Ronny said as he nudged Heather’s arm and snapped her out of her trance.

“Yeah, sorry,” Heather said as she released the clutch and began to accelerate then finagled the gear shifter into second gear.

The car lurched forward, leaving the Firebird at the stop sign slowly faded away into the distance.

“Did you see that car Ronny?” Heather asked as she loosened her grip on the gear shifter and looked toward her boyfriend.

“What of it?” He asked and rolled down the window, letting in a rush of warm summer breeze flood the car.

“That was a Firebird, are you kidding me, ‘What of it’? That was a freaking Firebird!” Heather retorted as she stared in awe at him, his red hair flailing wildly and arm hanging out of the window. Heather turned down the radio as the familiar rumble returned.

“Heather, c’mon just drive already. Forget the stupid car,” Ronny said annoyed as he looked behind him then turned the radio up, trying to drown out the noise.

“No,” Heather turned the radio down and looked in the rear-view mirror and once again, the car was hot on their heels. “Look at it, it's freaking awesome! What a classic,” she said excitedly as she rolled down her window.

“What is with you and this car? You act as if you’ve never seen one of those crappy cars before,” Ronny said as he stared at Heather, her dark hair whipping around her face.

Heather made out the features of a young boy, around her age, with his hand loosely hanging from the top of the steering wheel and dark slicked-back hair. She felt her pupils dilate as her eyes met his despite the difference in distance.

“What are you staring at? Just focus on the road, would you?” Ronny reprimanded and yanked a strand of her hair.

“Quit it,” Heather said as she waved him off which caused the car to veer to the right slightly.

Ronny glanced up at the mirror and exhaled deeply. “Really? Are you looking at the guy behind us? We are dating, remember?” he said angrily.

Heather tore her gaze from the mysterious boy and clutched the steering wheel tightly with her left hand. The black of her fingernail polish glinting in the sun. “Leave me alone Ronny.” She moved her arm away from his, only two fingers were resting on the gear shifter.

With a sudden explosion of speed and deafening thunder, the Firebird passed them on the other side of the road, assuming the position in front of them. Heather felt the tingle of adrenaline rush through her veins as the car accelerated with a roar, her fingers twisting the gear shifter into third gear then fourth. Her foot felt heavy as she passed the square Route 341 sign that was stuck into the dry dirt near the crumbling, cracked road.

Her fingers tightened around the gear shifter; her intention set to catch the dark-haired boy who had set a fire deep within her from a single glance. I have to see this boy again.

The stretch of road ahead was wide and desolate with potholes and cracks blemishing the pavement. She pressed her foot down onto the gas pedal, sending the car rocketing forward and nearly rear-ending the Firebird.

She swerved around it, keeping pace as she drove on the opposite side of the road. Gleefully, she turned, looked past Ronny and made eye contact with the boy. He gave her a toothy smile and accelerated once more. The race had begun.

“Heather, stop!” Ronny bellowed as he clutched his seatbelt in terror, his eyes wide.

She couldn’t hear him as her gaze was fixed on the cocky boy who was teasing her, only a few feet ahead.

Heather could barely hear the quavering voice of J. Frank Wilson’s, “Last Kiss” as it played softly on the radio, nearly drowned out by her thudding heartbeat. She stomped on the gas peddle harder, driving it into the floor despite Ronny’s cries of terror and pleas for her to slow down.

We were out on a date in my daddy's car

We hadn't driven very far

There in the road, up straight ahead

A car was stalled, the engine was dead

Heather passed her new love and smiled ecstatically as she made eye contact with him, briefly taking her eyes from the road. The needle on the dash neared ninety as she switched into fifth gear.

I couldn't stop, so I swerved to the right

I'll never forget the sound that night

“Heather, stop!” Ronny screamed as he grabbed the steering wheel, causing the car to swerve violently. The front end of the car connected with the driver's side door of the Firebird, causing it to dive into the ditch.

The screamin' tires, the bustin' glass

The painful scream that I heard last.

The tire of the car hit a pothole in the pavement, and with a loud pop of air being released, the front tire blew. Both Heather and Ronny screamed as she tried to regain control of the car. Behind them, the Firebird sat crumpled in the ditch, shattered glass and rubber littering the road.

When I woke up, the rain was pourin' down

There were people standing all around

The needle on the dash read one hundred as the car skidded and slid into the base of an old oak tree. As it made an impact, Heather’s forehead connected with the steering wheel, airbags erupted in a cloud of white. As if it had turned to night, her vision exploded in stars then, a black abyss.

Something warm runnin' in my eyes

But somehow I found my baby that night

The grass swayed gently in the summer breeze as a mixture glass, blood and oil mingled together. Heather lay unconscious as blood gushed in thick, hot streams from her uncountable wounds.

I lifted her head, she looked at me and said

"Hold me darling just a little while."

I held her close, I kissed her our last kiss

She opened her eye slightly, her vision blurry and tinged with red. In the distance, she could make out the limp figure of a dark-haired boy laying at the foot of his car, slightly hidden by clumps of deer grass.

I found the love that I knew I would miss

But now she's gone, even though I hold her tight

I lost my love, my life that night.

Heather’s eyes closed as her thoughts of the love she had at first sight faded into static. The song quietly ended as the radio sputtered out of existence, leaving the bodies of Heather, Ronny and the mysterious, dark-haired boy in silence.