𝔸𝕕𝕦𝕝𝕥 𝔻𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 // Weston Koury

Night Rain

I'd been walking for about ten minutes now.

Some melting snow covered the sidewalk, and I could feel that my nose was turning red in the cold night air. I mentally swore at the bus driver as I watched the bus trundle away down the street into darkness. What kind of person leaves a young girl out alone at night because she's short of two dollars? It was better me doing this than Hazel; I'm the one in the jacket, sober, and who knew the way back home. Still, I couldn't help but feel sorry for myself once rain started to fall.

A car slowed down as it drove by me from behind. I glanced to the side, to see an older man inside the car, looking out the window at me as he drove by. I sped up walking a little, feeling nervous as the car passed ahead. It was probably nothing, but I couldn't help feeling vulnerable at night on my own. I shuddered, and kept on walking. Step by step, let's just get this over and done with. The rain had started to pool into puddles, and one of my trainers got soaked through when I accidentally stepped in one.

The road ahead was almost pitch black after a certain distance ahead, the January night air foggy with heavy rain. The pine trees surrounding the road grew taller the more I walked, and I knew that meant I was slowly but surely getting closer to home. How did I not notice my phone was dead? A torch would be so great now. The sound of an owl hooting from the woods made me jump, and I just tried to stay calm and tell myself I wasn't freezing. I kept walking, and another ten minutes passed before another car slowed down by me and I felt a familiar twang of nervousness. I looked down at my feet and hoped they would pass. 

"Oh thank god, there you are!" I heard, from the car. 

I looked up to see that it was Weston who was speaking to me from his open car window, and he pulled over next to me. I grinned, getting into the car, slamming the door behind me as a wave of relief crashed over my body. The dry warmth and music in the car contrasted so much with the rainy cold silence outside, and I turned the volume up a little before I did up my seatbelt. He smiled back at me from the drivers seat, looking tired with bags under his eyes. He was wearing some oversized vintage sweater and blue plaid pyjama pants, his glasses on and hair all messed up. When our eyes met, I wanted to lean over and kiss him right then and there.

"You're here! I can't believe you're here! How'd you know where I was?" I asked him, close to pinching myself.

"Oh man I don't even know," He said, starting up the car to drive away again. "I assumed your phone died so I went down to the bus stop to wait for you. Then the bus came and you weren't on it so I just figured i'd drive around until I found you, I guess."

I couldn't keep my smile to myself as he kept talking. 

"You were really gonna walk all the way home by yourself? What happened? You should have called me to come get you, like I offered a bunch of times. You knew I finally got this car running again this week!"
"I know, I know. I did have money for the bus but I ended up giving it to Toby's girlfriend instead."
"I didn't know you knew her?" He said, glancing away from the road at me for a split second. "She's called Hazel, right?"
"Actually, do you remember forever ago when I went with Olivia to that party, and you came and found me in the middle of the night and walked me home? When I had vodka and lemonade all in my hair."
"Yeah, we got fries on the way home. I remember, you were so sad when I found you, it broke my heart."

I glanced over at him, feeling unbearable affection towards him.

"That's sweet of you, to care." I said.
"Don't mention it." He said, awkwardly. "Well, what about that night, anyway?"
"Toby's girlfriend - Hazel - she was the one who dumped her drink all on me. She caught me and him together."
"Seriously? Why was she mad at you, not him?" He scoffed. "I bet you didn't even know he-"
"No! I didn't even know he was in a relationship! And she called me an 'ugly whore of a downgrade' to my face."

He laughed out-loud, before realising I wasn't joking.