drive (mithzan short story)

chapter nine.

"Max I never told you how I got your phone number." She said, I looked at her confused, feeling both hurt and a bit angry at the fact that she decided to ignore what I just said to her.

"No, you didn't." I replied, bitterly.

"Well Adam gave me his number when he accepted me to the job." I felt my face soften,

"You got it! Congrats!" I couldn't help but exclaim.

"That's beside the point, and so I knew that I needed a ride, I decided to evaluate my options, but I didn't have your phone number, so I called Adam and asked for your number, of which he gave me." I was both beaming at the news that she'd got the job and displeased by the irrelevance of this story. "Adam asked me how I ended up an hour away, and I told him about Derrick, I told him everything about Derrick."

"Okay.."

"I told him that you stood up for me, I told him that you didn't even know me and you stood up for me. I told him that's why I was asking for your number apposed to Tim's number." Her hair was dangling in wet strands down the side of her face, she ran her fingers through it and swept it behind her ear.

"You know what he said?" She asked.

"Obviously I don't." I replied hotly.

"He said 'I'm really glad he met you, Lilah.', he said 'You compliment each other well, without you, Max would be angry all the time, more so then you see.', I laughed at that, and he said 'Without him, you wouldn't be spontaneously driving to California.' That's what Adam said to me." She was studying me, searching my face to see how I'd respond but I didn't know how to.

"I make you happy Max, I know I do, I can see it. I make you happy and I make you look forward to something. And you make me brave, you make me brave and you make me want to live a little, you make me want to randomly defy what I've always known, you make me apply to a job that I never would have had you not been here, you make me rebel against he who I've never been able to." She paused, "You make me better." Lilah said quietly. I was speechless, here I was assuming that I was ruining her life, when really I was making it better, or so she tells me.

I couldn't say anything and so I didn't, Instead, I looped one arm around her waist and pulled her to me, putting my other hand on her face, I kissed her, and this time I didn't pull away. I realized Lilah was right, more than I knew she was right. We were so equally balanced that we fixed each other time and time again when no body else could. I fixed her trust issues with Derrick, she fixed my anger issues,

well, as best as she could.

When finally we parted, I looked into her eyes. "You were not a mistake." I said to her, and then again to myself. "You were not a mistake."

She smiled at me, before visibly shivering.
"Oh my god we are out in the rain." She gasped, Oh no. Laughing we ran to my car and got in, soaking wet, dripping water all over the seats and the floor, we laughed some more. I was more aware of Lilah watching me turn the ignition than actually doing it.

"What?" I asked her.

"I just.. I love you." She said,

I realized then, that we never left the Taxi of which I met Lilah in, She and I were still soaking wet, inside that taxi, while the whole world around us rained away. I realized that  getting into that taxi with her, put me on a road I was never going to get off of, but I didn't mind, as long as she was riding along with me.

And together, we drive. Happily, Fearlessly, lovingly.

Onward, we drive.