The Honeymooners

Sixteen. Heartbreak and bear traps

I pace the pathway outside the farm, feeling like I might fall on to my knees if I don't keep moving. My whole world is crumbling around me, and there's nothing I can do about it. All my fears are coming true. My husband is in love with another woman. I think a punch to the throat would hurt less.

Am I so naïve that I missed the signs all along? Has he ever loved me or am I some kind of cruel cover up to show the world that he can move on? I'm such an idiot. All I want now is to call my dad and let him come to my rescue, but that isn't going to happen. He's dead. Similar to what I'm feeling right now.

It may sound silly to some, but I need to sit in his car. Maybe, that way I'll get some relief from the hole in my heart. I head for the garage where Tomás stored it before the acid rain and open the door, struggling with the heaviness of the wood. Once I get inside, the smell of petrol hits me and then the sight of a cloth sheet covering the Beetle.

"Hey, dad," I whisper, tugging the sheet off the car. "I could use you right now."

"I'm here, Am Bam," he'd say, giving me a cuddle to cure the worst diseases and everything would go back to how it should be.

The reality of it is that I'm alone and probably will be for the rest of my life when Enzo declares he wants to be with Violet. Not wanting to go into too much depth with that thought, I head for the front of the car, running my finger along the paintwork. Until I see something that hurts worse than what I witnessed upstairs.

The side of the bonnet is completely caved in on itself, the headlight smashed, and the paintwork scratched so bad I can see the metal underneath it. My world spins in a circle, and I stumble to the side, having to hold my stomach as it threatens to spill everywhere.

No.

This isn't happening.

Not my dad's car.

He wouldn't.

"Ambrosia?" Janet says warily, her footsteps getting closer to the barn. "What are you doing in here, honey?"

I keep my eyes on the devastation. "What happened to the car?"

Janet whimpers, "I don't want to tell you."

I frown. "I deserve to know, don't you think? Tell me."

"Enzo," she sniffles, wiping under her eyes. "Violet asked if she could borrow it for a date she was going on, and he said yes. She misjudged a turning and hit the post box on the corner."

"No," I wheeze, wrapping my arms around my stomach. "No, he wouldn't do that to me. You're lying. He wouldn't be so stupid!"

"I take one hundred percent responsibility," Violet says, coming into the barn.

Janet spins around with dagger eyes. "I told you to get out of my house."

Violet holds her hands up. "I heard you talking and wanted to put the record straight. Don't blame En for this."

"I'll blame who I damn well want," I say, my voice hitching. "Enzo should have never let you borrow the car in the first place. He knows how much it means to me."

"It's a car that will eventually get fixed," she shrugs.

Janet steps forward, "You horrible human being-"

I cut in. "Do you have any idea of the devastation you've caused? This is my dad's car. He was my hero, and I lost him when I was ten years old to brain cancer. My mum and dad bought this car when they got married. It's been in my family since then. So, no, Violet it isn't just a car, it's a part of my dad!"