✔︎ | Gold Digger

Chapter 15 - The Past

Chapter 15 – The Past

Ryker

The car speeds down the highway, going over 130 kilometers an hour, 40 over the actual speed limit. I sit behind the steering wheel, laughing, and screaming the lyrics to a rock song on the radio. For a kid who just got his license, I couldn't slow down, and I sure as hell didn't want to.

My dad, on the other hand, had different opinions. "Son, this is illegal," He says, turning the music volume down. "Plus, I don't think you know this car well enough to keep it in control if another vehicle does show up out of nowhere. Slow down."

I didn't listen to his words. I just kept driving. How could I stop doing what I was doing if I was feeling so free, like no one could get me down? My dad realizes I'm not listening so he places his fatherly hand on my shoulder, and when I look over into his eyes for a second, I can see how serious he is.

I slow down a little, but not enough. "Dad," I groan, "Come on. It's impossible to drive the speed limit after watching Fast & Furious! Are you crazy?" I laugh more, opening my window to feel the cold midnight air slap against my face as we drive back home from the movie theatre, and I know my dad regrets letting me sit in the drivers seat. "Do you think what were doing would ever stop Paul Walker?"

Over the sound of rushing wind, my dad yells, "yes, actually, he died in a car accident, and frankly, I'd rather not risk anything."

"Fine," I holler and turn the music up, but just before I slow down, I take my eyes off of the road to change the station, and my life ends.

"Son," My dad screams in terror, "watch out." But it's too late. An empty cattle truck unexpectedly comes at us from the right. I slam my foot hard against the gas pedal so that we could possibly drive right past the hood of the truck, but the truck hits the passenger side and the impact is as horrifying as it would have been if I had braked.

I feel the intensity of the truck smashing into us, flipping the car over, and I scream, as everything turns into a horror story. I feel my body bang against parts of the car, pain streaming through my body, until I get thrown from the vehicle, landing in a cold, dusty, ditch. Soon, everything turns black. It seems as if only seconds later I wake up being carried into an ambulance on a stretcher, and I hear nothing other than my voice screaming for my father.

Right as the accident happened, I knew he wouldn't make it, and I barely believed I would either. But I scream, and scream, until I truly open my eyes to darkness, and a girl holding me in her arms. She gently rocks me back and forth, running her fingers through my tangled, sweaty hair, comforting me.

"You had a nightmare," she says, "It's going to be okay. You had a nightmare."

I tighten my hand around her shoulder and hold onto her for dear life, just incase my dream wants to pull me back in. This hasn't happened to me in such a long time. I was beginning to get away from the thoughts of me killing my father, but this nightmare just brings me right back to where I began: a terrible, pathetic mess.

"Ryker," the girl soothes again as I bury my head in the crook of her neck, trying to get my breath back. "Ryker, I'm here, Jessie's here. Everything is going to be all right. It was just a nightmare."

I shake my head. "No," I whisper. "It wasn't. It happened."

I feel so embarrassed, but I let Jessie hold me until she asks, "What happened? Was it your father?"

I pause for a minute, and then get up and out of her arms. "It's really none of your business," I growl, and she gasps, but it's too late to take back my harsh words. I don't know how to apologize, so I storm out of my bedroom and go my bathroom to wash away the sweat and guilt in the shower. It's also my first day back to school after being away because of my concussion, and I'm glad to get out a little.