Life After You

Car Ride

"Ill walk you to your car," My new friend hummed as we carried his bags out of the store.

I looked over at him, feeling my blood run thin. I haven't driven a car ever since the accident. Always walking everywhere I needed to go, no matter how far it was.

"I- I don't drive," I replied awkwardly.

He gasped as he looked over at me, "What? How do you get anywhere?"

"I walk," I replied softly as he lead us towards a small black car, presumably his.

He smiled as he unlocked it, the trunk popping open for us to place the bags in. It was weird how friendly this guy was to me, even though he still didn't even know my name.

We lifted the bags into his trunk quietly and he pulled it shut with a smile. I pushed my hands into my pockets sheepishly, as the smile slowly faded from his face.

"Well I guess this is goodbye," He hummed with a frown. "I didn't get your name."

"Uhm, Dan," I breathed. "It was nice talking to you."

He smiled and pointed back at his car with his thumb, "Would you like a ride?"

I shook my head quickly. I couldn't get in a car after what happened, "No no, I don't want to bother you. I don't mind walking. Plus I don't even know you."

He laughed as he opened his front door, "I'm Phil. I'm 24 years old and I'm from Meadowvale. My favourite colour is blue, like the sky. I love plants, in fact I do a little too much."

"What?" I replied as I looked him up and down.

Was this guy for real? He really liked all of the same things as Ollie. Even came from the same town as he did. Was this guy fucking with me?

"Now you know me. Let me give you a ride home, please? I swear I don't mind," He said with a reassuring smile.

I shrugged as I looked into his car. It was a little bit on the messy side, but not that bad. Why did a stranger want to give me a ride home anyways?

Eventhough I knew that usually you should run away from people who seemed too good to be true, something drew me to him. Maybe it was his likeness to Ollie or his welcoming nature but it made me feel something I haven't felt in a long time.

I looked up at the cloudy sky as I tried to think of some excuse to leave. Often I would look to Ollie for some advice on situations like this.

Even though I didn't believe in the afterlife, I knew he was watching over me. I wished he would just give me a sign.

Anything to let me know if I should trust this guy or not. Maybe I was crazy for not using my own good judgement, but so be it.

"I appreciate the offer," I started, about to say my goodbyes to Phil when a raindrop caught me off gaurd.

Both of us flicking our eyes up at the sky as more rain began to fall from the grey clouds above us.

"Hows about that ride?" He asked with a small chuckle as he raised his eyebrows at me.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," I replied with a nervous smile.

Phil smiled and hopped into his car. He quickly waved for me to follow him. But I didn't rush, I stared up at the sky for a moment, the rain bouncing off of my forehead and sliding down my cheeks.

"Thank you," I mumbled to myself before walking to the other side of the car.

I got in swiftly and pulled the door shut behind me. It was weird to be in a car again, in fact it was super weird. I felt a little uneasy at the thought.

"Where to?" Phil asked as he pulled on his seat belt. "I live on James street."

I shifted in my seat as I pulled my seatbelt on, hugging the box of peaches in my arms. It was hard not to think of cars veering out of their lane, coming head on towards us.

"I'll just walk from there," I replied quickly, trying to take that image out of my mind.

"If you say so," He replied as he started up his car.

I nodded and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I stared down at the lock screen as my heart sunk. It was still hard to believe that he was gone, all because of some drunk driver.

After a few minutes of silence Phil turned to me during a red light, his turquoise eyes glowing against the steet lights.

"So tell me about your boyfriend. Does he work out of the country or something?" He asked with a soft smile.

I hesitated for a moment as I looked back into his eyes. What was I going to say now? Was I going to tell this stranger my whole life story or was I going along with the lie from before?

"Y-yeah kind of," I stammered nervously. "What about you? Do you have a girlfriend?"

Phil laughed awkwardly, "Oh no its just me at home. I- I haven't had a boyfriend in a few years."

I raised my eyebrows slowly as I realized he was also gay, maybe thats what drew me to him. What a coincidence to meet someone exactly like Ollie at his favourite store.

"Oh im sorry," I sighed as I let my face rest a bit. "I didn't mean to assume."

He chuckled as he turned his eyes back to the lights, "Thats alright. I haven't actually met someone like you in a long time."

"D-did you want to come over for a bit? Its been forever since I've had company," I blurted out softly.

What was I doing? Inviting a stranger into my house wasnt like me. I didn't even know this man and yet I felt so compelled to stay by his side.

His eye's lit up as we drove, "Oh I don't want to intrude. Im sure your boyfriend wouldn't like that."

I bit my lip for a moment as I thought about what I was going to say next, "I'm sure he would have wanted me to make friends."

He pulled over onto the side of the road, pausing to look at me for a moment. Im not sure he understood what I was trying to say.

"What do you mean? Were you not allowed before?" He gasped, probably wondering if I needed some sort of help.

I put my hands up in defense, "Oh no- I was- I just uhm..."

He waited patiently as I closed my eyes with a sigh, "Take your time."

"I lost my boyfriend about a year ago to a car crash," I told him quickly, almost as if I was ashamed to tell him.

Phil put a hand on my back, "Hey its okay. I can come over and we can eat those peaches, okay?"

I nodded and wiped my eyes, "Okay."

He smiled and put the car back in drive, "Im sorry if I came off a bit too strong. I haven't had real company in a long time."

"Hey I wasn't really making it easy for you," I forced a laugh. "Turn left here. I live just down that block. The white house, blue roof."

Phil nodded as we drove in a comfortable silence. It was funny how nice it felt to actually have a conversation with someone. Everybody I had talked to for the past year just babied me once they found out about Ollie. But Phil was different.

"So, Dan was it? What do you do for fun? I wouldn't mind a game of cards or something," he beamed, trying to change the subject.

Somehow this man didn't seem to want to bother me about what I had just said. Honestly it was kind of refreshing to talk about something other than my dead boyfriend for once.

"You'll have to teach me," I laughed lightly. "I haven't played in forever."

He laughed as he slowed down to a stop, "Okay, if you insist. But I never lose."