Rectify

1

Nia
9:30 a.m.
Detroit

This is my first time driving since my car accident and I'm trying to be careful. I drove slow because driving any faster would have caused me to panic. It was pretty empty on the freeway, so nobody was really bothering me about going slow. I would have asked my family for help but I just got out of months of hospital stays and physical therapy which they had to stand by me for.

I saw another car and pulled over, so I could breathe. The other car pulled over too. I locked the doors and took my breather. I was about to reach for the xanax that was prescribed to me, but stopped when I heard a knock at my door.

I rolled down my window and looked at the guy who knocked. "I saw you driving slow, so I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said.

"I'm fine," I lied. "I'm Michael by the way," he said. "I'm Nia," I said.

He stood in there awkwardly, "Well, I'll let you drive, I just wanted to make sure you were ok," he said.

"Thanks, I'm okay," I said. "Bye Nia," he said. "Bye Michael," I said.

I took a minute and recollected myself and made the 10 minute drive back home.

* * *

Michael
10:45 p.m.
His Apartment

"Michael, hello," Chad tried to get my attention. "Oh, sorry," I replied. I got startled out of a daydream that I was having about Nia, the girl i met earlier. "What are you thinking about?" he asked. "Nothing," I shook my head quickly. I knew Chad could sense something was up. "Is this about a girl?" Chad asked. "No," I lied.

"Where did you meet her?" Chad asked. 
"She was driving slow on the freeway earlier and she pulled over, so I pulled over and made sure she was okay," I explained . "She was so beautiful Chad," I said. "Mhmm," Chad turned on the television.  'Will I ever see her again?' I thought.

* * *

Nia
12:30 a.m.
Her Apartment

There was a knock at the door, so I got up to get it. I opened it and it was my best friend John. "Hey John," I said. "All I get is a 'Hey John', not 'OMG I haven't seen you in three weeks!'," John joked.
"I'm excited to see you," I said. "You better be," he handed me a gift basket.

"What's in here?" I asked. "Sugar cookies, chocolate covered strawberries and my mom's famous carrot cake," my eyes lit up."I love your mom's carrot cake! Thank you John," I replied. "No problem, are you going to let me in?" he asked. I chuckled and let him in, locking the door behind him. I put the basket down on the counter and sat next to John on the couch.

"Did you take the xan?" he asked. "No," I answered. "Good, I don't like the idea of you taking the bullshit anyways," he said. It went silent and I started to stare up in the air and think. That was until John tapped me, "Someone's calling you," he said. I looked at the contact name and saw it was my half-sister, Letitia. I answered, "Hello," I said.

"Hi Nia," she replied. "What's up?" I asked. "Nothing much, but there's a hangout with a couple of friends on Saturday and I wanted you to come," she explained. "Um, okay, I'll go," I said. "Yay!" she celebrated. "Can I bring my friend, John?" I asked.

"Sure, see you there," she hung up. "Rude ass," I whispered. I put my phone down and looked at John. "So, when's your next modeling gig?" he asked. "Soon, I'll let you know," I lied. "You know I'll be there," he smiled. "You're coming to a hangout with my sister and I this weekend," I said. "Um, who said I was free Saturday?" John asked.

"I know you don't have any plans, John," I chuckled. "Okay, I'll go," he said. "Are you staying the night or what?" Nia asked. "Yeah, I'll stay the night," he said.

* * *

Halle
1:00 a.m.
Her and Terrell's House

"Is Naomi being a pain in the ass again?" she asked. "She's always being a pain in the ass," Terrell said. "She's complaining because Nia hasn't answered her calls since the accident, but she answered me," he said. "Well, she needs to realize that her and Nia don't have the greatest relationship," I said.

I could tell Terrell's mind was going at a hundred miles a minute, "Don't worry about it Terrell, good night, I love you," I pecked him.

"I love you too," he sighed.

* * *

Madeleine
2:05 a.m.
Dream Girls Strip Club

I'm finally done for tonight, and now I get to count my money, my favorite part. ...Three-thousand dollars, not too bad. I picked up my bag, put the money inside and started to walk out and leave.

I saw a handsome guy on my way out and stopped. I walked up to him, "Hey," I smiled. "Hi," he responded. "I'm Madeleine," I said. "Cool beans, I'm Michael," he said. "Cool beans?" I laughed.He didn't laugh with me, so I stopped. "Anyways, if you're ever looking for someone to help you out, here's my card," I handed him my card.

"Um, okay," he replied. "Bye," I waved and battered my eyes at him. He waved back and I left the building.

a/n: hope you enjoyed this first chapter! starts off slow but we'll get there.