On an ordinary Saturday night, I would tuck myself into my desk with a nice hot cup of coffee and get lost in fiction writing or at least attempt to. However, fiction writing was the last thing on my mind as I lay tucked in my bed staring at the ceiling. My mind was filled with thoughts of Kate and how beautiful she was; her luscious lips, her strangely fashionable turtleneck sweater, and her hands. Even her hands were beautiful. The way she held her pen when she wrote was as naturally elegant as a small river stream flowing over rocks.
I took my phone from my pocket and simpered at the sight of her number on it. It was a great accomplishment in my book. I wanted to call her but that wouldn’t be right. I had to obey the three-day rule if I was ever going to get her to like me. I had to wait. But, I couldn’t, so I logged onto Facebook and began to search for her. I saw a whole lot of Kate Warrens but none of them was THE Kate Warren I was looking for. Twitter maybe? Why not? I checked Twitter but still, NOTHING. I even checked Instagram but still, there was NOTHING! I was getting desperate. I needed to talk to her or hear her voice or just see her. I had only just met her but I was already hooked. Damn, I’m so pathetic. I needed to clear my mind and the only thing I thought of doing was going for a long drive. I jumped into the car and hit the road, my headlights glaring in the darkness. It was raining and the loud sound of the water droplets banging against the car roof overpowered the sound of the music coming out of the radio. I didn’t bother to raise the radio volume because my mind was a bit too occupied to even conceptualize it.
I passed numerous homes but one in particular stood out among the rest; Kate’s house. I wouldn’t say that I deliberately drove to her house but I wouldn’t say that I didn’t either. I parked my car outside her house, maintaining a reasonable distance so as not to be seen. I was staring at the number on my phone, considering calling her to come outside so we could grab dinner or something. But, it would be too soon. Or, maybe it wouldn’t be too soon. Maybe I was overthinking everything.
While contemplating my next move, the door of the house swung open. I quickly hid myself in the car when I realized that it was Kate. Moments after, her father came up behind her and they looked like they were arguing about something. Her father was a big guy; big with mostly fat and he wore a tight, white vest that looked way too small for his big belly. He looked like he smelt really bad too. Kate and her father weren’t only arguing. He was pushing and shoving her. I raised my head a little.
Kate kept walking away, out into the rain while putting on her jacket, but her father followed her like a hound dog, pushing her every chance he got. She managed to keep her balance through most of the pushes but one of them sent her plummeting to the ground into a small muddy puddle on the lawn. I raised my head more as he grabbed her by her arms, raised his hands, and slapped her across the face. The slap resounded as his heavy palms made contact with her tender cheek. He then went on to slap her again.
I unlocked the car and slightly jarred the door. I swore to myself that if he had hit her one more time I would have stopped him. I had barely finished the thought before he did it again, and this time harder than before.
Adrenaline pumping, I got out of the car and sprinted towards Kate and her father. I was gasping for breath as I got to them but I still had enough energy to push Kate’s father off of her before he was able to hit her again. As he lay there like an overbalanced tortoise I grabbed her and without any hesitation, I pulled her away with me towards my car. She protested a bit but not enough for me to let her go. Her father took a while to raise his overweight body but when he eventually got up, he chased us, shouting curse words.
“Get in the car!!” I hailed to Kate as we ran through the rain in the direction of the vehicle. I then let go of her arms giving her the freedom to move and to choose what she wanted to do. I wasn’t too sure if she would have turned back to her father or continued following me but I decided to let her choose for herself. I arrived at the car opened it and looked out at her awaiting her decision. She was hesitant but as she looked back at her father who was running towards her in a steaming rage, she decided to come with me. As soon as she shut the door I reversed the car and made a quick one hundred and eighty-degree turn in the opposite direction, then sped off with Kate into the night.