Her silky black hair blew wildly in autumn's wind as she paced through the frigid rain. Her eyes burned against the cold, crisp morning, but she pressed forth while the glassy, looming office building stretched farther and farther from her grasp with each step and each freezing burst of wind. The city was still sleeping. She was alone on the ancient pavement, determined to make it to work an hour early as usual. Her pressed business suit and designer pea coat fluttered in the wind and the darkness of early morning.
"HEY. It's cold, don't you want a ride?"
Startled, Amy whirled around in a panic, her eyes staring daggers, only to find Paul's charming face gleaming back at her. Oh god. Not now. Not today. I have a presentation in two hours. If only he knew. "Jesus! Don't scare me like that. No, it's only another block or two. Thanks though."
"Well I'm not gonna let you walk through this. It's goddamn freezing."
She started out again without another word, the heels of her delicate brown boots tapping at the sidewalk with more persistence than before. Paul's car followed her, slowly puffing along through the cold, leaving a trail of fluffy grayish clouds in his wake. Why in God's name does he have to do this to me? Amy felt a lump forming in her throat and moving up towards her face. As she wondered how much farther the building really was, she became more painfully aware of the daringly short length of her skirt that morning.
After a good number of quickening footsteps, Paul spoke again. "I don't know what's wrong with you. It's fucking cold. If this has something to do with your birthday, you've gotta get over that. Why don't you just get in the car?"
Why won't you just leave me alone? "Really, I'm fine. It's nice of you to offer, but don't worry about it." Dusty brown leaves crunched beneath Amy's leather boots.
An awkward pause ensued as Amy looked off into the distance, wondering if Paul could see the tears welling up in her eyes, hoping he couldn't see her fingers trembling as they clutched her briefcase tighter and tighter. She knew there were volumes of things she had kept deep inside her for too long. She knew she had to speak to Paul at some point, if for no other reason than to tell him how much she loathed him. But it was so hard. It was so hard to think of him, to look at him, after what he did to her. After what he subjected her to.
Paul's minty breath floated in puffy white clouds down Amy's spine. "I didn't want that to happen to you. They weren't my friends... God, I didn't bring you to Jimmy's that ni-"
Tears streamed down her face as she turned to face Paul. "Goddamnit, can't you just shut up? I can't take this anymore. I can't have you following me to work. I can't, I just can't do this. I don't want to see you anymore. I don't want to be around you. Why don't you get that? I can't even-"
"But it wasn't my fault! Jesus, I love you sweetie. Why would I do that to you?"
"Oh don't give me that bullshit right now. ...You..knew..they were...waiting there for me. You goddamn knew it!" Amy's chest heaved as she spoke through rivers of tears and broke out in sobs.
"Even if I did - and I didn't - does it really matter right now? It's cold. You're walking. You need a ride." Paul was still smiling out at Amy with his charming brown eyes and tousled blonde hair, pretending nothing was the matter; that the love of his life wasn't sobbing in front of him at that very moment; that everything would work out between them, even after she rejected his phone calls for months on end; that the horrible events of Amy's 27th birthday couldn't really change things between them.
"That night was awful! You're...such...a jerk" She said between sniffs and sobs, her cheeks burning red. "You..used me..."
The bells atop a mossy green cathedral chimed 7am somewhere off in the distance. Amy knew she was late, but she stood frozen on the pavement, bursting with tears as the wind whipped her white-hot cheeks and tore away at her coat.
"Baby, shh..it's gonna be okay. Shhh..don't say that. Look, you have some time before work. Let's warm up and get some coffee. Does that sound-"
"I want you gone. I want you out of my life. I don't want to see your tacky hairdo, or your faked smile, or your crappy, beat-up car, or your J-Crew sweaters. Never again." She spoke at a barely audible pace as she moved closer, her tears dripping down onto the rusted white paint of Paul's old Geo.
Paul stared at her with shining eyes, admiring her for her watery blue eyes and her wind-worn hair. She was beautiful to him. He could never see her as anything else. No longer watching the road, he leaned closer and closer to her, admiring the warmth of her pale body as his face nearly nestled into her rough, worn coat.
Fully aware of Paul's obliviousness, Amy leaned down. "Do you hear me? Don't you get it?! You hurt me! I hate-!"
Seizing the opportunity of Amy's face so close to his, he stole a final kiss from her, reaching out to firmly clutch her angled hips and pull her tightly against the car door. He could feel her writhing against his grasp, but he couldn't release her. Entirely oblivious to the livening setting around him, he turned in his seat to face his Amy more closely, unbuckling as he did so.
Paul felt Amy scream into his lungs as he ruthlessly dug his tongue into her mouth. He felt her hands grasping the window and pushing against the car. Had he opened his eyes for even a moment, he would have understood this. He pulled her closer, sucking her face into the window just as he felt her freeing from his grasp. Feeling his impassioned kiss come to a close, he stopped for a moment, holding her there as he gazed up into Amy's terrified expression. Vexation overcame him and, out of frustration, he turned to face forward.
The clouds had just begun to turn a pale pink as the sun's rays penetrated through clouds and fell against the tall buildings surrounding them. A scream sounded through the crisp morning air. A large, sinister SUV collided with the unhappy couple.
It was Paul's scream. Amy was already too far gone. Her neck collided with the edge of Paul's window on impact and her body dragged across the sidewalk for a distance before the disks in her spine slipped and snapped her weakened body into a million little pieces, rendering her lifeless. Paul, at least, had a moment left in which to scream before he dissolved into oblivion.
(Wow. I think I might actually hate this story. If only it was good enough to even be considered for massive editing...)
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