Idle
Max Dinan The engine idled. His hand was still on the key, the other halfway thru shifting to reverse. Grandiose images filled his head as he tried to wash away the pain that was currently residing there. The idea of showing up at her door…What would her face look like? What would she say? Oh, damn, did he even have her address? He pulled out his phone and tapped the messages icon. “She sent it to me the other day...” Scrolling through the list of conversations, he finally found her name. And that was when his gut twisted and his heart cracked anew. Those two letters, white on black, glaring up from the screen. “no”. That’s all. To be fair, he’d only asked for that much information; Whether or not she’d be back. And she gave it to him. But he was hoping she would at least expound on that. Or, hell, apologize? But that would be too much to ask. He slumped back is his seat, one hand running through his already messy hair. It was his own damn fault. He’d gotten his hopes up. His first mistake was responding to her text in the first place, all those months ago. But his second mistake was hoping. “Stupid... why am I so stupid?” he muttered to himself as he shifted to park and turned off the car. It was a ridiculous plan anyhow. He was stuck here, his only real means of transportation being a beaten up minivan was nearly 120,000 miles and half a tank of gas. All he had as far as her location was a state, miles away from his. He could vaguely recall the city, but that was all. He’d be lucky to make it that far without breaking down or running out of gas. But was it really wrong of him to hope? She’d texted him, telling him she’d be happier with him. He then questioned about her boyfriend, and the fact that she lived in a totally different state. “I’m probably going to leave him anyway,” she replied. “And once I do, I’ll be moving back.” But, she had promised her boyfriend they’d try, and try they did. But it was in vain. She ended it and made plans to move back. Then she called and told him the news. He was happy, but only because he felt she was. Something was finally going right. First she said she’d be back by January, then by Halloween. He couldn’t wait. To finally see her again, standing in front of him, after all these years…it would be like heaven. True, they were