New Day, New Prompt
Same website as before...
Today's prompt is: 40. Car Keys: Write about someone getting their driver’s license for the first time...
She wiped her eyes and turned the key. She breathed in through her nose, and out through her mouth. The engine sprung to life with a hiccoughing start. "Breathe in," she intoned. "Breathe out." She went through her mental list again.
"Seatbelt?" She clicked it shut. "Check. Foot on the brake pedal.... Blind spot?" She jerked her head hastily to the right to look behind her. "Check."
She slowly put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway.
"Breathe In... and out."
She'd backed out of this driveway plenty of times before. This time was different; she was alone.
"I can do this."
She reached the end of the driveway and paused. She knew she had to leave, but hadn't considered where.
For the first time, she chuckled. "I suppose it doesn't matter which way I turn."
Her smile quickly left her face when she remembered why it didn't matter. She was leaving her home and never returning. There was nothing left for her there.
She heard the faint buzz of her cellphone in her purse in the passenger seat.
She turned right, ignoring the buzzing. It stopped, and immediately started again.
"Just focus on the road." she said, furrowing her brow.
Buzz.
Getting her driver's license was the last step in her plan, and she did just that three days after her 35th birthday. Yesterday.
Buzz.
She went through the other mental list she had been working on for the past several months.
"New bank account? Check."
That had been easy; she casually opened a bank account on one of her errands into town.
"Learn to drive? Check."
That wasn't too hard. She had been driving for years. Each time he got too drunk to drive home, she'd illegally get behind the wheel and get them both home.
"Get my license. Check."
That was more difficult. She couldn't just ask. It had to be his idea.
Buzz.
He ultimately made the decision that she should get her license when thought about how much faster she could get to and from the store with more beer for him.
It had all been so easy. Her plan was complete, and all she had to do was pack up and leave.
That didn't go as planned, but she did leave. She had tried to sneak out in the middle of the night but misgauged how drunk he was and made just a little too much noise. When he saw what was happening, he was furious. He threw a sloppy right hook that only grazed her chin. She'd dealt with much worse before. She abandoned her packing and just left.
Buzz.
By now, she was out of town, on the highway. She didn't know exactly where she was going but she had a full tank of gas. She wanted to get as much distance between them as she could before she thought any harder about where to go. There was still the chance she'd lose her nerve and come home.
She shuttered at the thought. No, she had to stay away. He was an abusive drunk. He put her in the hospital twice. She knew that the next time he roughed her up, she wouldn't end up in the hospital; she'd end up in the morgue.
Buzz.
"Maybe..." she began.
She remembered his sweet smile. He wasn't always so bad. He had wonderful days. She pictured the first time they kissed. Even after the first time he hit her, he was so apologetic and things were even better between them, for a time.
It would get worse, but then he'd apologize. He'd always apologize. And things would be great again.
"He's probably calling to apologize," she realized. This was probably exactly the wake-up call he needed to see how important she was to him. "I've let him suffer enough."
Buzz.
She turned her attention away from the road and reached into her back to get her phone. She swerved off the road and into a sign post. The car enveloped the post and curled in on itself, killing her instantly.