Crashing Into Me (Crashing Into Me #1)

by R. L. Jackson

  Then, the windows started to vibrate as loud music was blasted from the street, something that was very un-Hamby-like and caused everyone in the restaurant to pause and look to the window. That black Tesla! She recognized it immediately. It swerved through the roundabout too fast, taking out a park bench and was speeding towards the diner. As it got closer, the high beams casted the colors of the stained glass door, spewing beams of green, red and yellow lights through the diner blinding her.

  When she adjusted her eyes, the lights grew more intense and it didn’t look like it was going to stop! Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion now as she saw what was unfolding in front of her. Rachel, carrying her take-out order looked toward the lights and shielded her eyes while she stood in front of the entrance door. Before she could react, her face was painted in horror as she realized what was going to happen next and it was already too late.

  All the color drained from her thin face as the car crashed through the double doors, into the podium and then into Rachel—the bag in her hand flying one way, as she disappeared under a sea of shattered glass and wood, the car stopping before it ran her over completely. The chaos was unfolding in front of Lana and she was frozen still like one of the animals in the La Brea Tar Pits, her eyes not believing what was happening. She usually treated victims after something like this, but never witnessed anything like it first-hand.

  She finally collected herself, and jumped off the bar stool and ran towards Rachel. Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead. The podium that was in front of the door was on top of Rachel and she pulled it off. It was made of real wood, so it was harder than it looked and she had to use some serious upper body strength to get it to budge.

  People in the diner were screaming and running as far away from the car as they possibly could. Some were in obvious shock as they were transfixed on the wreckage and were unmoved. Children were crying and clutching their parents, while others attempted to go around the car and leave the building. It was madness!

  “Are you OK Rachel?” Lana asked.

  Aunt Mae flew out of the kitchen, the door slamming the wall so loud it sounded like a shot gun going off.

  “What in the blazes of hell is going on?” she yelled, then stopped as she saw Lana bending over Rachel. The car was in between where her front door used to be and the dining room.

  “Turn off the gas!” she screamed, running back into the kitchen, waving her oven mitt in the air.

  Although most of the damage was in the front of the building and unlikely a gas leak would happen, it was better to be safe than sorry. Sturdy architecture. Lana couldn’t help but think how much worse this might have been if the building was in disrepair. She studied Rachel to assess her injuries and there was a gaping gash on her forehead, the crimson of her blood oozing down her face. She was trying to sit up but Lana dropped to her knees and held her down to stop her.

  “No, don't move. We don't know what other injuries you could have and you may make it worse,” she said in a huff and lowered her back to the floor.

  “I'm OK, my leg just hurts like hell,” Rachel managed to get out.

  Lana looked down at her lower body. It was covered in a large piece of wood from the entrance door. She crawled over to it and carefully and slowly removed the wood. Only then did she see part of Rachel’s femur bone protruding out of her thigh. This is really bad. If she doesn’t get to a hospital fast she could lose her leg or bleed out and die right here. Lana, now in full nurse mode searched the room with her eyes and spotted a man standing and watching them, the color gone from his face. She pointed to him.

  “You, call nine-one-one, now!” she barked. He was startled by her tone, but snapped out of his fixation and fumbled with his cell phone.

  “No! Use the land-line it'll be faster,” she continued.

  He nodded his head in submission, and ran behind the counter. He slipped on something but caught himself before he hit the ground. Probably my pot pie dinner. He steadied himself on the edge of the counter and grabbed the rotary phone on the wall. Lana reached for a broken chair leg and took off her sweater.

  She stood and walked back to the counter, leaned over, and grabbed a knife. She started ripping the sweater into strips. The man she sent to call the police, touched her arm and she spun around, the knife inches from his chest.

  “They’re on the way,” he said, looking down at Rachel’s leg. He was starting to look green now.

  “Thanks,” Lana replied, “go outside and get some air OK?”

  The last thing she needed was for him to pass out and hurt himself. She didn't need two people she had to provide help for. People started leaving the diner through a back exit, herded by Aunt Mae and some of the kitchen staff. She returned her attention to Rachel and tried to figure out how she would address the leg, and glared up at the car. Kayden must be hurt because he hasn’t moved.

  She kneeled down again and started using the pieces of her sweater and the broken chair to place Rachel’s leg in a splint. The bleeding wasn’t too bad which was good. It meant any major arteries weren’t punctured, but she needed to get Rachel to the nearest hospital right away.

  “Now Rachel, I need you to stay as calm and still as you can for me okay,” Lana said to her.

  Rachel nodded her head in compliance as Lana slowly started to move her leg. She screamed but Lana knew she had to keep moving. It didn’t make sense to stop only to have to restart again.

  “Almost done,” she said and tied the pieces of the wood as tight as she could get it to Rachel’s battered leg.

  She let out another scream but it was weaker than the last. She would probably pass out from the pain. Lana moved to her head and smoothed her hair back to provide her with some comfort.

  “It’ll be OK now. The worst of it is over,” she whispered to her.

  Rachel grabbed her hand, and squeezed it tight. Lana didn’t notice when the car door opened, so when she looked up and saw Kayden, it startled her. Gone was the cocky reserved jerk she met on the road hours earlier. He looked scared. He should be.

  His face was gripped in pain, as he looked down and saw the small broken woman lying on the floor. His now panicked, watery eyes found Lana’s.

  “Is she dead?” he asked, his face devoid of color.

  He looked almost supernatural with his eyes being as light as they were. What were they blue? Green? She pushed the distraction away from her mind. He was a reckless ass, who obviously didn’t think before he made idiotic decisions. He was probably used to just throwing money at his screw ups to make them go away.

  It’s what he did on the highway with her. His Armani shirt probably cost more than the salaries of everyone in the restaurant. What made people like him think they could tear through this world and treat people anyway they wanted? She rose from the floor slowly, placing Rachel’s head down on the ground softly. The rage in her built up so fast she began to shake as she stood toe-to-toe with him now.

  “No, she's not!” she yelled him, her fists balled in anger.

  A look of relief flashed across his face as his gaze narrowed on Rachel, her chest rising and falling slowly. Loud sirens were approaching and red and blue lights started to flash into the darkened diner, getting more intense as they get closer. A few local police cars sped up to the curb followed by an ambulance. Lana shivered feeling the cold draft and remembered she was in nothing but her bra. She started to cover herself with her hands but it didn’t do much to hide her ample bust.

  Kayden pulled off his leather jacket and handed it to her. She snatched it from him and put it on, knowing it was rude of her, but rude was what he deserved.

  “You’re welcome,” he said, as he ran his hand into his tousled hair.

  His eyes were fixated on her chest and she flashed him a look that could kill if possible. Seriously? She wrapped the large jacket around her making him shift his eyes back on her face where it belonged. His mouth turned up in the corner a faint smile, and it took every ounce of will power in he
r body not to slap it clean off his face.

  “Are you OK?” he asked quietly.

  “Please don’t pretend you care about anyone other than yourself,” she snapped coldly.

  “Hey! We need to move this car out of the way now!”

  They both turned to face the voice and it was an EMT. Kayden jumped into the car and Lana returned to Rachel. She kneeled beside her as Kayden started the car and backed it slowly out of the doorway. Part of one of the shattered stained glass doors slid off the roof of the car as he reversed, and it hit the floor with a thud. When the doorway was clear, Kayden got out and walked back into the diner with the EMT’s. Lana stood and moved out of the way as they got to work placing Rachel on the stretcher.

  A police officer, a tall lanky man with a ridiculous mustache turned his attention to Kayden. He was much calmer than he was a few moments ago, but his attention was on Lana.

  “Are you the driver of this vehicle sir?” he boomed, his voice way deeper and more foreboding that his small stature would presume. He was already removing his handcuffs, and that made Lana smile. Good, she thought, take him away.

  “Yes,” Kayden replied, never removing his eyes from her. She was starting to feel as naked as she had before putting his jacket on.

  “Sir, I need you to step outside please.”

  Kayden finally broke his stare and was led out of the diner as the officer started reading him his rights. The EMT’s finally finished with Rachel and lifted the stretcher. She reached her hand over to Lana’s again, and gave it another squeeze. They started wheeling her away when Lana felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find Aunt Mae standing there.

  “Thank you,” she said, and handed her a takeout bag. Lana took it and could smell the contents right away—the chicken pot pie. She reached into her jeans pocket to pay for the meal but Aunt Mae placed her hand on her forearm, stopping her.

  “Don't you dare,” she said with her radiant smile, the lights in the room making them flash red and blue.

  Before Lana could say anything, Aunt Mae rushed back into the kitchen. She grabbed her purse off the floor and walked out of the restaurant, her shoes crushing shards of stained glass and splintered wood. Once outside she saw the tire’s skid marks leading from the street, into the entrance under her feet. Lana glared at Kayden as the police officer finally placed him in the back of the squad car. Idiot, she thought to herself, he’s lucky he didn’t kill anybody.

  A strong wind blew and she put her free hand into the jacket pocket, and her hand hit something cold and hard. She pulled it out and it was a metal flask. It was stamped: KAYDEN CAPSHAW. Anger spread through her again and she was ready to explode like fireworks. She looked up at him and he dared to be smiling at her again—that crooked, gorgeous, self- indulgent grin, as the squad car pulled away.

  He didn’t hand over his jacket just to be a nice guy, he was trying to get rid of his evidence! She was already stomping to her truck to follow the cop when another police officer approached her blocking her path. The flask won’t matter either way, Mr. Capshaw. It won’t stop a breathalyzer test. She took the flask out of the jacket pocket, and handed it to the officer.

  3

  After giving her statement to the police, it was after ten o'clock when Lana finally left the station. The temperature must have dropped to single digits because she could see her breath in huge white puffs, inside the truck. It had been way too long of a day and as she passed the diner on her way up the hill, she was still shocked by what had happened. The Tesla was long gone now, pulled away by Mason’s tow truck, and the diner would be closed for the time being until repairs could be made. As for the well-dressed idiot who caused all the terror of her day? She hoped never to lay eyes on him again.

  Except maybe at his bail hearing to tell the judge about her earlier encounter with him on the highway. All Lana wanted to do now was shower and climb into the big California king bed waiting on her at the house, and forget the last few hours. In the morning she would go and visit Rachel at Shelby General. It was about ten miles away, and was the closest hospital that could handle a serious trauma like hers. Hamby only had a dentist’s office, and an urgent care clinic in town and they could do little for someone in a true emergency like Rachel’s. She yawned, completely drained from the day’s adventures and steered the truck up the hill on Main towards Deleveaux Circle.

  The sky was so dark you could see every star in the sky. Back home, there was so much light pollution in the city, it always looked like dusk. The moon was big and bright and it made shadows that jumped out of every tree. Lana made a right turn up on Deleveaux, the headlights chasing away the shadows, and drove away from the town square, towards the warm inviting house on the hill.

  ***

  Kayden Capshaw sat across from Captain Jackson at the police station sipping coffee with his cuffed hands. Jackson hunched over his desk and studied him intently, as if trying to solve a hard puzzle. Captain Heathcliff Jackson was a Hamby native and took his job seriously—the diner incident had been the most action the department had in a while, so he relished the opportunity for real police work. He was in his late fifties, balding, but still handsome for his age and profession. The lack of actual crime in Hamby didn’t make for much stress induced aging like some big cities. Kayden took another sip of his coffee and waited for the barrage of questions to begin.

  “You know I’m going to have to call her right?” Jackson finally asked.

  Kayden nodded his head in agreement. The "her" he was referring to was his mother, and she was not someone he wanted to piss off. This latest run in with the law was sure to do just that naturally. Kayden ventured to Hamby to visit family, and was already unsure of the reception he would receive. Now he was certain no one would want to see him. He’d made a lot of bad choices over the last couple years and it seemed no matter what he did, he kept screwing it up royally.

  “Do what you have to,” Kayden replied, setting the mug down.

  “You know you have to make some serious changes son.”

  “I’m working on it Captain. I’m still not even sure how it happened—I looked down at my phone and the next thing I knew, I was in the diner.”

  “You’re sure all you did was get distracted, because I have a flask and business card given to us by the good Samaritan that says otherwise. That could shed some additional light.” Jackson was getting angry.

  She gave me up, he thought, a slight grin on his mouth. Lana obviously didn’t know his family name or that they practically built Hamby from the ground up. He also figured she wasn’t the type to give a damn either and that made him smile even more.

  “You think any of this is funny, jackass?” Jackson yelled.

  The tall arresting officer with the mustache walked by, his leather boots creaking down the hall with each step. He looked over at Kayden and snorted in derision. Kayden knew most of the people in town didn’t like him and it was his own fault. People thought he was a spoiled rotten kid with far too much money and not enough discipline. And they were right to an extent. Back then he didn’t care what people thought of him, but he did now and wanted desperately to change that perception. Almost killing a beloved waitress and shutting down the only restaurant in town wouldn’t help much in his efforts. He would have a lot of making up and ass kissing to do because of it.

  “Captain, I’m going to see to it that Aunt Mae’s is repaired and that the waitress—”

  “Rachel,” Jackson interrupted.

  “Rachel is taken care of. This will never happen again. I give you my word.” Kayden locked eyes with him. He meant what he was saying, and he was sick of being a massive disappointment to his family. He wanted to make it right.

  “I hope so kid, or the way you’re heading, your word won’t mean much from prison. I have to call the Chief, excuse me.”

  Jackson stood up from the desk and walked away shaking his head. Kayden knew the next call he would be making was to his mother as soon as he got the chance. As Jackson s
tomped away, Kayden remembered the way his dad would tease his mom about Jackson, and how he had been in love with her since high school. He’d caught the Captain ogling his mother on many occasions so it wasn’t hard to believe or notice.

  It kind of reminded him of the way Lana looked at him earlier that day on the road and he hoped to run into her again—preferably not in a car.

  ***

  As she pulled up to the large house Lana got a little nervous realizing she’d never arrived at night before. She’d never done anything in Hamby after dark as a matter of fact. A girl had to be careful nowadays, small town living or not. As she now pulled into the driveway, the casted shadows against the house looked like a bad movie scene. There was only one road leading up to the house and it was surrounded by dense green forestry.

  Before you reached the house, about a quarter mile down the hill, there was a lake, but not much else. Anyone could be hiding in the trees. She shook the thought from her mind, knowing if she allowed herself to think on it too much, she’d never sleep tonight or even get out the car for that matter. She sat in the driveway and admired the house and its details although in the darkness it looked foreboding. It was a new construction, but it still had a lot of character.

  There was a cobblestone driveway leading up to the stairs to get onto the massive porch. Stone masonry donned the outer edges of the double front doors, that were made of wood with frosted glass panels. And all around the first floor of the house were panoramic floor to ceiling windows, so you got a three hundred and sixty-degree view from almost every room.

  Deciding it was now or never, she climbed out of the truck, her purse and dinner in hand, and ran up the stairs not even bothering to lock the doors behind her. She knew her imagination had gotten the best of her when all of a sudden she was trembling at the dark shadows casted on the house by the trees. She fumbled with the keys, while trying to unlock the door as fast as she could, and finally stuck the key into the lock. Paula insisted on her keeping a set for herself and she was happy she did. Glancing up she saw what looked like a shadow through the frosted doors, but there were shadows everywhere.