Killing Me Softly(A Broken Souls Series)

Warning, here goes the normal and here comes the crazy. “Are you sure you want to hear about him?” In my head I picture him flinging our food off the table and start screaming at me about leaving him. Instead, he smiles at me like a regular dad.

“I do, he’s the one you’re spending your extra time with, I want to know more about him.” He takes a bite of his fajita without throwing a fit about Tate.

“The boy is Tate. Yes, he’s in the Air Force and he’s going to college for aviation. He’s an air traffic controller at Tinker Air Force Base. I know you’re always talking about a guy stealing me away from you, but Tate isn’t going anywhere for a while. Right now, the program he’s in will keep him here for a couple of years. He’s from a small town in Oregon where he lived with his mom and his dad’s parents on their farm. It sounds so beautiful when he talks about home. I’ve seen a few pictures but he says they don’t do the farm justice. They have over three-thousand acres of farmland and woods. Tate’s really close with his grandma, but he and his mom tend to argue. She wants him to serve his time and go back to the farm. He plans on making a career of being in the military.”

“Career huh? Sounds like he has it all figured out. How old is he?”

“He just turned twenty-two.” I smile at the memory of his twenty-second birthday. “Technology is growing so fast so he plans on being a drone operator. He’s been in the military for the last two years.”

“You’re pretty smitten with him.”

“No one uses the word smitten, Dad. If you mean I’m into him, you’re right. He’s different than other guys. Most guys his age want to party and act crazy. Tate is focused on his future and his music. I’ve never known anyone so talented in my life. Granted, my life hasn’t been that long, but he’s amazing. We’ve been working on songs to sing, that’s why we see each other as much as we can.” And because we love to make-out for hours. “Singing is the one thing he wants to do more than anything. We’re singing covers now, but he’s been working on a couple of songs.” I pause for a moment and take a bite from my burrito.

“You said you sing in clubs? I thought you have to be twenty-one to go to clubs,” Dad says.

“Things are different now. You can go to the clubs if you’re eighteen and over, you can drink if you’re twenty-one. If you’re thinking he’s drinking, he isn’t. The most he’s ever had was two beers, I swear,” I hold up my hand as though I’m in court.

“Well, he sounds perfect. Are we still going out for ice cream?” He takes his napkin from his lap and wipes his mouth. “Dinner was delicious, we’ll have to do it again.”

I roll up a flour tortilla that I’ve slathered in butter and salsa and take a massive bite. Instead of trying to talk, I give him two thumbs up. It’s nice to carry on a conversation with him without any arguing about me dating. This is like Andy’s house, where everyone talks and no one yells. Since I’ve been dating Tate, I’ve neglected her parents. I can’t wait to see them on Friday.

Silently, we clean up after dinner and put everything away. Knowing this mood won’t last, I set everything in a container that he’ll be able to put in the microwave for dinner tomorrow night. I have to work a double shift tomorrow and won’t be able to make him dinner.

“Hey Peanut, you don’t mind me driving do you? It will feel nice to be behind the wheel again.”

Every once in a while, we go out for a drive and I let him drive my car. It feels awkward to drive him everywhere, so it’s nice to have him in charge.

The summer heat slaps us in the face as we step outside. It doesn’t make any difference that its dusk, the temperature is still in the upper nineties. When Aunt Laney got me the car, she offered me a convertible if I wanted one. She would trade in this car for a used convertible. I told her no. Andy had one and it was always either raining or too hot to take the top down. We would still have to blast the AC even though the top was off. I smile at the memory of her. For the first time in a long time, I feel as though things are on the upswing. I toss the keys to dad as I walk over to the passenger side of the car.

He eases the car onto the highway heading towards our favorite little ice cream stand. I flipped my playlist to Steve Miller, Dad’s favorite band. He sing’s along to The Joker and occasionally looks over and smiles at me.

“You missed our exit,” I say. He’s never needed GPS, he knows this city like the back of his hand.

“I know, I thought we’d go someplace different,” He reaches over and pats my knee and gives me a reassuring look.

“Wow, you’re actually going to go somewhere new? How many times have I tried to get you to go to a place you’ve never been before? This is a treat,” I smile back at him and turn my attention to the farm we’re driving past.

A few minutes and about five farms later, his voice brings me back to the car.

“You know I love you, Holly…don’t you?”

I turn to him and his face is serious, the tip of his nose is turning red. Something it does whenever he’s been crying.

“Of course I do Daddy.” For the first time in forever, I feel like the child instead of the grown up.

“I don’t mean to be crazy, I’m sorry you were given me as your parent. You’ve been my greatest accomplishment. You’re so good to me and that’s why I can’t let you go. I just can’t imagine a world without you in it. I know you’re going to run off with that boy and marry him. No matter how many times I’ve tried to tell myself that he’s good for you. He makes you happy, I see that on your face every time you walk in the door. Trust me Holland, I’ve wanted your happiness since the day you took your first breath.” His voice cracks with emotion as he talks to me.

“Dad, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.” Suddenly it occurs to me that we’re in danger. “Why don’t you pull over and let me drive to the ice-cream store. I should have made you take your medicine before we left. You’re tired, this is the first time in a while since you’ve been out. Twice in one week can be too much.”

“I can’t do that, Holly. I’m so sorry, I love you but I can’t let you go away with another man. Close your eyes baby, it will be over soon.”

Panic is running through my veins and I want nothing more than to jump from the car. I look over and he’s pushed the gas pedal down and the speedometer climbs past eighty. “Daddy, stop, please! What are you doing? Don’t kill us! OH MY GOD! Stop!” I take my phone out and dial 9-1-1. “Please help me! My dad is driving like crazy down I-44! We just passed mile marker 344. I think he’s going to wreck the car!”

“Good honey, the police will find our bodies faster, good thinking. I love you!”

The very next moment, he jerks the car to the right and we slam through the metal barrier to the bridge. All I hear is the sound of metal and my screams. He keeps saying something and the phone falls from my hands as I grab the handle Andy always called the oh shit bar. We’ve driven off a bridge, however high it is, I don’t know. As we plummet towards boulders and a dried up river, I suddenly hear Andy’s voice in my ear. You’re not alone, are the words I hear.