Novel & Cerita Now I Drive Alone Past Your Street

The driver glances at me in the rearview mirror but doesn't say anything. Waterville Street is darker than I expected. The streetlights are spaced too far apart, leaving pools of shadow between them. A few buildings stand empty, their windows dark and hollow. The place feels abandoned, lonely. Was it always like this? I pay the driver and step onto the sidewalk. My breath forms clouds in the air. I look around. No Aaron. My phone screen lights up my face as I pull it out. I text the number. "I'm here. Where are you?"

The setting sun stretched my shadow long across the road as I drove alone toward a golden future that belonged to me—and me alone. At last, everything had settled into dust.

I deserve it. I turn the key in the ignition, and the car roars to life. The street is almost deserted, with only a few cars scattered here and there. What else would I expect? It is the middle of the night. I grip the steering wheel tightly as I drive through the empty streets. Finally, I turn onto Olivia’s street and pull up in front of her house. I step out of the car and walk up the path, the cold night air biting at my skin.

"Ok sweetheart be careful and have a nice time!" I drive towards Tia's house. I don't have a driver today because I didn't tell my dad where I was going. The drivers don't stay-at-home, they usually come from the company whenever I need them.. but I don't really need a driver today I know how to drive. In no time I picked up here and we were already out to have some fun! "So where is this new bar?" "Just down the street." We reached and Tia gasped looking at the long line in front of the bar.

I drove down the driveway at a snail's pace, giving them the false sense that I was just going out for a late-night drive, something I've been known to do. I started grinning when they started swearing when I flew down the street in Pop's Lambo. I could, of course, hear them since Pop's vehicles are wired for sound, not sure they know that, though. Whatever! I forgot them as I turned my lights off once I'd lost them and cruised through the familiar streets in a roundabout way to reach my destination.

The driver dropped me off on a quiet tree-lined street that felt a million miles from Manhattan. The walk from the drop-off point was longer than I’d expected. The houses grew farther apart, swallowed up by big dark trees. The air got cooler and my feet on the pavement was the sound in the silence. A whistle suddenly came from a dark alleyway to my left. “Well, hello there, sweet thing.” I kept walking with my pace steady. Ignore them.. Just ignore them. “Hey, I’m talkin’ to you. That’s a fine ass. Why you walkin’ all alone out here? You lookin’ for some company?”

I have to rush because I want to get there before I change my mind, and it's easy to talk myself out of something that scares me. It's cold, but the streets aren't icy yet. With forced focus, I inch a toe over the speed limit — since I started driving, I don't like to take these liberties, even if everyone else says it's okay — luckily, there aren't many people on the road. I shave off a minute or two from the ride and turn on to Aubrey believing it's too late to cower away. However, this time when I come up the gravel drive, Harvey isn't outside waiting for me, so I park where I have before and urge myself out of my car. I hold my jacket closed and dart to the front door.

Not tonight. I slide into my car, the engine roaring to life with a twist of the key. There’s only one place I want to be now. One person I need to see. Mamá. I don’t need to say anything. She won’t ask questions I can’t answer yet. Her presence alone is enough. --- The drive to her apartment is quiet. The streets are mostly empty, the city slowly retreating into slumber. I keep checking the rearview mirror, half-expecting the black sedan to show up again, but it doesn’t.

I was drowning myself in sorrow when my dad snapped me out of the trans, with the simple - we are here. It was late around 3 or 4 am I stepped out of the car and looked around. I recognize the house from some old pictures we have, it is well kept and a classic two-story house. White paneling, blue wooden doors, not a large front porch, a white wooden fence with the exit directly to the street.