After Midnight, Before Dawn

Complicated

“Abigail Prescott! Is that you?” she exclaimed, her eyes widening with joy.

She grinned, relieved to see a familiar face. “Hey, Jenna! Long time no see. How’ve you been?”

“My. Oh my, look at you, girl, you look like the same old Abbey! You haven’t changed a bit!” Jenna said.

“Oh, but you have, congratulations!” she said, eyeing her pregnant belly.

“Oh yeah, it’s baby number three for me!” Jenna exclaimed.

“Three? You have three children?” she repeated, shocked to hear the news. Meanwhile, she didn’t even have a boyfriend and nothing to show for the past several years, not even a qualification after all the study she’d done.

“Come on, I’m due a break anyway. Let’s sit at the booth and catch up. Donna, bring us some sweet tea!” Jenna called out, dragging her along.

Jenna shared the events of her life since high school as they caught up. It was mind-blowing to think that she was pregnant and expecting her third child. She couldn’t even imagine herself with one child, let alone three.

“It sure is crazy how much time has passed. So what’s new with you? You got a man or what?” Jenna asked, looking her up and down.

“Uh, no. It’s just me, no significant other to speak of,” she said, feeling awkward for reasons she couldn’t explain.

“Never mind. Pretty girl like you, you’ll meet someone soon enough. So what are you doing back here of all places? I thought you’d be somewhere fancy, all married up with kids by now,” Jenna said.

“I’m still at college,” she replied in a low tone.

“Still? Whatcha studying, rocket science or something?” Jenna said, laughing.

“Uh, no. Well, I’m not sure what I’m doing exactly. I changed majors… It’s complicated,” she said, not wanting to elaborate on the real reason she was still studying with no qualifications, and that her life felt like a mess. Her life had been a nightmare, but she planned to keep that to herself.

“So, Jenna, I was hoping to find some work, part-time or full-time. I guess I’ll take what I can get for now,” she said.

Jenna’s face dropped. “What? Why?”

“It’s kinda personal. I don’t wanna go into it right now, but maybe when things are more settled, I can tell you more,” she said.

“You in trouble?” Jenna asked with concern.

“No, it’s nothing like that,” she reassured her.

“Okay, well, you know you can tell me anything, girl. I’m here for you,” Jenna said.

“It’s Gran. She’s not herself. Beau reckons she needs care, like assisted living. So I’m gonna stick around for a bit,” she said.

“Oh, bless her heart,” Jenna said softly.

“Aren’t you the sweetest, Abbey, putting your studies on hold for your granny?” Jenna replied.

“I owe her everything, so it’s no trouble. If I’m sticking around, I may as well make myself useful,” she said.

At that moment, an older woman approached them.

“I couldn’t help overhearing. If you’re looking for work, I’d be happy to give you a trial. Got any experience?” she asked.

Abigail looked at the lady, confused.

“Oh, hi, honey. I’m Kathy. I’m the boss round here,” the woman said.

“Of course. Hi, I’m Abigail. It’s nice to meet you,” she said happily. “Yes, I’ve worked in bars and restaurants back in the city.”

“Well, that’s good enough for me! We’re really short. Can you start tonight?” Kathy asked.

“Ah, I have something on tonight. My Gran’s making a special dinner, but I could leave early. I could start at eight and do the late shift?” she suggested.

“Well, that’d be swell. Jenna, can you extend?” Kathy asked.

“I’ll ring my sitter,” Jenna replied.

“You’re a blessing,” Kathy said, clearing dishes.

“Come see me before you leave, sweetie. I’ll fix you up a uniform,” Kathy said before disappearing into the kitchen.

“OMG, girl, we’re gonna be working together!” Jenna said excitedly.

“Looks like it,” she replied. “I’d better go, or Gran will have my head.”

Jenna waved and headed to the kitchen.

When Abigail arrived home, Gran was peeling potatoes.

“Hey, Gran, can I help?” she asked.

“No, but you can bring the washing in,” Gran replied.

“Yes, ma’am,” she said as she grabbed the wicker basket and went outside. The afternoon was sunny, and she felt a strange sensation she couldn’t explain.

She shook it off as she approached the makeshift clothesline, which was two strings tied to poles in the middle of the yard. As she hung up the laundry, a prickling sensation crawled up her neck. It felt like someone was watching her. She glanced around, seeing only forest and fading sunlight.

Dinner had been pleasant. Pastor Jeff spoke of her return and mentioned how he was looking forward to seeing her at church on Sunday. She politely accepted his request, upon feeling Gran’s gaze on her.

After she loaded up on her Gran’s good old home cooking, she decided to skip dessert. Despite the fact that it was her all-time favorite, homemade apple pie.

Her Gran set some aside for her as she went off to prepare for her first shift at the diner. Her Gran assumed she only needed holiday work; she had no idea that Abigail was extending her stay, but that would be a conversation for another day.

That evening, as she drove to work, the strange feeling returned. As the road veered through the woods, the tall trees formed a dark canopy. It was eerily quiet. As she rounded a bend, a sudden flash of movement caught her eye. She swerved to avoid it. Her heart pounded as she frantically attempted to gain control. Panic set in as the truck careened down a ditch, the world spinning around her, and her truck landed upside down in the ditch.

She felt dazed and disoriented as her seatbelt suspended her, the airbag had deployed, and the smell of gasoline filled the truck. Pain shot throughout her body, and the gravity of the situation hit her as she fumbled to unbuckle the seatbelt and crawled out of her shattered window.

She staggered to the side of the road, took a moment to assess the wreckage, and attempted to catch her breath. The truck lay upside down; it was definitely a write-off. Panic consumed her; she felt the burn of her seatbelt against her neck and chest, and her entire body ached, but she knew it could always be worse.

She took in her surroundings, and that feeling of being watched was present again. She felt chills run down her spine, and her eyes flickered frantically, part of her half-expecting to see someone emerge from the woods. Her hands trembled as she grabbed her phone from her skirt pocket to call for help.

It was approximately twenty minutes later when the sound of sirens grew in the distance, and the local sheriff and fire truck arrived. “Well, hey there, little lady,” Bob called out cheerily as he made his way off the fire truck with great difficulty.

“Thanks for coming so quickly,” she said, feeling relieved that they could prevent the car from catching fire.

“No problem, Abbey, I’ll just give Jim a call, and we’ll have it out of that ditch in no time, so uh, what happened, how’d you end up in that ditch?” He asked.

“I saw something, something ran past the car, it was so fast,” she said, trying to recall what had happened.

“Probably hit an animal of some sort,” he said without concern.

“I don’t know. I have no clue what it was, if it even was something,” she replied.

“Well, we’ll take a look around, but it’s probably gone by now; you probably just scared it,” he said.

A little while later, the fire crew ensured that the truck was safe and stable. In no time at all, a tow truck arrived to remove it from the ditch and take it to the local garage.

The sheriff asked a bunch of questions and then agreed to let her go with a safety warning. He asked how her Gran was, and even offered to give her a ride back to town, which she had no other option but to politely accept.

The reception out there was poor, but when they got closer to town, she was able to call the diner and let Kathy know that she was still coming; she was just going to be late. Truth be told, she felt shaken; her mind was racing, trying to figure out what in the world she had seen before losing control of my vehicle. As she rode in the patrol car back to town, many questions ran through her mind.

Was it an animal? A trick of the light? Did Iimagine it? It all happened so fast...