For Love

Matthew had been driving all night, weaving in and out of the abandoned cars littering the highway. His last ditch effort to contact his beloved fiancée. Desperately clutching to a three hour old phone message that played over and over in his head, he knew this was coming and still he had left her alone.

Communication at this stage was impossible, the satellites were down and the phone lines were inactive, it was the reason everything was so chaotic in the end.

Matt hit the highway exit and didn’t bother about taking Seton Avenue, to Bradley Street then onto Frankston Drive. He crashed straight through the large timber fence on the big white house that backed onto Frankston then shot out the other side crashing through another two fences and sliding out into the middle of the road.

His rear passenger tyre blew out and he wrestled with the vehicle to make that extra distance so he could turn into James Street. There was Lindsay’s home, four houses down on the left. Matt’s proximity to Lindsay’s home generated the typical human reaction, the closer her got the more anxious he was to get there, slamming down the accelerator the car reacted lurching forward. The growling engine peaked as Matt nearly lost control of the swaying vehicle.

Matt slammed on the brakes sliding sideways into Lindsay’s front lawn tearing up the grass and demolishing the letter box. He hit the ground running, the car stalled and slowly rolled into Lindsay’s Mercedes. Matt threw his shoulder into the door splintering the lock from the frame; he hit the stairs three at a time and came to a sudden halt outside the main bedroom door.

It was wide open with clothes strewn about all across the floor, he could only see up to the foot of the bed as his eyes filled with tears. Riddled with guilt his mind rejected the obvious, hope was the last thing to die.

Matthew stepped cautiously forward, not for fear of harm but fear of the worst, his heart missed two beats, his breath caught in the back of his throat. The last step rounding the corner released all that tense build up of oxygen, the welled tears broke from his eyes and streamed down his face. There was Lindsay sitting on the bed looking at that silly picture of them at Cancun.

Lindsay heard Matt enter and smiled up at him tears streaming down her face, he couldn’t be mad at her, not for this. It was what he feared; she didn’t leave with the rest. She waited for his return like he promised.

Matt walked in and sat on the bed next to her, he rested is forehead against hers and gently kissed her cheek throwing his arm around her shoulders rubbing her arm as his bottom lip quivered.

“You silly woman” He said with half a grin.

“You’re always late” She said letting a sob escape.

Matt lifted her chin up with his index finger, he knew why she stayed, it was the same reason he left the safety of Philadelphia to be here. He leaned forward closing his eyes, his nose touched beside hers, he felt her hot breath on his lips, the last tear soaked gasp left her as his lips touched hers. The flash of light, the ground rumbled, the cloud approached.

There was only one reason why she stayed. For love.