ACCIDENT

I sat on my couch that unnaturally quiet night, holding a mug of herbal tea that was going cold. I had been off all day, feeling some sort of gnawing anxiety inside me that I couldn't shake. Seth was supposed to come over after work, and all day I had looked forward to seeing him and hoped his presence might soothe my restless mind. Earlier, I had tried to call him, needing his voice, needing to tell him how much I needed him, but all my calls went directly to voicemail. I told myself maybe he was driving and would soon be here. The feeling was uneasy, sitting in the pit of my stomach.

As the hours trudged on and the clock crept ever closer to midnight, concern began to give way to fear. I began flipping through the channels of the TV, looking for a distraction, but nothing seemed to interest me. My mind kept reverting back to Seth. I had dialed his phone number so many times, hoping against hope that I perhaps had missed his call or he had sent a text, but nothing was there. There was