Page 84 of Claws and Feathers

“Cool. Have fun with the minivan.” Ryan turned back around to face the computer.

Abby groaned, tapping her foot restlessly in the entryway, weighing her options. She could probably talk her way out of cleaning the toilet. Best case, she could fake having mono for the week and get out ofallthe chores. “Okay, deal.”

Ryan spun back around and folded his hands in his lap. “If you get a scratch on it, you’re dead.”

“I won’t. You’re the best.” Abby grabbed the keys and gave her brother a wave goodbye. “Love you!”

“Love you less.”

They exchanged a smile and Abby bolted out the front door. She pulled her jean jacket over her head to block the rainfall as she dodged puddles on her way to Ryan’s red Firebird in the driveway. “Score,” she said to herself, a smile beaming on her face.

It was a short drive to the Italian restaurant just outside of town. Abby gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, sitting up as tall as she could and fumbling with the windshield wipers. She accidentally turned on the high beams, successfully pissing off a line of cars coming from the opposite direction. She jolted in her seat when they honked at her. “Crap,” she muttered as her frantic fingers played with the different knobs and buttons.

Somehow, she made it to the restaurant in one piece and pulled up to the front doors. Her mother and father were huddled up beneath the awning with grins plastered on their faces. Gina opened the passenger side door and Rodney slid into the backseat.

“Your transportation has arrived,” Abby declared in a theatrical voice.

“I have to say, it’s pretty neat seeing my baby girl behind the wheel,” Rodney noted, slamming his door shut.

“I have to say, I agree,” Abby teased. She put the car in drive and pressed on the accelerator with her foot. “Did you guys have fun?”

“Oh, it was wonderful,” Gina said cheerily. “If I give you any piece of advice, it’s to never stop dating your husband. Well… that, and to floss daily.”

Abby giggled. “Got it.” She pulled out onto the main drag, turning the speed of the windshield wipers up. She glanced back over to her mother as they sped along the dim-lit stretch of road. “Did you guys talk about getting me a car?”

“Eyes on the road, honey,” Gina gently scolded. “And, yes, we did discuss it. We want to see how you do on your final exams before we make a decision.”

Yuck.That meant studying hardanddoing Ryan’s chores for the week. Mono was sounding appealing. Abby sighed as she pulled onto a dark back road and tried to find the high beams again. Apparently, they were only easy to find when she was searching for something else. “Okay, okay. I’ll try my hardest,” she appeased. “I’d really love to have a new car over summer.”

“I’m sure you would, sweetheart,” Rodney added from behind her.

Abby squinted her eyes as the rain fell harder. Her whole body tensed up when cars swept by from the opposite direction, temporarily blinding her. She swallowed, glancing down to fiddle with the switch for the bright lights. “These buttons are so complicated. Why do they hide everything?”

Gina leaned over to help. “Are you okay? Do you want me to drive?”

“I’m fine,” Abby said.

A car was coming up the hill, their lights blaring. The combination of headlights and rain was making her feel dizzy and out of sorts. She sucked in a shaky breath, trying to hide the fact that her nerves were getting the better of her. She was cruising just under fifty miles per hour down the slick slope, her fingers wrapped around the wheel and her body as stiff as a board. She leaned over to mess with the wipers again when her father spoke up from the backseat.

“You know, when I was your age –”

“Look out!” Gina screamed.

Abby’s eyes darted to the windshield as a large animal scurried out in front of them. She inhaled sharply, jerking the wheel to avoid the creature, and careening headfirst towards the oncoming car. Her tires squealed and wailed against the wet pavement, spinning in resistance. Her scream matched her mother’s, and she couldn’t decipher between the two as she lost control and collided right into the vehicle with a sickening crash.

Everything went dark.

Black.

A void.

Nothingness.

Abby wasn’t sure how much time had passed by as her lids fluttered open, a warm liquid oozing down her forehead and burning her eyes. Her head hurt. Her chest hurt.

Everything hurt.

There was an airbag pinning her against the driver’s seat as a car horn blasted her ear drums. It was incessant – jarring. It brought her back to reality, and Abby sucked a giant gulp of air into her lungs. It felt like she had inhaled a thousand tiny knives. She began to choke and cough and sputter. She clutched at her ribs, feeling them splinter inside her, making her moan.

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