CRASH AND BURN

 

Lerato opened her eyes slowly and stared at the clock on the wall,the moving hands on the wall moved with soft ticks that broke the silence in the room. She was entangled in the linen sheets of Andile’s apartment. The familiar scent of his cologne lingered in the air. She reached for the phone on the left night stand. The blue screen lit up as she put in her password.

It was 2:15 AM.

Wait a minute.

She looked around, there was complete. Silence.

“Andile?” she called out her voice sounding raspy from sleep.

She got out of bed, her feet hitting the cold tiles, and walked into the living room.

Where is Andile? She walked to the corridor and looked at the key hangar by the door. His keys were gone. His black leather jacket was not on the rack either. Where could he have gone?

They had dinner, and the last she remembered they were having a good laugh over a glass of wine while watching Grey's Anatomy. He never mentioned going out.

If he went out, how long had he been gone for, and how come he didn’t wake her up before leaving?

Her phone began to vibrate with an incoming notification. She looked at the screen, hoping it was a text message from Andile. It was a news notification.

Breaking News: Fiery car crash on highway, two vehicles involved, one occupant dead.

She sighed.

She dialed his number, but it went to voicemail. She began to pace the room.

Was he okay?? She dialed the number again and got the same result. She began to suspect something was wrong. Lerato walked back into her bedroom and opened her closet, she pulled out her favorite gray sweatpants and a yellow oversized swear shirt. She grabbed her purse, picked up her phone from the bed, and began to walk towards the door. She grabbed her car keys and walked out of the door. She walked to her BMW and started the engine. She began to drive down the street, as she got onto the freeway, she saw two ambulances and the police car drive past her. She began to drive closer to what looked like a car crash scene. It was surrounded by emergency personnel and there was only so much she could see. She called Andile again. She pulled over to the corner of the street. A small crowd had gathered. She rushed to the street, not sure where to go, there was sorrowful chatter coming from the crowd. There was no familiar face, except people who wanted to help emergency personnel. A girl came out of the crowd holding the phone to her ear. As she spoke, Lerato recognized her voice and called her attention.

“Lerato,” the girl called out as she put her phone in the back pocket of her jeans.

“Cecilia, what are you doing here?” Lerato asked.

Cecilia was her younger sister’s classmate at school. She had a strange look on her face. It looked like guilt.

“I heard about the accident,” she said.

“Heard about the accident? Do you know the victims?” Lerato asked with a puzzled look on her face.

“Please come with me,” she said quietly.

“I don’t want to go in there, I don’t know anyone in the accident,” Lerato replied.

“I do, and I need you to come along with me.” Cecilia replied. Lerato hesitated and followed her to the car.

“Let’s go,” Cecilia said as she clicked the passenger door of her car open. “It’s not too far away,” she assured. Lerato got into the passenger seat.

The drive was quiet, the thoughts seemed loud. Lerato kept staring at her phone screen, hoping a text or call from Andile would come through. There were no notifications. The suspense was driving her crazy. A few minutes later, Cecilia pulled up into the parking lot of the General Hospital. She turned off the engine.

“What are we doing here? Who are we coming to see?” Lerato asked.

Cecilia said nothing.

“Answer me damn it!!” Lerato asked as she hit her fist on the dashboard.

“It's Andile.” Cecilia told her.

Lerato’s face shifted from her slight fit of anger into shock. Her eyes widened and her mouth struggled to form words.

“He is alive,” Cecilia replied calmly.

“What… happened? Lerato asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Tears began to well up her eyes.

“He was in an accident, he survived, but…” Cecilia said and broke off eye contact with her as she looked at the windshield.

“Is he okay?” Lerato asked quietly, a tear rolled down her cheek. She wanted to scream, but she had to compose herself.

“Yes, but there is more.”

Lerato’s heart began to pound. “Is he in here? Let’s go and see Andile. I want to see him right now.

Cecilia hesitated, “Lerato, it’s a bad situation”.”

“Then tell me!” Lerato yelled.

“Andile is alive, but his passenger didn’t survive.” Cecilia said in a shaky voice. “She died.”

Lerato felt like a brick was thrown in her face.

“Who?” Lerato asked.

“Nandi,”

Lerato’s mind struggled to process what she had just heard. Nandi was Andile’s ex, why was she with him in the car?

“What? Why was she in the car?” Lerato asked out loud.

“My sister told me Nandi told her they wanted to fix things, so they went on a drive.” Cecilia said, avoiding her eyes.

Nandi was the ex who moved to Capetown a few years ago. The break up was mutual, why did she want to fix things, and why did he sneak off in the middle of the night?

“Let’s go inside, where is he?” Lerato said seething in anger. She was supposed to be empathetic, but her relationship had just ended for two reasons, one he was being sneaky and two, he would be arrested and put behind bars for manslaughter.

Cecilia nodded. They both got out of the car and went into the hospital. The nurse signed them in, and they took the elevator up to the floor where Andile’s room was.

They got to Andile’s room. He was in bed looking badly bruised. His left leg was in a sling raised a bit above the bed. He opened his eyes when he saw Lerato.

“Lerato…” He said in a weak voice,

Lerato was quiet. She folded her arms and stared at him, her look a mixture of tears and anger.

“I am sorry Lerato,” he said and looked away.

“Sorry you got caught, or sorry that Nandi died.” Lerato replied.

Andile sighed.

“You were with Nandi, like Nandi who walked away from you two years ago and you cried your heart out like a baby, now she is in the car with you, there is an accident and she is dead?” Lerato replied as tears streamed down her face.

Andile had a sad look, his eyes welling up with tears.

“Nandi wanted to talk,” Andile replied.

“Didn’t she have anyone else to talk to?” Lerato replied sarcastically.

“I …” Andile began and then said nothing after that.

“You left me in the house, walked out without saying anything, you go out to see your ex, and now she is dead, how convenient.” Lerato said and looked at Cecilia. Cecilia looked away.

“Listen, it’s a lot to say, I never wanted to hurt you.” Andile replied weakly. He winced as he tried to sit up in bed.

“Yup, you didn’t hurt me, you hurt your dead ex. She died because you are a liar,” Lerato replied.

The room became tense. Cecilia looked uncomfortable. She was the cause for this lover’s tiff. If she hadn't run into Lerato at the scene of the accident, she would not have to witness this altercation.

“I am so tired of this, who are you?” Lerato asked, staring at him.

“The man who loves you, I just had to fix things with Nandi, there is no place for her with me.” Andile said softly.

Lerato became upset.

“Ofcourse, there is no place for her here any longer. And the same goes for me,” Lerato said and picked up her purse on the table. She stared at Andile one more time and walked out of the room.

Cecilia followed.

“Lerato, wait please.” Cecilia called out.

Lerato stopped, but did not turn back.

“Listen Lerato, he needs you now more than ever.” Cecilia said.

“No, he needed her, he was creeping, and now she is dead, he risked everything for her,” Lerato replied.

“Please give it time, don’t just walk away,” Cecelia pleaded and held her Lerato’s right hand.

Lerato slowly pulled her hand away.

“He crashed it, so let it burn,” Lerato replied.

She walked away, leaving Cecilia standing in the hallway of the hospital.