7. Charlie

CHAPTER 7

Charlie

" A ren't you excited to go pick out your dorm room supplies?" Mom asked as we thundered down the freeway in our old rusty SUV.

"Yeah," I grumbled, rubbing my eyes as I stared out at the passing trees. "But why did we have to leave so early ?"

"It takes a long time to get up to Portland," she laughed. "Duh."

The landscape whizzed by, the trees giving way to rocky cliffs dropping away on either side of the vehicle. We were crossing through the mountains, trying to get over to the main highway in Eugene that would lead us all the way to Portland at the north end of the state. It was a ridiculously long drive from Creekside, and I wasn't excited about spending that much time in the car.

"We can just go to a regular store, Mom. We don't have to go all the way up there."

"This is a big deal, Charlie! You're going to college! You only get to do that once." She glanced over at me, a mischievous grin on her lips. " Unless you want to get a graduate degree as well. You know, I wouldn't mind bragging to everyone in town that my son is smarter than all their kids combined. Not that I would brag openly, of course. Just insinuate."

I rolled my eyes with a sigh. "You've already told everyone who stands still for more than three seconds that I got a full ride. How much more bragging do you need to do?"

"You're my son! And you're smart as hell! Everyone needs to know how good of a job I did raising you. Obviously."

"Ah. So it's about you ."

"Isn't everything?" She gave me a wink. "I'm just messing with you."

"But you are bragging to everyone."

"That part is true."

Another sigh. "You know I just graduated two days ago, right? Why are we buying all this now? I don't even know what kind of room I'm gonna have yet."

"It's better to be prepared, right?" She gave me a nudge. "And stop whining! This is my graduation gift to you!"

"You don't have to do that…"

"I want to," she replied. Her tone had an edge of seriousness to it. "With your father gone and the two of us on our own… well… I know things haven't been easy. Money's been tight a lot, and you didn't have everything you should've growing up."

"Things were fine," I began.

"Yeah, but they could've been better." A pained expression came over her face as she glanced at me again. "I can't help feeling like it's my fault that you're so introverted. I coddled you a lot after your father died and I was so afraid you might get hurt that I barely let you leave the backyard for almost two years."

"Mom," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You didn't make me introverted. I promise. I just am and I like it anyway."

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay at college all by yourself?"

"Nix is going with me. I'll be fine."

"I can't imagine he'll be a good influence." She pointed a finger at me, her eyes still on the road. "Don't you let that boy mess up your shot at getting a good job, okay? I know he can be a little…"

"Mischievous? Wild? An idiot?"

"Yeah that," she nodded. "So as much as I want you two to look out for each other, I don't want you to lose sight of why you're there." Her threatening finger relaxed into a hand on the top of my head. "You're a good boy and I want you to have a better life than I did. You can do great things, I just know it. And when you're rich, you can build me a little hut out back and I'll cook you dinner whenever you want."

I couldn't help rolling my eyes again. "Do you want me to do well for me or so you can get a free house?"

"Can't it be both?"

I just shook my head. "Don't worry. I'll be fine and I won't let Nix get in the way. I'm already way ahead thanks to that coding camp anyway. I might even be able to get a job during the summers so I can help out at home."

"Don't you worry about that. I can take care of myself just fine."

"Even after buying all this furniture today?"

" Especially after buying all this furniture today," she grinned .

I returned her smile, slumping back into my seat. "Thanks for always being there, Mom."

"I always will be, honey," she replied. "I promise."

I wasn't sure if I fell asleep or just spaced out, but suddenly my eyes flashed open as a thunderous explosion rocked the vehicle. Tires squealed as my mother cried out, her arms flailing as she tried to straighten the car. But it was no good. Sparks flew up over the windshield as the SUV turned sideways. At the last moment, she threw her right arm out over my chest in an attempt to protect me.

The tires dug in and with a sickening lurch, I felt the SUV go airborne. All of time seemed to stop as the world spun around us in the most unnatural way. I looked over at my mother, her eyes full of fear as she stared wide-eyed at me. Anything that wasn't secured whirled around us in slow motion, bouncing off the ceiling and windows.

And then, just when I thought it might go on forever, time suddenly sped up once more as the SUV's roof hit the pavement. Airbags deployed, the roof crushed in, and it felt like the car was punching me from all sides. Bruises exploded across my body followed by white hot pain. My mother's arm, however, stayed securely over my chest.

The SUV rolled a few more times, sparks flying in all directions. Broken glass filled the air and I clamped my eyes and mouth shut. The seatbelt tore at my flesh, but it didn't let me go. However, as the car landed on its side and sparks flew up around me, I realized we were heading toward the edge of the road. And beyond that was nothing but rocks and open air all the way to the bottom of the mountain.

For one brief instant, I thought we would stop in time. I looked at my mother, noticing the blood running down the side of her face and making her dark hair slick with moisture. She was still staring at me with fear in her eyes. I tried to smile or think of something to say to let her know that everything was going to be alright. That the vehicle was going to stop before we went over the edge.

But I didn't have time.

Instead, the last thing I saw was the look of terror on her face as the SUV slid to the edge, rocked, and toppled down the mountainside.