Ghosts we leave behind

chapter 20; distractions

On average, Dorset saw 21 roadside accidents in February the year before. 35 in March. This year, Nora contributed as a statistic.

She wasn't far from Elijah's house when it happened. The wheels slid over the road and Nora swore she could feel the loss of friction when it happened. She jerked in response, swerving the wheel but the impact came quicker than she expected. The metal structure on the road, separating the pavement, struck against the car.

She could hear glass breaking at the impact and a loud noise, paralysing her further. It was the air bag, quickly rushing to the scene. Sandwiched between the seat and the air bag, it took a while for everything to stop moving. Though the car had come to an abrupt stop, her head spun and nothing was clear.

Minutes flew by and her ears didn't seem to be receptive to the sounds around her. All she could hear was the sound of the car striking the structure and the blurred out chaos that ensued. Her hand found the release for the seatbelt. She fumbled around, trying to press down on the button hard enough to let her go.

She wasn't hurt. Or at least she didn't think she was.

Outside in front of the car, she thought she saw someone. A figure with a hidden face, staring right back at her. Her feet and hands felt cold all of a sudden. She thought it was someone she knew.

She released the seatbelt somehow and the clip fell from her hand. Her fingers wrapped around the door handle, pulling it and then pushing her weight against the door to open it. It didn't budge so she tried again. The panic set in, making it hard for her to breathe. Finally, she was able to open the door and she quickly got out.

Standing up, she balanced herself with her arms on the roof of the car.

'Fuck.' She was unaware she was moving. Getting out of the driver's seat, she stared at her tangled up seatbelt on the seat.

Somehow she felt numb, unable to connect her thoughts to her body. She was moving but she didn't realise it. Turning her head away from the wreckage, she looked to where she thought she had seen the figure. It was gone of course. But she felt a presence. It was strange and with nobody physically present in front of her, she knew she was either disassociating or there was in fact, something there. She just couldn't see it.

Stepping away from the car, she took a moment to scrutinise what had happened. The car looked worse than how the accident had felt to her. The lights were broken, pieces of glass lay on the ground around her.  Moving one foot back, she stepped on a few of them by accident.

At site of impact, the surface of the car was pushed completely inwards. She didn't know too much about cars or repairs but she figured they'd have to put a new one on.

She looked back up momentarily. Staring at the cluster of trees by the opposite side of the road, she felt like she was being watched. But she wasn't afraid nor did she feel like she needed to worry about it. She couldn't explain the feeling of intuition.

Fuck.

Her fingers traced the denim over her thigh. All of a sudden she could feel pain. It was sharp at first and she gritted her teeth, letting her thigh go immediately. The gear shift had hurt her during the collision and she hadn't realised how bad.

Nora was shaking a little, unaware that she was. It was cold near the canal, the breeze carrying in minus temperatures. Trying to steady her hand, she fumbled around for her phone. She couldn't call Eleanor. And she couldn't call her mother. She didn't want to worry either one of them and they couldn't do anything for her. She needed help now.

She scrolled back up, past Patrick's name in anguish. She didn't know what had gotten into her. The anger she initially had now became something more liquefied. She wanted to cry because she realised that she wanted to call Elijah. Not Patrick. Not the ambulance. Him.