Kelly Bridges frowned at her reflection in the mirror. Girls in love weren’t supposed to look like death warmed over, with dark circles under their eyes, and hands that trembled as they held the phone. Tears weren’t supposed to gather in their eyes, and run down their cheeks. They weren’t supposed to feel like throwing something against the wall so hard it would break, or screaming in pure frustration. Love was wonderful. That’s what everyone said. But everything would have been much easier if Kelly Bridges hadn’t been in love with Tommy Jackson.
“Okay, Tommy. I’ll meet you in an hour. And I love you, too.” Kelly sighed deeply as she hung up the phone. She wiped her eyes with a tissue and turned to the mirror to study her reflection, again. She had light brown hair that curled slightly at the tips, dark blue eyes that were almost violet in color, and a slim figure that she maintained by strict dieting. She would have been beautiful if she’d been smiling, but Kelly had absolutely nothing to smile about.
Tears began to gather in her eyes again, and she blinked them back. She was so miserably depressed, she’d had to force herself to get out of bed this morning. It didn’t matter that Tommy was back in town, after his summer construction job. It made no difference that she’d been accepted by the college of her choice, the same college that had offered Tommy a full athletic scholarship. It wasn’t important that Tommy had just made the last payment on her engagement ring. Her life was a complete and total mess.
The plans they’d made had been wonderful. Kelly sighed, and a wistful smile flickered across her face. Tommy had asked her mother if he could give her an engagement ring on Halloween, when they would celebrate her eighteenth birthday. The wedding was scheduled for June, right after their high school graduation, and they’d planned to spend the summer getting settled in a small apartment close to the university campus where they’d both enroll as freshmen in the fall.
Kelly swallowed hard, past the lump in her throat. Tommy still had his dreams, but hers had turned to ashes. There would be no college for her, no golden autumn days watching Tommy play football, no group study sessions in their cramped living room, no socializing with the other students over spaghetti dinners. Now, the whole scenario had changed, and she had been written out of the picture.
What would happen to Tommy? Kelly shivered a little, picturing him all alone on campus. But Tommy was a popular guy and he wouldn’t be alone for long. He’d get an apartment with a couple of roommates from the football team, or maybe he’d live in a frat house, and date the sorority girls. Tommy would start a new life, a life without her. And before his first year of college had passed, he’d forget that he’d ever loved a girl by the name of Kelly Bridges.
Before she could start to feel any more sorry for herself, Kelly picked up the keys to the ancient Dodge that Tommy had helped her repair, and headed for the door. She’d asked Tommy to meet her at Jerry’s Roadhouse, a decrepit place out on the highway, where they wouldn’t be likely to run into anyone they knew. Kelly just hoped that the back room at Jerry’s was as dark as she remembered. When she told Tommy her awful secret, she didn’t want to have to see the expression of painful disbelief on his face.
The August night was dark, and the warm breeze from the open window caressed Kelly’s face as she drove down the highway. It was a perfect, romantic evening with brilliant stars glittering overhead. The air was heavy with the scent of blooming flowers, deep red clover, yellow buttercups, and white and purple lilacs.
Kelly shivered and rolled up the window. It was too late to smell the perfume in the air, to breathe in the scent of bright tomorrows filled with promise. Her fate was signed, sealed, and delivered. There would be no future joy for her.
A tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. Where was her courage? She’d always been strong, and she needed all the strength at her disposal to face Tommy. She could break down later, after Tommy had left her life forever. Then she could afford the luxury of tears to mourn all the bright and loving moments they would have shared together.
But what if it wasn’t true? Shouldn’t she wait to tell Tommy until she’d gone to a doctor to confirm her suspicions? Kelly hesitated, the car slowing to a snail’s pace on the gravel road. Perhaps she’d been too hasty to jump to a conclusion. It was possible her symptoms were misleading, even psychosomatic. They could be caused by nothing more serious than simple stress.
Kelly frowned slightly as she stopped the car and tried to think. She knew she’d been under a lot of stress lately. She was nervous about her performance on the SATs and it would be another two weeks before she got her scores. Things weren’t exactly a picnic at home, either. She knew her younger sister was sneaking out of the house at night, and she was still trying to decide whether it was her duty to tell her mother. Then there was her mother’s new boyfriend. Kelly didn’t like him, but it wasn’t really her place to object. And the wedding was turning out to be a real problem. Her mother wanted a huge affair with all the relatives, but that would be horribly expensive. Tommy’s parents had offered to share some of the cost, but Kelly didn’t really want a lavish wedding. She preferred to have a simple ceremony, and save the extra money for their college expenses.
Work had been a strain, too. Kelly had a summer job with Foothill Appliances and she was on a straight commission, no salary. She was on the verge of making a very big sale, enough to pay for the wedding and most of their college expenses, but none of that mattered now, not if what she feared was true.
A car horn honked, and Kelly looked up to see Sheriff Newsome waving at her. He rolled down his window and shouted a question. Did she have car trouble?
“No, I’m fine.” Kelly made herself smile past the tears that had gathered in her eyes. “I was just looking for something in my purse.”
When the sheriff drove off, Kelly put her car in gear and got on the road again. If she didn’t hurry, she’d be late for her meeting with Tommy. Not that it would really matter . . . nothing really mattered anymore.
She was just cresting Appleton’s hill when she saw the lights blinking in the distance. The arms on the crossing gate were closing, and Kelly could hear a train whistle in the distance. The eight o’clock freight train was coming, and it always took at least five minutes to clear the crossing. She would be late, but there wasn’t a thing she could do about it. The arms on the gate were already closed.
Kelly pressed down gingerly on the brake pedal. The brakes had a tendency to grab and pull to one side, something Tommy had promised to fix for her just as soon as he had a spare afternoon. But even though Kelly had braked, the car didn’t slow.
She frowned and pressed down a little harder, but the car kept right on gaining speed. What was wrong? The brakes had always been a little finicky, but they’d never failed before! Kelly pulled the handle of the emergency brake, but that didn’t work either, and she felt herself beginning to panic. She had to think of some way to stop before she reached the crossing, and it was at the bottom of the hill!
“Okay. Here goes!” Kelly gripped the wheel tightly and tromped down hard on the brakes. The car would skid, but she was prepared. But nothing happened! The car kept right on hurtling forward, even though the brake pedal was jammed all the way to the floor.
There wasn’t time to think, only to react, and Kelly jerked the wheel to the right. The ditch wasn’t that steep and it was bound to slow the car and stop it.
There was a horrible jolt as one wheel hit the edge of the ditch. The car tipped steeply, but it kept right on going, scraping and shuddering its way down the hill. Kelly fought the wheel, trying to steer over to the other side of the road, but it was no use. The old Dodge was riding on the lip of the ditch, heading straight down to the crossing.
And then she heard it, the blast of the train whistle, much louder this time. The eight o’clock train was rounding the bend, hurtling down the track full speed ahead. The engineer was totally oblivious of the horrible wreck that was only a few heartbeats away.
Someone must have seen her, because there was a metallic squeal so loud it seemed to rip the fabric of the night apart. It was the distinctive sound of metal scraping metal, and sparks began to fly beneath the train. They had engaged the brakes. They were trying to stop. But could they stop in time?
For a moment, Kelly thought they’d make it. The train seemed to slow, but perhaps that was because her old Dodge was moving so fast. And then she was on the tracks, feeling desperately for the door handle. But there was no time. The bright light was upon her, crushing the life from her body and plunging her into the endless darkness.