text: Ch. 1 “I set the acceleration and lifted my foot off the gas, I rested my arms on my lap and just made some minor adjustments with my finger if the car would veer off. I was on a straight road in the middle of the night, I didn't think anything of it. I only took the drive because I needed to clear my head. So much shit has been piling up on me lately. I’m having trouble at work with my coworker, he keeps going to the boss and lying about me. At home, my kid is taking off at night and we don’t know if he’s coming back or not. And with my wife... shit, where do I start? I just took a drive to get away, you know? Just get my mind off of it all. Just a Friday night drive” “Then what happened?” “Oh, yeah, I was just sitting on the road. It was dark and straight. That’s actually why I was on it, you know? I didn't have to focus on driving really, I could just sit back and think about life. Anyway, I saw a car parked on the side of the road. That threw me for a loop, it was two in the morning on a side road. I mean, I was alone. There was no one behind me or in front of me at all. That's why seeing this car on the side of the road got me distracted. I started wondering why the hell someone would stop on the side of this dark road. What did they have going on in their life that they would stop on this road? Anyway, as I was looking at this car, I wasn’t paying attention to the road. I mean, I really didn't think I had to. It’s supposed to be a non-busy road. There shouldn’t be anyone else on the road!” “Ok, ok, calm down. Tell me what happened next.” “Yeah, you’re right. I was looking around and suddenly I felt my car hit something, then all of a sudden someone came through my windshield. I mean, in an instant that was it, I killed someone. He came out of nowhere and I just hit him. I mean, I didn't find out until later that Mr. Newall was just trying to flag me down to help him with his car. But he came out of nowhere! The worst part is, I know if I had just been paying attention to the road, none of this would have happened. Hell, if I had just stayed home, I wouldn't be in this mess. Do you know what it feels like to hit someone with your car? Initially, it just feels like hitting a pole or something. It feels like hitting something hard. Then the body comes through the window and you realize what actually happened. I mean, I killed someone. I just took someone's life away from them. Fuck... FUCK MAN, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?” “Calm down, Anthony, calm down. Just tell me what happened after that. Maybe there is something we can do to help your case.” “Right... right. Well, I pulled over with Mr. Newall sticking out of my windshield. I immediately called 911 and told them where I was and what happened. I don't know what I’m going to do. What am I going to tell my wife and kid? I’m going to have to tell him that his father took a life. One day someone was living, and the next he is not. Who the hell am I to take a life? How am I supposed to live with myself? I’m going to remember his face for the rest of my life. I’m a piece of shit. I am the worst type of person. I only looked away for a second. Just a second! I can't live with myself.” “Well, Anthony, I’m not sure there is much I can do for you. We can try to get a plea deal, but the prosecution might want to take this the distance to set an example. I will try my best, but expect the worst.” Ch.2 She sat there, still. She just learned that her father, John Newall, just died the night before on a back road. She felt absolutely nothing. Well, she didn't know what to feel, actually. She was feeling a lot of emotions all at once. On the one hand, he was her father. She should be sad, maybe even devastated. The man who brought her into this life and provided for her is now out of her life forever. Fifteen years she saw this man every day, and now she will never see him again. *Shouldn’t I feel sad?* she thought to herself. On the other hand, however, for the last five years, John Newall had been raping her every Friday night when he would come back from the bar. Like clockwork; he would stumble into the house, open her door, rape her, then cry on her shoulder and say how much of a piece of shit he was. And every Friday night when he would leave, she would cry herself to sleep. Actually, for a year or so she cried herself to sleep every night. But last night, something in her snapped. As soon as John Newall stepped in her room she got up and started to yell at him. She said every name she could think of. Finally, she told him that she wished she was dead, “because at least then I wouldn't have to be your daughter.” With this, he showed no emotion. John Newall just got in his car and drove away. The last thing he told his daughter was that he always loved her. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was going to kill himself that night for the things he did to his daughter. She wished that the man that hit him wouldn't be punished for it. She would tell the police what he did, but they wouldn't believe her. Her mom knew what was going on every Friday. To save face, she wouldn’t let what he did get out. She needed to make sure *her* reputation stayed intact. For now, John Newall’s secret would stay. Maybe in the future, she would tell someone. She really did feel bad for the man who hit her father, however.