Jacob looked out on the oncoming traffic, high above on the balcony that jutted out over a side road close to the freeway. It was a flood of red, blue, and silver cars, speckled with dust colored semi-trucks. Along with the, “common folk,” cars headed to work, he spotted several classic Cadillac’s, and a couple old time Mustangs, all driving unnaturally slow, but he decided that was just the Monday morning traffic. Jacob had always had a soft spot inside for automobiles from the nineteen sixties and seventies, the time era in which his farther had lovingly referred to as the, “golden age,” of cars. This was made painfully apparent by the throw back NASCAR jackets he would sport, along with the matching racing hat and sunglasses.

         As a boy of around eleven or twelve he had received a nineteen seventies Corvette model for his birthday, or was it Christmas, from his uncle Matias. Either way it had presented a challenge from the get go; that was another love that was housed in the soft spot in his heart. The model had taken Jacob, who was new at the time to car models, over four months to complete. He was so proud of his work that he took to carting the plastic model around with him everywhere he went. This went for the better half of a year, or was it two, and most likely would have continued after, if not for the paint starting to chip, and the plastic starting to show wear and tear on it. Jacob then retired it to the shelf over his bed.

         Three or four years had past since the Mustang had been in retirement. A myriad amount of change had taken hold of Jacob’s life; his plethora of friends that had accompanied shrank down to three or four, he spent more times in his room, not studying, but sittings, thinking.

         He mostly thought about life.

         He thought about how he had yearned to be a secret agent, or, a sports car driver, or, at what his mother, who nursed at the local hospital, would bubble with joy whenever he mentioned it to her, a doctor. He had always dreamed of curing some worldwide disease that would save millions of people’s lives. His mother had always bragged about him to her friends, which all had sons around his same age, but none of which showed as much want to help other people.

         A sharp screeching and the sound of horns tore through the air and ripped Jacob away from his daydream. A black hearse and a White Audi looking car had crashed several hundred feet to the left of where Jacob was standing. He immediately went to the edge of his balcony, his hands turned slowly white as he gripped the black metal that made his railing. He contemplated dialing 911 for a split second before seeing that there were already police squad cars and an ambulance approaching, besides, he thought to himself, it didn’t look like the crash had been bad for anyone but the rear end of the white, it must be an Audi, he thought to himself.

         Five minutes passed. He finally turned away from the morning pink sky; he took one glance behind him, hesitating as he listened to the sirens cut out. 

1

         “Jacob,” Mona said, her voice trembling, but never breaking, “pull yourself together, now.”

         Jacob stared blankly back, tears glistening in his eyes.

         “I know you knew that we’d never last forever.” As Mona said this her voice got stronger and more forceful, sounding more like a mother scolding her son for not eating his vegetables, instead of a girlfriend breaking up with her boyfriend.

         “Mona,” Jacob’s voice, higher then usual, took a low drop before returning too normal, replied, “I love you, I-I thought you loved me.” he looked at his feet as he finished speaking.

         “Jacob,” Mona said, grimacing as she tried to look him in the eyes, she ended up staring somewhere above his right eyebrow, “we lov-ed each other. I lov-ed you.” She gritted her teeth, showing off her pearly white canines. “I know this is hard for you to hear, but you need too... You just need to move on from me.”

          After trying and failing to raise his gaze for a few moments he fell back into his own mind. He thought back to when he was in eleventh grade, maybe tenth. He remembered he was in the bathroom, throwing up before his basketball game later in the day, when he heard them. It wasn’t the first time that cold month of January, maybe the third or fourth.

         He decided it was the fourth time since the cold front had set in which would place the first fight between them somewhere in late December.

         He winced as he remembered their voices, usually calm, at least in his mind, were coupled together in a whirlwind of harsh words and a hail of insults. These arguments would usually follow a strict line of rules: don’t hit, don’t involve Jacob, and say sorry at the end.

         He finally mustered the strength the meet Mona’s gaze. It occurred to him that he had not ever been able to fully appreciate her eyes. Sparkling blue with a hint of seawater green. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time, like a baby bird taking flight from its nest. He let himself dive into her eyes, he saw his reflection in her blue eyes, he was reminded of Ocean Blue, taking him away in it’s strong currents.

         Again he delved deep into his own thoughts.

            He heard his mothers voice rattling in his eardrums, pleading with my father to just leave, get out of her life, along with Jacob’s. He shouts back even louder and more harshly, bringing her to tears, he would follow suit within seconds.





Not quite done with this story as I'm sure you can tell. Would love feedback, plot, or grammar,   anythings great, thanks.