Here is the second chapter to my horror novel “Valley of the Stars.” Trigger warning: this chapter deals with the topic of suicide. The first page of this chapter is free for everyone ot read, the pages that follow are under the paywall. Comments and feedback are appreciated!
Summer, 2022, San Francisco
Cody Baker drove with his left hand on the wheel, the other texting feverishly on his phone. His focus shifted from screen to windshield and back again as the rain beat against the vehicle. It came in rapid machinegun tempo as it assaulted the glass. The ratatatat of the drops were like nails pounding into his head, screaming at him to move. He had to hurry, he knew that to be late was not an option. She might be serious this time.
A chime rang out from his phone. He slowed the car to take a corner while reading it in full: I KNEW YOU DIDN’T CARE.
His breath steamed up his glasses as well as the windshield; the defroster was broken, just like everything else in this shitty Honda Civic, just like everything else in his shitty life. With his right thumb, covered in a clammy sweat, he managed to type out a response: Thts not tru i care, just wat till i get there.
The car hydroplaned at the end of the bend and swerved into the opposite lane. There was no oncoming traffic, a rarity for the city, but it was 2 AM after all. He dropped the phone and took hold of the wheel with both hands. He steadied the car and wrestled back into its proper place. The phone pinged again from somewhere in the dark places at his feet. He reasoned it would be better to arrive alive than to respond and wrap himself around the next telephone pole so he kept on driving.
This makes what, three times this month?