The Only One He Wants

Gabrielle inhaled. Exhaled.

Oh, if only her red car had a mouth to speak, who knew what stories it would tell about her.

“I have to calm myself down. This is going nowhere. I am driving,” she whispered to herself. However, the storm of emotions didn’t seem to let her get away from its grasp.

She had fought her bullies at school. She had stood up to them. She had proven to them that she hadn’t been just Fat Gabby or Piggy Gabby or the other hundred nicknames they had given her. They had been just labels and she had gotten over them.

You’ll never find a good-looking husband, her mother’s voice sounded in her mind. Only because she had been plus sized. She rose above that too. She’d had faith and had grown to be confident and feel attractive in her body.

Gabrielle was going to get everything under control. As a matter of fact, the tears were stopping. Oh yeah, they were. Her pulse was returning to its normal pace. Her heart as well. She blinked away the tears. She saw clearer.

She was Gabrielle Bassett. A born fighter. The one who fought against bad days like these.

The streets were looking more and more familiar. She could drive in these parts of the city with her eyes closed. A small smile found its way onto her face. Her daughter was going to be perfectly okay after going to the hospital. Another deal would come. She would have enough money in her bank account to go everywhere she wanted. Some day. Definitely.

Looking out the windows, she saw the houses around her neighborhood, the tall trees on both sides of the road, the calm, kind of depressing atmosphere. Her mind roamed and she had absolutely no idea that there would a red light in front of her.

Driving steadily, a red dot appeared on her windshield. She instinctively pressed the brake pedal in the same instance.

Bang!

Then came the bang and her whole body went forward. “What the hell?” she said, but she knew what had happened. She froze on the spot, feeling her stomach churning and twisting. She rubbed her hands across the sides of her legs to wipe off the sweat on them.

A brief glimpse of the rearview mirror proved her suspicions. Some bas*ard had hit her from behind.

It was her fault, and she knew. But her thoughts were torn and it had been an emotional day. She wasn’t composed. And now this. Was karma working against her? What had she done wrong to deserve this day?

She got out of her car, heat rushing into her face.

Gabrielle found that the car that had hit her was one of those new models, black and sleek. The kind of car all men were crazy about. Honestly, she too would be crazy for a car like that.

Squinting her eyes, she couldn’t exactly see through the tinted glass. Then there was a light in the car and she saw that a man in a uniform sat in the driver’s seat. His expression couldn’t be read. And he was getting out.

His black suit, matching black hat and white gloves could mean only one thing. The guy worked as a chauffeur. Well done, Gabrielle, you got into a car accident with a rich person.

That seemed to be the climax of everything that had happened that day. The tears came again and she couldn’t see a thing before her eyes. She was over. Done. This couldn’t be happening to her. Not today. She realized that she was making it worse for herself, thinking negatively.

She glanced towards her car. It was ruined. Her cute red car that she drove every day to work was just as finished as its mistress. Its whole back was laying on the asphalt. That provoked even more tears.

She was sobbing now. Sobbing like a small child whose doll had been taken from her hands.

“I am so sorry. I… I… I don’t know what happened. I am a complete wreck. This is horrible. It’s my fault. All of it. This has never happened to me. I don’t know how I didn’t see that damn stoplight.” She was mumbling now. Words were seeping out of her mouth without her mind’s approval.

She placed a hand over her mouth. The scene before her was truly disastrous. One mistake and there went two cars.

Her head was buried in her hands. She managed to utter through tears, “Sorry… I…” She felt so embarrassed that she wanted the earth to open beneath her and swallow her whole body.

“It’s okay. Totally okay,” a voice said.

It wasn’t the chauffeur’s.