Where Forever Lies by Tara Neideffer Read Free Book Online

relieved that it didn’t
escalate into a fit of rage like the last time Dolores refused her
medicine, and she held out her hand to lead her down to the rec room
to play a quick game of checkers before her shift ended. Dolores
slowly got up, and together, they inched their way down the hall to
the rec room.
    Paige took the steps two at a
time as she headed for her car, ready to go home, relax, and put the
long day behind her. She was tired and knew she would have a long
night after picking up Kyra, going home to make dinner and then
getting Kyra down for bed. But at least she’d be home with her
daughter and not at work.
    She thought about Kyleigh’s
and her plans for this Saturday and felt her spirit lighten a little.
She had been so stressed lately that getting out for even a night was
going to make a difference. She wondered about the place Kyleigh said
she knew about. She wasn’t really a country type of girl and
she hoped she wasn’t taking her line dancing. That thought
terrified her. Surely that’s not what she had in mind. Paige
was suddenly worried about their night out. She was a city girl, she
never really ventured out into the country; it just wasn’t her.
But with Kyleigh, she never knew where they’d end up.
    As she was driving down the
highway, Paige saw there was a traffic jam up ahead. She slowed down
and pulled to a stop in the left hand turning lane. She groaned at
the long line of traffic in front of her. She just wanted to get
home. She cranked the music up a little louder, hoping to drown out
her worried thoughts that seemed to never go away. A glint of light
hit the lucky horseshoe that hung on her rearview mirror and she
looked up at it, watching as it swayed from side to side. She
frowned, wondering how it was moving so rapidly, considering her
windows were up, when she suddenly felt a strong urge to look behind
her, almost a pull. When she looked in the rearview mirror, her jaw
dropped and she frowned at what she saw. She could not possibly be
seeing what she thought she was. In her rearview mirror, she saw a
truck heading straight towards her with no intention of slowing down.
Driving down the highway, she figured he must be going at least sixty
miles per hour. Surely, this person was not going to hit her. As he
got closer, she frantically grasped the steering wheel and tried to
turn her car towards the median to get out of his way, but she was
too close to the car in front of her and there was no time to back up
and get out of there. Not knowing what else to do she gripped the
steering wheel with all her strength and closed her eyes, knowing she
was about to be creamed. “Oh, God, help me,” was all that
she could muster out.
    Then, her vision darkened as she
felt the harsh impact of the truck slam into her. Her head went
flying forward, and she could feel herself being pushed into the
median in slow motion. She quickly opened her eyes and realized she
was heading towards the other side of the highway, into oncoming
traffic. She grabbed the steering wheel, jerked it to the center, and
slammed on the brakes as fast as she could. When she finally
plummeted to a stop, she sat there for a moment, completely dazed,
making sure she was all right as she tried to catch her breath. She
felt like she was going to hyperventilate, or be sick, and her heart
was beating so hard. Her chest ached from hitting the steering wheel
but she was pretty sure she didn’t break any ribs. She ran her
shaky hand through her tousled hair and took three slow breaths in
and out—and waited until her heart felt somewhat normal again.
When she regained her composure, she breathed, “Thank you”
to God, threw her car in park, and stepped out to see what had
happened, and make sure no one else was hurt. The impact of the crash
was so powerful that she was surprised she came out uninjured.
    She saw the driver of the truck
standing over on the side of the highway jotting something down on a
piece of paper. Astonished, she