They say most accidents happen close to the home. At the time, I hadn’t realized just how close we were to Avery’s house when we were hit. I hadn’t even been back by the place where it happened. I don’t know if it was a coincidence or if passing by had something to do with it, but as soon as I saw the bridge, I remembered.
“Did either one of you learn anything fun today?”
“I did!” Riley said excitedly and raised her hand in the air. “We learned that a starfish’s mouth is on the bottom. Isn’t that gross?”
“Why is that gross?”
“Because mermaids put them on their boobies!” she said in horror.
I couldn’t hold in my laughter. “What are they teaching you at that school?”
“They teach us all kinds of—”
Riley’s words faded as I glanced in my rearview mirror and my eyes landed on the truck barreling toward us. It was going to hit us if I didn’t do something, but my options were limited due to all the traffic. I laid on the horn to alert the car in front of me and jerked the wheel to swerve out of the way. I watched in horror as the truck moved closer and made contact with my rear quarter panel. The truck started to spin and then we were hit again causing the truck to roll.
“It was a truck,” I blurted, still in a daze from the sudden memory.
“What?” Copper barked.
“It was a truck that hit us. I remember. It was a black Dodge Ram,” I said and shared the details of what I recalled. “It was almost like the maneuver police officers sometimes use when they’re trying to stop a vehicle they’re chasing. He hit me and made me spin out; then, he rammed me again which made us flip.”
“He? You saw who it was?” Copper asked excitedly.
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t mean anything by that. It could’ve been a man or a woman.”
“But you’re sure it was a black Dodge Ram?”
“One hundred percent,” I affirmed. “That would also explain the police reports and witness statements, as well as why there was no visible paint from the other vehicle on my truck.”
“When we get back to Avery’s, we need to call down to the station and have this added to the reports so they can start looking for the truck that hit you.”
“I don’t know why, Prez, but I think we should keep this new information to ourselves for right now. Let’s see what Spazz can find first before we tell anyone else.”
“What are you thinking, Savior?”
I shook my head. “I honestly don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have.” Something wasn’t sitting right with me. Even though a truck that looked exactly like mine hit me, at least one witness should have said the wreck involved two black trucks, not just one. And I was completely ignoring the other detail about a black Silverado being responsible for Claire’s injuries.
Copper let it drop as he pulled into the school’s car line, but I continued to play the accident over and over in my mind. I could clearly see the truck coming up behind us, but I couldn’t remember any details about the person behind the wheel nor could I recall any distinctive features about the truck.
“You’ll make yourself crazy if you keep doing that,” Copper interjected.
“Doing what?”
“Trying to force yourself to remember something. If I had to guess, I’d say you’re sitting over there trying to make yourself remember who was driving,” he said knowingly. “Fact of it is, you probably didn’t see who was driving. Once you noticed what was happening, your mind would’ve focused on getting you and the kids out of harm’s way.”
I sighed in frustration. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But, damn it, now I want to know who was responsible more than ever.”
“We’ll find out who it was. It may take a little longer than you or I’d like, but we’ll find the son of a bitch, and then we’ll make him pay.”
I hoped he was right.
“Kellan! Mr. President!” Riley squealed. “You surprised us!”
“We did! How are you doing today, princess?” Copper asked.
“Great! We had a holiday party today with cupcakes and lots of candy. Today was our last day of school before holiday break,” she shared.
Braxton climbed in next. Once he was situated, a teacher placed a large box in his lap and quickly closed the door.
