Chapter 3 - Rosa
The cold was beginning to seep into my bones, making my joints ache and my vision blur. Just as I considered stepping further into the road to force a vehicle to stop, the deep, rumbling groan of a massive diesel engine cut through the wind.
An eighteen-wheeler, painted a faded industrial blue, slowed down, its air brakes hissing loudly as it pulled onto the shoulder a few yards ahead of me. The passenger side door popped open, and a woman in a heavy flannel jacket and a bright orange beanie climbed down. She was older, with lines of hard work etched around her dark eyes.
“Lord have mercy, honey! What are you doing out here?” she shouted over the roar of the wind, rushing toward me with a thick, wool blanket already in her hands.
“My husband,” I gasped, my teeth chattering so violently I could barely form the words. “He left me.”
She didn’t ask any more questions. She wrapped the heavy, smelling-of-coffee-and-smoke blanket tightly around my shoulders and practically carried me toward the cab of the truck.
“Up you go, sweetie. Let’s get you out of this ice,” she said, boosting me up the high steps.
Once inside the heated cab, the sudden warmth felt like a physical blow. I slumped into the passenger seat, gripping the blanket. The driver climbed in behind the wheel and blasted the heater to its maximum setting.
“My name is Rosa,” she said, pulling a thermos from her bag and pouring a cup of steaming tea. “Drink this. Slowly.”
I took the cup with trembling hands. “I’m Lena. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Rosa frowned, putting the truck into gear. “Do you want me to call the police, Lena? I have a radio right here. We can have them waiting at the next exit.”
May you like
I looked out the window. The red taillights of passing cars were disappearing into the snowy distance, looking exactly like the back of Derek’s SUV.
“No,” I said, my voice steadying as the warmth returned to my chest. “Not yet.”
