The Accident

The next morning, I searched all over for that particular panty. I tore drawers out of the dresser, searching through each one. I needed to see it, needed to feel it between my fingers, and confirm that this masked man entering my room was just a delusional dream of mine.

                The underwear was nowhere in sight.

                My heart started to pick up speed as I searched under my bed, in my closet, in the laundry baskets. Still, it was nowhere in sight.

                Running down in my PJ’s, I found my grandmother in the kitchen, sipping from her normal cup of coffee. She raised an eyebrow at my frantic appearance, opening her mouth to ask when I rudely cut her off.

                “Have you touched the laundry at all, Grandma?” I asked.

                Her eyebrows furrowed together, “No, I leave the laundry to you, Avery, like always. Why do you ask?”

                “I can’t find something…”

                “Well, it probably isn’t too important enough for you to miss school for it. Go get ready; I’ll look while you’re away.”

                I sighed, glancing down at the PJ’s. It would be an embarrassment to go to school wearing these. She was right. I needed to focus on getting through the day. Once I got back from work, I could focus on finding the panties.

                They had to be here somewhere.

                There was no way a masked man came into my room last night and stole a pair of green panties from me.

                It sounded like something from Hollywood.

                Of course it didn’t happen.

                “You’re right.” I sighed, “I’ll just look once I get back from work. It’s not that important, I just wanted to make sure I still had it.”

                “If not, I can give you some money to go out and buy a replacement.” She offered politely.

                My grandmother had raised me to be a hard working kid, yet she always offered money if I needed it. Almost always, I refused. She was too kind to be. Especially now that I had a job, I definitely didn’t need the money.

                “It’s fine. I already have enough money to buy it as it is.” I smiled gratefully, heading back upstairs to get ready for school.

                Once she was out of sight, my eyebrows furrowed together in concentration. There was absolutely no way that had really happened.

                I grabbed a set of clothes for school, quickly changing into them. As I changed bras for the day, a small paper fluttered down to the ground. My eyes widened with memory as I quickly snatched it up, opening it.

                This would confirm everything.

                I unfolded it slowly, biting my bottom lip.

                I could remember sticking a secretive note into my bra to keep it hidden from Superman that night.

                This could confirm his visitation.

                ‘You would look delicious in Red’

                ~*~

                “You alright, Aves?” Donavan asked a half an hour until our shift ended. He leaned his hips against the side of the counter. There were two people eating in the entire restaurant, and both of them sat at opposite sides. A few people manned the drive-through, but overall, it was a slow period. Not many people came in after the dinner rush.

                I looked up, meeting his eyes, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

                “You sure?”

                I nodded, “I’m just haven’t been sleeping a whole lot, lately. That’s all.”

                “Thinking about me too much?” He smirked.

                I rolled my eyes, “You know it.”

                “I won’t lie, the thought of you thinking of me when you’re having a little fun in your bed room… huge turn on.” His voice was hushed. He winked playfully.

                “Shut up, Don, you’re so full of crap.” I laughed, giving him a gentle shoved. He pouted slightly, pretending to be hurt.

                “You wound me.”

                “Good.”

                Donavan rolled his eyes, moving to the back of the store to grab a rag. In the recent days, no one had let me out from behind the counter. No girl had been out. Ronnie had instructed that only men would do that job and as manager, his word was law.

                I would have protested on sexism, but I was glad not to have to clean up anymore.

                I stood around the cash register, my eyes moving slowly around the restaurant. In my pocket, the folded up mystery paper felt like a weight. I hadn’t gone anywhere without it. Yet, I hadn’t read again since this morning.

                There was something ominous about it.

                 I didn’t like that one bit.

                Eventually, time moved enough for it to be the end of our shift. Donavan wrapped up his last table as I made my way towards the back room. I grabbed the duffle back from the ground, not bothering to change out of my uniform.

                Gently, I tugged the elastic band out of my hair, letting the curls cascade down my back loosely. Naturally, I had long, brown, curly hair. I got the curls from my mother, but the color from my father. I loved it.

                “Hey hot stuff.” Donavan said, slinging an arm around my shoulder loosely. He held out a hand expectantly for his wallet and keys.

                Lately, Donavan has been using me as his own personal safe. I unzipped my duffle bag, handing him his possessions.

                Donavan pressed his lips against my cheek, giving me a one-armed hug, “Thank you very much, Aves!”

                I rolled my eyes, ducking my head to hide the blush. He chuckled, already knowing the reaction he got out of me was one he liked.

                Donavan and I checked out, walking to the door together. He led the way down to my car, leaning against the side.

                “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He said, clicking the unlock button on his key. A beep sounded towards the right. Donavan changed course for that direction.

                I waved, climbing into my own seat.

                The drive home was quite. I kept the music on in the background at a low volume for a change. The songs began to run together to the point where I couldn’t tell what I was listening to anymore. A wave of exhaustion flooded over me, and I could feel my eyes begin to drop. I knew as soon as I could home I would crash.

                The street was dark before me. The small bubble of light illuminated by the headlights lit up the way as I drove down the empty road.

                I yawned, reaching over for the radio.

                I needed to wake up.

                My fingers turned the dial, raising the volume. The bass thumped roughly through-out the car as mainstream played through my speakers. I glanced down at the dashboard to check the time as I changed the station. The songs playing were not any of my favorites.

                It was 8:23.

                I leaned back in my seat, running a hand through my hair. I rested them at the bottom of the steering wheel as I drove the rest of the empty road.

                Ahead the light changed from red to green. I pressed down on the gas, picking up speed to catch it before it went yellow.

                I just shot into the middle when I saw the car.

                A large Ford truck heading straight towards me, not braking.

                I screamed, jerking the wheel sharply to my left.

                Tires screeched against the road. My car turned sideways, spinning in a circle. I was thrown roughly into the door of the car, my seatbelt tightening automatically. My fingers gripped the wheel as I tried to hang on for my life.

                My car hit the guard rail sharply, stopping there. A loud screech pierced the sky, and I was jerked forward sharply. The front end was embedded into it, breaking through the metal band.

                The airbag shot out into my face.

                I screamed again, pushing it away as I took in a deep breath.

                With shaky fingers, I unhooked the seatbelt, opening my door. I climbed out of the car slowly, bracing myself against the side. My legs jiggled from shock. I breathed through my lips quickly and shortly.

                The scene before me was just as shocking.

                The oncoming truck had stopped in the middle of the intersection. It was turned off completely. Through the faint lighting, I could make out a massive dent in the front of it. The metal was bent under a forceful weight so strong it was nearly flat in the front. White filled the windows, showing that their airbags had deployed as well.

                “Oh my gosh...” I breathed, shaken. All sleep had left my body the moment I saw the other truck coming.

                Standing not even five feet in front of the truck was a dark figure. It didn’t take a genius to realize who that figure was.

                He stood with his feet firmly on the ground. His head was tilted down in concentration. The arm closest to the truck was stuck straight out, fingers splayed out as if to high-five it. His other hand was gripped into a tight fist by his side.

                “No, no, no.” I whispered, shaking my head back and forth.

                He was breathing heavily. Even from this distance I could see that.

                I took a step back towards my car, bracing a hand against it cautiously.

                There was no way this could be real.

                The man looked up. I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn’t see them. His lips were parted slightly as he sucked in the air around him. Slowly, hesitantly, he took a cautious step forwards towards where I stood.

                I shook my head with disbelief.

                My car couldn’t have made that dent on the truck. What the hell had he done to go that? It was inhuman. It was crazy.

                It was science fiction!

                “Avery.” He whispered softly. Despite the low volume level, I could hear his voice as clearly as if he had spoken it in my ear.

                “Wh�"what did you do?!” I hissed, my words shaky. The air couldn’t come fast enough. This wasn’t real.

                This had to be a dream.

                I must’ve fallen asleep.

                Any moment, I would wake up, and life would go back to normal.

                He took another step towards me, raising his hands cautiously, “Calm down. I need to make sure you’re not harmed.”

                “Calm down?!” My voice rose in volume and in pitch. My head whipped around from my car to the other one, “My car did not do that! What the hell happened?! I’ve never seen that happen to a truck! What the f**k did you do?!”

                He took another step just as slowly, “I need you calm down please.”

                “How am I supposed to calm down when that just happened?!” My voice was nearly an octave higher than normal, “That’s not normal! What the hell are you?!”

                “I’m not normal.”

                That’s the only explanation I got.

                “The hell you’re not! What just happened?! I should be dead! Or at least unable to move! But I’m perfectly fine! That’s not normal!”

                “Can’t you just be glad you’re fine?”

                “Not when that just happened!”

                He took a deep breath, taking a few more steps closer. I backed up cautiously, my fingers gripping the side mirror in a death grip.

                “Let’s just go home and talk about this.”

                “How am I supposed to go home?! My car is crashed into the side of the road!” I threw a dramatic hand at the vehicle next to me angrily.

                “I’ll handle your car.”

                “I can’t just walk home! That’s two miles away!”

                “Better get cracking, shouldn’t you?” His lips pulled into a playful smirk. Now was not the time for that.

                “Do not joke with me about this! I’m calling the police.” I pulled out my phone, dialing the three numbers.

                Without warning, the phone was pulled from my hand and thrown on the ground. The masked man stood inches from me, towering over. He gripped my shoulders tightly. I looked at his lips, focusing intently on not looking where his eyes should be.

                “Do not talk to the police about this.” He hissed. His voice was deep in the night, but distinctly clear. “You were not involved. I’ll handle the evidence. I need you to get home as soon as you can. I’ll meet you there.”

                “You will not�"”

                But it was useless. He had already disappeared into the darkness of the night. I sighed angrily, running a hand through my hair. My eyes glanced at the trail I should take.

                It wasn’t too far.

                And if I cut through yards, I could shorten it down to a mile.

                Glancing around, I figured that was by best bet. I picked up the phone off the ground, cringing at the long crack that ran through the screen. It wouldn’t turn on.

                I tucked it into my pocket, turning to the road that I was heading on. My feet took control and began the trek back to my house.

                Superman was going to have to buy me a new phone.

                ~*~

                “You’ve got a hell of a lot of explaining to do.”

                He climbed through the window, landing softly on the ground. I stood by my door with a head full of wet hair. My arms were crossed over my chest. I wore PJ’s already, blue shorts with a yellow tank top. Written in fancy letters on the back of my shorts was ‘DTF?’, short for Down To F**k.

                They had been a gift from Karen.

                And they were incredibly comfortable.

                My eyes were trained on the man in my room as he walked over to my bed, falling face down onto it.

                “Excuse me!” I hissed.

                He grunted.

                “That’s my bed! Get off of it!” I hissed, walking over to him. I gave him a rough shove, which did about nothing.

                He rolled over onto one half of the bed, patting the empty space next to him. I narrowed my eyes, standing my ground.

                He shrugged, rolling onto his back.

                “Off!”

                The masked man ignored me. “Your bed is so comfortable. I could get used to something like this.”

                “Well too bad you’re not.”

                He chose not to respond.

                I sucked in a deep breath, pursing my lips, “Listen, can you just explain to me what the hell happened tonight?”

                “In good time, young grasshopper.”

                “Now is not the time for jokes.”

                He shrugged casually as if we were two friends having a conversation. That thought increased my annoyance level.

                The masked man propped himself up on his elbows, tilting his head towards me more. “Take a seat.”

                “I’d rather not.”

                “Why?” His lips pulled into a smirk, “Are you scared?”

                I scoffed, thrown off by his comment, “I’m not scared of you, if that’s what you’re trying to imply.”

                “Could’ve fooled me.”

                “Whatever reverse psychology trick you’re trying to play isn’t going to work. The only reason I haven’t kicked you out yet is because I want to know what happened earlier.” I said confidently, cocking my hip to the side.

                “The only reason you haven’t kicked me out is because you know it won’t do anything.” He smirked.

                I gritted my teeth to hold back a comment.

                The masked man fell back in victory. “What you saw earlier was me saving your f*****g life. So I really don’t think the attitude is appreciated.”

                “I’ll give you attitude if I want to give you attitude! I didn’t ask you to do whatever you did to that car! Is the driver even alright?” I hissed.

                “He’s dead.”

                “What?!”

                “He died behind the wheel.” The way the masked man said those words were too casual. It seemed surreal.

                “You… You killed him?!”

                He shook his head, “No. He died behind the wheel. I suspect a heart attack. Either way, his foot never left the gas.”

                I sank down onto the side of the bed. He didn’t bother commenting on that action. I had nearly died because of a dead man in a car.

                “How did you smash the front of his truck in?”

                “Magic.” I could hear the amusement in his voice.

                I shot him a dirty look, “I didn’t ask for your smartass, Superman. Just tell me how you did that, now.”

                “It’s my form of magic, princess.” His lips were still pulled into a smirk. I could tell he was trying to hold back laughter.

                I turned my body so that I sat cross-legged on the bed in front of him. Resting my hands in my lap, I looked up under my lashes innocently at him. I could tell he was watching with interest at my actions.

                “Can you please explain what you did?”

                He sighed, hesitating slightly, “It’s going to be a little strange…And I doubt you’ll believe me anyways.”

                “I barely believe you exist as it is.”

                He chuckled softly, “Alright, I’ll tell you. But you can’t tell anyone else.”

                “Do you really think I would?” I gave him a deadpan face.

                He ignored that and opened his mouth to speak.