One Last Call Before Goodbye Chapter 09
Marshall did not know how he walked out that door, nor did he remember how he got into the car.
He was still holding the ceramic doll in his hand, his fingertip cut by some sharp edge, blood slowly welling up and dripping onto the steering wheel.
He felt nothing. The wind had started outside the window.
A raindrop hit the windshield, then two, then three… Soon, the entire city was shrouded in a grayish-white curtain of rain.
The blood at Marshall’s fingertip had stopped flowing.
He gripped the steering wheel, but had no idea where to go.
His phone vibrated in the driver’s cabin. He picked it up and glanced at the screen—it was Mom.
He instinctively wanted to press decline, his fingertip pausing just a centimeter away.
Suddenly, he remembered the things Louise had said.
He swiped to answer.
Before he could speak, Tabitha’s accusatory voice came from the other end: “Marshall, did you go looking for Darlene again?”
Marshall’s voice was unusually calm: “Mom, did you force Lena to break up with me?”
There was a clear pause on the other end of the line.
“What, did she complain to you?” Tabitha’s tone was tinged with disdain.
“Of course, I knew it. How could she have left you so easily back then, not even wanting any money? Turns out she was waiting for me here.”
Marshall’s grip almost crushed the phone in his palm.
“Mom,” his voice was so heavy it seemed squeezed from his chest, “that’s enough.”
Without waiting for Tabitha to say more, he hung up and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat.
He lowered his head, staring at the ceramic doll in his hand, his fingertip tracing the cracks inch by inch.
“Lena,” his voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, “I’m sorry… it’s all my fault…”
The rain fell harder and harder.
Marshall started the car again.
He still did not know where to go.
He only felt that if he stayed here any longer, his longing for Darlene would slowly strangle him.
The wipers swung frantically back and forth, but could not clear the relentless rain.
The road ahead became blurry, as if veiled by a layer of tears.
Marshall stopped the car at an intersection, waiting for the red light.
The rain was so loud that all he could hear was the drumbeat of his own heart.
The red light became a hazy halo in the rain.
He did not see the large truck approaching from the side.
“Bang—”
A deafening crash exploded in the rain, as if something had shattered.
Metal twisted, glass shattered, and rainwater poured in.
Marshall’s body lurched forward, his forehead slamming into the steering wheel, warm liquid streaming down his brow.
The world became very quiet.
The sound of rain, the wind, and the distant screams all seemed muffled by thick cotton.
The ceramic doll was gone. He struggled to support himself, lowering his head to search for it.
The ceramic doll had been thrown under the passenger seat.
He reached out, his fingers just a little short, brushing against the ceramic shards.
It was broken.
Broken again.
He stared blankly at the fragments, suddenly noticing a corner of white paper inside.
Marshall forced himself up, blood streaming from his temple, blurring his vision.
He reached out, his fingertip just a centimeter away from the slip of paper.
A gust of wind blew in through the shattered window, flipping the paper over.
On it was Darlene’s delicate handwriting.
“Marshall, I hope you will always be happy and safe.”
Marshall stared at those words, and suddenly a smile tugged at his lips, blood running down his mouth and mixing with the rain.
His chest heaved violently, each breath feeling like a knife slicing through him.
His vision began to blur.
The handwriting on the slip of paper seemed to slowly blur, turning into the shape of a person.
Darlene sat in the passenger seat, turning her face to look at him, a gentle smile on her lips, just like before.
Her voice was soft, like wind rustling through fallen leaves: “Mardy, let’s go together.”
Marshall swallowed the blood in his mouth and reached out, trying to touch her.
His fingertip brushed the hem of her clothes.
“Alright, let’s go together.”