The Crossroads



  The Crossroads

  Majanka Verstraete

  Copyright © 2011 Majanka Verstraete

  The Crossroads

  First Edition, eBook – published 2011

  Evermore eBook Publishing: https://evermore.eternalised.net

  All rights reserved.  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

 

 

 

  Synopsis for “The Crossroads”

  After getting into an argument with her boyfriend while driving home from a party, Angela finds herself stranded on an abandoned road in the dead of night.

  Then she meets an unfamiliar woman who appears to be equally lost and lonely. But what Angela doesn’t know is that her immediate trust in this stranger might have disastrous consequences…

  The Crossroads

  “Seriously, Doug!?” Angela Martens nearly yelled at her boyfriend who she recently discovered was cheating on her. That would be bad enough on its own, if it weren’t for the fact that the object of his desire happened to be Angela’s ex-best friend and current number one enemy, Abigail Thornton.

  Abigail and Angela had been best friends for life (or BFFs, if you want) since kindergarten. They shared everything, from lollipops to fashion taste to secrets to matching bracelets. And then, there came boys. Unfortunately, Abigail and Angela also shared the same taste in boys. It all started with Abigail asking Riley Morgan out, while Angela had confessed to her friend earlier on the same day that she thought she had feelings for Riley. When Riley accepted Abigail’s proposal, Angela felt heartbroken and betrayed, not as much because her crush happened to like another person more, but mostly because that other person happened to be her best friend. That’s when the competition really started.

  Although it was obvious to Angela that her ex-BFF actually had feelings for Riley Morgan, she didn’t stop at nothing to get her own paws in the boy, much to his delight. Turns out that Riley enjoyed having two women fight over them, and that he was never really interested in either one of them. Typical. But although one would think that would be enough for both girls to make up, that wasn’t the case. They just brought their little competition to the next level. When Angela was dating someone, Abigail went to the other end of the world and beyond to ruin that relationship. When Abigail found a new BFF – Lissa Simmons, a cute girl with a plain face and braces but with a bubbly personality and a vast array of friends – Angela stopped at nothing to keep them apart. She told the most hideous lies about Abigail, and even blurted out a few of the secrets they had shared with each other over the years, like about Abby’s parents’ divorce, or Angela’s terrible claustrophobia. To make a long story short, they could hate and hurt each other as easily as they had befriended and loved each other before.

  This was just another episode in the large game of Abigail vs. Angela. Abigail had seduced Angela’s new boyfriend, Douglas Neil, and had dropped the bomb at a party they both attended earlier on this evening. Angela felt furious and hurt, but not because her boyfriend had cheated on her. Douglas was notorious for his player status, an almost obligatory trait for a star football player. No, she felt hurt because her ex-best friend had succeeded in hurting her and publicly humiliating her again. The problem was that Angela couldn’t really blame Abigail anymore. So maybe Abby had started it all, but it was Angela who had blown their quarrel over Riley Morgan out of proportion.

  And look at them now. Riley Morgan was a forgotten memory, yet they continued to make each other’s life miserable every day. It was her ruined friendship that brought Angela to tears now. It was the enormous guilt she felt at purposely hurting a girl she had been friends with for over ten years, and the terrible pain at the thought that her best friend was doing the same to her.

  “What do you want me to say, Ang?” Douglas asked, his voice thick and tired. Obviously he had been drinking too much, but that was hardly an excuse. It only angered Angela more, because he was driving. She had trusted him to be sober or at least sober enough so she wouldn’t have to worry about getting into a freaking car accident. Obviously, that wasn’t the case.

  “I want you to say sorry, Doug,” Angela continued. “Sorry that you made out with the girl you know hates me more than anyone else in the entire universe. I can’t even believe you fell for that. You do know the only reason she made out with you was to hurt me, right?”

  He nodded slowly, angering Angela. Why was he so damn slow? Did he not understand anything? Was it mandatory for jocks to be extraordinary stupid as well?

  “And,” she continued, barely masking her anger, “I asked you to remain sober, so you could drive me home safely. It’s obvious that you’re drunk. So pull over and let me drive before you hit a tree or something.”

  Douglas shrugged and waived her off. “Stop overreacting, babe. I’m not going to hit a tree. I know what I’m doing.” She had to hand it to him. He was good at pulling the confident, couldn’t-care-less attitude. But he didn’t fool her. She wasn’t one of those timid, socially-awkward girls who did everything their boyfriends told them to, or who just shut up whenever their boyfriend asked them to. She could be really stubborn and right now, Doug wasn’t going to win this argument.

  “First of all, don’t call me babe. I’m done with you. Did you honestly think I’d take you back after you cheated on me?” She raised her eyebrows, but when she quickly continued, it was obvious she wasn’t expecting an answer. “Now I’m being serious, Doug. Pull over and let me drive. You’re drunk. Even if you’re sure you won’t hit a tree, we could still get pulled over by the cops and you know what happens then.”

  Reluctantly, Douglas sighed, but he did pull the car over to the side of the road. As he stopped the engine, he looked at Angela with the most sincere look he had given her so far. “Alright, babe, you can drive,” he said then, smiling at her. “But let’s not argue about Abby and what happened anymore. I want to be with you. I need you, babe. Who else is going to help me pass math?”

  Angela’s expression hardened. “So that’s all I am to you, really? A tutor to help you with math?”

  “That’s not what I mean,” Doug continued. “But…”

  “Never mind it, Doug. You can drive yourself home.” Angela roughly opened the car door and nearly tumbled out of the car. “I’ll walk,” she stated bravely as she grabbed her purse from the passenger seat and slammed the door shut.

  She began walking in the direction of her home, realizing that it was still ten miles away and she should probably call her parents to pick her up instead. She saw Douglas’ car speeding off – obviously he was as angry with her as she was with him – and realized only then that she had left her cellphone in his car. Her heroic departure from her now ex-boyfriend’s car seemed far less glamorous now she was stranded on an abandoned road in the middle of the night.

  Relax, Ang, she told herself. Doug is going to notice that you left your phone behind, and he isn’t stupid enough to think you could walk all the way back home on your own. Or he’s going to feel sorry and come get you. Then you’re going to keep your big mouth and get into the car with him, and let him take you home. Drunk or not drunk, everything is better than spending another hour in this cold.

  She walked a bit further, and paused when she reached the sign of the Lincoln Street Crossroads. On
those crossroads, Lincoln Street and Faraday Lane, she was likelier to catch someone also coming home from the party. She could signal them, they’d pull their car over and then they could take her home. And if she had to wait for Doug’s return, he’d obviously notice her if she stayed here. There was a lonely lamppost brightening the crossroad sign. Angela sat down on a small rock, careful to remain in the light of the lamppost so cars driving by could easily notice her. Right now, potential murders driving by were the least of her concern. The