Rachel Dreeszen I Remember

RACHEL DREESZEN

I remember

I remember. I remember his face. His face was red with blood. The windshield of his Ranger, a spider web of cracks. His arms waving frantically in the air. I stomp on my breaks, gripping my steering wheel so hard my knuckles are white. My best friend is in the ditch right off C70, ten miles from my home.

Looking over at Shae, she is as pale as a ghost. She tells me she can’t go out there. She won’t be able to handle it. I told her to stay there. Ripping my keys out of the ignition, I run down towards the wreck. I left my door open because I am so determined to get there. Running down the black top, my nice sandals slap the pavement as my arms pump to get there faster. My white summer dress flies around me as I move. Today, I graduated.

I walked across the stage at my stuffy high school gym. Standing next to a group of thirty-seven individuals, I have known my whole life. The boy to my right, Zach, works at DQ. He hopes to become a graphic designer. Moving over one seat at a time I get closer to the stage. Josh, the boy to my left, squeezes my hand. He is the one that walked with me down the rows of chairs to get here. Leaning in he tells me I got this. I did not know this at that moment, but he would be going into the navy in August. I stand at the bottom of the stage. They called my name. I breathe in and out starting the questionable stairs, wobbly and unstable. One, two, three, I walk up to the school board president and take my diploma. Finally done.

My hair whips around my face on that windy highway. I am now in front of the crash. The entire truck is twisted like a pretzel. Bits and pieces that came off of the truck are everywhere. Joel looks up at me with wild eyes.

“I need my phone.”

“What?”

“I need my phone now and I’m not leaving till I find it.”

I look over at the front of the truck. It is starting to smoke and catch fire. Looking down, I can see the grass is coated in oil, antifreeze, and other truck fluids. Taking action, I put up my hair and I tuck my dress into the shorts under my dress to make sure it stays white and out of the way.

Managing to get into the ditch, I start to try to convince Joel to get away from this ticking time bomb. He argues with me for a while. I finally convince him I will look for the phone, only if he does as I ask. He climbs his way out of the grassy ditch. Grabbing the floor mats, M&M’s, I gave him this candy last week, flew out of the truck. Lose papers fly around my head. I can’t find it and am running out of time.

A truck drives up. Running up the side of the ditch the best I can, I go to the man’s driver window. He asks me what is wrong and looks at me strangely. I can’t figure out why till, I realize I still have my dress tucked into my shorts. I let him know I am fine, it wasn’t me in the accident and that my friend needs help. Looking over, I see Joel is now with nervous Shae. The driver says he will call 911. With that, he drives to go block traffic and guide the ambulance. I walk up to my vehicle, where Joel is now, and untuck my dress.

Shae is shaking as she takes her phone back from him so he could call his parents. Joel tries to convince me he is in no pain. His face is still covered in blood. Getting out my water bottle from the backseat and a stray blanket I hand them to him. He barely pats the blood off his face. He lets me know he doesn’t want to get blood on my blanket. He starts chugging the water. My intentions were for him to take the water and rinse off the blood and wipe it with my blanket.

Shae pales again. I bring her back to my car to have her sit down. She tries to keep it together. While I am attending to her, Joel is gone. I am frantic, but realize he is talking to an older woman on the side of the road. I ran up. She lets me know she is a former EMT. She has Joel lay down in the grass because his belt is hurting his stomach. Joel and Shae’s parents show up. The two sets of parents came up to me and asked what happened. I let them know through a firm, calm voice, I force myself to maintain. Flashing lights come as do the tow truck and the cop. He runs up and asks how Joel’s condition is. He asks if he was speeding. Joel without hesitation answers yes.

Calling Shae on my phone in the parking lot after the ceremony, I tell her we should go get tacos at La Juas in celebration of my graduation. I bring her over and we meet Joel. Sitting in the small booth downtown Sioux City, we laugh and eat our Mexican food. They have the best authentic Mexican sodas. I got an orange one this time. Joel got a plain Coke. After we finish, we head to

the parking lot. He lets me know I will be “eating his dust” on the way home. To which, I tell him “in his dreams”, my car by far is faster than his Ranger. On the way home, my car stops unexpectedly. It has never done this before and never did so again. I have to pull over and restart my car. I drove over two hills then I saw the wreck. I saw my best friend coated in blood in the ditch.

The EMT’s rushed out. They question me about the accident. This is when the adrenalin has run out. Joel starts groaning. He is in so much pain. The EMT’s move to put him on a canvas cloth. He groans some more and I am taken away from the scene by Shae’s mother. She holds me and tells me it will be alright. Taking the jacket off her back she puts it on me. Behind us the Ranger is burning up. The firemen on the scene are putting out the fire.

From there, I am brought to Shae’s home, where I try to occupy my time calling those who are affected by Joel’s absence. I’m told I am not allowed to drive to the hospital where Joel is being taken. I called my mother and begged her to take me. No, I tell her I am going to go to see him. It becomes a blur till I am in the waiting room. I see him within a few minutes. He is battered up as hell, black eyes, cuts up and down his left arm and hand, cuts all over his face, but in one piece. Everytime I see those cuts that are now scars, I remember that day. I remember.