Skate-O-Rama!

The steady thump of the bass still pounded in his head as Nick ripped out of the parking lot. The bumper of his car scrapped across the ground as he sped onto the unlit road. His fingers rapidly tapped against the steering wheel as he glanced in the rearview mirror for headlights.

Nick didn’t quite understand what had happened. One minute, they were laughing, singing loudly to Atomic Dog as they spun around in circles, and then-

Nick tightly closed his eyes to purge the memory from his head. He had fucked up. He should have just called 911. Now, he was a criminal. No police officer would accept his story. He didn’t even know if he could.

“You see officer, we were on a first date,” Nick mumbled to himself. “She was new to the area and I told her I would show her around. I meet up with her, have a few drinks, then she says ‘Hey! Let’s go skating!’ Sounds like a great idea, huh? Took her to the only one in the town.”

Nick flashed his eyes to the rearview mirror as his vision was suddenly filled with a yellow light. His whole body tensed, and he slammed on the breaks to decelerate the car to the speed limit. He couldn't give any passing cop a good reason to pull him over. A thud sounded from the trunk, and Nick did his best to not gag.

The car behind him quickly became tired of going the speed limit, and passed him. Nick scanned the side of the vehicle and sighed in relief when he saw no police markings. He returned to tapping his fingers on the wheel. He returned to his fake interrogation.

“So we get to the rink, get set up with our rental skates, and take a few spins around until my shins start killing me!”

Nick made a sharp right turn, a pothole sending him flying off his seat. His head made a thud against the roof of the car.

“She kept skating, Officer, honest!” Nick rubbed his head. “I watched her until she was the only one skating anymore, music had been turned down and all. The worker was out back--probably cursing us out for still being there--and she skated right over to where I was sitting.”

Another right turn. He could see his destination.

“She musta slid or something, cause suddenly she’s on the floor, and I laugh, cause that’s what you do, isn’t it? You laugh and then you make sure they’re okay,” Nick slowed the car down and drifted onto the shoulder of the road, though, the shoulder of this road was more just a muddy shore.

Nick huffed before he zipped his jacket up. He had sealed his fate the minute he had taken her out of the rink. If he didn’t do this, he would go to jail. He swallowed. His Adam's apple caught on the dryness of his throat and he coughed. He exhaled and stepped out of the car.

The road seemed entirely too quiet. Nick was used to only a few cars passing on this road every day, but the silence and the beating in his chest made him fidget with the hem of his jacket. Pinpricks down his back urged him to continue checking over his shoulder.

He fumbled with the key, not able to keep his hands still enough to slide it into the trunk lock. Once it was in, he turned the key and the thunk the lock made echoed across the night. Nick swiveled his head around again, checking again for any onlookers. Nick swung his arms back and forth as he tried to steel himself.

“So I get around to asking if she’s okay, and she doesn’t answer.”

Nick pulled open the trunk.

Nothing about the way her body had folded after the bumpy ride looked normal. Her neck was bent farther back than Nick figured was healthy, and one of her legs was twisted in the entirely wrong direction. Her blonde hair fanned out, stuck to the dirt embedded in the carpet. She still had on the dingy, off-white rental skates.

Nick’s stomach turned.

“I think she’s playing, just pulling my leg cause I laughed before checking on her, but then she still doesn’t get up, and I tell her it isn’t funny anymore. She still didn’t move.”

Nick pulled her by her feet, so they were hanging out of the car. He couldn’t very well throw her out with the skates on, the police would be able to trace it back to the skating rink, and surely someone would say that he had been with her.

He looked around and saw the tree that towered over the mouth of the river.

Quickly, he tied the laces of the skates together. A few quick twirls and he lobbed the footwear as high as he could.

There was a harsh scream, piercing Nick’s eardrums, and for a moment, he feared he had hit someone else, but he saw the silhouette of a large barn owl swoop down to the road before taking off headed south. He wished he could fly away from all of this. The owl was lucky.

Nick turned back to the task at hand. Now, to get rid of her.

He grabbed her under her knees and upper back, just like how he had carried her out of the rink.

“So I get up and look at her, and her eyes are all open, and she’s not blinking. I didn’t know how to take a pulse, so I did what my momma woulda done and give her a shake, and she still didn’t say nothing, and then, well Mr. Police Man, then I realize she isn’t breathing no more.”

Nick carefully climbed down the muddy decline down to the river.

“And I looked around, but no one was in there to see it happen. If that worker had come back in, she woulda blamed me for it, said I had killed her or something, but I didn’t.”

Nick gently laid her down in the shallows. Her blonde hair turned dark as the water washed over it. The running of the river made it so he had to speak up for the interrogation.

“So I scooped her up. I knew I just had to get rid of her, to clear my own name, sir. She’s from out of town, and no one was gonna believe me when I said I didn’t do it.”

Nick put the tip of his boot on her shoulder and gave a shove. He watched silently as the current pulled her away and out of sight.

“The toughest part about it, Officer, is that I don’t even remember her name.”