Lauren calls one night

It’s almost 10:00 when my phone rings.

I look at the screen.

Lauren.

I answer immediately.

“Hey, Lauren?”

“Ethan?”

Her voice is shaky.

“What’s wrong?”

“My tire blew out. I—” She takes a breath. “I almost crashed.”

I sit up straight.

“What? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I think so. I’m pulled over, but I’m really scared. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“Where are you?”

She gives me the location.

“Okay. Stay in your car. I’m coming.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Just stay there.”

“Okay. Please hurry.”

I grab my keys and head out.

When I finally find her, her car is sitting on the shoulder with the hazards flashing. I pull in behind her and get out.

Lauren immediately walks toward me.

“Ethan.”

“Hey. Are you okay?”

She shakes her head.

“I’m okay physically, but that was terrifying.”

She looks like she’s still trying to calm herself down.

“I was driving and suddenly the tire just blew. The car started pulling sideways. I thought I was going to lose it.”

I look at the tire.

“Damn.”

“I don’t even know what to do.”

“I’ll take a look.”

I kneel down beside the wheel, then stop.

“Uh…”

Lauren looks at me.

“What?”

“I don’t have a jack or anything.”

She stares at me.

“I don’t either.”

We both stand there for a second.

“Okay,” I say. “There’s a hardware store a few minutes from here. Maybe we can get what we need.”

Lauren nods quickly.

“Okay. Yeah. Let’s do that.”

She locks her car, gets into mine, and we drive over.

A few minutes later, I pull into the hardware store parking lot.

It’s completely dark.

I look at the building.

The lights are off.

Lauren looks at the sign.

“No.”

I check the time.

10:17.

“It’s closed.”

She sinks back into the passenger seat.

“Of course it is.”

I let out a quiet sigh.

We sit there for a moment.

Neither of us says anything.

The parking lot is almost completely empty, the only light coming from the lamps scattered around the lot and the dashboard glowing faintly in front of us.

Lauren stares through the windshield.

I stare ahead too.

After everything that happened tonight, neither of us really knows what to say.