I Never Said I Love You

Post-Apocalyptic Fiction by Melissa R. Mendelson

They were all driving south. Thousands of vehicles crawling for miles and miles, bumper to bumper. Many were pulled over to the side, poor souls freezing in the cold, but there was no time to grieve for them. There was no time left for any of them as the snow continued to fall.

Raven was the only one driving north. She should be with the rest of them, heading for warmer climate. The snow was not going to stop falling. Her chest tightened as she glanced at the small box on the front passenger seat. The lanes ahead of her were empty, but the snow was getting heavier. She had snow tires, but would that be enough? She didn’t know if she would make it in time to see him again.

“Come on,” Raven cursed as she saw an Exit Sign for Hillville. “Five miles. We can make it.” Her car slid, but she fought to steady it. She needed to see him again. He was such a damn fool. He refused to leave, but she was glad that he was there. She was getting close, but her car slid again. And it took more effort to stay on the road.

As Raven stared into the blinding white, her mind tried not to recoil in terror. Instead, she remembered their last dinner together. It was at a small Italian restaurant. He reached across the table and touched her hand. She smiled, and her fingers entwined against his.

“I have something to tell you,” he said.

“What is it?” Raven touched her ear. “My… My earring,” she cried. “My mother’s earring. It’s gone. I have to check the bathroom.” She bolted away from him.

Raven never liked using public restrooms. The floor was disgusting. She still got on her hands and knees, looking for the earring. She had it on when they walked into the restaurant. It must have slipped off afterward.

“Did you lose something?” An older woman stepped out of one stall. “It’s not polite to look in the stalls when other people are using them.” She saw the tears running down Raven’s face. “Oh, you poor dear. What’s wrong?”

“I lost my mother’s earring. They were going to be a birthday gift, but she asked my father to give them to me because she knew that she was going to die. And I never wore them until tonight, and now I lost one of them.” Raven sat on the floor and cried. “She’s gone,” Raven said.

“You had it on when you went to the bathroom?” She watched Raven nod. “Okay. Let’s look around here. I know the owner. I’ll say something to him, if we don’t find it. Okay?” She watched Raven nod again. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Okay,” Raven said, but they never found the earring.

“He wanted to tell me something that night,” Raven said as she drove the car. “He never got the chance to tell me. I ruined that night.” She glanced at the small box on the front passenger seat.

The sun disappeared. That was it. She would never see it again, and the snow fell harder. One mile left to go. Her hands clutched the steering wheel. Her car slid, but not off the road. Finally, she reached the exit ramp, and her car went into a ditch.

There was no freeing her car. She would either wait here for the end or make a run for it. He lived a few minutes away, but on foot, it would be like eternity. Fuck it. If she was going to die, then she would die trying to get to him. She grabbed the small box off the front passenger seat and threw open the driver-side door.

Suddenly, a plow truck pulled up next to her. Its headlights pushed the darkness back. The front passenger window struggled to roll down. A rough voice screamed, “You okay?”

“I need to get to him,” Raven screamed against the whipping snow. “Can you help me? Please?”

“Get in.” The driver popped the locks open. “What the hell are you doing out here? You know what’s coming.”

“I don’t care,” Raven said as she clutched the box in her lap. “445 Elm Street. Please. It’s important.”

“It better be.” The driver steered the plow truck in that direction.

“What about you? Why are you still out here?”

“You saw all that traffic heading south?”

“Yes,” Raven answered.

“They’re not all going to make it. Why even bother trying? That box important?” He watched Raven wrap her arms around it. “Just asking.”

“It’s very important.”

“We’ll be there in a few. Sorry about your car.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Raven looked out the window. “Are you scared?”

“No. We asked for this.” He saw Raven look at him. “We ignored the warning signs, so what did we think was going to happen? We got what we deserved. I’m going home to die. I guess you are doing the same.”

“I am,” Raven replied.

A few minutes later, Raven found herself outside in the cold, the snow, and the darkness. She clutched the box against her chest. She could not feel her feet. Her hands were also numb. She used the last of her strength to bang on his front door, and the door opened.

“Raven, are you crazy? What the hell are you doing here,” he asked.

Raven opened the box, and inside was the missing earring.  He had gone back to the small Italian restaurant, and the owner gave him the earring.  He never told her.  He just packed the box in her things later on and asked her to go.

“Raven?”  He stared at the box in her hands.  “You shouldn’t have come back.  You could have made it.”

 “No.”  Raven stepped closer to him.  “I had to come back.”

“Why?”

“Because I never said I love you.”  She fell into his arms, and he carried her into the house.

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Bio: Melissa R. Mendelson is a horror, science-fiction and dystopian author. She is also a poet. She re-released her Sci-Fi Novella, Waken on Amazon. She is also the author of a poetry collection called, This Will Remain With Us published by Wild Ink Publishing. She has a short story collection “Better Off Here” and another book “Names Keeper.”

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