One last Ride

Strange

"Get up, get up" The teacher shouts to awaken the woman from her slumber. The woman rises as if she was awakening from the dead. It's 9:30 pm and the woman has had a long day from helping her sick mom as she suffers from cancer to working at her 9-5 day job as a waitress at Fatz, she attends night school to get her degree in becoming a psychologist's something she longed to do since her high school graduation but never had the funds for it. She loved crazy people she thought their nature was interesting and that their normal in their own way you just have to take the time to try to understand the way they think as a person.

As the woman finally raises her head from the desk that she had slumbered on she realizes that class is over and she slept through the entire period, the woman gets up to exit but as she reaches the door her teacher calls to her and says " Can I ask you something."

The woman was nervous because she always thought that this man was a creep and a part of her felt like he had some mental issues she just couldn't figure it out quite yet, so she hesitantly says "Sure" she walks close to him, she gets close enough where you could smell the nicotine on his breath from the cancer sticks he says helps calm him, as she stands there he stares at her intently and says

"You've been falling asleep in my class a lot and your grades are starting to slip at the rate your going you may not be able to become a psychologists"

she replies with the sound of nervousness in her tone as he starts to rub her arm "I'm fine I just need to rest at home a little more" he looks at her with a smirk forming on his face saying "I can tutor if you'd like"

"No, no I think I can handle it" she says "Did you know your eyes sparkle when your scared, Beautiful."

That word, the word beautiful rolled off his tongue made her spine tingle growing scared she tells him that she's fine and will see him tomorrow night and starts backing away from him heading towards the door. As she's getting into her car she didn't notice that he had followed her out until he says

"Tomorrow is not promised beautiful" that was weird she thought as she enters her car and heads home.

Entering her studio apartment she sits her things down and began to fix her a bowl of ramen noodles while her noodles cook in the microwave she begins to think about how awkward her teacher was acting she pulls out her homework and begins to work by the time she sat down her noodles were awaiting her presence, she gets up to fix them then there was a knock at her door she began to wonder who it could be because she knows no one in her neighborhood and she didn't order anything, she goes to the door looks through the peephole and sees no one so she opens the door and sees a box wrapped in a red bow she looks around and the hallway to see if there is anyone around but she sees no one and begins to pick up the box and she hears footsteps but when she looks up no one was there so she goes back inside and sits the box on her table and begins to make her food and finish her work.

The woman cleans up and gets ready for bed as she goes to turn off the lights she looks and stares at the present that awkwardly showed up to her door, beginning to get curious she opens the box and a teddy bear with 11 red roses and card attached that says

"To the one true beautiful rose" she just starts to smile but then it quickly fades when she hears a noise upstairs knowing that no one else is here she grows scared and quietly goes upstairs and looks around but sees nothing and just get into bed slipping into unconsciousness.

"Order up" the cook shouts the woman rapidly walks to get the last order of her day and sits it in front of the customer, "Do you think you could grab that man a coffee for me" her co-worker says as the woman looks to see who she's talking about it was her teacher she goes to get the coffee and speaks to him as she begins to walk away he grabs her hand saying

"Thank you my dear beautiful rose" and he smiles like a fat kid surrounded by cake. She walks away with fear and begins to think about the note that also referred to her as a "rose" not thinking the two had an connection.

The woman clocks out and heads to her car on the way to see her mom when she pulls up in front of her house she see the ambulance and police, the woman runs into the house and sees the paramedics putting her mom on the stretcher covered in blood she's begins hyperventilating as she tries to collect the words to say she finally calms down a bit and says

"What Happened to my mother" one of the police says "When we walked in both her wrists were slit as she laid lifeless on the sofa, I'd say it was a suicide did she ever talk to you about killing herself or her just acting out of the norm" the woman replies by saying "No she would never, she was battling cancer and was determined to fight it" the officer shakes his head and says "Maybe she was tired of suffering" lost for words the woman runs to her car and drives home, she enters her apartment and falls to the floor crying she cries and cries until finally, she falls asleep.

"Bang" the woman jumps up as she hears this loud noise and then looks at the time noticing its time for her class to start with no time to spare she runs to grab her school supplies and runs out the door forgetting her keys in process but also doesn't want to drive in the state she's in and begins to walk to class luckily her class was only 2 blocks from her house.

The woman gets to class and sits in her seat listening to the lecture she was there but not really because her mind was thinking about her mom's murder knowing it's not suicide because her mom was the strongest person she knew. The bell rings indicating that class was over and gathers her things to head out the door but is stopped by the one and only "creep" she rolls her eyes as he calls her name and turns to walk to the desk she gets there and he says to her

"Sorry about your mom, I know that she was your best friend it was just too soon but then again no one is promised tomorrow" hearing him say that line again made her cringe being that this time it was about her mom and she says "Thank you" but then realizing that she never told him her mom had died let alone spoken to him since she walked in class growing suspicious she looks and asks him "How'd you know my mom is dead" the teacher confidently says

"It was all over the news" "Oh" was her only response as she left out the door. Walking home she goes the long way through the woods she needs more fresh air and didn't want to go home because all the strange things that were happening.

Dressed in all black walking behind the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and purposely stepped on a twig to get her to turn around so he could see her face, just as he suspected she turned around and he could smell the fear beaming from her and he was feeding off of it, his appetite was growing for her so grabs the biggest rock and hits her upside her head grabbing her limp body putting her in the front seat getting in then driving off as he drives he takes off his mask and begins to sing because he had the woman he hoped for.

The woman awakes and looks and notices she's in an unfamiliar car and turns to see who's driving and notices it's her teacher she asks him "How'd I get in here" he replies "I guess you had fallen because you were lying on the edge of the road" not knowing what he was talking about she just asks him to take her home and he says "Actually I was thinking I'd take you to see your mom" "At the hospital okay" the woman says thinking there's no harm in it but notices he missed the road toward the hospital and says "You missed your turn" he replies with a grin "Enjoy your one last ride."