The Fall (part 5)

Back on the highway, headed for New Orleans, Sarah told me what had happened inside.  She had taken two Twix candy bars up to the counter, and the woman started to ring up the purchase.  Sarah pulled the gun out and fired once.  She said she thought she had hit her in the head.  After she had run outside and told me what she had done, she went back inside and ran behind the counter.  She saw the woman lying in a pool of blood, but she was still alive. She was trying to speak and softly moaning.  Sarah was surprised she was still alive, and asked in a state of shock, "Oh my God.  You aren't dead yet?"  The cash register was closed, and Sarah asked the woman how to open it.  She tried to tell her, but Sarah still couldn’t get it open.  She pried the cash register open and took the money and left.  Sarah was really freaked out about what had just happened.  She threw the gun and the money on the floorboard and just kind of shook from the adrenaline surging through her body.

When we pulled over to get gas, Sarah said she wanted to drive to help her calm down.  We switched places and left.  I gathered up the money and counted it.  The total was close to one hundred dollars. I had expected a lot more and was really disappointed.  Sarah told me she had pulled the hammer back on the gun, thinking she was going to have to shoot the woman again.  I looked everywhere but couldn't find it down on the floorboard.  I was trying to be really careful knowing that if I bumped it in the wrong way it could go off.  I asked Sarah to pullover so I could find it with the interior light on, but she was worried that we might look suspicious stopped on the side of the highway.  In a little too sarcastic tone, I told her it would look pretty suspicious with a bullet hole in the side of the car when the gun went off.

Before long, we were shouting back and forth.  I think all of our raw nerves and the tension from the past two days finally blew up.  We argued on and on until I wanted to just be away from her.  I decided I was going to split up with her and just go back home.  As soon as we got somewhere with a phone, I was going to get out.  I told her what I planned to do and with that, we rode in silence. 

Just outside of New Orleans, Sarah pulled into a truck stop to let me out.  When she stopped, we both just sat there; neither of us speaking for a few seconds.  I didn't really want to leave her; and I could tell by the look in her eyes, when she did finally look at me, that she didn't want me to leave either.  Everything had gotten out of hand so rapidly.  My life had quickly spun completely out of control.  I started crying. Sarah reached over and pulled me to her, and I just sat there and cried in her arms for a while. 

          We decided to forget about splitting up.