While the Savage Sleeps by Kaufman Andrew E

Author:Kaufman, Andrew E. [Kaufman, Andrew E.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Straightline Press
Published: 2010-06-09T16:00:00+00:00

***

Cameron slept into the next day. When he came to, it took him a few seconds to realize his nightmare existed not in his sleep, but in the waking world.

He soon learned the details of the accident. A truck driver, in a hurry to make a delivery, had run a stop sign and slammed into their car.

The district attorney planned to file reckless driving and manslaughter charges, but that made little difference. Even though the other man was at fault, Cameron still felt tremendous guilt over Dylan’s death. If he hadn’t taken his eyes off the road, been more attentive, he might have seen the truck coming and avoided the accident.

Sarah didn’t blame her husband for their son’s death; she knew Cameron’s theory was flawed. It was easy to look back and think of what he should have done, she told him, but in reality, you rarely get the luxury of carefully weighing things out before doing them. Life moves too fast. It’s only later that you can begin untangling the chain of events and applying any sort of logic to them. She tried to convince Cameron there was nothing he could have done to change the outcome, that nobody blamed him for Dylan’s death, but Cameron knew she was wrong: one person did blame him; that person was himself. In his eyes, he was just as responsible for his son’s death as the other driver was.

Eight months after the accident, Cameron still hadn’t been back to work. He just didn’t have any energy left. He could barely function at home; how could he possibly perform at his job?

Sarah did her best to help him, but with little success.

The threads continued to unravel. He stopped responding to Sarah, acting as if she weren’t even there. She tried her best to salvage the marriage, but she was living with someone she no longer knew.

A year later, she reached her breaking point.

“I can’t live like this anymore, Cam,” Sarah said as they sat on the front steps of their house, both of them staring ahead into the distance. Silky strands of sun-streaked hair danced around her face as the wind blew against them. She pushed them away with her fingers “I’ve tried. You know I have.” She paused, tears glinting in her eyes, then her voice dropped to a whisper. “I miss him too, Cam.”

Cameron sat, looking straight ahead, saying nothing, face stoic, except for his eyes, which blinked rapidly as if deflecting the impact of her statement.

“You can’t bring him back, Cameron. Nobody can. You’ve got to face that. And you’ve got to stop blaming yourself.” She placed her hand under his chin and gently turned his face toward hers. “You gave that boy life. You didn’t take it away. Can’t you see that?”

Tears welled in his eyes, the first sign of emotion she’d seem in him in a long time. He squeezed them shut, forcing the drops to roll down his cheeks. Still, he was silent.

Sarah wiped the tears from his cheek with her thumb, then she turned forward again, locking her hands around her knees.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.