Renee drove careful down the somewhat busy highway, her hands placed on the leather steering wheel as she turns on the radio to fill the void of silence.
It was a hot summer day in July and boring so far as the chatter of a short broadcast filled her ears.
"Here in Cincinnati, the skies look nice and clear with a slight chance of rain, a beautiful day in our thriving city," says a male voice filled with a good amount of charisma. "Now to play some top hits of the summer."
Renee sighed as Crying in the Club now filled the car, almost as if it was timed to play at that part of her life, which was filled with stress, horrible mental stability and a hint of depression. Her car, a blizzard white 2014 Hyundai Genesis coupe, seemed to stand out as it's low growl filled the air besides the occasional 18 wheeler that passed by with a load of some sorts.
She turned off the highway down the road with a couple of turns onto the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge that crosses over the Ohio river. She was thinking about what happened before she moved here a couple of weeks ago.
Renee Ironheart was 19, slim and about 5'3 with rosy pink cheeks that went well with her fair skin. She had light brown hair that went a little past her chest with soft violet eyes. Her small hands on the steering wheel of a car that ironically seemed like it was made for larger people.
She originally moved there from Alabama because her father had passed away, she wanted to stay close to her mother to make sure that she's okay and also to attend the funeral which she was dreading since she had to say words about her father.
She snapped her attention back to the road when she saw a car swerve into the lane ahead of her, blasting her horn at them as she scoffed. She turned off the bridge onto the exit ramp, glad she wasn't behind the car that cut in front of her.
When it seemed like she was driving forever, which she didn't mind, she slowed down in front of a two story house and pulled into the driveway behind a black Toyota Highlander. She turned off the car and got out walking to the front door knocking a few times.
After a few minutes later, a middle-aged woman who seemed a bit taller than Renee but with almost the same features except black hair, opened the door and smiled softly hugging her before Renee could let out a word. "Welcome home, my little rose petal." Renee just sighed and smiled sheepishly hugging her back. "Hey mom."
Renee had went back to her car and grabbed her suitcases bringing them inside as her mother seemed to be finishing tidying up the living room for her arrival, the room felt alive yet missing something.
"So how was the trip honey?"
"It was fine mom, driving nonstop with a few stops isn't anything new to me."
"Well I'm glad you made it. Your room is the exact same way you left it before you left," Her mother said softly, looking at Renee's slightly tired face, "And before you go anywhere else, you need to take a nap. You can't be exploring the city with little to no rest sweetie."
"I was already planning on it, I haven't laid in a bed in over 10 hours, It gets a little rough sitting in a seat for that long." Renee said walking upstairs and down to the 3rd door in the hallway, she breathed in slowly and opened the door. Her eyes scanned the room as the baby blue walls were filled with old memories, her bookshelf stacked with the same books she used to love reading. The study desk in front of the window still porcelain white as if it had never been used before.
Anime posters of various kinds also hung from the walls as her bed still had it's black sheets and blue blanket laying on it as if welcoming her back, her dresser across from the foot of the bed with a smart tv sitting slightly above it. She sat her suitcase at the foot of the bed and sat on the bed, taking off her shoes.
Renee swung herself on her back laying completely in the bed and looked up at the ceiling as she closed her eyes to relax for a bit, feeling her body relax before she feel into a deep sleep. The hours of no sleep had rendered her completely exhausted as the comforts of the bed cradled her to sleep.
She woke up to a dark room and street lights shining outside her room as she sat up, sighing softly. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and her hair in a mess, she got up walking out of her room towards the bathroom. Closing the door after walking in, she turned on the lights. Her eyes that had adjusted to the darkness now having to adjust to the bright lights of the bathroom.
She splashed water on her face to wake herself up a bit more, looking in the mirror. Her hands reached for a brush and she started combing her hair back into it's naturally straight style again. When she turned the lights off and left the bathroom closing the door softly, she went to go check on her mother as she cracked the door to peek in the room and saw her mother was fast asleep.
Renee walked back to her room getting undressed as she unzipped one of her suitcases taking out a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and her black coat. She checked her phone to look at the time which was 9:30 p.m. Dressed in the outfit she picked out, Renee made her way downstairs pressing the auto start button on her key fob, hearing her car growl to life. The stairs creaked softly under her as she made it out the door, carefully shutting it behind her. Her steps were soft yet brief and she opened her car door to get in, closing it after she had completely gotten inside.
Her mind was at ease and she sighed a bit to herself as she tapped her car's gps system to find the nearest cafe. Backing out the driveway onto the road and started towards where the gps was leading her.
She looked around noticing that traffic wasn't as bad as it was earlier, she stopped at a red light at an intersection watching as cars drove across in front of her. The cars stopped driving across as a red light shown for them and a green light shown in front of her as she drove again, occasionally looking at the bright lights from the buildings across bridge.
"You have arrived at your destination." The words that snapped Renee out of her concentration as she pulled to the side of the road near the sidewalk, turning her car off and getting out.
The cafe was a pretty decent size, the outside a creme color with red stripes running across the sides with an electric sign that read "Jacob's Sweet Cafe." Some patrons from inside walked past Renee laughing and talking. She walked past them and inside. The smell of pancakes, sausage and coffee filled her nose and for a second she thought she was slobbering from the smell.
She walked to the a booth near a window and sat down as she waited for a waiter or waitress to come over. A few minutes later, a waitress came over with a soft smile and looked at Renee. Renee looked up to see a girl who seemed a bit shorter than her, her flamboyant pink hair going a little past her upper back with rosy cheeks and her light brown eyes that seemed to shine in the light. "Heya my name is Raina and I'll be your waitress for tonight, what can I get you to drink?" Her sweet, childlike voice making Renee smile as she asked.
"I'd like a sweet tea please." She responded as Raina scribbled it in a small notepad that was in a small pocket on her uniform. "Okie doke, let me go get that for you, I'll be right back."
Raina moved quickly almost like she was gliding on air behind the back of the counter. Renee's thoughts were starting to go all over the place such as what exactly she was going to say for the funeral and where she would eventually stay after she got a chance to settle down.
She tried to pull together what her childhood was like with her father. She mostly saw him before the brink of the night in the late evening or on the weekends where he would spend time with her and her mother. Her father worked hard for them giving up hours of his time just to make sure that Renee was happy. Though, she never craved the happiness of material items that she was bought. She only wanted the love and attention that her father gave her.
"Ma'am, are you okay?" Renee's attention was snapped back to reality with her sweet tea in front of her and Raina to the side of her, tilting her head to the side a bit as she held the small notepad in her hand with a pen in the other hand.
"Oh I'm sorry, I'm okay." Renee said as her attention went back to the menu that was in front of her, opening it to look through the choices she had. Her eyes glancing over every choice with her attention being caught by the word waffles engraved in black lettering.
"I'll take the waffles please and I don't really want any sides with it so that'll-." She said before the lights flickered in the cafe. The atmosphere went to dead silent as everyone who was inside had stopped talking.
There was a loud rumbling sound as if jets had flew over the cafe, but it was almost 10:30 and the cafe was nowhere near an airport. Renee snapped her attention to the rattling of the pans and pots on the stove. Raina stood completely still like she was a deer in headlights; her fear was apparent to Renee, who decided to see what was going on outside.
She stood up quickly and ran outside; she looked beyond the cafe and saw a large cloud going upwards. "A cloud shouldn't be that low.." Renee ran back inside, grabbing a terrified Raina's hand as she got behind the counter facing the opposite direction of where she stood outside and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Everyone get down now!"
There was a earthquake that shook the cafe aggressively almost like the Earth was shaking in rage. There were panicked screams as some people ran outside of the cafe, others ducked under tables and the rest were just frozen in place. The glass windows shattered and those who had ran outside were knocked onto the ground. Renee held Raina, who was a complete stranger to her, close and closed her eyes. It felt like the end for Renee and she didn't know what would happen, but all she knew at that moment was fear.