Blood on the Highway

Maeve was drunk all the time.
Tonight, was not an exception. She drove trucks for a living. Her father and mother were kind enough to give birth to her, not realizing that they had to take care of her until she was eighteen. Long story short, they took the easy way out.

St. Martins' Home for the Young was not a better place for her to grow up. She rarely made friends, and the only one she had was thrown out for being gay. So much for showing compassion to even your enemies. She loved engines since she was little. Becoming a mechanic was more like a necessity than a dream or a hobby for her. She felt at home with the grime and the hum of machines, the tools reassuring her. As soon as she came of age, the nuns realized she was not gonna stay and contribute to the church, so they bid her goodbye rather forcefully. She bounced around from place to place until she saw a garage, and the owner was kind enough to let her take the job. Joe never discriminated against her due to her sex and even kept the men away from her. She owed him a life debt, one which she swore to herself she would clear.

It was a cloudy day. Maeve made her way home for her job since Joe was not present at the garage. That meant there would be instructions waiting for her from Joe. She checked her phone. There were no new messages. She reached her apartment, unlocked the door, and crashed on the couch. The problem with it was, she was always tired. Therefore, sleep consumed her in an instant.

"Do you realize what you have done, child? " Sister Theresa asked her. Maeve was in Sister Theresa's chambers, inside the orphanage. "No, Sister," she replied with a straight face.
"The jam stains around your mouth say otherwise, Maeve. You were caught in the act. Stealing is a crime in itself, and lying about it too?" "I'm sorry, Sister. I was hungry." "We are not starving you, child. You had lunch just an hour before you were caught popping the jam tarts."
"No, my plate was snatched by Sasha and her cronies." "That's enough! Young girl, you made a mistake, and you are trying to justify it instead of repenting. You need to be disciplined." Maeve tried to struggle, but the nuns holding her were too strong.
"Turn her around."
There was a crack, and the leather stung her back.

Maeve woke up drenched in sweat. Fate was cruel enough that she experienced it as a child, but the memories were hounding her even now.
Her phone rang.
It was Joe. She picked it up. "There will be a truck left at the garage tonight. Deliver the contents upstate to the address I sent to you. Do not ask any questions, and absolutely no tampering with the products. There is vodka in the dashdoard."
"Yes, sir. I understand."
The line went blank.
Maeve rested for an hour and then reached the garage. She looked around to check if anyone was stalking her. After making sure nobody was looking, she dropped to the ground and took the garage key from a small compartment hidden in the gate.
Soon, she was on the freeway with the truck, heading towards the address Joe sent. She took a swig from the cheap vodka bottle.
The liquid burnt her throat, but she didn't mind. She remembered she was running low on cash. Maeve loved to read, and though the nuns were cruel, they followed the rule, which stated that every child should be educated. She tried and got into a good university, but they wanted the fees upfront. Therefore, she worked overtime in the garage and even sold a few essays and homework to high schoolers who could afford it. She hoped that the person she was delivering to would be rich so that they could tip her a hefty sum.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize that a black sedan was speeding towards her.
The vehicles collided, and the car flew into the air, rolling and doing cartwheels, and landed on the asphalt, coming to a halt. Maeve was dizzy. She hit her head on the wheel. Other than that, she was fine.
She got down from the truck and ran towards the car. This wouldn't be her fault, as the guy was traveling in the opposite direction on a freeway. She called the emergency services, who promised they would reach as soon as they could.
As she was trying to reach the man inside, his wallet lay on the road.
Maeve picked it up and took a look at his license.
Don Ashton, 29, single, no family. Thank God for that. After what happened, even if it was not technically her fault, she would feel guilty in front of his family.
She checked for any cash. Maeve was dumbstruck. The man was carrying five grand in cash.
“Well, this won’t be of any use to him anymore.”
She took the cash and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.