Callie rubbed her forehead. She hadn’t encountered someone so rude in a long time and wasn’t good at arguing. Now, drenched by the rain, she sneered, “You’re quite something. I said I’d compensate you, and I can afford it. You don’t want the money?”
“Then I’m leaving.”
Perhaps her temper was too strong. The person grabbed Callie’s hair and yanked it without mercy. Callie cried out in pain as the person cursed, “You scratched my car, and you think you’re in the right?”
Callie couldn’t break free, tears streaming down her face from the pain. She finally managed to shake loose, leaving a small clump of her hair in the person’s hand.
It hurt.
The day’s grievances welled up, mixing with the rain and tears on Callie’s face.
Instinctively feeling she couldn’t swallow this indignation, she took advantage of the moment when the person wasn’t paying attention, dashed into her car, and locked it.
She found her phone and dialed a number while the person outside kicked the car heavily, shouting, “Damn it! Get out here, you bitch!”
Callie wiped her face, feeling the wait for the call to connect was interminable.
“What’s up?” A calm voice entered her ears, unrelated to the wind and moon, resonating deeply.
Callie suddenly couldn’t speak, only her uneven breathing audible.
It was noisy on his end, likely a social event. The sound of kicking on her end was also loud.
Before long, he sensed something was wrong and raised his voice a few decibels, “Talk to me, Callie!”
His tone shifted from calm to angry.
Her voice buzzed, reluctant and extremely aggrieved, “Can you come over now?”
“I scratched someone’s car with yours.”
Even the high-tech soundproofing of the car windows couldn’t block out the person’s cursing outside.
Every filthy word reached Callie’s ears and transmitted through the phone to Nelson at his formal event. Nelson’s brow furrowed deeply.
Everyone present observed his reaction, thinking they had made a mistake or said something wrong, creating an atmosphere of unease.
After a long silence, someone called out, “Mr. Oconnor?”
Sitting in the car, Callie heard it too and quickly said, “I’ll call the police. I don’t have my driver’s license with me; it might be a bit troublesome. If you’re busy, send someone over…”
Soaked by the rain, her voice was thick with congestion, nothing like her sharp tone from the previous night.
“What’s going on now? Stay in the car and don’t move.”
His voice was deep, conveying an unclear emotion.
As soon as he finished speaking, the person outside switched from kicking to banging on the window. Callie felt a chill run through her body.
Feeling this person was unreasonable, her anger flared up. Ignoring Nelson on the other end of the line, she lowered the window slightly. “This is a dashed line lane change. You suddenly sped up, didn’t you? If you hadn’t sped up, how could I have scratched your car? You’re quite something. I said we’d wait for the traffic police. Are you worried I’ll run?”
His eyes reddened with anger, about to curse again when Nelson’s voice boomed from the phone, “Callie!”
“You scratched my car and think you’re right? Do you know who my father is? Do you know who my grandfather is? I’m telling you, if you don’t give me an explanation, I’ll ruin your life!”
Callie lowered the window further. His finger pointing inside got caught unexpectedly. Callie sneered, “Try me? I’d love to know who’s backing you. A bunch of parasites! Today, forget one BMW; I can afford ten!”