Nightmare

Shifting the weight on his feet, Axe leaned against the wall. He ran his fingers through his brown hair that fell below his ears. A passing girl caught his eye and he winked, making her blush and scurry on. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Soon. In only a couple minutes he would see his son again.
           The train doors opened, and he heard the screech of his son’s little voice scream out “Daddy!” And he ran to meet his tiny boy, picking him up and smothering him in a hug. His boy giggled and nestled into his father’s neck. He was happy again. Axe was happy, once again. His ex-wife, Byrd, gazed on the scene, a smile stretching across her lips. Axe frowned.
           “He’ll see you next week.” He muttered, glaring at her.
           “Have a good time sweetie. Be good for daddy.” His son waved back, but Axe tugged him away. They walked out of the train station, Axe shrugging off the ice that had formed on his shoulders at the sight of his ex-wife. His son skipped along, oblivious to the tension his parents had.
           Byrd had found another man she claimed she loved more than him. She had stolen their son from him until he went to court and fought for shared custody. She was so incredibly selfish, and he hated her for it. This boy was half his and he would die for him. He wasn’t even sure Byrd loved this kid that much. He used to call her his little blue Byrd, but now he gagged at the thought of saying that.
           “Daddy, are we going to your house?” Axe smiled down at his kid, his whole heart.
           “Yes, we are.” They had gotten to the car, and Axe helped his son into the car seat, buckling him in a planting a kiss on his forehead before shutting the door. He was about to step into the car himself when he tensed up.  
           A truck came barreling down the street, hopping the curb and ramming striaght into his parked car, right into the seat his son had just been buckled into. Axe screamed, his hand hanging in the air where he had been about to open his door. The two cars spun into the side of a brick building, melding into a heap of metal and smoke and fire. Axe ran to his car, tears streaming down his cheeks.
           Axe ran to the wreckage, screaming out for his son. Through the cracked window of the truck, he could see the driver slumped over the wheel, blood pouring from his forehead. His stomach churned and he tried to get to his car, but it was so badly smashed with the truck pinning it against the wall, making it totally inaccessible. He knew even if he could find his son, he would be dead.
           Axe fell to his knees and sobbed. Painful, hot tears dripped down his cheeks and splashed among the wreckage. This random man had taken his son. The only person he lived for.
 
           Axe woke up suddenly, his alarm clock blaring. He was supposed to meet his ex-wife and his son at the train station this morning. But he didn’t want to. He felt like this nightmare that was plaguing him for several nights would come true. He tried to shake off the feeling and left his house quickly.
           The dream slipped from his mind as he thought of all the things he would do with his son that week. He didn’t notice as he parked in the same spot as in his dream. He also didn’t notice as a man across the street left a bar, stumbling to his truck. Once he buckled up his son, he didn’t pay attention to the screams of others as the intoxicated man drove his truck and swerved off of the road, hopping the curb and barreling towards his car. But he did hear his son’s screams as the truck instantly killed him and watched in stunned silence as his car crumpled like a piece of tin foil. Just like in his nightmare. Axe waited for himself to wake up, but he didn’t.