Interstate
By Joe Brofcak
Michelle, an attractive young housewife, has run away from her unhappy marriage after injurying her infant son, Adam. While hitchhiking, she is picked up by Jack, who asks her why she is on the run.
MICHELLE:
No one would believe me. They kept saying I needed help, that I was going crazy. They wouldn't listen! So what if I was a little depressed after Adam was born? It doesn't mean I would ever hurt him! He was just crying and crying and I couldn't get him to stop, Jack. I couldn't get him to stop. His screams echoed throughout the house! Before I knew it, I was in the nursery, shaking him and he slipped out of my hands and... I dropped him, Jack!
Can you imagine dropping your son? I saw his whole life play out as he fell... or the life he was losing. And I was powerless to stop it. I was frozen. But you wanna know the scariest thing, Jack? As he fell, there was a part of me that was relieved. I felt a great weight ease from my shoulders. Then he hit the floor and I snapped out of it. Adam had a broken wrist, but seemed okay. My family didn't care. It was the final straw, they said. But I'm not crazy, Jack. I didn't need to go to a mental hospital. I needed to get away from the person I'd become, to leave it all behind. Start fresh. You understand that, don't you?
