Rebecca Mason's Lonely Star (WT)
an excerpt

She couldn’t imagine her life without Jeff. She remembered when they first purchased a second family vehicle, when they stopped having to share only one. They drove the only vehicle they owned at the time to a dealership about an hour away because of a car they found online. They arrived safely and made the purchase, then hopped back on the Interstate for the trip home. Jeff loved seeing his Becky enjoy even the smallest of things, so he told her to drive the new car and that he would follow in their older one.

About fifteen minutes after they got on the interstate, Jeff turned on his emergency flashers and pulled all the way over from the fast lane onto the shoulder, just before an exit. Rebecca noticed in the rearview when it first happened and managed to pull over just in the fork between the interstate and the exit ramp. The car wouldn’t start -- they would later come to find out that the engine had seized.

After he called her from his cell phone to explain what happened, she called roadside assistance to come get them. Although the service was free and easy to use, they had an hour’s wait alongside speeding vehicles. Rebecca walked on the non-interstate side of the barrier to meet Jeff at their old car so they could sit and wait together.

Slowly, Rebecca became more and more afraid of the traffic flying by them. She asked if it would be silly to put on her seat belt. Jeff confirmed that it would, but she was noticeably uncomfortable at the thought of them sitting unharnessed while in a motor vehicle, even if said motor vehicle weren’t moving. He asked why she wouldn’t put on her seat belt, and without thinking, she replied: “Because if I’m wearing a seat belt and you’re not, and you fly through the windshield while I’m still safe inside the car, then I don’t want to live if it means I have to live without you.”