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onaipwolf

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The memories faded into the background as Hayley continued to drive down the highway. As she traveled farther and farther away from the city, the number of cars on the road began to slowly decrease, until it was a good twenty minutes before she would spy another vehicle approaching hers in the distance.

Off to her right a stunning sunset was displayed outside her window. Red and golden rays of light burst forth over the hills, turning the wispy clouds in the sky a dark pinkish hue. The road signs cast long, dark shadows on the ground across the road, silently marking her trek south.

She didn’t have all that much with her. A couple of wrinkled shirts tossed in the back seat of her Corsica, a half-melted candy bar on the floor of the passenger seat, and her purse, which held exactly fifty dollars and thirty-six cents. She didn’t know really what she was doing, or where she was going. She only knew it felt right to drive, the window rolled down, the sweet spring air flowing by, the scent of it filling her nostrils, the comforting reality of the steering wheel warm and hard beneath her palms, the sound of her voice singing along with familiar songs on the radio. She didn’t want to end it. She wanted to just keep driving forever. She knew as soon as she did, she would have to think through her meeting with Derek again, and she wanted to avoid that at all costs.

The sun sank below the hills, casting the world in shadow. Her car began to sputter, jerking her from her reverie of the moment. She looked down and her chest constricted as she saw the fuel gauge was on ‘E’. Silently cursing herself for not paying attention, her dark blue Corsica as gradually slowed to a halt, she coasted it off to the side of the road and onto the wide gravel shoulder. Here she was in the middle of nowhere with basically nothing and no way to get out.

She looked around her car for something useful to get herself out of this situation, but nothing of any particular use jumped out at her. Sighing, she put her head down on the steering wheel, her arms encircling her head. Though she felt like crying, the tears didn’t come. So she sat there, her seatbelt still on, the silence in the car growing like a cancer.

“What do I do now?” She asked no one in particular. At one point in her life, she knew this is when she would pray to the magnificent, benevolent, God up in the sky to pluck her from this situation, but not anymore. Instead, she just continued to sit for who knew how long, the stillness of twilight threatening to eat the blissful ease she had felt earlier.

After awhile it began to grow cold, but her windows were electric, and she had no way of rolling them back up. She could feel the numbness creeping into her veins, starting with her fingers and toes, and slowly traveling up her arms and legs, chilling her. She didn’t really care though. It was just cold, and cold she could handle. It was blissfully numbing, stopping the thoughts from come rushing back.

Then she felt the baby kick within her. She reached a hand down and touched her abdomen lightly through her thin black shirt. The baby. Sighing, she sat up and reached into the back for her jacket. It was blue jean, and not very warm, but besides the dirty t-shirts, it was all she had. She pulled it on and buttoned it all the way up. Then she pulled her keys from the ignition, and grabbed her purse, slinging it over her shoulder. She opened the car door and stepped out. Before closing it again, she locked all the doors. A useless gesture, considering the open windows, but she felt better doing it anyhow.

She thought she remembered seeing a sign for some little known town a few miles ahead. She figured it was worth a shot. Considering the lack of traffic on the road, she realized her options were limited. She was grateful that summer was approaching soon. Maybe it wouldn’t get below fifty. She began walking along the gravel, head down, arms pressed close to her chest to keep in the warmth.

A light appeared behind her, illuminating the pathway before her. She stopped and looked back to see a car of some sort coming up behind her. She wasn’t sure of the color, but it looked darker, perhaps blue, or maybe maroon. The darkness made it too difficult to tell. It slowed to a stop beside her. She stared at the car, surprised. Now that it was closer, she could see that it was, in fact, a small white Toyota truck. So much for her keen observation skills. She tried to see the driver, but the tinted windows prevented her from seeing any details of the person seated inside.

The passenger window slowly scrolled down to reveal a young man behind the steering wheel. He was dressed in a black Korn band shirt, and baggy black pants. His straight black hair looked dyed with a streak of blonde running through the hair that partially covered his right eye. She figured he couldn’t be more than eighteen.

She realized she was staring at him just a little too intently and looked down.

“Hello, Ma’am. Do you need a ride?” His voice sounded friendly, reassuring.

She almost said yes. It was freezing out here, but then thought better of it. He could be anybody. An axe murderer, a rapist, anything. “No thanks. I’ll walk.”

She started to move forward again and the man followed next to her in his truck.

“Are you sure? It’s nine miles to the next town. And it’s supposed to freeze tonight.” He spoke with concern in his voice.

Hayley paused. “But I have no idea who you are. I don’t even know your name.”

“The name’s Brennan. Brennan Notch. And you are…”

“Theresa.” She lied.

“That’s a nice name. Now Theresa are you sure you want to risk freezing to death out here just because we’ve never met before? Not many people travel on this road. You’re lucky I happened to drive by, especially this late at night.”

The logic of Brennan’s words annoyed her. “No thank you. I don’t ride in trucks with people I don’t know.”

“Ok. Then I’ll just drive next to you.” Brennan grinned as his truck crawled along next to her.

“Ok…” Hayley wasn’t sure how to take this new change of events.

After a few moments of silence Brennan spoke. “What kind of music do you like? I could change the station if you want.”

Hayley looked at him. The music was a little loud to her. She really wasn’t very fond of the band screaming out of his speakers. “How about some easy listening?”

Brennan frowned for just a moment, and then smiled again. “Sure.” He turned the dial until the soft melodies of a U2 song drifted from his sound system. “So you really like this kind of music?”

“Sure why not? It’s soothing.”

“I guess.” He paused. “Are you sure you don’t want to get in? You look pretty cold.”

“No Thank you. I’m fine.” She stated, though she was, in fact, freezing.

“Come on. What’s the difference, besides the fact that you’ll be warmer?”

She hesitated, considering the situation. Finally, she relented. “I guess. Ok, let me in.”

Brennan stopped the truck and reached over to open the door for her. She got in, shutting it hard behind her. She quickly rolled up the window, and Brennan turned up the heat. The warmth of the cab felt nice after the brisk air she had been breathing for the last forty minutes. She held her hands out over one of the vents, letting the warmth soak into her skin.

“So what were you doing out here so late at night all alone?” Asked Brennan conversationally.

She considered the truth, but thought better of it. “I was on my way to my mom’s house. For the weekend.” She added.

“Oh, so does she live in Wilmur?”

“Wilmur?”

“Yeah, the town we’re headed towards.” Brennan gave her a look that said he thought her story suspicious.

“Oh, yeah. She lives there. So anyway, my car ran out of gas awhile back, so I got out and started to walk.”

They exchanged pleasantries back and forth. It turned out Brennan was a college drop-out. For the last month he had been working construction, but was looking for something that was less physically demanding. Despite the fact that he looked young, he was actually twenty-two. He was on his way to Watertown, which was three hours out of Wilmur when he had driven by Hayley and stopped.

Hayley spun some tail about how every weekend she drives to her mom’s house. She had been so caught up in driving, that she forgot to fill up along the way and ran out.

Once their basic stories were outlined for each other, there was a lull in the conversation. The warmth of the cab started to get to Hayley and she began to drift off to sleep, her head rested on the back of the seat. In that moment in time, all her problems drifted away into dreamland.