by Shay Lynam
Now what was I going to do? I went back and slammed the trunk shut watching as it slowly rose back up. With another loud expletive, I slammed it down again then hopped up and sat down on it, digging into my pocket for my pack of cigarettes. After lighting the cigarette, I pulled out my cellphone and held it up hoping I could get a signal. Nothing. I stuffed it back in my pocket then started waving my hands at any car that passed by. Most of them honked but none slowed down to help me.
Finally, I got back off the trunk causing it to open up again. After getting it to close and then stay closed, I trudged back to the drivers side and got in, laying back in my seat. I threw on the hazard lights and sat breathing in and then watching the smoke slowly rise up out of my mouth and curl into the air like a wispy pixie.
I'm not sure how long I sat there but I was on my third cigarette when I saw blue and red lights flash in my rear view mirror. “Thank God,” I muttered and climbed out of the car. The officer was getting out of his car as well.
“Need help?” he asked me.
“Yeah,” I said. “My tire shredded and my spare is flat. I tried waving someone down but apparently people in these parts are in a hurry.”
The officer chuckled and came around the passenger side to get a good look at my tire. “Oh yeah,” he said. “I think I have my spare in the trunk and I can help you get that changed so you can be on your way.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
As he was turning and heading back to his car, the officer eyed my backseat and paused. “What is this?” he asked pointing in at the bag of money sitting there.
I could feel my stomach drop. “That's mine.” I replied. “I inherited it from my mom.”
“Uh huh.” He obviously didn't believe me. “Can you verify that?”
“Sure,” I replied. “I would call my mom's lawyer but I have no cell service.”
The man still didn't look convinced. He narrowed his eyes at me as he thought about what to do. “Why don't you come with me and we can call him together.”
He could not be serious. “What about my car? I don't just want to leave it here. Especially with all my stuff in it.”
“You just go ahead and wait for me in the car. I will go get your stuff.”
“This can't be happening,” I muttered handing my keys over. “Is there any way we can do this quick? I really need to be getting somewhere.”
“What's your name?” he asked me.
I sighed. “Tyler.”
“Well, Tyler, I will make this as quick as I can and hopefully get you back on road if everything checks out.” The man didn't sound very convincing.
“Alright,” I finally said with a defeated sigh then trudged over to the police car and opened the front passenger side door.
“Back seat, please,” the cop said from behind me.
Without looking back at him, I shut the front door and opened the back one climbing in and closing it again behind me. This guy seriously thought I was going to try and take his car. It almost sounded tempting, but this was no time to get in big trouble with the law. I didn't need anymore inconveniences on this trip. Other than this one apparently. I watched through the cage bars separating the backseat from the front as the cop went into my car and pulled out my bag of money. He stuffed everything else in there as well then shut the door again. Setting the bag on the ground, he popped the trunk and went back to check in there. Seriously? I had just managed to get that thing closed too. I stared shaking my head as the cop slammed the trunk down then watched it open back up.
“You have to jiggle it,” I said though I knew he couldn't hear me.
Finally, he just left it open, walking away with the bag in his hand. He threw it on the passenger side then climbed in the driver's side. “You're just going to leave my trunk open?” I asked through the bars.
“Well, hopefully we won't be gone for long,” the man replied visibly frustrated with the whole thing.
“Yeah, let's just hope,” I said equally frustrated.
The ride to the police station was not particularly pleasant. I had been in the back of police cars a few times in my life. Mostly back when I was younger when I was really rebellious and thought it was cool to break car windows and shoplift key chains and chap stick from convenience stores. They seemed a lot more uncomfortable then, of course I was sitting with my hands cuffed behind my back. This time I just sat back in the seat with my arms folded over my chest and stared glumly out the window as we drove further and further in the wrong direction. Not too long later, we entered Big Springs and then pulled into the parking lot of the tiniest sheriff’s department I had ever seen. I suppose New York's police department had to be big though.
I waited for the officer to come around to my side and let me out, then I climbed out and trudged up the stairs with him. It took all that was in me at this point not to rip his mustache clean off his face when he took my arm in his hand like I was a criminal. This was just ridiculous.
“Alright,” he said and pointed to a bench on the wall. “You wait here while I make a call.”
I slumped down onto the bench and rested my head back against the wall. The place was pretty dead. Being Saturday, no one sat behind the desks or answered the phones when they rang. Feeling restless, I got up and paced in front of the door. The officer was sitting at a desk on the other side of the door talking on the phone to someone. When I saw him get up, I hurried back over to the bench and sat down. He walked through the door.
“Alright, Tyler. Come back with me.”
I got up and followed the man back through the door. He had me sit in the chair in front of his desk. He took the chair back on the other side then folded his hands and lay them on top of the desk, looking at me and twitching his mustache. After a few seconds, he leaned back again, his chair creaking from his weight. “So I had a few of the other officers count all the money you have in that bag. There is almost fifty thousand dollars in there.”
“Yes,” I said. “I know, I'm the one that took it out of my mom's account.” The man stared at me again silently. “Seriously,” I continued. “I know my mom's lawyer's number. We can call him to verify it's mine. Which it is.”
The officer pushed the speaker button causing a loud dial tone to echo through the small, empty room. Then he slid the whole contraption to me and motioned for me to dial. I took out my phone to find John's number then dialed it on the desk phone. It rang a couple times before he answered.
“This is John,” his voice crackled over the speaker.
“John, this is Officer Mattson. I have Tyler here saying the fifty thousand I found in his possession is in fact his.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, it is his?”
I couldn't help but smile. “Yes,” John replied. “he inherited it from his mother after she died. Is that why you called me at home?”
The officer shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I am sorry, sir, I did not realize this was your home number.”
“Well, it is and I was just about to leave with my wife when you called. Now please just let the kid go.” With that, the line clicked dead and Mattson and I were left in silence.
He let out a sigh. “Well,” he said. “I guess you are free to go.”
“Thanks,” I muttered then stood up and started back out the door.
“Do you want me to take you back to your car?” the man asked me seemingly wanting to make up for taking up my time.
I turned back around. “Can I sit in the front seat this time?”
The officer tried to make conversation with me on the way back to my car but I was still feeling bitter having lost an hour of travel time and only gave him one word replies. We got back to my car and got out. Officer Mattson went around to get the spare tire out of the back of his car and I went over to mine and pulled the trunk back down, jiggling it until the latch caught. Then I went back and got my bag.
“Do you think this will last me to Portland, Oregon?” I asked watching the officer lug
the tire to the front of my car.
“It will last until you can get to a tire shop,” he replied kneeling down. “I wouldn't wait too long to change it though.”
“Alright,” I said kicking at the tire on the drivers side. Hopefully none of the other ones decided to explode while I was on the road.
Once he was finished, I held my hand out. “Thanks,” I said.
“Sure thing,” Officer Mattson replied. “Sorry for the misunderstanding.”
I shrugged. “It's alright. You were just doing your job.”
He nodded then went back to his car and got inside and pulled back onto the freeway. I climbed into my car and put the keys in the ignition, turning it over and putting my belt back on. The CD started back up again filling the cab with guitar.
I pulled back off when I saw signs for Sidney and stopped at the first tire place I came across. With four new tires, I got back on the freeway and planned on not stopping again until I hit mid Wyoming.
As I drove through mile after mile of farm land, I couldn't help thinking about a few nights earlier when Paul had told me he was getting married. I still wasn't sure what I thought about it. I mean, I had never met Meg before but obviously she was okay if Paul liked her. He was the most level headed guy I knew. It was weird though. The thought of my best friend getting married and moving out after all these years of it just being him and me. Of course I was going to have the apartment. No woman in their right mind would want to live in that dump, what with its peeling wallpaper, old barely working appliances and the small roach problem. I didn't mind the roaches. I had even named a few of them. Perhaps that was why I had never met Meg. One second in our apartment and she would have turned right around. If that was the kind of girl she was. Luckily for me, any girl I ever brought home arrived at night. One of the many perks of a one night stand I suppose.
What would happen when I found Emily? I remembered her saying she didn't believe in love but... but maybe that would change. Maybe when she saw me she wouldn't want me to leave. Maybe I would call back home and tell Paul that I was going to stay in Portland for a while. For how long? I don't know, a few more days, maybe? And maybe those few days would turn into a few weeks. Maybe those few weeks would turn into a few months and maybe during those few months, I start looking at rings while browsing the internet, sitting across from her at that coffee shop. Maybe I would look up at her and watch her staring at her screen intently, studying or writing. And then I would look back down at the picture of the ring and think to myself, this would look perfect on her finger.
I hadn't even noticed the black clouds overhead then a crack of lightning and burst of thunder snapped me out of my thoughts. Rain was coming down in sheets now and I hit the wipers. Even with them going full speed I could barely see the road in front of me. Cars were already pulling off ahead of me to wait for the storm to pass. I couldn't though. I had already had enough setbacks for this trip. Every hour I spent sleeping or getting arrested was an hour Emily could be suffering. I couldn't afford to waste anymore time. No more long stops. I would pee in a Monster can if I had to.
The wind was blowing hard as I made my way into Wyoming causing the car to rattle. If it didn't calm down, I was going to get blown off the road. If I could get just a little further, the mountains would shield against the wind and by the time I got to the other side, the storm would pass, hopefully. I gripped the steering wheel keeping it as steady as I could and punched the gas. Most of the other cars had pulled over, creating a clear path for me. The rain was still beating down on my windshield like gravel and my wipers were going crazy. Any faster and I was afraid they might snap right off. Still, I only had another mile it looked like until I was in the mountains. Another crash of lightning and thunder made me jump. I couldn't stop. I had to make it. Emily was counting on me. One particularly strong gust caused me to swerve into the oncoming lane into the path of a semi. I jerked the wheel the other way just in time as the semi flew past me, horn blaring.
Here I was though, I had made it into the mountain range. The rain was still coming down hard but my car was staying still. My heart was hammering almost as loud as the drops on my windshield but I had made it. Now I eased onto the brake, slowing myself down so I didn't start hydroplaning. Okay, I thought to myself, only two and a half more states and I was home free. By the next night, I would be in Portland and I could begin my search.
chapter six.
By eleven o clock that night, I was half way through Idaho and feeling sick. I finally had to pull over and had just enough time to get the door open and my seat belt off before I fell onto the ground and threw up what felt like everything I had eaten in the past few days.
I sat there on the ground for a moment waiting for the sickness to pass. It was weird, I knew it couldn't have been the food I had eaten that had made me sick because I had been feeling fine up until about a mile back. I sat back against my car and held my aching head in my hands. My skin was clammy and I couldn't stop shaking. “What's wrong with me,” I muttered to myself as I wiped my forehead on the sleeve of my jacket. My stomach twisted and another wave of nausea hit me. I jerked forward and heaved, only acid coming up this time burning my throat and nose.
The rain started up again soaking into my clothes fast and chilling me to the bone. It felt good against my skin and I got up, using the car to lean against and laid back on my hood. I put my arms over my eyes and just felt the rain pelt me, listened to it hitting the car with a thousand metallic pings. My skin felt so hot it seemed like I could hear the raindrops sizzle when they hit me. My stomach started calming down after a while and my throat was feeling less hollow and ravaged. Perhaps it had just been nerves. Or maybe Ruby had done it when she had kissed me. Her lips laced with poison, sending acid through my veins. Now that I thought of it, I swear I remembered a red glow fading from her eyes after she pulled away from me.
I shook my head, clearing the image of Ruby's glowing eyes from my mind. It had been a weird last couple of days what with all the daydreaming and hallucinations. Surely there was something screwed up with my head. It will pass, I told myself then slid off the car and climbed back in the drivers seat with my sopping wet clothes.
After driving for another hour, the rain still hadn't stopped. I ended up pulling off and finding a motel for the night. I could no longer see the road and was in desperate need of a shower. And what good would I have been to Emily splattered across the road anyway? I got off the freeway and made my way to a motel a few blocks back.
Turning the corner, I saw the parking lot was pretty full. I managed to find a spot though at the far end and parked, resting my head against the steering wheel. I guess I was more tired than I had thought because the next thing I knew, someone was tapping on my window. I lifted my head and squinted at the morning light flooding the car. Looking to my left, I saw a man standing in the rain with his coat wrapped around himself. I cursed to myself as I rolled the window down.
“Are you alright?” he asked me.
“Yeah,” I croaked. “Yeah, I'm okay. I guess I fell asleep.”
The man furrowed his brow and stared hard at me, his eyes filled with concern. “You don't look so good, kid,” he finally said to me. “Maybe I should take you to the hospital.”
I shook my head. “No, no, I'm okay... I will be okay. I need to get going.” Then I turned the key in the ignition. Nothing happened.
“Your lights have been on all night,” the man told me.
I pulled the keys back out and threw them across to the passenger seat in frustration. “Perfect,” I muttered resting my head on the steering wheel again.
“Where are you headed?” the guy asked me.
“Oregon,” I replied not looking up. “I'm trying to get there to find my friend.” Then I looked up at him.
The man nodded. “I see. Well, don't you think you should get some food in your stomach before you get going?”
“I'll probably just throw it back up,” I answered. “And I need to get th
ere tonight. I only have like eight more hours I have to drive.”
“You'll never make it with a dead battery.”
“Could you give me a jump?” I asked.
“Sure, let me take you to get something to eat first.”
I looked up at him and pursed my lips.
“Just something small,” he added.
Finally I agreed and got out of the car. I immediately started feeling dizzy and had to steady myself by leaning against it for a moment. Once the dizziness had passed, the man led me into the hotel. It was pretty decent inside. There was a dining room of sorts with bagels, cereal and yogurt on a buffet table against the wall. The man had me take a seat then went and fixed both of us plates. The lights were so bright, they made my eyes hurt so I laid my head down on the table and waited for him to come back.
“I wasn't sure what you wanted,” he said. I lifted my head to find the man standing with a tray piled high with breakfast food. “Just eat what you want.”
“Thanks,” I muttered sitting up in my chair. “I appreciate it.”
“No problem,” he replied setting his own tray in front of his chair. “My name is Josh, by the way.”
“Tyler. People aren't near this nice in New York,” I said taking a bagel and ripping a chunk off. “At least no one I know.” Then I stuffed it in my mouth.
“You're coming all the way from New York?” Josh asked sounding astonished.