“Is there any other kind of transportation I could take? Maybe a cab that will take me?” I asked the gray-haired man behind the counter.
“I’m sorry Miss. The nearest cab company is half an hour away, and chances are they wouldn’t take you that far.”
What was I going to do?
I rubbed small circles over my temple contemplating my next move. I hadn’t planned for such a setback, and I didn’t have the days to waste.
“Miss,” the man spoke, gaining my attention. “If you can afford it, there is a limousine company that might take you. They’re only about ten miles away, and there is a business card with their telephone number on it just over there on the bulletin board. I don’t know if they’ll do it, but you can give them a call to find out.”
Limousine? Why not?
“Thank you so much,” I responded, pulling my backpack over my shoulder. It was worth a shot. Otherwise, I’d be stuck in this town for a lot longer than I planned to be.
Once I dialed the number and spoke to the nice reception lady on the phone, she told me that it’d be no problem for them to take me. Of course, the expense of it wasn’t cheap, but I didn’t mind. Can’t take money with you when you die…
I know. It’s not funny.
The lady told me that the driver would be there to pick me up within the hour. He would need to gas up before heading over.
It was all settled. Chapel Hill wasn’t too far, and in a private limousine, I’d be there in no time.
I grabbed a seat next to an older couple inside the bus station and waited for my ride. The couple hadn’t even acknowledged that I was there. Their eyes were glued to the television set just off to the corner. The morning news was playing and they seemed to be engrossed in it.
“Have you seen this man?” I heard the news anchor say. Looking up I saw Craig’s face plastered on the television screen. It was enlarged so his face was as plain as day. Under his picture was a telephone number for the local police department.
“Craig Eddy is wanted for robbery. The security camera inside this Chevron station caught Eddy stowing away the cash that the clerk was handing over. He was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. His mother has come forward with this statement.” An older woman with white hair was sitting in a wheelchair that looked like it was sitting on the porch of a rundown shack. The home behind her was missing windows and the screen on the door was off the hinges. She cried when she pleaded for her son to come home.
My breath caught as I stared at the frightful scene in front of me. What had he done? I thought he was good. His note… It was so nice. He was an armed robber and he was alone in the hotel with me. I scanned the room hoping no one would notice me. I was with him just a few hours ago. Then it dawned on me. Had he robbed me too?
I reached inside my bag for my wallet, and dug through it. I had a whole lot of money on me. Inside the wallet every single bill was intact. He hadn’t stolen a single penny from me, and he had the chance. He was alone in my room while I slept, but nothing was missing.
I stood up, careful not to move too quickly, and made my way outside. His poor Mother’s face kept flashing in my mind. She sat there on that porch that barely held her up, wearing a nightgown that looked like it’d been eaten up by moths. It was obvious that they were poor. Maybe he stole because they needed food or medicine. I didn’t know. What I did know was that he was kind to me in my time of need, and from the way he talked about his mother; I’d say he loved her. There was a good heart in there. I wasn’t going to be the one to turn him in, and if that meant I was an accessory than so be it.
After about twenty minutes of standing in the morning sunlight, the limousine finally pulled up. It was white and big enough to hold an entire wedding party. But this party was for one. I felt mighty important as I walked up to it. The man introduced himself as Bert and held the door for me as I climbed inside.
Holy cow.
The inside was just as impressive as the out. Bert asked if I knew the address of where I was going and I quickly searched in my bag for the envelope that had Benjamin’s address. Once Bert was inside he lowered the glass between himself and the back where I was sitting.
“The journey should be pretty easy. I don’t suspect much traffic, or no more than usual anyway. If you need to make any stops just push the intercom speaker just to the left of the window next to you. There is also the control for the window that separates us just below it. You need anything, you let me know.” He smiled sweetly.
“Okay,” I replied still amazed at my surroundings. I ran my fingers along the leather seats and lifted the lid on what I quickly found out was a built in cooler. It was awesome, and if I could’ve thought of a better word than awesome I would’ve used it.
“First time in a limo?” He asked. There was happiness to his voice that I suspect matched my face.
“Yeah,” I nodded.
He grinned once more before raising the glass between us. I moved over to the seat next to me so that I could stretch my legs out and watch out the window. It was then when I realized I should’ve taken the limo in the first place.
But I wouldn’t have met Craig.
Scratch that. I was thankful for meeting him. Everything was going just as it should, or so I thought.
Chapter Six
Knock three times
We made just two stops before we arrived in front of the house, which was the last known address that I had for Benjamin. I took some pain medicine just before we arrived and it was kicking in. I could feel myself growing more tired with every minute that passed. After thanking Bert, I gave him a hefty tip. He was kind to me and found a place to stop the moment I said I was hungry. You can’t begin to imagine the looks you get when you pull up to McDonald’s in a limo. I needed fries in my life. But I felt the pain of it soon after.
Bert drove away and left me standing there in front of a brick house with the numbers 1-1-2-9 posted on the mailbox. Someone definitely lived there. A white ford pickup truck was parked in the driveway.
It took me a moment to work up enough nerve to walk up the front porch steps. I had to coax myself the entire way. Each step made my heart race quicker, and I tried to replay what I would say when he opened the door. Of course that all flew out the window once I stood within inches of it.
I knocked three times and then stepped away. I kept my mind focused on the task at hand so that I wouldn’t appear to be so nervous.
It didn’t help.
The noise coming from inside didn’t help either.
I was a ball of nerves.
The door opened and a woman stood on the other side. “Can I help you?” She asked hesitantly.
“Um, I…” Get it together Tori. “Is this the Cooper residence?”
“No, I’m sorry. You have the wrong house.” She started to close the door, but I stopped her.
“I’m really sorry to bother you.” I apologized. “I’m looking for a Benjamin Cooper. This is the last address I have for him. I’m not from around here. Any chance you’ve heard the name before.”
She stepped back a little farther into the house. “Never heard the name before. Again, I’m sorry.” This time she wasn’t so quick to slam the door in my face.
“Is there a motel close by?”
“Follow this street a couple of blocks and take a right. There is a motel about a mile from there,” she explained.
“Thank you.” I gave her a small wave before leaving.
My only lead had fallen flat, and I had over a mile to walk to get to where I needed to be. Thank goodness I packed a can of mace in my bag because the whole neighborhood felt fishy to me. I may as well have had a flashing neon sign above my head that said, “look at me, I am young, I am lost, and I don’t belong here.” Let’s not forget that I was full of pain medication.
After speed walking through the two blocks, I had to stop and rest at the red light. Just across the street was a park. It seemed safer than waiting on a street corner.
I
quickly made my way across to a wooden park bench that was vacant. I sat down, keeping my bag pulled close to my chest. Deep breathes in, and in no time I was rested. It seemed like a nice park from what I could tell. A few people were walking with their ear buds in, while others were playing Frisbee with their dogs. Seemed nice enough to me.
I dug out my cell phone from my bag and typed Benjamin Cooper in the Google search line. Surely there was something on the man somewhere. My luck he was probably half way around the country. A few things came up, but nothing with much help. Turns out the white pages had over five hundred matches for the name Benjamin Cooper.
“Great,” I huffed.
“Do you mind if I sit here?”
I startled. I hadn’t heard anyone walk up while in the midst of my stalkery search. Reaching for my chest, I looked up to see a young man staring back at me.
“I apologize. Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said sincerely.
My instincts had me scoot away to the edge of the bench. “It’s okay.”
“Do you mind?” He pointed towards the bench.
I shook my head no.
Glancing slightly in his direction I noticed that he was wearing slacks, and dress shoes. It seemed odd for the park. I tried not to stir in my seat too much and kept my phone facing outward so that he wouldn’t see my search engine. He’d probably think I was a total creeper.
He stretched his long legs out in front of him, and I felt the back of the bench move when he relaxed into it. A sigh slipped from his mouth, and I wondered if it had been a tough day for him too.
“I’m Bo,” he said, extending his hand to me.
“Tori.” I shook his outstretched hand and finally got a better look at his face. He had dark brown eyes, and dimples on both of his cheeks. I looked away quickly, trying to hide from his gaze. He was good looking, and in what little interaction that I’d ever had with men, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to hold my own with this one. I’d probably melt into a pile of girlish mush.
Quickly, I stared back towards the ground before my awkwardness showed it’s ugly face.
“It’s been a long day Tori,” Bo said. My name rolled off his tongue like we were old friends, not two people who just met.
“Agreed.”
“Taking a trip?” He asked.
I noticed he was looking at my backpack. “Um, yeah. Kind of at a standstill.” Shit. Why did say that? Shut your face Tori.
“Why the standstill? Does that mean you don’t know where you’ll be headed next?”
“Sort of.” I scoffed. What happened to the old Tori? The one who didn’t speak to strangers; the one who didn’t engage in any conversation. Jesus.
“That sounds like an adventure to me,” Bo said, and I could hear the smile in his voice even though I couldn’t look up at his face to check.
There was a moment of silence before a loud roar of thunder. Looking up I noticed a dark cloud making its way in our direction.
“Shit,” I said when I realized that I still had to find the hotel. There was no way I could run, and I didn’t even know how much farther the hotel was.
I stood up from the bench and slipped my backpack on. Bo stood up too.
“You need a ride?” He asked me as I started walking away.
“No thanks. I’m okay.” I replied. Looking at him one more time I said, “Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” he called after me.
As quickly as I could, I walked back to the intersection. I looked down the street but didn’t see a motel anywhere. The lady said about a mile. I sighed just thinking about it. There was no way I’d make it a mile without getting rained on.
The rumble of thunder helped kick me into gear. I moved as quickly as I could.
Please don’t rain on me. Please don’t rain on me.
“REALLY!” I said, as I felt the raindrops hit my head. Of course, I wasn’t going to catch a break.
“Hey,” a voice called out to me. A black sports car was parked on the curb, and I could see Bo’s face through the window. I gave him a questionable look, or maybe it was a frustrated look. I needed to keep moving before I got drenched. “I can give you a ride. It’s no problem at all.”
“It’s okay, really.” A crack of lightning shot across the sky, and I trembled just watching it. I didn’t like thunderstorms and the thought of riding with him didn’t sound too bad. Once again I found myself ready and willing to place my life in the hands of a stranger.
“Come on,” he motioned.
I tried to fight myself on it, but then the rain came harder.
Screw it.
Stepping lightly so that I wouldn’t fall on the already slick sidewalk, I opened the car door and climbed inside. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Where to?”
“The nearest motel please.”
Bo’s deep laughter filled the car. I hadn’t realized what I’d said until it was already out of my mouth, and I in no way meant it the way that it sounded. It was funny though, and I snickered. My face was red with embarrassment.
“I really do need to go to a motel.” I smiled. “Alone,” I added.
“Your cheeks are really red.” He pointed out.
I shook my head and smiled at him. “No thanks to you.”
“Hey, there is a little coffee shop right down the street. Any chance you like overly priced, crappy coffee?” The way he said it made my smile grow even wider. “My treat.”
“Okay,” I replied, nodding my head. I was still feeling pretty good and since half my day was wasted, I figured it couldn’t hurt. Not to mention I could add this to my list of crazy things I did before I died. There wasn’t really a list, but if there were this would definitely be written on it.
***
Inside the coffee shop, Bo led me to a table in the back. Thankfully it was far from the windows. He went to the counter and ordered our crappy coffees. As I was sitting there by myself I kept thinking that everything was too easy. The conversations, the knights in shining armor, I was on a role. If my Mom had been alive she’d never believe this. This was actually my first date. Sounds weird, I know. But it was true. My Mom had cancer, and I didn’t have time to date. I went out with a group once my sophomore year of high school. There were boys there, but I didn’t even sit next to one. Sometimes you’re forced to grow up even when you’re not ready. And sometimes you’re forced to die when you’re not ready either.
“You’re awfully deep in thought,” Bo said making me jump.
“There’s a lot on my mind,” I admitted.
He sat down in the chair across from me and pushed a steaming coffee in front of me. “Want to talk about it?”
“I think we’d need something stronger to drink if we start discussing my life.”
“That bad huh?”
I lifted a shoulder and sighed. “You could say that again.”
“That bad huh?”
We laughed. I noticed his mouth, and how the sweet sound of his laughter was music to my ears.
“What about you?” I asked, turning the conversation onto him.
“Just a bad day at work. That’s all. My boss is an asshole,” he explained.
I didn’t ask too many questions. Maybe he didn’t want to talk about his situation either.
“Where are you from? Since you’re obviously not from here?” He smiled.
“Just outside of Charlotte. Not too far.”
“Are you planning on staying here in town for a while?”
I sipped my hot coffee while I thought about the question. I truly had no idea. There were several more Benjamin Cooper’s in town, and since I had no other leads… “For a little while. I’m looking for someone.” I squeezed my eyes shut and silently cursed myself for saying that.
“Oh yeah,” I could hear the sarcasm in his voice. “So, I take it you haven’t found that special someone yet? Or have you?”
“Jesus.” My cheeks were flaming. Touching them, I could feel the heat flaming. “You sure hav
e a way with words. Are you always so…” I tried to find the right word.
“Cute,” he said grinning boldly. “Why yes, I am.”
Shaking my head, I replied, “Full of yourself, that’s what you are.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “This day was really shitty, so I’m glad I shared that bench with you. All better now.” He winked. I was like ice cream on hot summer day, melting all over the place.
We talked for a little while longer until the rain quit. I discovered that he was an only child and that he never knew his Mom. I told him that I was an only child who never knew my Dad. Fortunately, he still had his Dad around. It made me happy to know that he did because no one deserves to have no parents.
“This is the nearest motel, but are you sure you want to stay here?” Bo asked.
It didn’t look like the safest place in the world, but it would be fine. “It’s fine. I’m fine,” I said as I opened the car door.
“I’d love to have crappy coffee again with you before you leave town.”
That sounded nice. Couldn’t hurt to have a friend right? Maybe he’d have some clue where I could find Benjamin. “Okay.”
We exchanged cell phone numbers, and I waved goodbye as I closed the car door behind me.
Inside the motel room, I marked another day off my calendar. Each day brought me another day closer to the inevitable. It was scary.
Though I hadn’t found Benjamin yet, it was still a good day. But with the days moving quickly, I didn’t have much more time to waste. For any day could’ve been my last.
Chapter Seven
You’re shitting me
The next day was a little worse than the day before. I wasn’t feeling well, and I was sweating a lot from the heat of the walk. I’d gone to a couple of houses but had no luck. Two was my limit for the day because the medicine wasn’t helping the pain, and I was too tired for the walk.
I really should’ve considered renting a car.
I Can't Die Alone Page 3