Those boys… She could not help but think about them. Everyone told her how bad they were. Everyone always was sayin' just to stay home and be a good girl but, she couldn't. She was just drawn away from her life and into the world outside. The devil's doin' is what her daddy said. That wasn't it though. It wasn't something she could even explain. There was just something about those Bondurant brothers. Forrest always seemed so distant, and that intrigued her. He had that confidence that made her want to know him. Howard was just a loose cannon; to be honest she was always scared of him. But, Howard was also the one that she was drawn to the most. She could not even begin to explain it. She didn't even dare try. It was almost like a magnetic pull. Then there was Jack. He had always been different. Jack was sensitive and he was always following her around like a puppy. Mr. Minnix sure hated that.

It was about 9:00 pm, long after her daddy went to bed. He had to get up early for chores around the farm which meant that he was fast asleep by this hour. She threw on her boots and snuck through the window. Bertha wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do when she got out but she was going to head to the station first. If anything she knew Jack would be there so at least she would have someone to talk to. Forrest always thought that she was just some goody goody which was the furthest thing from the truth.

The walk was longer and colder than she thought but the rush of actually moving on was enough to push forward. She picked up her pace because she was able see the lights on in the station at the end of the road. When she got there, no cars were in the lot. Forrest was sitting at a table with Howard but no Jack. She stopped dead in her tracks "Oh great they are going to just kick me out and send me away." She thought about it and decided that she had come this far and needed to keep going. After all when her daddy realized she was gone she was going to be in a world of trouble. There was just no going back.

The station door creaked as it opened. Forrest and Howard turned to see who was coming in. "Well, I'll be damned. Bertha Jack's not here." Howard looked at Forrest with shock on his face. Forrest nodded and grunted and went back to his papers. He was rather indifferent about the situation. Howard on the other hand just stared shocked that she was there at such an hour.

"Oh that's fine Howard. I wasn't really lookin' for Jack anyways." Bertha was glad they didn't just point to the door and tell her to get out. They always thought the Minnix family was crazy and she couldn't blame them either...

She couldn't help staring at Howard there was something about him that just drew her in. She had heard the stories about his family, him included and knew they were true, but it didn't matter to her. Everyone always talked about how crazy he was, how one thing could make him just completely lose his mind. She always just chalked it up to the war.

"Bertha, Forrest wants to talk to you." The voice jerked her out of her thought. Howard was looking at her with a bewildered look on his face. "What are you doing out this late anyways?" he asked as she was walking away.

"I decided to leave home tonight that's all." Bertha couldn't keep from being nervous. She knew that Forrest was not happy to see her there but, she really just left without really thinking too much and not having anywhere else to go. "It was me who decided to walk away from my family who never did anything but love me. That love wasn't enough though" kept running through her head walking through that door "Now Forrest before you go and start telling me to leave and not be here hear me out…" she started to say…

He held up his hand. Gritting his teeth he starred at her. "Now listen..." he paused because he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to say or how he wanted to say it. "I want to know why you're here. I don't need no more trouble from your daddy. You know he don't much care for us."

"Forrest I know, I do and well, I left tonight. I'm not going back. I can't go back. That isn't the life I want anymore. I want something new. Something different…"

"Bertha…." He clipped stopping her mid-sentence.

She just stared at him not sure what to say next. Forrest just standing there hulking over her made her so nervous. Looking at the ground she said "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come. I will just leave." She turned to talk away, arms hugging herself not knowing what to do next. "Idiot I'm such an idiot." she mumbled under her breath.

Where in the hell was she going to go now? It's cold, late, there is nothing open and she has no money. "How can I make this better?" she thought. Almost in tears she walked past the door to the station and kept walking. She felt like she was being watched but from where?

The door to the station opened and Howard watched Bertha walking. When he realized she was leaving he walked toward Forrest. "Why is she leaving and walking at this time Forrest? You can't let her go. She is way too young to be out walking out here." Howard was beyond upset. She was a young girl after all.

Forrest just looked at Howard. "She walked away."

Howard was getting pissed "And you just let her?" It was definitely not the time a night for any woman to be walking around alone.

Forrest looked at Howard grunted and walked away. If there was one thing Forrest was never any good at it was dealing with women.

"Damn you Forrest. Sometimes you just don't think." Howard turned to call for Bertha but she was nowhere in sight. "Damn it" he snapped and walked to his truck.

Sitting in the station Forrest couldn't help but feel slightly guilty but what the hell did she want? If she really just left home and wasn't going back he would really feel terrible but how many times do girls say that sort of stuff? "Hell, I don't know" he mumbled to himself. What experience did he have?