Chapter 1:
The Diner
Evening was getting around as David looked outside from his booth at the small roadside dinner he had stopped at. He sipped his coffer and let out a sigh. Left on the table before him was the remnants of the chicken-fried steak, which totaled up to crumbs and gravy. His well fed stomach sat happily as he enjoyed a few more cups of coffee before he began debating on getting back on the road. Overall, he was two hours ahead of schedule, and since he didn't want to arrive back home any earlier than he needed to, he was going to take his time.
David placed the now empty cup back on the table. Like magic, the waitress, Angela, walked over and asked, "Lookin' for another refill, hun?"
He nodded in reply, giving a polite 'thank you' when she finished. She gave a smile in return and then it topped off with a nod before she wandered back to the counter. She seemed to have a feel for what he wanted. She must have usually get customers looking for a place to relax for awhile. Not that he would complain, and by the looks of it, neither would she. His eyes wandered down to the steam slowly rising from the cup. He wondered if she had made that pot just for him, because it still tasted really fresh. Either way he planned on leaving a good tip. That had been the first full meal he had in over two days now, everything else had been fast-food or microwaveable. Nights at a hotel and days with nothing but a gas station to grab a sandwich at had finally wore away at him. Besides, getting to drink coffee outside of his car was the most relaxing thing he had done in weeks.
Driving had always been fun for him, but after six hours, resting was always a fairly tantalizing option. The feel of the worn fabric of the booth was so inviting that he had to keep checking his cell phone to remind him how much time had passed. He had already been there for over forty minutes, and he had his mindset now to get ready to leave.
"Angela," he called out, "can I get a glass of milk before I head out?" he asked after she turned towards him from the counter. She gave him a smile and a nod and walked behind the counter and into the back. As she did that, he tossed his beat up old leather wallet on the counter and began to tuck his phone in his jacket pocket. He began to debate whether he should use his card or to pay with the cash he had left in his wallet. The comparison went back and forth for a moment, but as Angela walked up with a tall glass of milk, he decided cash. It was the least he could do for her, she had done a good job at serving so far, and she deserved a few bucks to tuck into her pocket.
"Anything else, sugar?" she asked before stifling a yawn.
"Just a check Angela, but thanks" he replied kindly. She nodded and ripped a slip off of her pad she had in her apron and set it next to the milk.
The paper drew his attention to the tall glass of milk which he reached down for and slowly brought to his lips. The taste brought back memories. It had been quite some time since he had any milk, especially since he had been away from home. He took another slow sip, savoring the taste as a pair of girls in their twenties walked in with an expression of distress written across their faces. He overheard one ask for a phone, and her friend quietly sat down at the counter. Something in him kicked in, he wasn't sure if it was his kind heart, or maybe just too many years back in the Boy Scouts, but he quickly finished his milk and took a seat at the counter.
"Something the matter ms?" he asked as she stared down at the counter, shaking.
She looked up slowly; her makeup was smudged and had run down under her eyes, underneath her glasses. By the looks of it, she had been through hell and a rain storm. It seemed to take her a moment to gather her wits about her, and when she was about to say something, her friend came back, looking worn down and plain exhausted. She slumped in the chair next to her quiet friend and leaned against her, laying her head on her shoulder.
"I hate to be so nosey, but would you mind if I asked what happened?" he said, concern lining his words.
The both carefully looked at David, before turning to each other. "Our car broke down about three miles back, and with the storm, we haven't been able to get a hold of anyone," said the friend who had left to use the phone a few moments ago.
"Is there somewhere you need dropped off nearby?" he asked as he handed a twenty dollar bill to Angela, who seemed to be paying attention as well.
"No, that's alright, we can just wait till the storm dies out," she replied cautiously.
"Are you sure? Well that's alright," he handed Angela another twenty dollar bill. "Angela, do me a favor, give'em what they ask for, that should cover it," which he was rewarded by the girls cautious nature to melt, and for even Angela to smile graciously.
"If you don't mind staying till we can get something to eat, if you could drive us to our car to get some luggage and drop us off at a motel nearby, we'd really appreciate it."
"Sure, no problem, I need to find somewhere to pass out for the night anyways, it's been a long day on the road. Angela, I hate to bug ya, but could I get some more coffee then?"
Angela nodded, as he stood up and brought his plate, glass, and coffee cup to the counter and set them down. She refilled his cup, and upon seeing the coffee, they both ordered the same. Two moments later, the three of them sat quietly drinking coffee. His was black, but the two of them had poured cream and sugar into theirs. The all finished about the same time, though David finished his just slightly faster. Angela poured him another cup as the girls ordered a couple of hamburgers with fries.
As Angela went into the back, David turned towards the two girls and tried to strike up a conversation to fill the silence.
"So which way is it to your car?"
It took a moment for them to respond, but the answered, "about three miles down the road to the right, west I guess it is…" she began to stutter towards the end.
Picking up and the unsteady pause, he asked "So are you two just passing through too, or where you on your way back to town?"
"Headed through," chimed in the girl who he had sat beside, "trying' to get home."
"I know that feeling, I'm still trying to get home myself, but I have another day or two of driving till I make it back home."
"Where are you coming from," they asked, becoming a bit friendlier.
"Pennsylvania, but I am coming back from Florida."
"Florida? Was it nice down there, I've never been there," asked the girl next to him eagerly.
"It was beautiful, but I was working most of the time, the rest was a visit to my friend down their at sea world."
"Sea World?" the both asked.
"Yeah, she's a marine biologist down there."
"Are you a marine biologist too?" asked the girl sitting further away, intrigued.
"Me? No, She is a lot smarter than I am, I do tactical security"
"Oh, okay," he friend replied, but he could tell they didn't quite understand. Thankfully his response was cut off as Angela set the plates in front of the two girls and yet again refilled his cup of coffee.
The three of them made a little bit of small talk as they ate, but for the most part David let them eat, because they seemed famished. He began to wonder if there was more to their story, but a gentleman never asks and a lady never tells. Being the man he always was, he focused on finishing his coffee and the next cup, which took nearly till the time it took the two girls to finish their late dinner.
"Do you gals want anything else?" he asked, but they shook their head and replied that they were quite full.
"Alright then, Angela, the rest is tip, thanks for the service," he said, to which she smiled happily and wished him a good trip.
David got up first, and slid his wallet into his jacket pocket, and made a move for the door. The girls followed after, thanking Angela, but turned to catch up as he stepped outside.
It was obvious when he first stepped outside, that they hadn't been kidding about the rain. It looked terrible, everything was damp, but it had stopped raining, leaving a dreary look upon the landscape. David turned towards the red Chevy cavalier, and fished the keys out of his pocket.
"Sorry about it being cramped." He said as he unlocked the doors and the girl with glasses climbed in the back, while her friend sat in the front. Sheila, his car, started effortlessly and he began to drive west, down towards where their car had broken down.
"Sorry, I guess now I think about it, I was kinda rude, my name's David."
"Oh, sorry, I'm Shelly, and that's Amanda in the back," Amanda forced a weak smile as she curled up in the back seat, resting her head against the window.
"Well it's a pleasure to meet you two," he said, and they replied in kind.
The car went silent for a while, so he popped on the radio. It was a mixed music station, but one of the new Alternative songs came on, and he began to tap his thumbs on the steering wheel as he drove. The silence went on between them until Shelly pointed out their car and he pulled alongside it. David popped open the trunk, which was still half full with his gear and luggage.
"Do you two need any help with that." He called out.
"No, that's alright, we don't have much." Shelly called back as she closed the trunk and the two of them climbed back in. before they got in, they whispered something back and forth, and Amanda didn't seemed pleased as she got in the back. David just ignored it for the moment and started his car again, heading east in hopes of finding a hotel or motel past the dinner.
The silence continued as they drove, and when he passed the dinner, Shelly turned towards him.
"So is there anything we might be able to do to repay you for the ride?"
He looked at them questioning, but the look on Shelly's face, and the look of displeasure that Amanda had stepped into the car earlier said it all.
He began to trip on his words before he even started the sentence, "Oh no, that's, I mean, thanks, but, I never intended, I mean, that's alright, its no problem," he blurted out, turning red. It wasn't even that he didn't the experience, it was that it seemed so unexpected to him.
It was obvious; she hadn't expected that response as she had placed her hand on his thigh.
"I'm sorry Shelly, that didn't come off to well. I mean you're very pretty and all, its just its not necessary."
Immediately her face turned red, and she turned away and began to whimper. A hand shot out from the back and rubbed her right shoulder.
"Its alright, I mean, it doesn't mean a thing, right? You were just really thankful for the ride, right?" he replied, placing his hand on her other shoulder. Her only response was a nod, but the thankfully look in her eyes said everything that needed to be said. Amanda seemed thankful too as she looked up at him, the gaze he noticed in his rearview mirror.
The awkward silence returned, but the void was filled as another song came on the radio, and he turned up the volume a dash. The three of them all seemed to like the song as they began to rock back and forth to it.
After nearly an hour of driving, they found a motel, and David pulled into the parking lot. An antique sign brightly blazed 'Vacancy' as they stepped out of the car. The two girls stretched and David headed towards the office, labeled with a sign above the door.
Inside was an older man, wearing big thick glasses. At first glance, the man appeared to be Stan Lee, the famous comic author, but after a moment of looking at him, he noticed that he only looked similar.
"I need to get a pair of rooms for the night, a single and a double."
The man looked away from the television mounted in the corner on the wall. "Sorry, friend, only got a double left, that rain storm collapsed the only other room's roof. Thank God, no one was inside."
"Alright, that'll be fine then, thanks, sorry to hear about the roof though" he said as he put seventeen dollars on the counter, as the man asked for it. The Stan Lee look alike handed him a set of keys with the faded number '12' on it and gave him a nod.
As he stepped outside, the girls nearly collided with him as he stepped outside.
"How much were rooms?"
"Don't worry about it," he replied and handed them the set of keys, "There was only a double left, so you two take it, I'll be alright in my car," he replied as he began to turn to walk to his car.
"Nah-uh, there is no way that we're making you sleep out in the car, Amanda and I can share a bed, you can have the other, okay?"
"You sure, it's no biggie," he commented.
"Oh, trust me, we don't mind at all," Amanda chimed in quietly, but Shelly slapped her leg, causing Amanda to go quiet again.
David grinned to himself as he unloaded their two bags and one of his out of the car after pulling in just outside of the room. After Shelly unlocked the door, they all filled in and set up camp. It was a basic room, but it had two queen sized beds, a night stand and a lamp for each, and a television, that by the looks of the sign outside was color and had basic cable.
David dropped his stuff onto his bed, and as they changed and tucked themselves under the blankets, he went to the bathroom to get rid of some of the coffee he had drunk.
He was awakened by a noise from his room, and he reached under his pillow for his Beretta, that he and stuffed under there. His weary eyes glanced at the clock, but he couldn't make out what time it was without his glasses on. It took a moment to register, but he recognized that sound, and could tell that he heard something that was going to give him a wet dream. He began to roll over, but suddenly he inhaled dust and sneezed loudly.
Suddenly, everything got quiet and the two began to giggle. "Enjoying that were we?" the two asked playfully.
"Sorry, I something woke me up, and then I heard you two."
Amanda whispered, "Do you want to join?" her voice sounded so sexy, but his mind drifted to Karen.
"I can't, I have someone back home," he said, controlling himself the best he could.
"Aw, that's no fair. Well she's one lucky girl," Shelly replied.
David didn't have the strength to answer, but as he went to sleep, he could hear them again, and he drifted lazily off to sleep, trying not to listen.
Chapter 2:
The Next Morning
David woke up first, and when he saw that the girls were still asleep, he grabbed a pair of boxers out of his luggage and went in the bathroom to take a shower. After he stripped and stepped in, the relief flooded through him as the hot water poured down him and the steam rose up from the floor. He took his time, enjoying the shower, especially since he knew that it was going to be another long day in his car.
His thoughts began to stray to the two girls sleeping outside. It seemed like there was something they weren't telling him, but he didn't feel it was his right to bring it up. It didn't matter though, he was probably just going to drop them off at a bus station, or somewhere they could catch a taxi and they would be on there way. It was too bad, he was sure that they could help pass the time, even if it was just brief conversations over the radio. Driving from Florida to Pennsylvania is a long drive to try to pull off alone.
A sigh slipped from his lips, but a yawn overpowered it. Suddenly he decided to step outside for a while and get some fresh air to wake him up.
He stepped out of the shower, slipped on the boxers he had left for himself and crept out and changed into a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. After he got his shirt on he threw on a pair of sandals and stepped outside. The air was still cold, but it didn't bother him, if anything it actually felt nice after the warm shower. It was then he noticed the smell of smoke.
His eyes strayed to his left, and there was Amanda, sitting alone on a bench. She had a coat wrapped around her, with her knees pulled into her chest, smoking a cigarette. She looked so lonesome, just like she had when he had first met her the night before. It was too bad, she seemed really pretty, and obviously was friendly, but it took a bit to get her to open up.
"Morning kitty cat," he said before giving a lopsided smile.
She smiled dully at him, "morning Dave," she replied, patting the bench beside her.
He sat beside her, and she leaned against him. Karen slipped back into his mind as he remembered the feeling of her resting her head on his shoulder, snuggling into his neck.
"How'd you sleep?" he asked, trying again to make conversation.
A sigh of happiness slipped from her lips, "It was great," but she realized how she said it and added, "Sorry for waking you up…"
He smiled; she really was a sweet girl. "Its alright, it was just a bit too tempting is all," he said flirtatiously. It came out so naturally, that he didn't even notice it.
"Really, I thought that you just weren't interested, or were tired or something?" she said as she gently bit her bottom lip.
It was such a simple gesture, but he realized what he was doing, and decided to ease away from it. "I hate to say it, but if I wasn't with Karen, nothing would have stopped me."
"You really love her don't you?" she asked, her voice betraying just a little envy.
"Its impossible not too. She has the bluest eyes you've ever seen, and they just melt your heart when she looks at you. I would have come home in a moment if she asked me too," he replied, his face becoming distant as he pictured her again in his mind, conjuring it just to himself.
Amanda melted against him, slipping her arm under his and nuzzling against it. The finished cigarette butt dropped from her mouth and hit the ground. It was so funny how that everyone could see just how in love he was. It had never been that way before, but just the way he talked about her, it was obvious that he was completely taken with Karen.
"So what about you and Shelly, you too seem pretty happy together?"
She was quiet for a moment, and when it became slightly uncomfortable, she quietly said, "I like her, but I don't think I have ever really been in love, just silly crushes."
"That's how it starts, something simple, and then everything suddenly changes."
"It sounds like you've had your fair share of love?" she said with a bit of a mischievous grin appearing on her face for a second.
He didn't reply at first, "I have been in love too many times to count, I never thought I would find someone," he said, sounding a bit too serious for Amanda's mood.
She gave him a nudge. "None of that, it's too early." She reached into her oversized jacket pocket and pulled out her pack of cigarettes and offered him one.
"Karen'd kill me," he said as he brought it to his lips. She lit it for him before lighting her own.
Together they inhaled and just let themselves feel the soft warmth spread. He hadn't had a cigarette in over two months now, not since the last time Karen had found his pack. The thought passed by with another puff of smoke as he took a long drag, exhaling after a moment.
"I told her not to ask you know," she said out loud before taking another hit from her cigarette.
"Like I told Shelly, don't worry about it, shit happened, it's in the past."
The subject died away as they finished the cigarettes and tossed the butts effortlessly into the gravel.
She let go of his arm, curling back into her jacket and stared off into the distance. Her mind was focused on something, and he decided it would be best to let her do it alone, "I'll be inside, don't sit out here alone too long, alright?"
"Yes daddy," she said, faking a preppy school girl voice.
"That's my girl," he responded jokingly as he stepped back inside.
Inside the door, he found that Shelly had got up, and was currently walking around in nothing but a thong. He took that as his cue to step back outside. He closed the door behind him and shook his head. As he turned towards Amanda, he found that she was looking at him.
"But I was never in Vegas!" he cried jokingly.
Suddenly Amanda burst out laughing. It was a sweet laugh, in it was just a tad of giggling, the rest just friendly. He supposed that she found his comment quite amusing, and he enjoyed that. His work was too serious sometimes, and it had been such a long drive so far, he forgot what a laugh had sounded like. A big grin spread over his face as he sat back down and she leaned back against his shoulder, still giggling under her breath.
"I do what I can to entertain."
"Well you are doing a splendid job good sir," she replied, suppressing the laugh.
"Your girlfriend is pretty open, isn't she?"
Amanda replied with a nod, and then looked up at him, "What happened?"
"She got up, her clothes weren't up yet," he said with a smile, and was rewarded with the continuation of hers.
"That's kinda how she sleeps, you would have known that, but you didn't want too," she said, giving a half smile, but an underlying layer of disappointment could be seen, but she turned away and stared out towards the road.
He gave her a gentle nudge. She turned and looked into his eyes, he could see the need and the shyness all bottled up. It was no wonder she kept to herself, there was so much going on in there, and who could she ever talk about it with?
"I still remember a time were if a pretty girl like you asked me to move to South Dakota with her, I would have done it," he said, semi-reflecting, although it came out more supportive, just as he had meant it to.
"Thanks Dave," she replied, quietly, but in a thankful way, before turning her head again and curling against him. "Thank you so much for everything," she muttered quietly as she closed her eyes.
As quickly as the peaceful silence came, it was broken as Shelly stepped outside. "Well you love-birds look comfy, mind if I join in," she asked, a quirky smile spread across her face.
Slowly, Amanda let go of David's arm and held her arms out, taking Shelly against her as she sat down on her lap before Shelly kissed her forehead. It put a smile across his face, seeing something so innocent and loving. Shelly nuzzled against her and the three of them sat there quietly for a few minutes. It was David that spoke up first in the end, breaking the calm silence.
"So where you two girls going to go, I mean you want to see what we can do about getting a tow truck and bringing your car into town, or is there somewhere else you might need dropped off at?"
It took them a moment to react, but it dawned on them both at nearly the same time that he wasn't from town. Everything had happened so suddenly that they forgot all about the night before. Shelly turned and looked at Amanda, an unsure look on both of their faces. They seemed to be sharing thoughts by merely looking at each other, and after a minute, Shelly slid off Amanda's lap and wrapped her arm around her shoulder. Amanda went quiet and looked down at the ground and she kicked it with her toe.
"We'll just call a tow truck, I'll use one of my credit cards I guess," she said, sounding slightly upset.
"I'm sorry to bring it up, I didn't mean to upset you two," David began, trying to fill the breach he though he just created.
Amanda shook her head and Shelly just replied, "Forget it," before Amanda curled into Shelly's arms as she brought her knees into her chest.
He felt outcast from the two people he thought he had made friends with. He could feel the pain inside as he realized how much of a jerk he had sounded like. Knowing when to take a cue to leave, he stood up and turned towards the door. Looking back, he took one last glance, and met Amanda's pleading eyes. He turned and went inside, closing the door quietly behind him. He stood inside the door for a minute, with his back to the now closed door. He could hear them talking quietly, but it wasn't his business so he walked to his bed and began to pack up the few things he had taken out the night before.
Half an hour had passed by before the two of them had returned inside, and Amanda had the glistening remnants of tears on her cheeks. A concerned look spread across David's face as he turned fully towards them and took two steps forward.
"Stop," Shelly command, it came out so strong that David froze in his tracks, his eyes shifting to her. "Please, just go, alright?" it wasn't nearly as strong as before, it sounded more like begging than a command.
He shook his head and took another step closer, pleading with her, "Is it me, is that why your upset?" his voice unsteady, something that didn't happen very often. The last time he had ever sounded so taken back was when Karen and forced him to promise that he would be home as soon as possible. She had been so angry when he said he might take time to relax on the way up. After he had left, he understood why, he was already going to be gone for two weeks, and before that he had been gone for another two in Montana for a mandatory training event. It had been so long since she had seen him, and just when he returned to her, work pulled him away. Of course he called that night when he stopped and apologized for not seeing her side of it, promising that nothing would stop him from getting home.
"It has nothing to do with you, just leave us alone, okay?" Amanda said this time, her voice shaky and emotional.
He was taken back for a moment, before making the connection between the night at the dinner and now. There was something that had been left unsaid, and now it was coming back up again. Curiosity began to filter into concern, and determination filled his features. "What are you running from; you can't tell me that you don't trust me, what can I do?"
The looked at him, completely surprised. It was obvious that they had not seen such determination to help from anyone before, or at least not for sometime. But Shelly shook her head, "It's none of your business, you've done more than enough, please just go!"
Amanda was clenched to Shelly's arm, her body pressed against her from behind. She seemed so scared, so fragile, nothing at all like the girl that he had been speaking with only an hour earlier.
"No, something is wrong, or you're in trouble, and I can't just let you go blindly off into it, you trusted me when you took my offer for the ride, now what is wrong?" he demanded, the determination glowing in his face.
They paused, still not quite convinced, but teetering on the edge. Amanda seemed to be pressing towards him, he wanted to reach out and hold her, tell her that everything would be okay. But she clung to Amanda, now hiding her face, burying it into her shoulder, tears streaming freshly from her eyes. The sobs grew louder and Shelly turned from him and took her in her arms. They both began to cry, Amanda's sobs seem to break down Shelly's last bit of strength as they both fell to their knees, holding onto one another.
Not knowing what to do, he took another two steps closer and dropped down to his knee. He could only imagine the hardship they faced, the bond that they had held together only by some person or maybe an event that prevented them from braving it alone. He reached out with his hand, placing it on Shelly's shoulder. She pulled back at first, but she seemed to have lost her will to fight, and he firmly took her shoulder. His eyes stared at them, and as their sobs slowed, they turned to him, still seeing the kindness and determination in his face.
"Thank you," Shelly whispered through a sniffle. She began to regain her composure first, wiping the tears from her eyes, leaving them red. "I'm so sorry, it's just that…" she began but words seemed to fail her. They both turned towards him now, their eyes red, and their breathing slowing again. Admiration and thanks glistened in their tears and they both slowly made their way to sit on the bed, David following behind and sitting across from them on his own.
Chapter 3:
A Tragic Past
They sat on the bed for a moment, Shelly gently rubbing Amanda's back and shoulders, helping her to relax a bit.
"It's not a long story, but it's hard to talk about," she said, biting her bottom lip for a moment, but Amanda looked up as Shelly stopped, sadness still wavering in her eyes.
"It happened about three months ago," she started, her voice still unsure, but bravely she continued the tale. "It was right before I had met Shelly. I was in a town called Helens Point, South Carolina. I had been there for a day or two, and I was only passing through, trying to find a job just so I could raise enough funds to get a cheap car. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, maybe as a waitress to pick up a few bucks, but I found something that seemed to fall into my lap," she started.
She took a few moments to dig up the words to say, not too long, but it was obvious that she had paused.
"There was a little night club in town that was looking for servers, nothing tough they said, but amazing pay. It sounded a little too good to be true at first, especially since I met the guy telling me about it in a rather cheap bar. He pitched it to me, and he was damn good at what he did, because by the time he had finished, it sounded like a perfect way to earn a few quick bucks. They weren't asking for much, just pretty girls that could smile real nice and take drinks to tables, do a bit of cleaning, but because it was a high class place the pay was up'd compared to what that kinda job would normally would pay.
I went in the next day to get a feel for the place, and for such a small town it seemed well to do. The owner explained that it was an old town with a lot of well off people. I took his word for it, why wouldn't I right, new boss, lived there his life, 'course he would know more about the place than I would. The first few nights of work there were a breeze, I mean real cake work, like a starting job. It was a bit strange, but it seemed like everyone that came in had to be rolling in the green 'cause they were dressed like movie stars and gangsters.
That's probably when I should have got the hint. I found out it was a mob job. But I didn't pick it up at first. Well the one night I got to talking with the owner, and he hears my sob story about just being around to get money for a cheap beater to keep going on my way. He seems taken back by me having such a hard life, and offers to give me a loan if that's what I really wanted and to have a talk to his friend who ran the car lot in town.
It was way to convenient, but like a little girl I hopped on the idea. Who wouldn't, I mean first he gives me the job, and now he's willing to go out of his way to help me out. He was such a nice fella too that I just had to believe him, it was too wonderful, I didn't want my dream shattered."