Notes: This was a STUPID idea that's been rolling around in my head for a week or so now. It started as just a few scattered paragraphs and then, well . . . let's just say I ended up with more than I bargained for. It's not gonna be great, but I'll try to at least make it interesting.
-N. H. Moonshadow
Disclaimer: I own the main character and the rest of her screwed up family, all others belong to Hasbro and whoever else had a hand in the movie.
Disregarded
Chapter 1
She watched him in curiosity as he worked on the old chevy. It was always fascinating to watch him work. Her father was never a large man by any means, his limbs thinly chorded and looked completely unsuited for what he used them for. He was always so focused and quiet when he worked, with only the occasional swear and the sharp clang of metal giving any indication he was even in the garage.
"Whatcha doing?"
Her father looked over his shoulder and grinned, his face smeared with grease and sweat. "Oh, hey there Princess. One sec-"
He pulled himself out from under the hood and hopped into the cab where the keys already sat in the ignition. He gestured his daughter over excitedly. "One, two, and-" He turned the engine over and closed his eyes contentedly at the initial roar, then the steady rumble as it idled. He smiled at her broadly. "Good as new."
She tilted her head. "Was it broken?"
"Nah," he swatted the air dismissively. "Just keepin' her in shape is all. Good ol' truck like this needs a little extra TLC. It's kinda like karma" He patted the steering wheel fondly. "Take care of your vehicle and later down the road it'll return the favor."
"But it's just a truck Daddy."
"Sure is."
She stared at him for a long moment.
"You're weird."
He chuckled. "Your Mama says that too."
oOoOo
The rain was coming down in unforgiving torrents, drenching the whole city in frigid cold water. Streetlights could barely be seen through the sheets of rain, the light seemingly swallowed by the night itself. Weary feet splashed through icy puddles and slow, shallow breaths came out in steady puffs of thin mist. Cold and sopping wet, she trudged on, her eyes searching for anything that could be used to escape the rain.
She berated herself for not heading to the shelter, but she had been afraid. Afraid that someone would notice her apparent youth under all the grime and start asking questions. That she would be found and taken back home.
A shiver swept through her that had nothing to do with the cold.
Regardless, it was too late to change her mind now. She had walked so long and so far that now she was lost. She didn't even really know what part of the city she was in. She noted several large buildings and a warehouse as she passed them, but the parking lots were all empty. Abandoned in the first big storm of the season. An industrial or business district perhaps.
It was all unfamiliar.
As she neared the very outskirts of the city she finally saw something promising.
It was a totaled car, trashed and long forgotten behind two condemned buildings. She trudged closer, slowly taking in the dark paint job, and the deep gouges that ran across the hood and along the side paneling. Beneath the damage the vague outline of a shield could be discerned along with a three digit number.
With a start she realized she had found a cop car.
Doesn't matter, she thought to herself. Beggars can't be choosers.
She tried the passenger door unsuccessfully then tried the driver's side. It too was locked, but the window had been busted out at some point. She fretted over broken glass for a moment when thunder cracked in the distance.
With a trembling heave, she pulled herself head first through the shattered window only to tumble ungracefully into the driver's seat. She just laid there for a moment, her leg twisted uncomfortably against the steering wheel and her shoulder jammed harshly against the stick shift. She righted herself and shifted over to the passenger seat where there was a tad more room and where stray raindrops couldn't reach her. She huddled against the door with her arms wrapped around herself, trying to warm up despite her soaked sweater.
Dark curls hung limply about her face, the seaweed-like strands steadily dripping water onto her thighs. She brought her knees up to her chest then buried her face into the torn fabric of her jeans. A deep exhale soon followed. Mismatched eyes slowly lifted to stare blankly out into the night, one dark green and and watchful, the other slightly milky and unseeing, with light scarring marring the tanned face.
A gift from a man she never wished to see again.
With the storm still raging around her, and dark thoughts lingering in her head, Jodi finally gave in to exhaustion.
TBC
