"Don't you just love nights like this?" The young man asked, inching closer to his girlfriend.
The young woman eyed him seductively, oblivious to his attempts at an "innocent romantic moment". He had one thing on his mind, and she had something completely different. As she gazed at him in fascination, the man was gazing up at the starry sky, although without the M-rated thoughts his lover had in mind.
"Sure," She said in a low purr, her hands wrapping around his arm as she leaned closer.
"There's the big dipper." He observed aloud, his eyebrows quirking as he smiled in delight. "Do you see it? Look—it's somewhere near the little dipper. I've never been able to actually find the little dipper, so we'll see if I can find it this time."
The woman rolled her eyes, bored with whatever he was saying. While he was studying the sky, her hand slipped under his shirt as she prepared to climb into his lap.
"Stop Claire," He suddenly said. "I know what you're trying to do. Why don't we just enjoy the night this time?"
Claire's frail shoulders slumped. And she made sure she wasn't wearing underwear, yet he didn't want to do anything but look at stars. To say she was disgusted was an understatement—she was seriously getting annoyed of him. Sure he was skilled when it came to "making love"—what he preferred calling it—but he was always trying to change her direction. He loved her, and in the only way that it disgusted her. From what all her friends told her, he talked about her 24/7, about how he was nervous to propose to her. But the unfortunate thing was that she would reject his proposal. Why spend money just to show that special person that you care about them when you could just go out to eat? Claire was always a private woman, and she definitely wouldn't like kissing him in front of his entire family, who she barely even knew.
She didn't want to get that close. She swore to herself that she would never fully give her heart out to any man; no matter how much he promised her he'd cater her ever wish.
Love was a lie. It was bullshit.
"Baby," She cooed, "you feel so cold."
"Claire," He said through gritted teeth. She could feel him tensing up as her fingers drew to his lower waist. "Stop this."
"Why?" She stopped, just because she didn't want to ruin his good mood.
"I want this to be a special night." He told her, lacing his fingers together with hers as he drew her hand out from his clothing. He held her hand tenderly as he lightly kissed her knuckle, as if she was the most precious thing he had ever touched. "Between us."
Claire had to hold back a gag of revulsion. To her, this all seemed part of a movie. An inner voice said to her, John's getting lovey-dovey again! God how she hated it when he got like this. It bugged the hell out of her. She held back a sigh of frustration and squeezed his hand, putting on a fake smile.
"How sweet." She tried to hide her boredom, and succeeded when she saw him smile down at her.
"I love you." He suddenly confessed, something he did mostly every night. Claire felt an unusual twinge in her chest, but held it back as she almost dropped her smile.
What the hell do I say? She thought in annoyance. I certainly don't love him, so…should I just say thank you? Kiss him?
John stiffened as the woman threw herself at him, her lips crushed into his. He could taste a hint of strawberry lip gloss on her lips, and he couldn't help but lick at it, loving how it tasted. Tastes just like her, he thought lovingly. Sweet and beautiful.
She wrapped her hands tightly around his neck, pulling him closer, running her hands through his hair. Shockingly, she pulled away just as John did, the movement looking almost instantaneous.
"Marry me," He whispered, grabbing her hands again. John thought this was the most romantic time he's ever spent with Claire, with the stars shining vividly above the person he loved most—his baby, his angel, his girl, his woman, his—
-soon to be bride. Well, he hoped.
Claire's smile was swiped from her face, and John took notice. Shit, she thought bitterly. Fuck, I knew this was going to happen.
"John," She said softly, reluctance apparent in her voice.
She watched passively as he suddenly looked heartbroken. "What's wrong?"
"I'm not the marrying type." She grumbled, drawing back as she nervously intertwined her fingers. "You know that."
"You are," He probed, "you just don't know it."
The woman, suddenly anxious, ran her hand through her long, blonde hair. John knew that was a bad sign—she only did that when she was thinking how to turn someone down. Deep within his stomach, something turned upside down. No, he thought sadly. Don't do this, Claire. Please.
"Don't you love me?" He demanded. "At all? After all we've been through? After all the money I've given you? Hell, I even let you stay in my place! Yet here you are, turning me down like I'm nothing!"
Claire chose to stay silent, avoiding his eyes.
"I'd do anything for you." John muttered. "I'd step in front of a bullet for you. I'd even eat rotten ham—which I hate—for you! What would you do for me, hm? Give me a blowjob?"
"J-John." Claire stuttered. "Don't make it end like this."
"What!" John was now standing up, off from the bench they were just sitting at. "You're breaking up with me?"
She didn't know what to say. "I, uh….."
"You know what? Now I know that when people say you can't change people, they're right. You can't. I really believed I could change you, Claire. But I can't. Because you were probably born a slut, and you'll always be a fucking slut." John hissed, his face red from fury.
Claire instinctively shrank back. She's never seen him this mad before. "Calm down!"
The night, suddenly, wasn't peaceful anymore.
"I can't believe you," His hands were trembling. To Claire's horror, she saw tears striking his eyes. "I-I cared about you so much…."
"Look," Claire said quietly, "why don't we just be….friends?"
"Friends?" He repeated the word in hatred. "Screw that. I can find someone much better, someone that loves me for me, not how big my dick is."
"Will you please stop and listen to yourself?" Claire chastised quietly, glancing around.
"There's nobody even out here! We're in the middle of nowhere—in New Mexico. And the reason why I was taking you to my aunt's house in Arizona," He lowered his voice, which was very shaky; on the verge of tears, "was because I was going to tell everyone we w-were going to get married."
Clair, without thinking, reached out to grasp his arm. Snarling, John shoved her hand away as if she was on fire, tearing back at his car, which was parked off the road.
"John?" Claire called out, panicking as she saw him climb into the driver's seat. She forgot the bench they set up, which was more of a chair, and hurried towards the car. "John!"
"There's a gas station down the road," He told her coldly, igniting the engine. Claire moved her legs faster, and let out a frightened gasp when he began backing up. "Go there for help."
"Don't do this!" She cried hysterically. "D-Don't leave me here!"
"We're over." Was all he said before peeling out, racing at a high speed down the road, leaving Claire's lone figure standing in the middle of the aged road.
The desert certainly was getting colder at night.
The woman shivered, rubbing her cold arms as she felt goose bumps meet her. Her eyes stayed on the vehicle that was slowly getting smaller and smaller, until it vanished over the sinister horizon.
"Jerk," She whispered, unable to fully comprehend that the man, who swore he loved her, left her stranding in the middle of the desert, with no food, ten bucks in her pocket, and no sign of transportation. It wasn't like she could magically grow wings and fly away, that was obviously out of the question.
She stood there, completely immobilized, going over the scene that just took place. She's always imagined what their break-up would be like, but never did she even think it could end like this.
I could die, she realized in terror. I could somehow step on a fatal bug or whatever, and get bitten. And then, die painfully with a bite that poisons me. Or worse, keep walking and starve to death or rot in the sun.
She eventually turned to look down the road. Squinting her eyes, she remembered that John told her there was a gas station.
Who would have a gas station out here? I doubt anyone even comes out here, she thought bitterly, rubbing her arms again. Oh well. I won't complain, seeing I have nowhere else to go.
Strangely, as Claire began her trek to the hopefully close gas station, she felt no remorse, no guilt after breaking up with John.
He was, after all, she thought angrily, just a pain in my side.
Claire had hoped that the more she walked, the warmer her body temperature would get.
Surely she couldn't die from being a little cold, but it made her unfocused, her mind centered on warming herself up. It grew harder to walk on wobbly legs, and she knew she wasn't in tip-top shape like this. Her teeth were chattering, and she never stopped moving, afraid a wild animal would emerge from the darkness swarming around her and end her life.
"I hope I never see him again," She whispered to herself, hating the silence echoing around her. A few bugs called in the distance, but she didn't even want to know what kind they were.
She hated bugs. Period.
"You'd think a desert was hot." She continued talking to herself. "But it's not, well, during the night. It's freaking hot during the day, but….."
She glanced down at the tank top she was wearing, showing off her fake tan that she got from a tanning salon before coming out here with John. It showed off her well-developed chest nicely, and adding tight, denim shorts to the mix only flared her appearance. Claire didn't mind, at all, showing off herself. Sure she wasn't considered gorgeous, since everyone had their flaws, but she almost always succeeded in getting guys' attention. She let her blonde hair fall over her shoulders, now getting a little wavy since it wouldn't stay straight by flat-ironing it, but she could care less. For once in her young life, Claire didn't care how she looked—she only wanted to see the lights of the gas station.
"I should've worn jeans," She complained. "Or a fucking sweater. Hell, I don't even think I brought a sweater, it's so hot out here during the day."
She continued walking, her thoughts wandering to various conversations as she walked. She went to her mother, who was back in Texas, probably on the couch, watching a movie with Claire's little sister, Eve. They were probably having a good time, eating popcorn or having intense conversations. She felt a twinge of envy, wishing she was there instead of out here.
At one point, she remembered her cell phone was in her pocket. But as she flipped it open, immediately seeing a picture of John shirtless as her home screen and cringing in disgust, Claire confirmed that she had no signal. She held back cussing at the innocent piece of technology, and stuck it back in, hurrying a bit towards where the gas station was supposedly at.
The flip-flops she was wearing, dark body with glossy, jewled decorations strewn on it, didn't help either. She managed to actually trip over rocks that crunched underneath her sandal's weight. Her feet were also starting to feel cold from the lack of socks or warmth down there. In fact, Claire offhandedly considered stopping to rub her feet, but knew that would be extremely foolish.
Just keep walking, she told herself stubbornly. And don't…look back.
After an eternity—in Claire's opinion—her brown eyes caught the heavenly sight of lights off in the distance. Hope swelled within her, relief returning to her mood as a delighted smile warmed her face.
"Finally," She said softly, the smile widening as she kept her eyes on the lights. She wasn't far from it, only a mile or two to go. With the new hope, Claire began running towards the lights, her hair flowing behind her like a blonde flag.
She never grew tired of running. In the darkness, everything seemed to calming now that she knew she was only a few feet from humans. She almost tripped again over the flip-flops, how they flopped when she took a step, but she ignored it and almost kicked them off, but remembered the jagged rocks on the road and kept them on.
Minutes of jogging, a panting Claire finally slowed to a walking gate as she walked into the gas station. It was very old looking, and almost looked rundown. The hope jerked inside of her, and for a moment, Claire actually thought it was no longer in service.
That is, until she saw a light through the window.
Without a polite knock, Claire tore through the door, coming face to face with an old man who reeked of beer and stuff she didn't want to know.
"Oh finally," Claire panted in exhaustion, giving the man a relieved smile. "You don't know, uh, how far I've just…walked."
"Where's your car?" He asked. Claire noted he had a western, almost hillbilly voice. The kinds you only saw in dumpy gas stations.
"I don't have one. My ex dumped me on the side of the road, and I walked here." Claire brushed back her hair, fixing her appearance for a moment. "Do you have a phone here?"
"It has no signal."
"Damn." She glanced around. "Then, can you possibly take me somewhere? Maybe a nearby town?"
She watched as the man's eyes shifted away from hers. "I don't have much gas, so I don't use my truck much."
"So, basically, you're telling me you won't help me out?" Claire snapped. Ugh. Just my luck, I'm with an old man that refuses to help me!
"You don't wanna go travelin' at night, missy." He informed her matter-of-factly. "Tomorrow would be the best time to go. I know of a short cut through the mountains, though."
Claire jumped at the idea. "A short cut! Where?"
"I'll show ya tomorrow. Ya'd best get some rest now, ya hear?"
The woman hesitated, wondering if she should trust this old man. Oh well, I might as well, seeing that I have nowhere else to go. "Okay."
"I have a bedroom in the back," He told her. "I'll just sleep out here on the chair, which I usually do. If ya don't trust me," He chuckled, "then lock the door. I don't give a damn."
"Alright." Claire made her way through the terribly kept gas station, seeing the bedroom the man was talking about in the back. A small bed was in the corner, so small that her legs would probably dangle on the edge when she laid down. A desk was next to it, and papers loitered the floor like bugs.
She felt better in the building's warmth, even though she felt uncomfortable here. As her mind flashed back to John, tears flooded her eyes. Her hands locked the door as she closed it behind her, immediately plopping down on the bed, closing her eyes.
For the first time after a break-up, Claire cried herself to sleep.
Sunlight woke Claire up the next morning.
She let out a tired yet refreshed yawn, stretching in a feline way as she grew used to waking up. Her hair brushed against her arms, and in a lazy manner, she ran her hands through her hair, brushing it with her own hand as a comb.
The horrible night came back to her, and Claire felt just how damp the pillow, which she slept on, was. She grimaced. Wow. I must've been either really pissed off at John, or the thought of walking through a desert in the middle of the night was really terrifying.
She kicked away the old blankets, standing up to stretch one more time. She felt so much better than she had last night. She was able to think clearly, instead of making rash decisions that she might, not likely, later regret.
Claire exited the room, seeing that the door was still locked, and easily unlocked it, entering the gas station. It was air conditioned, but she knew outside it was only hotter and hotter.
The man was on his chair, reading a newspaper. For a moment, Claire studied it. That newspaper's five years old. What the hell?
"Thanks for letting me sleep here," Claire told him with gratitude. "Can you show me the short cut now? I'd really like to get home."
He grunted, tossing the newspaper on the floor as he trudged to the window. "Listen up, it ain't hard to find. See those two mountains?" Claire nodded. "All ya gotta do is go between them and keep goin. You'll see a town down there, and it's much better than goin all the way 'round the mountains."
"You're right." Claire grinned. "Thank you, again. Goodbye." She walked out of the gas station, the sun immediately beating down on her uncovered shoulders and other skin. She instantly began making her way between the two mountains, squinting her eyes to see through the intense lighting.
"I hope this works," She told herself as she glanced over her shoulder to see the gas station getting smaller. The certain sight would've terrified her last night, but now, she didn't know what to think.
Once I get out of here, she thought, I'm never coming back. That's for sure. Yeah I know a lot of hillbilly's and stuff, but these just creep me out. She thought back to the man at the gas station and shuddered. Something about him just didn't seem right….
She had to step occasionally over a few cactuses, or move around some big boulders. Sweat was now layering her skin, the hotness more like a sauna or tanning bed than anything else. She regretted getting her fake tan, knowing she was only going to get even tanner by traveling in this sun.
She stopped when rocks fell by her feet from the mountain on her left. She looked up to see more coming, and without thinking, began running away as more rocks came. Her heart began beating faster as she searched for an animal—anything—that caused the tiny rockslide.
Nothing.
That's not weird at all, she thought to herself, hesitating to continue on her journey.
After awhile, she grew used to the sounds of the desert around her, and Claire felt at more ease. It wasn't like anyone was even out here, so why should she even worry?
Just as she passed by another wall of rocks, Claire cried out when two hands grabbed her from behind.
"Argh!" She made an odd sound, being pressed against something as the arms trapped her. Reacting on instinct, Claire jammed her elbow into the thing's gut, and was satisfied when the thing let her go.
She dove forward, away from the thing, and turned around, only to let out a horrified scream.
A mutated man glared back at her. He was wearing an odd hat with a vest, and very bad sun burns lined across his arms. Claire's eyes trailed from him to his face, seeing that his lip was messed up. She didn't know what to call it, but it looked so terrible that it had to be painful—if not sore. And to add to her newly found terror, Claire trailed her eyes down to his hand, to see a pistol pointed at the ground as he recovered from her sudden, blind attack.
"W-what'd I do?" She asked frightfully, taking a few steps back as she eyed him in terror. He finally picked up the gun, pointing it over at her head while he advanced on her. His cold, heartless blue eyes saw deeply into her soul, rendering her senseless as she stared back equally.
Eventually, he was towering over her; Claire was trembling in pure horror, her eyes gazing widely at the barrel of the gun. The man was gazing down at her, and his face was so deformed that she couldn't tell his expression.
"Please," She whispered, quivering as she hoped he wouldn't kill her. Not like this…
With one last desperate attempt at living, Claire stuck her hand, where his member should be in the pants, and found the lump. She desperately began rubbing him, feeling for her life.
"I-I'll do anything…."
A/N: How do you all like it so far? Please let me know, because reviews do encourage me! Also, this is my first fanfic ever, so please go easy on me :3