Crossed Paths
"I didn't think that cop was gonna get off our backs." Tristan Aberoni sat back in the passenger of the bucket seat, feeling a bit more at ease as she and her boyfriend made their way across an almost barren highway in the middle of the night. It was she, her man, the six blinking stars in the black sky, the forever-stretching pavement, and the loud thrum of Han's engine tonight.
"He wouldn't have anything on us. I got all my tracks covered. No worries." Han took a bite of an apple he had found stashed in his trademark jacket previously. He loved his snacks, Tristan mused as she watched him watch the road, him now seeming to be in deep thought.
Flashback…
"Yo, you betta get outta here before the cops come get your ass." Shawn had told him in tangy southwestern voice, looking around to make sure the crowd had dispersed to the burning car.
"No worries, you know I am always all right. Take care and thanks for helping me with the setup." Han nodded, pulling him into a half hug, him too knowing he had to get out and get out of Tokyo fast. He walked the few steps to the parking garage and jumped in the beat up old Volkswagen car he had specifically bought for tonight. It wasn't one of his usual tricked out cars for a reason; it made it all the easier to get out and to the airport. He took off in it, wiping the blood from his cut arm off on his tattered and torn jeans, leaving the lights off. Now if he could just make it to the airport unnoticed.
His thoughts lingered on Shawn and the rest of his crew he was leaving. He knew they had it handled; they had never relied on him to survive in the first place. But a certain guilt lingered for taking the easy way out. It was the easy way or death; he grimaced as he drove a block away seeing the blazing lights from the wreckage he had just 'escaped from'. The thoughts clouded his mind so much that the drive to the airport seemed almost non-existent and was too quick for his taste. He took a deep sigh as he jumped out and grabbed his bag from the back seat. Slinging it over his shoulder, he walked into the airport, his eyes on the lookout for any sign of trouble. It all had to go off without a hitch; this was the last chance to survive.
"Han, you okay?" Tristan asked, rubbing his muscular arm. He swiftly came back into reality and realized it had been over half of an hour since they had last spoke.
"Yeah. You better get some sleep before I put you to work and make you my chauffer." He smiled mischievously.
"Oh, baby. Make me work." She laughed. He had met her on the plane that had been destined for Colorado and the two had stayed in touch since that first meeting in the air. There was something different about her. She wasn't your normal preppy girl, not a tomboy, but a kind of different in a good way. She didn't care what other people thought about her and lived her life for her. It seemed to work for her too, he mused. Her bleach blonde hair was long and had acid black tips to the ends; her eyes were a deep green like a jewel that stood out in a treasure box full of gems. Those eyes had depth to them too, one of the best things about her. He knew she had had a hard life but didn't know what all it had entailed. She wasn't bitter but she wasn't trusting. She wasn't weak but wasn't trying to be the girl putting her name out there saying 'I'm a bitch and I rule this world'. She was just Tristan. And he had fallen in love with her from the very first sight.
He took out a candy bar about two hours later and began to munch on it, looking over at his sleeping beauty asleep against the cold window, the moon shining on her pretty face. He took a look at his radar and made sure no cops were in sight and began to fly down the almost completely straight road, loving the feel of the car speeding up, the roar of the engine as he shifted gears and feeling like he was racing once again. Racing was in his blood; there was no way to deny that. He became heavily plagued with withdrawals like a crack addict without a pipe if he wasn't able to race on a daily basis. It drove him nuts. Even with a girl like Tristan around, the pheening for the adrenaline was still there making its presence known. Tristan sighed and settled down lower, covering up more with her jacket she had draped on her upper body. She was in a good deep sleep, something she had needed. It had been a tough week on her, he knew. She had just finished a waitress shift the night he walked into the restaurant she worked in to tell her it was time for him to leave. They were on their way to the races when he broke the news. She didn't have much in Colorado but to up and move for a guy just wasn't something she could do so easily and the two had spent the whole night talking about it and everything else under the stars as they lay on top of his car in an airplane field. That was 'their' spot. He had known and expected her to stay where she had an established life but she surprised him.
Flashback…
"Do you have room for one more?" She asked, smiling coyly as she walked up in her racing attire of jeans and a t-shirt that set off her nicely formed figure of 25 years, her bag on her shoulder.
"Depends on who that one more would be. I don't just take any stowaway, you know." Han had responded, grinning from ear to ear.
"Well, I might just have some inside information on who it might be." She threw her bag over the backseat and then wrapped her arms around him as he stood against the car, keys in hand.
"Well, who is it? The suspense is killing me." He fluttered his hand mockingly like a girl who had won a beauty pageant and was totally shocked. He batted his guy-ish eyelashes at her, making her roll her eyes and punch him while she held back a laugh.
"It's Tyson. I'm just his bitch carrying his bag, you girly girl." She looked up at him, giving him a kiss as he held her tight. He held her out at arm's length.
"Damn, I have such the bad luck. And here I thought it might just be my girlfriend saying she wanted to come with me across the states to start over in a new state and struggle with money and the joys of life." Han snapped his fingers, playing it up like he was really disappointed. She laughed and kissed him, her five foot eleven frame still having to reach his six foot two towering self. He stared into her dark eyes, loving how they told a story of a girl who had a rough life but kept it so guarded that even the key keeper didn't have that privileged information. He traced her face with a light hand.
"You sure you want to go? I would never ask you to give up your life to come with me. I don't expect…" he was interrupted.
"I know you don't. And that is what made me want to come. I know it's crazy and I haven't known you all my life but I feel like we're better off together, as one. I feel complete with you, Han." She smiled at him, meaning every word. She wasn't a sappy, emotional person but she knew when she loved someone. And this someone was a someone to take a chance on. The risk of being hurt was great but loosing someone that was a one in a million kind of guy was even greater. She had always been one to take chances, just not in relationships. Her heart knew this was the right thing and so did her head.
"You're not crazy. I have to admit, I wouldn't be the same without you." He grinned. "So, you riding shotgun or should I let Tyson?" He smiled mischievously, getting another playful slap on the shoulder.
"How about we get outta town and not tell Tyson?" She winked playfully; loving this joke the two of them were carrying on. (End of flashback)
4 a.m., Three hours later
"What's wrong?" Tristan sat up, startled from her slumber as the car halted to a stop.
"Oh, I was speeding too fast and got a cop tailing me and am about to get my first ticket in New Mexico." He said, lying and being his normal joking self. "You don't have any warrants, right?" he asked, chewing on some gum.
"No, I told you this." She stretched, her heart racing. She sat up and looked around at the bright lights and the gas pump beside her. "I'm going to kick your ass, boy." She warned, shaking her head and breathing a sigh of relief.
"Just checking. I can't be toting around a troublemaker sidekick. I have enough trouble with myself." He smiled and winked at her as he undid his seatbelt and got out to pump the gas.
"You're not cute when you lie." She rolled down the window and grumbled in a good-natured tone. "You're on my shit list now. You have some serious ass kissing to do now." She warned, checking her black, thick makeup in the mirror.
"Oh, I'll make it up, no worries." He promised with a confident nod and walked inside to go pay the man intently watching them his money.
"You sure will." She muttered, getting out of the car to get her bag to change into something more comfortable. She opened the trunk, gasped, and shut it again, the color draining out of her face.
"You look like you saw a ghost." Han joked, popping a piece of candy in his mouth.
"What did you do while I was out?" Tristan asked, her arms folded, trying to keep her heart from racing in her throat.
"Tri, nothing. I have been driving non-stop. What is wrong?" He asked, starting the gas pump. He swatted at a mosquito trying to make him it's next snack.
"There's a girl in the trunk, Han, I want you to be serious and tell me what she is doing in there." She demanded, her arms folded.
"Ok, I know I scared you with the cop joke but that's not a funny joke. Quit playing and let's get back on the road." He shook his head and yawned.
"I'm not playing. Here, go open it and see for yourself." Tristan held out the key. He finished pumping the gas and took the key from her, a smile of disbelief on his face. She came up behind him, peering through his arms as he opened it, as if the trunk had a mouse.
"Oh hell." He stepped back, not bothering to close the trunk, his eyes wide in shock, staring at Tristan, as if to say, what the hell?!
"Uh-huh. Some joke, huh?" Tristan asked, not sure what to do. All she could see in her mind was cops coming up and arresting them for the death of this girl who looked to be barely eighteen and deceased in the trunk.
"Tri, I have never seen her before. What are we gonna do?" He asked, his face expressionless.
"You have too seen me before. Are we there yet?" The girl stretched, nonchalantly ignoring their shock.
"And where would I have seen you before?" Han asked, his voice a note higher than normal at being accused. He was feeling Tristan's hot laser glare from behind and knew this needed to get solved real quick.
"At the races. I fell asleep. Sorry if you thought I was dead." The girl stretched, still oblivious to their shocked looks and reactions.
"Honey, you are too young to be at the races." Tristan smirked, not liking hardly any females she had met in her life. They all hated her for her carefree attitude or thought she was a bitch trying to get with their guy. Girls always backstabbed each other and she had learned early on life that males made better friends than girls did.
"I'm not telling you how old I am, it's not any of your business." The girl replied, her head held high stubbornly. This made Han laugh and Tristan take a step closer to her.
"You mean to tell us that you're in our car, the trunk, no less, hidden and it's not our business?" Tristan asked, her nerves waking up and getting worked so early in the morning was not a good thing for Miss Priss, the stowaway. Han held her back.
"Come on, just tell us your age." Han asked nicely, knowing there was more than one way to get a girl to talk.
"It doesn't matter." She replied. "It's getting a bit chilly back here. Can I have a blanket?" She asked.
"Not till you tell us your age." Han replied firmly.
"Well, I can wait till we get to where we are going." She shrugged, scooting back in the trunk more and in a curled up ball of some sorts.
"Tell us your age or I call the cops." Han held up his cell phone, his eyebrow raised as he held the girl's gaze.
"Go for it." She shrugged.
"Let me handle this, baby." Tristan said, her scheming womanish ways being an asset of hers.
"Go ahead and handle it before I leave her on the side of the road." He nodded, leaning on the car now, arms folded with a bit of frustration. The girl muttered an 'uh-huh', making him start to get up. Tristan pushed him back against the car and smiled at him.
"There's no way you could have been at the races, little girl. Like I said, you are too young." Tristan stared the girl down, noticing how blue her eyes were and big, at that. She could have any puppy beat at begging or looking sad.
"I am not too young. I have been at the races. I seen you both there." She huffed; not realizing the girl in front of her was baiting her into giving the answer she was after.
"If you were at the races, you wouldn't be afraid to tell us your age, little girl. Should I go heat you up a bottle of milk?" She asked, her voice dripping with nice, fake sarcasm. Han, seeing the girl getting upset at this accusation, covered his smile up with a hand as he bit off a hangnail.
"I'm seventeen and I have been at the races. Han won the 5000 dollar race last weekend, thank you very much." She spewed out, her voice filled with ire and irritation, realizing now that she had just been tricked.
"Don't move until we come back. Or I'll kick your ass for this little stunt and then again for moving, little girl." Tristan held up a threatening finger to warn the almost white blonde headed girl. The tone in her voice let her know in no way was she joking. She swallowed and nodded, not saying a word.
"Give me your cell phone. We gotta call the cops ASAP." Tristan reached for the phone Han was twirling in his hands and playing with.
"Hold on, let's think this out. If we call them, it's our word against hers." Han hesitated.
"So, you WANT to keep a minor riding in our truck as we cross god knows how many state lines?!" Tristan asked, her whisper a raised whisper.
"No, but you heard the girl. She isn't completely stupid. She did find her way in our trunk and managed to make it through three state lines so far. What's not to say she wouldn't say we kidnapped her?" Han asked, his eyes wide, holding his arms out.
"Oh, she is stupid. She'll find that out once I whip her ass and hand her this life lesson." Tristan growled.
"Now, we can't do that. Then we'll definitely be seeing jail time." Han rubbed her shoulders, watching that trunk just as closely as Tristan was.
"Not if we knock her out, kick her around until she gets amnesia and leave her in the middle of nowhere. I am all for a detour to the desert." Tristan smiled, rubbing one fist threatingly into the other hand.
"I heard that. They do have dna these days and CSI is based off a real show." The girl called out from the trunk.
"And the desert has hungry ass coyotes. One more word and I'll fly you there instead of giving you a ride in the trunk." Tristan yelled back.
"Well, at least a plane would have a heater. And some light." The girl called back.
"You are being awfully brave considering you have been at the races to see her temper." Han called out, holding Tristan firmly.
"Ha, so you do remember me!!" The girl smiled triumphantly.
"Don't make me whip your ass. By the time you get done running your mouth, it'll be worth jail time to kick your ass and watch the cops haul you off in an ambulance." Tristan growled.
"Just as worth it to watch you get hauled off in handcuffs." The girl called back.
"THAT IS IT!" Tristan growled, breaking free. Han grabbed her again and walked, or rather was pulled along with her to the trunk once more.
"Is there a problem out here?" The storekeeper asked, sticking his head cautiously out the door.
"I don't know. Is there a problem?" The girl asked, arms folded, getting ready to step out of the trunk.
"Shut up or I'll use you for target practice." Tristan growled under her breath.
"Let's stop at the next place and discuss this." Han nodded towards the road, a visual signal only Tristan could see.
"Yeah, maybe the next stop will have something to eat. With all that Han eats, there is nothing good back here." The girl frowned; getting stares of are you kidding me from the two who were going to be in charge of deciding her fate. This didn't seem to faze the girl at all, though.
"Oh yeah, we'll be stopping to feed those coyotes. Till then you can ride in the trunk since you like it so much." Tristan shut the trunk and wiped her hands clean.
"What, I can't ride up front?" The voice called from inside.
"Hell no." Both Han and Tristan replied in unison.
"You wanted to start your journey there, so just sit back and enjoy the ride." Tristan called, leaning down to act as if she was checking out something on the car's surface, the guy still watching them closely. Han was already inside and behind the wheel. "Little girl." She added before getting in.
Howdy to all of you out there!! I know it's been a while, lol. I needed a break from the other stories and am working on updates for them as well but this one is my first priority for now. I hope you like and if you don't, I'm open to constructive criticism as well. It feels good to be able to do some writing!! I have missed it!! To all my old friends that are still here, I have not forgotten about you and hope you are all well!! Take care, Cheer