Disclaimer: Don't Own Instant Star.
Tommy stared out ahead of him. The only thoughts that flooded his mind were of her and how easy it would be to just lean over, open the door, give her a little shove, and continue down the open road. He turned to look at her, she was pulling her thick sweaty hair up into a ponytail, 'so easy' the thought crossed his mind again. He smirked to himself; it was just that thought alone that got him through the day.
She turned and looked at him looking at her, the look his eye made her uncomfortable as she shifted in her seat, "What?" she nearly growled at him.
"Nothing," he looked back out to open road ahead of him, a smile crept onto his face, "It's too easy," he mumbled under his breath.
"Whatever," she crossed her arms over her chest, leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes against the wind that was making its way into the car spreading itself across her hot body.
They had been in the car for what felt like years now. And it was only the day before yesterday that they left. Why they decided to take a long road trip with just the two of them to what looked like the middle of nowhere was a question that Jude was still asking herself, but Tommy seemed to be enjoying it.
Jude glanced out the windshield in front of her, the road was long and empty, and they were the only car for miles in either direction. She was sure they were lost on some unforgotten highway, but he swore he knew where they were going. The sun was burning down upon the world. Jude looked to her right where she saw the mirage of water in the distance. She sighed as she pictured herself jumping into a pool and washing the sweat that was dripping down her body away. If she could have any one thing in the world right now, it would be that, a pool, where she could lay out, have some drinks and take a swim whenever she felt she was getting too hot.
Instead she was stuck in a car that felt like hell, with no where to go. The black '67 Chevy Impala was covered in a thick red dust. It looked like it hadn't been washed in years, as did Tommy and she. The sweat covered both their bodies. Even with the windows rolled down the wind blowing through her hair it didn't help relieve her from the heat. She glanced over at Tommy and glared. They just had to take one of his classic cars, why not the Hummer that was fully equipped with a DVD player and air conditioning was beyond her. He insisted on the Impala because "that's how road trips were meant to be done."
They had been on the road trip for the past two days, made it a day and half without fighting before he swore to never take her on another road trip and turned around heading for home; they hadn't had a civil conversation in the last 7 hours.
Tommy rested his left arm out the window with his right hand on the wheel. He stared at the road in front of him, nothing in sight, just the red dry desert. Jude sat in the passenger seat, her body sticking to the red leather. She was slouching with her feet up on the dash board, her hands beating on her knees along to the music that was blaring on the radio, distracting them from each other.
Tommy reached over and changed the station.
Jude's head turned quickly, "I was listening to that," she angrily huffed.
"And now your not," he ignored her.
Just then the radio cut out and there was a clink then a loud POP!
Jude sat up quickly, her feet hit the floor and her hands clutched the dash board in front of her, "What was that?" she looked at Tommy.
The car jumped a bit and then made a chugging sound; Tommy slowed it down and pulled over to the side of the road just before there was a hissing sound and smoke rose from under the hood.
"You have got to be kidding me," Jude shot herself back into her seat and ran her fingers through her knotted hair.
"Fuck!" Tommy yelled as he banged his hands against the steering wheel.
They sat there in silence, both staring out their respective windows.
"Well aren't you going to go take a look?" Jude shot Tommy a death glare.
He looked over at her and slouched back in his seat.
"Tommy, you aren't going to just sit there are you?" she pestered.
He ignored her and continued to sit where he was without even glancing at her.
"Tommy?" she yelled.
When he still didn't acknowledge that she was talking to him Jude kicked open her door and slammed it shut with all her force.
The car shook and Tommy cringed, he hated when people did anything to mistreat his cars, especially slam the doors. He turned his head to look at Jude outside; she was kicking at the dirt, before she calmed herself down and took a seat in the shade against the car wheel.
Once she calmed herself Tommy wiped the smirk off his face and exited the car. He popped the hood to let it cool, while taking a quick glance. He wiped his hands on his jeans as he made his way to the side of the car that Jude was sitting against, "Well it doesn't look like we'll be going anywhere anytime soon."
"Great," she sighed under her breath as Tommy took a seat next to her against the car.
"We'll try and fix it tomorrow, or just wait for someone to pass, until then, please, just pretend that I am not here," Tommy continued to stare straight ahead of him, the open world held so much, yet here he was, stuck in the past.
There arms touched as they both sat there in the shade, trying to pretend the other didn't exist. Together they sat side by side, with miles between them. Two people so close to each other, yet so far separated. It was already late when they pulled over to the side of the road; they sat there for an hour in silence and watched as the sun just began to start setting.
It wasn't until an hour after it got dark that it started cooling down. They had gone on this trip to try and save their relationship, but there was too much hanging over their heads before they even left, Jude knew it was a disaster from the start.
But Tommy was the one that always had the hope, he was the one that was holding on for dear life to a relationship that she had already learned to let go. Why she agreed to go on the trip in the first place was something that even she was unsure of. But it was too dark to see where they stood with each other. Right now, Jude wasn't sure she wanted to give Tommy the satisfaction of even trying to save what, if anything, they had.