This is a chapter from an older story I scrapped (just incase it looks familiar to you ha) but I figured it served well as a second chapter to Luke and Jolene's story.
Luke Harper sat alone in a booth at the back of the truck stop, a mug of steaming black coffee in his fist. He glanced out the window again, glancing at the black Mack truck parked there. After two days straight in that truck, it was good to be sitting somewhere else. Even if the booth chair was hard.
"Need anything, sweetie?" Asked the blonde waitress. He glanced down at the half eaten burger on his plate.
"Actually, you got a to go plate?" He replied as he looked back at her. She wasn't a bad looking girl. Long blonde hair and brown eyes. He spotted her name tag, and then spotted the gold band on her finger. Oh well, so much for that. She grabbed one from behind the counter and handed it to him.
"Thanks, April." She smiled warmly at him before turning to leave, her apron fluttering around her. He took another gulp of his coffee and placed a ten under the salt and pepper shaker. He slid from the booth and walked to the bathroom, stretching his legs while he still had the chance.
.
He took a leak and washed his hands stopping for a minute to look at his face in the mirror. He looked old. Long overdue for a haircut and a shave, and the bags under his eyes did him no justice. He thought for a bit about taking a break from driving, but he knew it wouldn't be much different than the time he spent driving. He had started driving to have something to do with himself. No home, no family, no where to lay his head. Everything he owned in this world was in that truck. Jolene...nah, she deserved better than him. That girl could really make something of herself. He took off his hat and wet his hands, smoothing the water through his hair. Back to work. He put the Harley Davidson cap back in place and walked outside, grabbing the plate with the leftover food. Duke would probably appreciate it.
"Thanks Mr! Safe travels." April bid him as she cleaned his table, pocketing the ten.
"Thank you." He stepped outside back into the stifling hot air. Summertime in South Carolina was no joke. Good thing he's just passing through. As he fished for the keys he spotted a figure off to the side of his truck.
.
"This is a beautiful rig you got here, man." Said a man wearing a fedora. His face was shadowed beneath the hat, but Luke could make out a long beard and long hair.
"Thanks."
"Any chance I can catch a ride with you?"
"Depends if my dog agrees." Duke, his big chocolate lab was perched in the passenger's seat, wondering why Luke hadn't climbed in yet. "
"I'm pretty good with dogs." The man smiled.
"Where ya headed?" Luke asked him.
"Right now, out of South Carolina."
"I'm going to Georgia, if you're headed that way you can ride. If Duke agrees, anyway." The stranger agreed and opened the passenger door. The lab stood his ground in the passenger seat, staring the stranger down. The man eyed him, sternly but without aggression.
"Hey boy, mind if I ride?" Duke hunched up, suspicious of him. The man offered his hand to him, palm up with his fingers outstretched. Duke sniffed him and left the seat, letting him in.
"You must be a dog guy, Duke never lets anyone ride." Luke observed as he climbed behind the wheel, pausing to give Duke the rest of his sandwich.
"I'm Luke, by the way. Luke Harper." He said as he turned the key, the engine roaring to life.
"My name's Bray Wyatt."
