2-
Giving up apparently would not be an option.
Given that he was in the middle of nowhere, there were of course all sorts of night sounds around him. Small animals in the trees, birds, frogs, crickets. No engines which meant he probably wasn't near a major town or city. So it took a moment to register that the rustling noise from his right was more like footsteps than a raccoon in the bushes.
Mark was in the trunk, digging through his bags, trying to shift things around to make a pillow he could use to save himself the pain in the neck he would get from trying to fold himself small enough to fit in the back of the car when a voice from behind him startled him.
"Car trouble?"
Mark whirled around and shined his flashlight on a man who had appeared behind him. The guy winced as the light blinded him momentarily. Mark shifted it to shine at his feet.
The guy was easily Mark's height and size, and that was saying something. Mark was over six and a half feet tall. The other man had long hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, and was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. In the dark that was about as detailed as Mark could get.
"Yeah. Engine died on me." Mark decided not to give the guy grief. Because in the backwash of his flashlight he could see the almost hidden driveway where the guy had come from. Unlike most of the others he'd passed, this one was blacktop just like the road, although cracked in places. "I'm not blocking your place, am I? I can try to push it off the road and get somebody out to haul it in the morning."
"No. Don't worry about it. Not like we get a lot of traffic out here." The guy seemed to be mentally measuring Mark. Not in a bad way. He just seemed curious. "You weren't going to sleep in that little thing were you?" He asked, half-smiling and pointing at the car.
"I had thought about it. Since I don't know where I am."
"Well. You're in Graves Falls. And you can definitely do better than that car."
"Yeah. Well…" Mark cleared his throat, uncomfortable.
The man tilted his head and was silent a moment. "Need a hand with your stuff?"
Mark frowned. "Why would I?"
"Because I was, in a roundabout way, offering you a place to crash for the night." The man shrugged. "I've been told I can be kind of dense when it comes to talking to people so maybe I wasn't really clear on the offer."
Mark almost smiled at that, at the man's tone. "You don't even know me."
"We all start off not knowing each other. Eventually we get there."
Mark raised an eyebrow, wondering if the guy was just in general crazy or if maybe this was a special personality quirk.
"This would fit right into something I'm playing with." The man went on as if Mark would understand. He shook his head. "My name is Glen. Glen Jacobs."
"Mark Calaway." Unsure of how to avoid it, he shook hands with Glen.
"I promise I can make more sense than this. I was working, and got stuck, and decided to take a walk to clear my head. And found you out here."
"I was driving and my car died." Mark replied. "Right in your front yard I guess."
"Not quite the front yard, but close enough." Glen smiled broadly. "Is this all you have?"
Mark felt he should guard himself as the man shouldered one of the bags. "Yeah…I uh…"
"Good. Less to carry." He handed Mark the other bag and slammed the trunk shut. "Got anything else in there you need for now?" Mark shook his head. "Great. Follow me. You won't need the light unless the woods freak you out. The drive is pretty easy to follow as long as it's a clear night."
Mark hesitated and shut the flashlight off before tucking it into his pocket. His eyes took a moment to adjust but Glen was right – the driveway had flecks of sparkling rock mixed in with the blacktop and it was obviously there.
"I would let you stay in the house but…my other guests might want to get to know you first."
It took a moment to realize that Glen had spoken to him. Mark glanced at him. "Uh…this would only be temporary, just for tonight. I'm not really comfortable with imposin' on you or your friends…"
"You aren't. It's my place. I own it." There was a flash of teeth as Glen grinned. "My housekeeper-slash-live in maid-slash-surrogate mother lives in the house with me. I'm renting a room out to another woman. I do have two other empty rooms I rent from time to time but like I said – you are not someone we know so we have to get to know you before we move you right in." It was as if Mark had not spoken. "I do have a studio loft space over the garage though. It's not as nice as the house but its private, and you can sleep in a real bed instead of a car."
Mark almost felt like he wasn't being given a choice in the matter. Usually his pride would not allow him to accept the offer but he was tired, and tired of fighting. He realized it had been eight years since all of this had started, eight long years of fighting an uphill battle, and he could not go on another step without getting his head straight.
"I appreciate it. But it's only for tonight. In the morning I'll find somebody to tow the car and get out of your hair."
"Don't worry. No rush. I know the garage in town, I can get them to pick it up and take a look at it." Glen smiled and pushed his hair back from his face. "Etta has breakfast ready at about eight in the morning if you wanna come eat with me. Darcy eats earlier or later – depends on what her shift is at the diner. I think she's working in the morning so you might hear her leave kind of early."
"Ok."
"We'll get your car towed and I'll take you in to town later to check it out."
"Right."
"We can decide where to go from there."
"I was planning on…"
"Here we are." Glen interrupted Mark before he could detail his big plan that was really just a vague idea. The trees had opened up. The drive continued straight but a spur went to the right. The garage, as Glen had called it, was huge, as big as the apartment building that Mark used to live in. It was dwarfed by the house that stood thirty yards further up the driveway, an imposing brick and log structure that stood three stories and rivaled the houses that guys like Michael Adams lived in as status symbols.
"You own all of this?" Mark asked before he could stop himself.
"Sure." Glen glanced around. "Most of it came from my mom. Her family had this land for more generations than she could count backward. I just added the garage about 10 years ago. Got tired of tree branches hitting my car." As if that explanation made sense.
"It's huge."
"I know. I own six vehicles." Glen shrugged. "Three trucks, two cars, and a Jeep that we use to go trail riding. If you need to borrow one while you get your car fixed or while you wait to get another one, we can work on that. Although Darcy likes to use the smaller car. Keep that in mind, you'll stay on her good side."
That was the second or third time he'd mentioned his other guest. This time Mark caught the obvious affection in his voice. So maybe this Darcy was more than just a person paying to rent a room in the big house.
"Ok." Instead of protesting the length of his stay again Mark just agreed. He had a feeling Glen would just hear what he wanted anyway.
"In the morning I can show you around." Glen cut toward the garage and opened a small door set into the side next to the larger rolling doors. "The stairs are in the corner. I don't bother locking it – no real reason to. But you can if you want. There's a key up there hanging on the wall. Well…I'll just show you." He clicked a switch and the lights in the garage came on. Mark had enough time to see the sparkling chrome grill of a large truck before Glen was moving him up the stairs.
The space upstairs was nicer than Mark's old apartment. He had to admit it as Glen turned on lights and let him look around. It was basically a big open room with a full bathroom tucked into the corner. The back wall was dominated by a huge window, under which a king-sized bed was situated. The other side of the room was taken up by a couch and matching chair, and an entertainment center with a large television. There was a kitchen area as well, with bar stools at the counter instead of an actual table. The floor was made of shiny polished oak, covered by area rugs to cut down on footstep noise or just to protect it from traffic.
"It's nice. Better than nice." Mark amended.
"Good. You can use it as long as you want." Glen was eying him again. Now that there was light Mark could see that the other man was close to his own age, his hair was dark, his eyes a warm hazel. He was also in good shape. Mark had gotten into lifting weights in jail because it helped pass the time but this guy had him beat size-wise.
"Like I said, just tonight and then…"
"Yeah. If that's all you need then that's ok too." Glen smiled. "Come up to the house in the morning. Like I said, we'll take care of everything."
"Ok. Thank you."
"No problem. Good night." With that Glen had gone through the door and down the stairs. The floor was well insulated; Mark did not hear him in the garage below. He went to the smaller windows in the kitchen area and could see the other man walking up the slight incline toward the main house. Instead of going in the front door, he disappeared around the side of the house.
"Weird." Mark said it softly, out loud. He shook his head and looked around. There was a key hanging on a peg next to the door. He assumed it locked the room up. Mark, who'd had no reason to trust anybody for a long time, went to the door and twisted the lock, shutting everyone else out. They might be the friendliest people on the planet. Then again they might be like the family of killers in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Until he knew otherwise, better safe than sorry.
Mark took a few minutes to walk around the room. He finally went to his bag and pulled out a pair of shorts, wanting to take a shower. The bathroom was nice, the hot water was even better. He took his time and relaxed, trying to remind himself that this was not a hotel stay – he still had to worry about transportation and getting on with his trip.
But his trip to where? Maybe he could take the time to figure out where he was going. Maybe he could catch his breath. The guy was offering up a day to figure it out, so Mark forced his worries to the back of his mind. He could sleep tonight and worry about the rest tomorrow. It sounded great to him.