The tree lay in the middle of the road, which meant there was no way of getting out of here without leaving the car. I started panicking again and I was restless, something I hadn't been for a while. Sam tried to calm me down by talking to me quietly but the noises from outside were taking over.
I had this thing about being outside for too long and I start to hyperventilate and panic. Okay, I admit it, I was scared.
'Annabelle, please calm down.' Sam whispered in my ear. Without me noticing he'd grabbed hold of my hand. Surprisingly, it was soothing me and my heart rate slowed down and I managed to get back to breathing normally.
'Are you okay?' he asked, looking worried.
'I... I think I'm okay... a bit shaken but I'll recover.' I closed in on myself and curled into a ball on the front seat in a desperate attempt to keep myself warm. Sam saw and leaned over to the back of the car and pulled out one of these 'Drop Dead' hoodies and wrapped it round me. I managed to stutter a 'thanks' and he nodded.
'Don't mention it. You look ill, are you sure you're okay?'
'I... I have a problem with being outside. I don't know why, I just panic easily when I'm stranded. I think... I think...'
'What?'
'I think it's because of what happened ages ago.' I said, 'but I don't wanna talk about that yet.'
Sam pulled out his phone and tried to call Tom who was in hanging around in Weston but it went straight to answer phone.
'Dammit.' He said, 'No signal. This is just what I need, I have band practice in a few hours and I can't afford to miss another one.'
I stared out of the window. I don't know why because there wasn't much to see except rain, lightening and trees swaying in the strong breeze. I looked back at Sam who was getting frustrated, constantly trying his phone to see if something magical happened like we suddenly got a signal. He pressed his palm against his head, closing his eyes then slammed his hand against the steering wheel. I jumped at the sound that it made.
'Jesus, Sam. Are you okay?' I asked, getting worried. I barely knew him and yet here I was in the same car with him after a drink and now he was getting violent.
'I'm fine, just frustrated. I really needed to go to this band practice and if I miss it, they'll throw me out.'
'They won't do that.' I tried to reassure him but he wasn't taking any of it.
'I'm useless. I'm useless,' he kept repeating to himself.
'No you're not—'
'Yes I am!' he yelled, throwing his phone in the compartment in the side.
'Sam, this wasn't your fault. You're not useless, and you can't help it. Sam, please calm down because you're scaring me.'
Sam looked at me and sighed, 'sorry, I have anger problems.'
'You could've told me that before I invited you for coffee.'
Sam looked at me and frowned. I laughed in an attempt to calm myself again.
'It's a joke; I would've gone with you anyway. But please, calm down, okay?'
'I'm calm.' He said to me, repeating it to himself so he could believe it. I looked at him with a blank expression and waited for him to say something. He turned his head and looked at me, his eyes were deep and blue and... captivating. I'd never looked into them before but now I was staring into them, it was hard for me to look away.
We both looked away in embarrassment and Sam picked up his phone again, trying Tom a few more times, then trying Dan but no-one picked up. I looked at my phone, to see if I had any signal... no luck.
'What are we going to do?' I asked Sam, hoping that he was going to know.
'I don't know. I guess we wait.' I opened my mouth in disbelief when the words came out.
'Wait? For what? We have nothing to wait for. What are we waiting for—'
'I don't know! I just told you, I have no idea. I guess we wait for someone to come along. Or we wait for the storm to blow over.' Sam said, throwing his phone back beside him and running his hands through his hair. I started to breathe heavily again and it was so cold I could see my breath in the air.
I stared out of the window again, 'it doesn't look like this storm's going to blow over anytime soon.'
Sam just sat there behind the wheel and stared out onto the road where the tree was still thrown onto the road, blocking any people from coming or going. No-one ever drove through this road so it would be a very long time before anyone came but it looked like that was the only thing we could do. I kept looking back from the scenery to Sam, who was still just sat there not making any effort to talk or try and reverse the way we came.
When I sneezed, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He glared at me and I smiled weakly. I sank lower in my seat and lifted my legs up, my converse having no grip and sliding off the edge of the seat. I groaned and tried to get comfortable by facing the window; we were going to be here a while.
'Lie in the back if you want to sleep, I don't mind.' Sam said, lowering the tone of his voice. He was occupied with something but I couldn't see.
'You sure?' I mumbled.
'Yeah, just move the coats on the floor.' He replied, lifting his head as I rolled over to climb into the backseat. He was messing around with his phone but had given up calling people. I climbed into the back of the car, careful not to stand on anything and gently put a thick coat, a pair of skinnies and hoodie on the floor. I wrapped the Drop Dead hoodie around me and led down on the seats. Sam turned and looked at me, looking up and down at me and I raised my eyebrow at him.
'Yes?' I asked, as he smirked.
'Nothing, I just wanted to see if you were okay.' He said. He looked down and picked up the red hoodie that I'd put on the floor, folded it into a neat square and leaned over to me. As his body stretched to lean over to my head, his shirt dangled below him, it looked way too big for him. I inhaled his smell and he smelt like Lynx. I didn't know which fragrance but it was definitely some kind of Lynx.
'Lift your head,' he said and I did as I was told. With the way he'd reacted, I was in no position to ignore what he told me to do. He placed the hoodie underneath my head and used it as a pillow.
'Thanks, Sam' I said and he smiled and instead of returning to the driver's side, he sat in the back with me.
'Move your legs,' he said and he sat at the end and I went from lying down to sitting up and leaning in the corner. I looked at him and shivered because I was so cold but he didn't shake once.
I didn't want to keep the awkward situation going so I tried to start a conversation.
'So... urm... what's with all this Drop Dead clothing?' I said. Sam looked down at the Drop Dead t-shirt he was wearing and smiled.
'My best friend Oli started up a clothing line and he'd produced all these smokin' shirts and he wants the band to wear the clothes so it becomes popular. He's a veggie, so a load of his stuff says things like "meat sucks" but you get the idea. He's in a band too.'
'What are they called?'
'Bring Me the Horizon.'
Sam smiled and glanced out of the window, it obviously sparked a memory. I tried to sleep all the stress off but it just wasn't working. My brain was too hyperactive and I was too awake.
'This is no good.' I complained to Sam. It turned out that he had passed out. I looked at him and he was slouched on the seat, mouth openly and snoring softly. I pulled one of the jackets from the floor and threw it over him to make sure he didn't freeze to death.
Then, naturally, I curled up next to him and leaned into him, my head resting on his shoulder. If a hoodie wasn't going to keep we warm, then his body heat would.
I sniffed and looked at my phone to check the time.
3:00pm.
Oh Christ, my mom would kill me when I get back... if I get back.
I decided there was nothing else I could do except wait so I tried to get some sleep. I pulled myself further underneath the blankets and closed my eyes. I managed to get about an hour of sleep before I woke up.
Now I'd have to spend the next god knows how long stuck in a car with someone I barely knew while we waited for someone to turn up so they could help us.
