Nine
Sharyn laid her head back against the passenger's seat, her eyes gazing out the window at the other sporadic passing vehicles on the road, going to destinations she pondered. Were any of them traveling to compete with Cody? Or were there any of them who were going to see the show? Or was there a family reunion? She thought way too much, she decided, and attempted to not think about anything. She was exhausted; the movement of the car on the road relaxing her, yet unable to soothe the stress and the paranoia that had settled in on her since Gene had cornered Cody on the road. From his spot in the driver's seat, Cody would shoot occasional glances at her, wondering if she was okay, but unsure if he should come right out and ask. After all, there was a lot she wasn't telling him, even though there was a lot he wanted to help out with. He respected she was so private, but he hated it at the same time.
Her voice broke the thick silence in the car.
"Cody, have you ever done the groupie thing?"
Cody almost swerved the car, taken aback by her question. He shook his head and regained his composure, keeping his brown eyes fixated on the long stretch of road ahead of him. "That's random," he said. "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious. You don't seem like the type to do it, but have you ever given it a shot?" He thought about how to answer. It was a tad uncomfortable to talk about these things with her, but there was something about her that he trusted enough to talk honestly about these things.
"No," he said. "I don't dig tramps." Cody shook his head, thinking about what could have possibly made her bring up such a thing. He sighed as it dawned on him. "It's about what my dad said last night, isn't it?" She didn't have to answer him; he could see it in her features that what Dusty had inferred had really bothered her. "Look, Sharyn, he doesn't really know the entire situation. He was just asking to see what was going on. If he knew you, he would know that you're not some kind of a groupie." Sharyn nodded and stared out the window of the passenger's seat, though it seemed like she was unsatisfied with Cody's answer, like she sensed he was just allievating her paranoia. Cody knew that it was probably time to change the subject, before she became quiet again, lost in her thoughts that she shared with nobody. The worst part was he didn't really have anything else to say. He was running out of things to talk about with her. And it didn't help that she was a woman of so few words. Their conversations were generally pretty short.
"Sharyn, have you thought about what you're going to say to your father when you see him?" Cody asked. Sharyn shrugged.
"Not really. What do you say to somebody who has avoided you pretty much your entire life?" she asked.
"Are you going to be okay?"
She sighed. "Yeah. I'm just overwhelmed at the moment. What if he doesn't want to see me? The last thing I'm doing is going all the way back to Mom and Gene after I travelled across Hell's half-acre."
"I wouldn't expect you to," Cody told her. "And if anything goes wrong like that, you track me down, all right? I'll leave you my number in case." She looked at him. She couldn't imagine him wanting anything more to do with her baggage-infested soul after he dropped her off.
"Cody..."
"Sharyn, I'm dead serious. You're my friend and if you need me, I don't mind helping you out," he informed her, his tone leaving no room for argument. Sharyn was uncomfortably silent. Cody sighed. "Your father would be crazy to not want you. Any father would be proud to have you," he told her. "You're smart, creative, beautiful, and the most important thing is you're strong. Definitely stronger than me, I tell you." She smiled.
"We're all strong people at heart," she replied softly. "Some just have to show it sooner than others." They exchanged soft smiles before her gaze went back out the window. She felt the familiar craving burning at her nerves and twitching in her lips. It was for a cigarette, something she knew she couldn't have, Cody would make damn sure of that. She gave Cody a lot of credit for caring enough to keep her from going back to her cigarettes. But it didn't stop her from wanting one. She leaned her head against the cool glass. "You know," she said softly, "I think you're the best friend I've ever had."
The statement surprised Cody. He wondered about what people she knew back in her old life and imagined it wasn't very good if she was telling somebody she barely knew that he was her best friend. He cleared his throat. "Thanks."
"Why, though?"
"Why not?" he asked her. "Sure, you're a little bit too quiet, but I'm sure if I can rope you into a night with my friends we'd change that." She smiled. "Come on. Tell me about your friends at home."
She shook her head. "I don't really have any friends. They're either too repulsed by Gene to come around or they're sick of me bailing on plans to take care of my mom all the time." He shook his head. It sounded like she was surrounded by partygoing flakes.
"Come on. There has to be at least one that has seen you through everything and doesn't complain." Sharyn shook her head.
"I thought it was my friend Bailey, but she gave up on me before I decided to run away," she said, shaking her head. "She hated that I was so private, but she never really wanted to hear about my problems anyways." She shook her head. "And after she got her boyfriend, I pretty much became the Black Plague to her." Cody shook his head. "How about you? What's your friend circle like?"
"I've got a good one. Most of them are wrestlers or gamers, or both," he answered. "Ted's my best friend. I've known him for years; his dad and my dad were both big name wrestlers and so we'd see each other quite a bit from the time we were kids." She smiled.
"That's cool. You're a gamer?"
"Yeah."
"What's your favorite?"
"Legend of Zelda," he said without hesitations. She laughed. "What?"
"Nothing," she said, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from giggling. But Cody refused to let it die.
"No, I'm serious. What?" She sighed and decided to just spit it out.
"I totally had you pegged as a Final Fantasy fanboy." He laughed, his shoulder shaking with the force of it. When Sharyn realized he wasn't offended, she joined in with the laughter.
"Screw that shit; Link is king," he proclaimed. "I even have the triangles on my boots." Sharyn laughed harder and Cody smirked. It was nice hearing her laugh, seeing her smile. "What about you? You strike me as a Mario lover."
She shook her head. "I'm not really a gamer. When I do, though, I guess it's Tetris." He laughed.
"Old school." He shook his head. "I don't have the patience for Tetris."
"You and half the western hemisphere," she retorted. He laughed. "I mean it. I know a few people...it's a vulgar haiku and then the sound of the controller hitting the machine. And heaven forbid you remind them it's just a game." He laughed. "Dave was like that."
"Dave?"
"The one before Gene. I actually kinda liked him. He was a big guy; lot of tattoos. Always dressed nice. He had a daughter that was on her own and a daughter that was living with her grandmother because he traveled all the time."
"What did he do?"
"He worked for an airline. He always liked hanging out with me, helping me with my homework. I know he missed his daughters; so he kind of took me on as a daughter."
"So why did things end between him and your mom?"
"My mom was drinking heavily during that period. I mean, heavier than she does now. He couldn't take it anymore. So he had to leave. He felt like she was going to drag him down, and he was even more worried that she was going to drag me down, too. The night he left, he pulled me aside and told me I was good enough to do big things, and to never forget that."
"Sounds like a nice guy," Cody commented.
"He does. Last I heard, he moved back to Florida to be with his youngest daughter. Which is good for him. It was hard for him to be so far away from the kids." Cody nodded. She ran her hands through her hair; it was still hard to talk about the night Dave had left. Sharyn had taken it harder than her mother had; to Sharyn, the end of the world had befallen her. "He was the only decent guy my mom ever brought home. The rest of them would leer at me like I was a piece of meat, or get hammered and beat on my mom. It's why I couldn't understand why she could just let Dave go...it's almost like she enjoys the treatment."
"It's a vicious cycle," Cody told her. "And it's not easy to break that cycle." Sharyn didn't really have anything to say to that. She only shrugged and stared back out the window. He was surprised; she had opened up to him a little about something personal. He continued to drive, a smile crossing his handsome features. He was sure they could reach their destination today; they were ahead of schedule. And after that, he knew the smile wouldn't last very long.
