Chapter Eleven: On The Road

We had made this tiny motel room home for the past month and we were getting sick of living off of microwave food and sharing our tiny bathroom. At the moment, I was standing in the shower trying to rinse out the last of my hair dye since it had faded mostly anyway and looked bad because it was so cheap and Salem was standing over the bathroom sink shaving. "Ugh." I heard him groan. "I need to clean my plugs." Salem had his ears stretched. They weren't very big, but they were noticeable. "They smell."

I shook my head and thought What did you expect? It's all dead skin. You should just let the holes close anyway.

"Well, excuse the shit out of me." Salem said over the running water.

"Wait." I peeked out from around the curtain. "Did you hear me?"

"Yeah, I heard you. You're not exactly quiet." He looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. Then his eyes went wide. "Shit, you didn't say that out loud, did you?"

"No. I didn't." A grin spread over my face. "That's what was controlling you. Those plugs."

"Shit. You're right. I put these ones in right before I came upstairs to give grandfather his hot chocolate. They knew that I was going to try and interfere. They didn't know we were going to escape though." He dropped them in the garbage. "Wow. I guess that means we can go back. We'll never have to eat another hot pocket again. We have some money left over. Why don't we go out somewhere nice tonight, just the two of us?"

"Great. I'll put on my best black t-shirt." I laughed at him. "Salem, we barely have any clothes."

"You're right." He looked back at the mirror and ran his hand through the stubble on his head. "I guess you'll have to let me take you out when we get back. Hurry up and finish and I'll pack everything into the car." He grabbed everything of his in his arms and carried it out of the bathroom. By the time I finished my shower and got dressed, everything was packed into the car. I did happen to notice that Salem was looking a little pale, however. "I managed to do a little bit of manipulation on my grandfather and brother, but they're so far away that it gave me a really nasty headache. I really had to focus." He laid down on the bed and pressed his thumbs into his eyes. "I think I need a minute before I can drive."

"Hold on." I crawled on the bed next to him and placed his head on my lap. "Just relax"

He did as he was told and I rested my hands on his temples. Like they usually did whenever I tried to use my magic, my fingertips began to glow lightly. He immediately began to look more peaceful and rested. He brought his hands up to cover mine and gave me a soft smile. "You are an angel." He murmured. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"None of this would have happened in the first place." I laughed and pushed him off of me. "Let's go."

We got into our car and began the long drive back home. We were several hours away and neither of us were really prepared for this trip. We decided to play some stupid version of Truth or Truth to learn about the stupid mundane things of each other's lives that we hadn't learned in our uninterrupted time together. "Wait, so you mean to tell me that you've never had a boyfriend, you've never been kissed and you've never been on a date?" Salem stopped short at a red light and stared at me. I felt forward from the suddenness and caught myself. "You're lying. Look at you! You're beautiful."

I blushed and tried to laugh it off. "Well, I was home schooled. I've never really been around boys. I talked to guys on the internet and stuff, but that's about it."

"You lived in a city." He shook his head. "You could have met people easily. I mean, you're really awkward, but it's an endearing kind of awkward that would have made you a lot of friends. I bet this year at the academy you'll make a lot more friends assuming you aren't nearly killed the first week there."

"It's not my fault I was almost killed my first week there." I rolled my eyes. "How many girlfriends have you had?" I asked.

"Well, contrary to popular belief, girls don't dig guys with cancer." He laughed. "But they do dig guys with money and power. And for that reason, I've never had an actual girlfriend. I never feel like they like me for me. I mean, I've hooked up with girls and whatnot because I'm a teenage boy."

"Weird, I never noticed." We shared a laugh. We still had about four more hours of driving before we would be home. "Have you ever been drunk?"

"Yeah. The first time was when Manfred and I were sixteen. Dad had this bottle of good whiskey hidden in the bottom drawer of the desk in his study so we decided to sneak in there one night and started drinking. We were kind of stupid when it came to alcohol so we each took a nice big swig and we were sure we were going to throw up all over the carpet. Then we got over it and drank way too much too fast and ended up getting the spins and throwing up on his carpet anyway. What about you?"

"I've drank wine and champagne before, but I've never been drunk. Dad would always pour us both a glass when he would come home from a trip and he would tell me stories. He wasn't around much, but I really did love him and he was very good to me. It's nice to know that I get another chance at a father. That is if we ever find out where and who he thinks he is."

Salem suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Yeah."

"What's wrong?" I asked, sensing his tenseness.

"Nothing." He looked at me and smiled. "I hope you figure out who he is someday too. It's still your turn to ask questions."

"Hmm." I pushed a stray hair behind my ear. "What is the worst thing you have ever done to someone?"

His face turned red and for the first time, Salem didn't know how to answer a question. "I haven't used my pass yet. I'll use it now." He was embarrassed. I assumed that he had to do something horrible under the control of his family and I wasn't going to press it any further. "I know he wasn't your biological dad, but I know that doesn't make it hurt any less that he's gone. I'm happy that at least one of your adoptive parents treated you the way you deserved to be treated."

We spent the rest of the car trip in silence. Neither of us really felt up to talking anymore. We still had a ton to say to each other but it was obvious we both had our own battles going on in our heads on that ride home. I decided to focus on Lyell. I needed to remember what he looked like. I needed to remember that photograph. I rubbed my hands together and put the bottoms of my palms on my temples. I needed to remember. Thick, wavy brown hair, round brown eyes…

I missed the ocean. That was my favorite part of California. I liked to watch the sun set over the water and go out on the boat with my dad. I was there when he tagged the first Great White for migratory season. He wasn't even afraid when it jumped out of the water.

Wait, what? No! I didn't want to think about the ocean. I wanted to think about Lyell. I needed to remember. I absolutely had to remember Christmas morning ten years ago. I was so excited when I got the easy bake oven I asked for. I was disappointed when the treats came out looking nothing like the ones on the box, but I did remember that they tasted pretty good.

I snapped back to reality when the car swerved. I looked over in time to see Salem's head hit the steering wheel with a thud. He was unconscious. Nothing had caused this. It just… happened. I grabbed the wheel and drove us off the road. Thankfully there was nothing but field and I was able to activate the emergency brake. "Salem!" I yelled, shaking him to consciousness. His nose was gushing blood and his eyes were glazed over. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

I found it strange that he snapped out of his stupor just as quickly as he entered it. "Shit. I'm sorry." He looked at me and wiped his nose. Something in his eyes looked strange, and then he smiled. "Those damn deer, huh?"

"Yeah. I can't believe it just ran in front of us like that in the middle of the day. I thought we were goners." I reached towards his face to attempt to heal the wound, but he shrugged me away. "You're bleeding. At least let me help you."

"Ah, it's nothing, Fin. It'll stop in a minute."