The next few days were pretty monotonous. MY schedule consisted of driving
all night and sleeping all day. In three day I managed to cross2 states
and make it into Chicago. It's a nice city, so different from Jersey, but
Its not far enough away. It's only been four days since I left. Anthony
has woken up by now, and knows I'm gone. I dot think he knows about the
money yet, but its only a matter of time before he figures it out. I do
have one advantage on my side; he has no idea where I am. But he has
connections, and I don't want to risk being too close. I sleep here, but
then I'm leaving again. But I guess everywhere I go will be alone. I went
to a diner and pulled out my map. I decided to go to St. Louis. If I
change my course a little it might be harder to find me.
St Louis, nice city, cool arch. I decided to camp out here for a few days and plan my next move. Running blind in the middle of the night got me away from Anthony, but now I need to think about my life, and what I'm going to do with it. It's 9:30 in the morning and I have been driving for 2 days str8. It's been 10 days of driving total and I needed to take a break, and get some food. I found a best western just outside of St Louis with a beautiful view of an ihop across the street. I did my usual routine of getting my room, and parking T in the back, I was tired but my stomach protested my much needed rest. I locked up the money, and my .22, took out 50 bucks and walked over to the IHOP. The waitress seated me across from two men, close to my age I would assume. One caught my attention right away. His green eyes, and nicely toned body caught my attention first. He was wearing a black wife beater and blue jeans. Simple, yet very sexy. He notice me staring as I slid into my booth, so he leaned back in his seat a did a very obvious "one over' of me. My reaction turned form curious to annoyed at his gesture.
"How ya doin"" a raspy voice called out to me.
"Shitty" I snapped, I was in no mood for games with this guy.
"Sorry to hear that, names Leon"
"Sarah, can I get some coffee please?" I snapped to the waitress as she passed by with the pot. For a moment I was rid of my new pest, the waitress had blocked his view. Soon she was gone and Leon had scooted to the edge of his booth
'Pleased to meet you Sarah"
My 1st instinct was to snap at him like I did the waitress, but when I looked at him, I saw his eyes, staring at me, with an unseen compassion since my mother. I could feel my face transform form a sneer to a slight smile.
'Sorry about that, i'm not a morning person'
'Who is' the other one chimed in. He was younger then Leon and was fidgeting in the seat.
"This is my …brother Jesse"
"Nice to meet you'
So are you gonna shake my hand or what"
I didn't realize his arm was still extended
'Oh god I'm sorry" I said reaching for his hand. He had a firm but gentle grip. For a moment I felt lost in his touch, but the waitress came back for my order and broke the silence.
"I'll have a 3 egg omelet, sausage and cheese, pancakes, large OJ, and milk, and hash brown"
Leon and Jesse stared at each other then at me
"Damn girl, where do you put all that food: Leon said staring at me in disbelief. He finally broke me down and made me laugh.
"Hey, I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday, so back off, I've been on the road all night"
"Where you headed"
I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I didn't know how to answer his question. I lowered my eyes and stared at my coffee.
"Hey, you ok" He said dipping his head down o meet my eyes
"Um, yeah…thing is I don't really know where I'm going"
"OK, lets start with an easier? where you room"
"NJ"
" A Jersey Girl huh, what you doing all the way out here?"
"Well…guess you could say I'm running…or you could say I'm starting over."
Leon and Jesse just nodded in unison, w/o even looking at each other.
"Planning on staying here" Jesse asked
"No, I'm going west, probably Cali, LA or something, I'm not really sure yet, but far away from Jersey"
The waitress brought out our food and for a few moments it was quiet while we ate our respective plates. Leon finally broke the silence.
"Yeah, were form LA, here in St Louis on some business"
"You don't look like business men to me," I said causing Jesse to half choke on his pancakes.
"Naw, we own a garage with some friend back in LA, we are out here, picking up a car"
"Oh, I see" I said sippin my coffee.
Jesse's cell phone rang and both of them focused on it, as if I wasn't even there, I just continued eating, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Hey Dom…yeah we're here…eating breakfast…yeah he's right here…" Jesse handed the phone to Leon
" Yo Dawg…no problems…yeah…ok…got it…"
Their conversation went into mumbles as they both leaned over the table to discuss whatever this Dom person had just told them. I had finished my breakfast and was about to pay the bill when they broke out of their whispers. Just as I was getting up to leave, Leon grabbed my wrist.
"Hey"
I swung around and threw him my ice glare; he got the message and let go.
"Sorry, I uh.just didn't want you to leave yet, how long you gonna be in St Louis"
"I don't know, long enough to rest and plan out my next move, why"
'Well don't go until I get a chance to see you again'
I cocked up one eyebrow and looked at him. Who does he think he is? He had some nerve coming on so strong
"Oh really? And y should I"
"Because I think I can help you plan your next move…you said you were going to LA right, well were leaving tomorrow morning, you can follow us"
"YEAH!!" Jesse said jumping up
"I don't know," I said shaking my head, I was wary of trusting anyone.
"Look, you got your own car, its not like we're kid napping you…where are you staying"
"There" I said pointing out the window
"Perfect, so are we, where's your ride"
"Behind the Hotel"
He looked at me somewhat confused, but then I could see he was just trying to figure me out and look at my tits at the same time. He wasn't slick.
"We'll drive you back to your room, then Jess, we can go handle our business and tomorrow morning we'll be on our way."
I was wary of this guy. I had just met him and I wasn't about to get in his car. For all I knew, he was working for Anthony, and accepting a ride from him was like signing my own death sentence. But following him to LA wasn't such a bad idea. He was right. I would be driving Miss T, and if these guys turned out to be ok, I would have an escort for the rest of my trip. And that was a good thing.
"I appreciate that, and I will follow you to LA, but my legs need some exercise after all that driving"
"Suit yourself, we're leaving at dawn, say 5am?"
"No Problem, I'm in room 208"
Jesse paid the bill while Leon slipped into my booth. His sudden friendly attitude got a little too friendly for me. I scooted back in the booth and was about to rethink my decision of giving him my room number. He sensed my apprehension at gave me that look again. The one I hadn't seen since my mother.
"Hey I don't bite"
"No offense, but my guards been up since I left NJ"
"I can respect that, a beautiful girl like you alone"…I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks "Look, me and Jess know what its like to run. I know you just met me, but you don't have anything to worry about with us ok?
I let out a sigh and relaxed my death grip on the edge of the table.
"Yeah, I'm still a little jumpy"
"You've been driving all night"
"Since Yesterday"
"Then I suggest you go get some sleep, we're on a schedule and need to be back in LA by Friday. And with that he and Jesse left the IHOP and jumped into their yellow skyline.
-------------
She's cute" Jesse said getting in the car
"Yeah she is, did you se that scar on her neck though"
"No"
"When we get back form getting the car, run her name"
"All we know is Sarah Leon, I ant run that"
"Which car you think is hers" He said pulling around back, there were only three cars.
"The red one Leon"
"You sure,"
"Hell yeah" he said jumping out to write down her plates"
"Ok, run it tonight"
---------------
I recognized the car b/c of Anthony had chopped one down only 3 months before. 'Nice Machine" he said, "Shame to chop a beauty like this" I shook my head and Rid Anthony's image form my mind. I got back to the room around 11. As soon as I shut the door, I stripped down and jumped in the shower. The water beat down on my neck and shoulders. I could still see the bruises, but they were starting to change color. Getting black and blue and losing their swollen red circles. Soon they would be brown and yellow and even sooner after that they would be gone forever. I started laughing as the water ran down my body. The Freedom hit me again, but this time not in the shadows of pain but in the new light of my future. I toweled off and threw on a pair of sweat and a Tee shirt. I was passed out by noon.
St Louis, nice city, cool arch. I decided to camp out here for a few days and plan my next move. Running blind in the middle of the night got me away from Anthony, but now I need to think about my life, and what I'm going to do with it. It's 9:30 in the morning and I have been driving for 2 days str8. It's been 10 days of driving total and I needed to take a break, and get some food. I found a best western just outside of St Louis with a beautiful view of an ihop across the street. I did my usual routine of getting my room, and parking T in the back, I was tired but my stomach protested my much needed rest. I locked up the money, and my .22, took out 50 bucks and walked over to the IHOP. The waitress seated me across from two men, close to my age I would assume. One caught my attention right away. His green eyes, and nicely toned body caught my attention first. He was wearing a black wife beater and blue jeans. Simple, yet very sexy. He notice me staring as I slid into my booth, so he leaned back in his seat a did a very obvious "one over' of me. My reaction turned form curious to annoyed at his gesture.
"How ya doin"" a raspy voice called out to me.
"Shitty" I snapped, I was in no mood for games with this guy.
"Sorry to hear that, names Leon"
"Sarah, can I get some coffee please?" I snapped to the waitress as she passed by with the pot. For a moment I was rid of my new pest, the waitress had blocked his view. Soon she was gone and Leon had scooted to the edge of his booth
'Pleased to meet you Sarah"
My 1st instinct was to snap at him like I did the waitress, but when I looked at him, I saw his eyes, staring at me, with an unseen compassion since my mother. I could feel my face transform form a sneer to a slight smile.
'Sorry about that, i'm not a morning person'
'Who is' the other one chimed in. He was younger then Leon and was fidgeting in the seat.
"This is my …brother Jesse"
"Nice to meet you'
So are you gonna shake my hand or what"
I didn't realize his arm was still extended
'Oh god I'm sorry" I said reaching for his hand. He had a firm but gentle grip. For a moment I felt lost in his touch, but the waitress came back for my order and broke the silence.
"I'll have a 3 egg omelet, sausage and cheese, pancakes, large OJ, and milk, and hash brown"
Leon and Jesse stared at each other then at me
"Damn girl, where do you put all that food: Leon said staring at me in disbelief. He finally broke me down and made me laugh.
"Hey, I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday, so back off, I've been on the road all night"
"Where you headed"
I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I didn't know how to answer his question. I lowered my eyes and stared at my coffee.
"Hey, you ok" He said dipping his head down o meet my eyes
"Um, yeah…thing is I don't really know where I'm going"
"OK, lets start with an easier? where you room"
"NJ"
" A Jersey Girl huh, what you doing all the way out here?"
"Well…guess you could say I'm running…or you could say I'm starting over."
Leon and Jesse just nodded in unison, w/o even looking at each other.
"Planning on staying here" Jesse asked
"No, I'm going west, probably Cali, LA or something, I'm not really sure yet, but far away from Jersey"
The waitress brought out our food and for a few moments it was quiet while we ate our respective plates. Leon finally broke the silence.
"Yeah, were form LA, here in St Louis on some business"
"You don't look like business men to me," I said causing Jesse to half choke on his pancakes.
"Naw, we own a garage with some friend back in LA, we are out here, picking up a car"
"Oh, I see" I said sippin my coffee.
Jesse's cell phone rang and both of them focused on it, as if I wasn't even there, I just continued eating, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Hey Dom…yeah we're here…eating breakfast…yeah he's right here…" Jesse handed the phone to Leon
" Yo Dawg…no problems…yeah…ok…got it…"
Their conversation went into mumbles as they both leaned over the table to discuss whatever this Dom person had just told them. I had finished my breakfast and was about to pay the bill when they broke out of their whispers. Just as I was getting up to leave, Leon grabbed my wrist.
"Hey"
I swung around and threw him my ice glare; he got the message and let go.
"Sorry, I uh.just didn't want you to leave yet, how long you gonna be in St Louis"
"I don't know, long enough to rest and plan out my next move, why"
'Well don't go until I get a chance to see you again'
I cocked up one eyebrow and looked at him. Who does he think he is? He had some nerve coming on so strong
"Oh really? And y should I"
"Because I think I can help you plan your next move…you said you were going to LA right, well were leaving tomorrow morning, you can follow us"
"YEAH!!" Jesse said jumping up
"I don't know," I said shaking my head, I was wary of trusting anyone.
"Look, you got your own car, its not like we're kid napping you…where are you staying"
"There" I said pointing out the window
"Perfect, so are we, where's your ride"
"Behind the Hotel"
He looked at me somewhat confused, but then I could see he was just trying to figure me out and look at my tits at the same time. He wasn't slick.
"We'll drive you back to your room, then Jess, we can go handle our business and tomorrow morning we'll be on our way."
I was wary of this guy. I had just met him and I wasn't about to get in his car. For all I knew, he was working for Anthony, and accepting a ride from him was like signing my own death sentence. But following him to LA wasn't such a bad idea. He was right. I would be driving Miss T, and if these guys turned out to be ok, I would have an escort for the rest of my trip. And that was a good thing.
"I appreciate that, and I will follow you to LA, but my legs need some exercise after all that driving"
"Suit yourself, we're leaving at dawn, say 5am?"
"No Problem, I'm in room 208"
Jesse paid the bill while Leon slipped into my booth. His sudden friendly attitude got a little too friendly for me. I scooted back in the booth and was about to rethink my decision of giving him my room number. He sensed my apprehension at gave me that look again. The one I hadn't seen since my mother.
"Hey I don't bite"
"No offense, but my guards been up since I left NJ"
"I can respect that, a beautiful girl like you alone"…I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks "Look, me and Jess know what its like to run. I know you just met me, but you don't have anything to worry about with us ok?
I let out a sigh and relaxed my death grip on the edge of the table.
"Yeah, I'm still a little jumpy"
"You've been driving all night"
"Since Yesterday"
"Then I suggest you go get some sleep, we're on a schedule and need to be back in LA by Friday. And with that he and Jesse left the IHOP and jumped into their yellow skyline.
-------------
She's cute" Jesse said getting in the car
"Yeah she is, did you se that scar on her neck though"
"No"
"When we get back form getting the car, run her name"
"All we know is Sarah Leon, I ant run that"
"Which car you think is hers" He said pulling around back, there were only three cars.
"The red one Leon"
"You sure,"
"Hell yeah" he said jumping out to write down her plates"
"Ok, run it tonight"
---------------
I recognized the car b/c of Anthony had chopped one down only 3 months before. 'Nice Machine" he said, "Shame to chop a beauty like this" I shook my head and Rid Anthony's image form my mind. I got back to the room around 11. As soon as I shut the door, I stripped down and jumped in the shower. The water beat down on my neck and shoulders. I could still see the bruises, but they were starting to change color. Getting black and blue and losing their swollen red circles. Soon they would be brown and yellow and even sooner after that they would be gone forever. I started laughing as the water ran down my body. The Freedom hit me again, but this time not in the shadows of pain but in the new light of my future. I toweled off and threw on a pair of sweat and a Tee shirt. I was passed out by noon.