Leaving Through The Window: Chapter 4-Drive Through The Valley of Corn
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The rickety old truck bounced shakily off the dirt road as it plowed through the fence into the corn field before Logan could stop.
The jolting of the truck caused him to slam into the steering wheel, and he grabbed at his chest for a moment, breathing hard from getting the wind knocked out of him. When he caught his breath, Logan glanced over at his father who was holding a hand up to a small cut on his head from hitting the dashboard. "Pop, y'ok?" he grumbled as he began unbuckling his seatbelt.
Thomas groaned angrily, then his head tilted back against the seat and he passed out drunk.
Logan tried starting up the truck again, but it was no use. The old thing wasn't going to move. With an exasperated sigh, he flung open his door and stepped out of the truck. Wading through the corn stalks, Logan started around the truck when he heard a shout from just outside the corn field.
"Logan! Is that you?! Logan?!!" Hallie screamed before making her way through the corn stalks.
"Yeh, it's me!" he shouted back as he got to the passenger side of the truck, seeing Hallie making her way toward him.
Spotting Logan she sighed with relief. "Oh man, I was in my room lookin' out the window when I saw the truck's lights, and then it went off the road!" she exclaimed with awe. "I saw you leave a lil' while ago and thought it might be you. Then when I came out here; the busted fence, the tire tracks, the broken corn stalks...jeeze!" Hallie shouted.
"Take it easy Hal." Logan told her, holding up a hand for her to quiet down. It was, after all, almost 2:30 in the morning, and if Maurine found out she wasn't inside, Hallie'd be in a lot of trouble. "I was jus' pickin' my dad up at the bar, an' he grabbed the wheel when I was drivin' an' we went off the road." he explained.
Hallie stared at him as he absently began rubbing at his chest. "You okay?" she asked with concern, not really caring how his father was.
Logan grunted. "Yeh, jus' hit the steerin' wheel a bit." he ran a hand through his hair, then yanked open the passenger side door and gestured toward his father. "He's passed out drunk now. I can't get the truck ta start. Ya mind helpin' me get 'im to the house?"
Rolling her eyes, Hallie tentatively took hold of Mr. Howlett's arm as Logan dragged him out of the truck. "I say ya jus' leave 'im here." she mumbled.
Logan sighed as he slung his dad's other arm over his shoulder. "Yeh, yeh, I know. But if I do there'll be more hell ta pay in the mornin'." he heard Hallie's sigh, and the two of them began walking back towards the farmhouse in silence, Mr. Howlett in tow.
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After Hallie and Logan dragged Mr. Howlett inside the house, they dumped him on the couch and then went outside and sat down on the porch steps.
They sat silently, then Hallie glanced over at Logan as she watched him pop one of his heart pills into his mouth and swallow it quickly. She frowned, staring at him.
"What?" he asked gruffly, noticing her staring.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Hallie asked seriously, her hazel eyes open wide with concern.
"Yeh Hal, quit worryin' okay? I jus' hadta take a pill." he assured her, his dark brown eyes softening for only her.
Hallie knew that Logan took one pill a day, and any extras meant that his heart was troubling him. She looked away for a moment, not pushing the issue because she knew he didn't want her to.
"So how come you were up so late anyways?" Logan asked suspiciously with a smirk.
Shrugging, Hallie glanced off to the side and frowned. "Jus' had a nightmare." she whispered quietly. "Couldn't sleep."
Logan nodded with furrowed brows, his smirk fading. He was about to say something when Hallie abruptly stood and started to walk toward her house.
"I better sneak back in my window 'fore Maurine realizes I'm gone." she called back with a playful wave and a smile.
Logan just followed Hallie's departure with his eyes, then tiredly pulled himself from the porch steps and went inside to sleep for a few hours before school in the morning.
*****
The next day at school, the last class had just ended and Logan caught Hallie marching down the hall through the thinning crowd of students that were anxious to leave the building. She had her skateboard tucked under one arm, and a slip of paper in the other as she slowly trudged down the long corridor.
"Hey!" Logan greeted, running up to her, past the sea of rushing teenagers.
"Hey Logan." Hallie mumbled in responce, her head bowed and a disgruntled frown on her face.
Not really noticing his friend's down look, Logan asked, "Mind if I hang at yer house again while I skip out on football practice?"
"Can't. Detention." she mumbled with a loud sigh.
"For...what?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow, wondering if he really wanted to know.
"Skateboardin' in the halls." Hallie told him with a smirk, though she was upset about having to attend detention instead of enjoying the warm weather, though it did look about to rain.
"Again?" Logan had the good decency not to laugh when he saw Hallie's smirk fade. Scratching at the back of his head, he was wondering what to do about football practice. "I guess..I could go ta practice. But then I gotta miss more practices after that an' I'll be ruinin' my M.I.A. streak." he smirked.
Hallie shrugged, tugging on Logan's arm as she passed him, dragging him down the hall with her. "So join me in detention." she suggested cheerfully.
Logan's brows furrowed. He really didn't want to spend the afternoon in detention either. "Eh...well, first of all, I don't got a detention slip."
"So?" Hallie smirked at him, then rolled her eyes, still dragging him along with her. "The detention teacher's not gonna turn ya away. B'sides, I'll jus' scribble yer name on my slip so it looks like we're in for the same crime." she offered, grinning.
Letting out a snort, Logan laughed, staring at Hallie as she pulled a pen from her pocket and wrote his name on the slip, almost perfectly in the same script as the teacher that had written out the detention slip. He raised an eyebrow suspiciously, snatching the paper from her and examining it himself. "You've done this before huh?"
"Of course!" Hallie gave a dopey grin, then the two of them stepped into the detention room that was at the far end of the hall.
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