Chapter Six: Making Plans, Part Deux

Cars and trucks honked loudly as Blair wove wildly in and out of traffic on the freeway. However, her mind was focused on her friend as she nervously watched her sit quietly in her seat, her head resting on the window and her hands cradling the gun she had just used not even fifteen minutes before to shoot and kill Lee.

Blair was almost afraid to open her mouth. She knew Jo had a bad temper. She remembered being at the brunt of it once when they were kids and Jo had punched her in the face once.

But that was different. Jo could go to jail, Blair thought, her heart racing. We need to do something! She thought. But what? I don't even know where the hell we're going!

"Jo?" Blair asked tentatively, glancing at Jo before turning her eyes back on the road.

Jo didn't answer.

"Jo? Where are we going?" Blair asked again.

Jo popped her head from the cold, flat glass. "I don't know, Blair! I don't know! Just shut up so I can think!" she snapped.

Tears ran down Blair's face at Jo's testiness. Jo caught a glance at her. Blair's cheeks and lips were bruised and her nose was slightly swollen. Plus she was still wearing the same torn, dirty dress Lee had destroyed.

"Shouldn't we call the police, Jo?" Blair asked.

Jo then stared incredulously at Blair. "And tell 'em what exactly, Blair? Whaddya wanna tell 'em, huh?" She asked snappishly.

"Tell them what happened, of course!" Blair said.

"Which part?!" Jo demanded.

Blair couldn't believe what she was hearing. "All of it! That he-he-he tried to rape me!" Blair sobbed out.

Jo slammed her fist on the glove compartment in frustration and anger. "About a hundred goddamn people saw ya dancin' cheek to cheek all fuckin' night! Who's gonna believe ya!? We just don't live in that kind of a world, Blair!"

How can she be so fuckin' naïve?! Nobody with a right mind is gonna believe our story! We've got no proof!

Blair burst out crying again.

Jo then let out a frustrated shriek, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. "Goddamnit! Pull over!" Jo screamed out.

Blair didn't utter another word, afraid of another outburst from Jo. She slammed on the brakes and watched as Jo got out of the car, flinging the car door shut behind her. About a minute later, she heard Jo retching nearby.

Blair lay back in her seat, staring blankly up at the top of the roof of the car. What am I going to do? She thought hopelessly. Her mind thought of her mom and dad and her little half-sister Bailey. Her close friends, Tootie and Natalie. Mrs. Garrett and Beverly Ann. Pippa and Andy…her heart sank as she thought of all her loved ones back home in Peekskill. None of them had a clue as to where she and Jo were and now would they even risk coming to their rescue now if they found out what had happened?

Blair knew her friends would most likely have her and Jo's backs but she couldn't see them risking their own livelihoods to help her and Jo in this situation. Jo had killed somebody, despite it being to defend Blair. Plus, Blair wasn't sure she was ready for people to know just yet what had happened to her; the memories were still too raw.

Blair continued to let the tears fall silently down her cheeks. She had barely even noticed Jo finally come back in the car. Blair mindlessly scooted over to the passenger side and continued staring blankly up at the car roof.

Jo rested her hand on Blair's shoulder. "Blair? You alright?" She asked.

Blair didn't answer. She only moved her head slowly and stared at Jo with a blank stare.

"Now, I had to get a clear head but now I've been thinkin'…I gotta get it together. I gotta find someplace and just get a cup of coffee and just sit for a bit. Do ya wanna come?"

Blair only continued to stare at Jo blankly.

"And then…maybe we can…plan our next move," Jo concluded. She then frowned, staring at Blair's face.

Jo's heart nearly broke at seeing her best friend's face up close. Blair had bruises along both of her cheeks from when Lee had slapped her, a small cut on her left cheek and it looked like her nose was beginning to bleed.

The blood had started to drip from her nose and down her face but Blair didn't seem to notice nor care she was bleeding.

Jo quickly grabbed a handkerchief from the glove compartment and began cleaning the blood and tears from her friend's face.

"So does that sound like a plan?" Jo asked after she had finished.

She watched as Blair only nodded her head slowly.

Jo then started the car and pulled away.

Later, the two found themselves at a truck stop drinking cheap coffee.

"So listen, Blair," Jo told her as she sat across from Blair, lowering her head so only Blair could hear her. "Now we got we gotta be inconspicuous. You know what that means, do you?"

Blair was too tired and drained to argue with Jo over what inconspicuous meant.

"Yes," she answered testily.

"It means don't talk to anybody; don't draw attention to yourself in any way. Do you understand that?"

Blair gripped the table firmly, her fingers twitching. I just got brutally attacked and almost raped and she's here talking to me like I'm a fucking kindergartener!

"Tell me ya understand that," Jo said to her firmly.

Blair only nodded passive-aggressively.

"Good. Now we have to think this through. We have to be smart. Now is not the time to panic. If we panic, it's all over. Nobody saw anything and nobody knows it was us. We're still OK. Now we just have to figure out our next move."

Blair scoffed haughtily. "Our next move? Our next move? Gee, Jo! This is some vacation! I'm having lots of fun!" She exclaimed sarcastically.

Jo glared at Blair angrily. "Well, ya know somethin'? If you weren't so concerned with havin' a good time, we wouldn't be here right now!"

Blair gave Jo a fierce glare. She stared at her hands which began to shake violently.

"Just what is that supposed to mean?" She asked in a hurt voice.

"It means shut up, Blair," Jo snapped.

"So you're saying that this is all my fault, aren't you? Well, that's just fantastic!"

Blair got up from her place at the table, grabbing her purse. In her hast to leave Jo, she accidentally knocked over her coffee cup, watching it shatter.

"I'll pay for that," she told the waitress meekly as she refilled Jo's coffee cup. "I have to…uh…use the restroom…I…uh…sorry…."

She then left, storming out and wiping away even more tears from her wet cheeks.