I'll be glad when you dead, you rascal you...

Long fingers tapped against the edge of the chipped leather, foot lifted from the gas pedal as the cruise control kicked again. A cigarette balanced between the teeth, bobbing with a tongues ministration. She reached up and brushed her hair back, the white catching the sun for a moment before it was over cast with a dark cloud. Her eyes flickered up to the dark clouds, teeth worrying her bottom lip.

That was all she needed, slick roads with no attention span.

Julia had no attention span, she wasn't born with one.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked over at the curving mountains to her right, taking the cigarette from her mouth as she kind of got lost in the landscape. She hadn't been out here in ten years. Her father, Jeb, owned a gas station out in this little (big) middle of nowhere, and she was staying for a few days on her way to Bakersfield, California to sell her old antique that was on the trailer she was pulling. She was a diehard mechanic and collector, but she had to sell the car. It was falling a part and she didn't have the resources to get it fixed at the moment, it deserved better. These people she was selling to, the Wilkins, had all the resources and the same obsession as her.

Perfection.

She blinked and slowly pressed on the brakes, noticing she had passed the dusty gas station. She smiled when she pulled into the gas station, seeing her father slouched in an old lawn chair, half empty jug of sun warmed whiskey by his feet, hat laid across his chest. She opened the door, flicking away her cigarette, and got a good chuckle when he jumped. He scrambled in fear, a handgun magically appearing, and then promptly dissapearing when he saw her standing beside the truck, decked out in a grease stained red jumpsuit.

"Weren't supposed ta be here til Saturday," he grumbled, hobbling up to her.

Julia's brow scrunched in concern. "What's wrong with your ankle?"

His eyes set in worry but he just waved her off, straightening his back. "It's nothin, jus' hurt maself helpin a customer with his truck the other day. What's under the sheet?"

Julia grinned and walked over, pulling up the sheet so he could see the angel wing hood. "It's a car I got from an old man that lives around my place."

"She's a beaut, this th' one yer sellin?"

She ran her fingertips over the hood, a nostalgic smile on her lips. "Yeah, I can't keep her up anymore."

Silence passed between them for a good ten minutes before Jeb cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, ryes on the horizon. "So uh...how long ya gonna be here?"

Julia looked up, one eyebrow raised slightly. "Maybe three days, I got some things I need to tinker with on the truck firat. You got a shower in there?"

He nodded. "Only clean place in the joint. Get in there and I'll get yer bags."

She smiled and pat his shoulder. "Thanks Jeb."

He flinched as she passed, watching her back until she was in the store. Whatever happened to Dad or Pa? He grumbled and opened the drivers door, reaching for the bags. "Clarisa musta got to her."

0000

Julia stepped out of the tiny bathroom she would be haring with her father, sighing into the cool desert air that filled the store, a good change from the stuffy steam of the bathroom. She tightened the towel around her slight frame as she grabbed her cigarettes from one of her bags, stepping out of the store as she lit it. She tucked the lighter into the pack between the cigarettes and plopped down into the chair her father had been in when she had arrived, crossing her legs. She kept her cigarette clamped between her lips and reached up, braiding her hair over her left shoulder.

She looked over at the red mountains, slightly distinguished against the background of black stars. She had forgotten how beautiful it was out here at night, it almost made up for the heat during the day. She pulled her cigarette from her lips and blew the smoke up towards the stars.

"Julia?"

She looked over at the front door. "Out here."

Jeb poked his head out, eyes flickering around nervously. "Whatcha doin out here?"

She shrugged and held up her cigarette to him. "Smoking, and it's pretty damn beautiful tonight."

"Why don't ya come inside?"

She stared at him blankly. "Why don't you come out here?"

He grumbled. "Come on, seriously."

She waved her hand at him. "I'll be back inside when I'm done. You got any food?"

"Not really...I'll look for something."

"Yeah why don't you go do that..." she muttered as he walked back inside.

Why was he so paranoid? Maybe he was afraid she would bet bitten by a rattlesnake or stung by a scorpion. It had almost happened once, a long time ago. She had left her back pack on the same chair she was sitting in and a rattlesnake had climbed right in. Jeb had caught it before anything happened and tossed it (literally) into the desert.

'Name...'

Julia jumped at the sound of the static voice, looking around with wide eyes. Her brow scrunched when he saw a hand held radio tucked behind a few tires leant up against the side of the store. She looked around for a moment and then shrugged, standing. She tucked her cigarette into the corner of her mouth and crouched down, picking up the radil.

"Hello?"

A few moments passed. 'Name...'

She smiled a little, not bothered by the strangeness of this all. "My name's Julia, what's yours?"

Silence.

Her brow scrunched. "Hello?"

Nothing still. Julia stood and stared at the radio for a long time, the smell of beans not even registering in her head until Jeb called her name. She blinked out of her reverie and smiled, puttin out her cigarette as she jogged over to the door, radio hidden behind her back.

I'm sorry for any misspells or grammar mistakes. I typed this up on my phone with no spell check.