Chapter 5:

I woke up sometime later, my clothes once again on as if nothing had happened. As if I hadn't broken the promise to my girlfriend months ago against anything like this happening. Damn me and my nonexistent willpower.

I rose out of the bed and walked through the still unfamiliar house, following the smell of chicken cooking. I found the woman in the kitchen preparing...dinner? How long had I slept? I glanced around the room for a clock, finally fixating on a digital one set on the kitchen counter. 7:38. Damn.

The woman turned around, jumping slightly as she spotted me. She placed a hand on her heart. "God Joshy, don't sneak up on me like that! You scared the living daylights out of me." She turned back to the stove to tend to some vegetables she was cooking to go with the chicken. I shrugged and sat down at the kitchen table, my eyes wandering around the room.

Unlike the bedroom, the kitchen was pretty normal and contemporary looking. The walls were painted a pale yellow, the walls decorated with various pictures of flowers and random abstract designs. There was a stove, a microwave, a fridge, a pantry, a sink, a dishwasher. It was a pretty typical kitchen. The counters were cluttered with various kitchen ware and different brands of cereal and chips. An old analog clock on the wall above the table I was at ticked silently. A ceiling fan up above me made a quiet creaking sound as it spun. The house definitely had an old style country-ish feel to it. It would have been nice; if only it didn't belong to this girl.

"Dinner's done!" the woman said in a sing-songy voice. She placed a plate with a piece of chicken and some vegetable stir-fry that consisted of rice, onions, red peppers, sliced carrots, and broccoli. A minute or two later she came over with an identical plate for herself and two glasses of milk. I immediately took a sip of the milk to get the dryness of sleep out of my mouth. I then began to eat the chicken. She did as well.

Once I finished, I began on the stir-fry. It was delicious, aside from the broccoli. I'd never liked it. I made sure to pick around that vile vegetable as I ate the rest. As I ate, I happened to notice the woman staring at me. "What?" I asked.

"Aren't you going to eat the broccoli?" I shook my head.

"But...but you have to! It ruins the whole stir-fry if you don't," she said in an exasperated voice.

"No, the broccoli ruins the stir-fry, at least for me. I can't stand the stuff. Never liked it, never will."

"But you HAVE TO eat it!" Her voice was getting gradually louder, her eyebrows furrowed in anger and annoyance. "I made it, so you have to eat it. Eat it. EAT IT!" She was starting to scare me at this point.

"Okay, okay. I'll eat it. See?" I stabbed my fork into the broccoli; slowly, unwillingly putting it in my mouth. My tongue curled at the taste of it and I scrunched my nose. Somehow, I managed to get it down. I quickly took a sip of milk after to get the awful flavor out of my mouth.

"See, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" She spoke in a light and bubbly voice, contrary to how she had flipped before. A wide smile appeared on her face as she slightly tilted her head to the left; giving her the appearance of a deranged psychopath. I was now starting to believe she was.

After about 15 minutes, I managed to clear my plate of everything, including the broccoli. She had watched me the whole time with the same creepy smile upon her face; causing my heart to beat rapidly and sweat to slowly drip down my face. When that had happened, she had taken a napkin and lightly started dabbing my forehead.

"Okay, so...you think you can take me to the airport now? I wanna get there early so I have time to go through security and find the guys and everything..." I uttered, completely interrupting whatever story she was telling me. I didn't care. I just wanted to get the hell out of there.

"Um...yeah, sure. Let me just find my keys." I sighed with relief and reached into my pocket to retrieve my ticket. My eyes widened as I felt only the cloth material. I dug my hand into my other pocket. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..." I mumbled quietly to myself. Definitely NOT the time to lose my ticket.

"What's wrong?" The woman asked as she walked into the room with a key ring that held about 15 keys.

"My ticket's gone!" I exclaimed in an aggravated tone.

"Oh no, that's horrible!"

Something in her voice told me she felt otherwise. Did she take my ticket? Was that why it was missing?

"Well, don't worry sweetie. We'll buy another ticket when we get there. My treat." I sighed with relief. Maybe I was just overreacting. This woman really was just a kind, caring human being. Sure, she was a little eccentric. She just might not be used to having company of the other sex.

"Well, come on. We'd better get going so we can buy you a ticket before they're sold out." Even though I doubt they would sell out, I hurried after her to the front door. When she opened it, I took a breath. Wow, THIS is where she lived?

The ground was covered with sand as far as the eye could see. A few cacti lined the horizon, and a few rock formations were here and there. Otherwise, there was nothing. I'd never actually been to the desert. After seeing the scenery around me, I don't think I'd ever want to go back. Whatever would possess a person to purchase a house out here in the middle of no where?

"You coming?" I heard the woman say. I glanced over to the sound of the woman's voice. She was standing beside a fairly old pick-up truck. I nodded and walked over to where she was, opening the passenger door and climbing into the seat. She climbed into the seat beside me, sticking the key into the ignition. The truck sputtered a few times, and then died. "Come on you piece of crap..." she mumbled. She tried at least five more times each time she got the same result. I was starting to get anxious.

"I'm sorry, Josh. I don't think we'll be going anywhere anytime soon." Fuck.