Looking for Love
The Twilight world belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I just like to play in it.
Chapter 4 – The Dark Road
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Maybe she would just sleep in the cab. When it got light, she would flag a motorist and ask to use their cell phone.
Could this day get any worse?
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Bella heard the car coming before she saw its headlights around the bend. Should she get out and wave? Or maybe she could put a sign in the window. As she thought about her options, the car went past her then slowed and pulled in to a turnoff with a clump of trees just across the road.
Bella waited in her cab to see if anyone would come out. Had they seen her? It seemed like a weird spot to park after dark. She knew the area. It had a few picnic tables but nobody was there…unless they were looking for a make-out spot. If so, should she disturb them?
After a few minutes, a shadowy figure appeared by the trees across the road. Just one person. Maybe he saw her? She turned on the headlights and flicked them a few times before she recognized the blond man from the parking lot in Port Angeles. As he swaggered over to the car, she noticed that his jacket was open like before, and he wasn't wearing a shirt underneath.
"Hey, car trouble?" he called out as he approached her truck.
Bella rolled down the driver side window just a slit. Enough to talk through, not enough for him to stick his hand through. "Can I borrow your cell phone?" she asked. "My truck seems to have pooped out and I want to call someone to pick me up."
He stopped in front of the truck, leaning across the hood and smiling at her. "Pop the hood, I'll take a look," he said.
"Thanks, but could you just let me make a call on your phone? Or you could call for me," she said.
"If I can fix it, no need to get someone to come out," the stranger said. "Let me take a look."
Not seeing that she had a choice, Bella popped the hood. The situation was starting to unnerve her. What were the chances that someone she had only seen hanging around Gottschalks in Port Angeles would turn up right after her car died?
She heard some rattling from the front of the truck, and then the hood closed. The blond stranger came to her window, one hand behind his back.
"Hey thanks," she said. A slow frisson of fear crept up her back. "Let me see if it comes on." She turned the key and nothing happened. "Can I use your phone, or you can dial a number for me?" she said. "I just want to call my Dad. He's the Chief of Police in Forks."
"You mean, this phone?" he asked, holding up her phone, recognizable by the case. "Now why would I want to call the Chief of Police when I've gone to so much trouble to disable your auto?" he asked, pulling out a round gadget with wires hanging off.
Bella couldn't help it. She screamed.
The man laughed, clearly enjoying himself.
Another car drove by, bringing a sense of relief to Bella. It was only about 9:00 on Friday, after all. There should still be some traffic. The next car she saw, she would honk the horn and flash the lights. Surely someone would understand and stop or maybe make a call to 9-1-1.
"You'll have to get out to stop another car," he said. "Come on out and try."
She shook her head, fighting back tears. How had he gotten her phone? She remembered feeling a wind in Port Angeles, but had that really been him? Or had he picked her pocket on the way in to the store? She didn't remember seeing anyone else in the parking lot.
Stay calm, stay focused.
She leaned across the front seat, pulling the pepper spray Charlie insisted she carry out of the glove compartment. Charlie had been right. If only she could tell him so…no, she would tell him so. She was going to survive whatever was coming.
What had they taught her in that self-defense class in Phoenix? Kick him, stomp his foot or kick his knee. If he got too close, go for his nose with the palm of her hand. Right. She took a deep breath.
Stay focused. Take the situation back. It was up to her to decide when to open the car door, and she would pick her moment and be ready.
So she waited for another car. She planned to run into the road, in front of the car, waving her arms. She saw headlight around the curve. "Hey, just step away, OK?" she said, then slid out on the passenger side, readiyng the pepper spray but keeping it hidden, low against her body.
He smiled and appeared right in front of her. She got him full in the face with the pepper spray and ran into the road, waving her arms. "Stop! Help!"
The car, a white mini-Cooper slowed, and then she heard the sound of rending metal. The car was no longer on the road. It was on the small shoulder, on top of the guard rails, tilting toward the lake.
Behind her stood the stranger.
"Now look, they have to try to get out of the car without tipping over," he said. "What are the chances of their doing that?"
But they'll have phones. They'll call for help because now they need it as well.
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Hope you are having a great February. The next and final chapter will be posted on Heart Day.
(And yes, I know Gottschalks is closed. But I couldn't see setting this story at the Port Angeles Walmart…)
Please leave a review. Reviews make my heart go pitter-pat. I will send a preview of the next chapter to all reviewers…