Disclaimer: I do not own Switched at Birth or any of its characters.
I don't know where I was when I ran out of gas. I had just driven without paying attention. I had my radio on, the music blasting. I had driven for hours.
I had filled my tank the night before, after all.
Part of me wanted to keep going. To just run from everything.
However, I knew I couldn't.
To begin with, I was running from my dad, not anyone else. If needed, I could just stay in the guest house with Regina and Daphne, or even with Emmett if it got bad enough.
I also had those doctors appointments, and school, and... well, everything. I had too much to run away.
It was still an appealing thought, though.
Ok. So, you had your irresponsible run away, and your responsible realization. Yay, you. Who are you going to call to get out of this mess?
There was no way I could call my dad. And I had a feeling if I called mom, she would just tell him. Same with any other adult in the house. There was Daphne, but she had work the next day, and this would take hours. Toby would be cracking jokes...
After awhile, I finally grabbed my phone. 52 missed calls from mom. 12 texts. Most of them from mom. 2 of them from Emmett.
Hey, are you alright?
Where are you?
More missed calls.
I bit my lip slightly, clearing everything before texting Emmett.
Hey... Want to come get me?
His response was nearly instantaneous.
Of course. Where are you? Are you ok?
Yeah. I'm fine. I'm a few hours away. On some country road off the highway, I guess. I'm out of gas.
Is that all you have?
I looked up and around. There were no signs, no landmarks, no other cars.
Yeah. I'll start walking and text you when I have anything solid.
I shoved my phone in my pocket and grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder. I made sure I had everything important before getting out. All I could hope was that it would still be here when I returned.
Then, I started walking.
I went on for what felt like forever, occasionally checking my phone for any new texts. After awhile, I came up to a tiny town. I'm pretty sure I saw both ends of it from only a half mile away, so I guess it was more of a neighborhood or something.
There was a stone sign, cheerily stating, 'Welcome to Alderdeen!'
I pulled out my phone, texting Emmett again. I'm in Alderdeen. I'll wait here.
I put it away again and slowly wandered the small town. There was a bar, a small store, a restaurant... school... library, post office... city hall... and there was the hotel. It didn't look like a chain, but rather a family owned business or something. I stepped inside, slowly looking around the room. A kind looking elderly man sat behind the desk.
"Hello, there," he said. His voice was oddly endearing.
"Hi... Um, can I have a room?"
"Of course. How long do you plan on staying?"
"Just tonight." I had figured it had taken me hours to get here. It would take Emmett hours to get here, too, and then hours more to get back. Might as well stay the night here and get going tomorrow.
"Alright. $25, please." I dug through my bag until I came up with my wallet, pulling the money out.
"Oh, wait. Someone else is coming. I don't know if he'll have his own room, or... or what..."
"We can get it sorted when he gets here, then. No point in you not having a room to go to while you wait, hm?"
I smiled and handed the money over. He handed me a key, pointing down a hallway. "Room 4, honey. You have your own bathroom."
I gratefully took it. "Thank you." Following his instruction, I headed down the hall. Once I got to the door with a golden '4' painted onto it, I unlocked the door and stepped inside.
At a hotel. Room 4.
The walls were painted a pale green, a white door to my right. Stepping further inside, I saw the full sized bed, a white comforter covering it. There was a wooden dresser, and a large window. Going to it, I saw the view of a green park, a small pond in its center.
All in all, it was a beautiful view.
I wonder what it would be like to live here... The thought had drifted through my mind before I could stop it.
But... Alderdeen didn't seem so bad. I'd have to wait awhile to move here, but it was definitely a prospect. Assuming I remembered it when the time came.
And the houses that I saw were decent. Pretty. A nice, large yard.
I yawned, turned up my phone volume again, and laid down on the bed, my eyes slowly drifting shut.
My kid could play in that yard... I'm sure I could get Emmett to build something for it in there... something for them to play on...
That was my last thought before sleep claimed me.
Ok, so, I think that Bay is getting more and more OOC with every chapter... I've decided to blame it on the pregnancy. Not my fault at all. *whistle whistle*
Anyway, I also wanted to say that I'm assuming Bay knows way more sign here than she does on the show. That's probably because I know sign language, so I use my own knowledge in this...
Thank you all, for being so patient with me!