September 15, 2010
I stared at the card in the drawer. I'd pay him back. I knew I would. And it wasn't like I was going to buy something expensive. I just needed something to get me to Alpharetta and back. Maybe I could even return the car afterwards.
I had to do this.
I snatched my dad's debit card out of the drawer. It was early in the morning- the sun hadn't risen yet, and everyone was still asleep. I was good at being quiet, I hadn't even woke Carl up when I left my room.
And with that same stealth, I snuck out of the house- past where my uncle and his family were sleeping.
Like most places in King County, the King County Car Lot was a short walk, but given the fact that I left so early, I had to wait a while- until 8AM- for the dealership to open. I spent this time by visiting a 24 hour McDonald's, using my Dad's debit card to get myself some nuggets and a few burgers.
And now here I was, driving off in a 1986 Toyota Corolla. So much for making fun of the age of Shane's jeep. This thing was a hunk of junk. The locks weren't all working- I had to roll down my window and open the driver's door from the outside, and the backdoors didn't lock at all. There were all kinds of scrapes and dents on the exterior, but the car was running good. It was certainly going to get me from point A to point B.
Speaking of point B, I didn't really know where that was- besides Alpharetta. If Magna had escaped a prison bus around there, she could have already been in Mississippi by now. Or she could still be in Georgia. I doubted she'd go back to Virginia. But maybe.
My head spun, still in disbelief about how Magna ended up in prison for murder, but it wasn't just that. Being behind a wheel again left me with discomfort.
This Corolla was only my second car- the first being a Sequoya that I had crashed in Virginia. I tried not to think about it, but the sounds of breaking glass still reverberated through my mind on some nights. I was afraid to drive again- I had been for a while- but she was worth it. It's the least I could do. She was the one who was there for me when I'd crashed. What poetic symmetry it was that I got back in a car again, only for her.
My phone began to ring again, and I took a brief glance down to see that it was my mom.
That certainly didn't help with my anxiety, but she had been kind since I arrived back in Georgia, and she was going through enough. The least I could do was answer the call.
I wasn't going to do it while driving though.
I was almost out of King County by now, so I pulled over on one of the dirt patches by a nearby farm, and picked up the phone.
"Where are you?"
She wasn't being too hostile, but she was certainly using her 'mom' voice.
"There's things I got to do."
She scoffed. "Things you have to do? What is going on with you? You've been actin' weird since everyone got here yesterday. I know you don't much like your grandparents, but-"
"It ain't them."
"Then what is it?"
"I can't tell you, I-"
"You can't tell me? Jack, I-"
"You listen here, Jack-" Shane's voice came through on the other line, "you quit worryin' your mother. She's got enough to worry 'bout. Get your ass back home."
"I can't do that, but I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise. Call me if anything happens. You know, like with Dad."
I didn't wait for them to argue, which I knew they would. I just hung up the phone and kept on driving towards Alpharetta.