Fast Car | Escapes #1

Chapter 14

There's something about living in one place your whole life that makes it weird to think about living somewhere else. Maybe it's somehow knowing you're not going to be seeing familiar faces every day anymore. Or maybe it's seeing everything you've known slowly be replaced by new scenery. 

Either way, I was feeling nostalgic as I watched the dark woods pass by. I was on my way to the next stage of my life. Everything I knew was in the rearview. I put my window down some and closed my eyes as I let the air blow on my face. Strangely, even the air seemed to feel different. The farther I went from that place, the better it seemed to smell. 

"You know, bugs are going to fly in the window and they're going to hit your face," Brayden said as he put up my window.

I opened my eyes and glared at him. "I was enjoying the night air, thank you." I glanced into the backseat, which he'd filled with bags when we stopped by his place. "You bring everything you need? Wouldn't want the princess forgetting his beauty supplies."

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Some of that is stuff my mother insisted I take with me, okay? Happy now?"

"You told her?" 

"Of course I did. What parent wouldn't ask where their only kid is going in the middle of the night with a full suitcase?"

"I can think of at least one," I muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. Where are we going first?"

"Your ticket is for Lincoln, so I figured you'd want to go there."

I nodded. All I knew about it was that the place had to be huge. I thought about what it may look like and soon I found my eyes were drifting shut. "Are you okay to drive if I sleep?"

"Yeah. I'll probably need to stop to sleep in a couple of hours, though. That okay with you?"

"Sure." I let my lids meet and myself slip away. The sound of the car on the road lulled me into an almost sleep, but I couldn't quite relax enough to fully fall asleep. 

He turned the radio down just a little and hummed along, just slightly off-key. After a little bit, he yawned and I cracked an eye open. He looked tired, but not excessively so. I closed my eye again and I must have fallen asleep at some point, because suddenly I realized that we were stopped.

Lights seeped through my eyelids, but I kept them closed. The door opened and the car started. I felt us drive around what I assumed was a parking lot and then stop. After a moment, a hand lightly ran across my hair before dropping to my shoulder and gently shaking me. "Wake up," he said. "We're at a hotel."

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "Where are we?"

"About halfway between Rapid Falls and Lincoln. There's not really any bigger towns, so it's the nicest looking place I could find. All the other places looked like they collected roaches as a hobby." I shuddered at the thought. "I booked us two singles. Here's your room key." He handed me a card in an envelope that said 208. "I'm in the next room. 206. If you need me, just come get me."

I nodded. There's no reason I'd need him, but it was still a relief that he was going to be there. "I've never stayed in a hotel room," I admitted, unsure of how to use the key. How did a card work to open a door?

He bit his lip, obviously trying to smother a laugh. "Okay, well, I'll show you. It's really simple. The locks are electronic, so it gets a signal from the card. Kind of like a debit or credit card and the little machine you run it through."

That kind of made sense. I opened my door and got out. We met at the back of the car and we got our suitcases. I followed him into the building and to the elevator. It was a short ride to our floor, where we followed the signs to our rooms. He took my key and showed me how to get into my room.