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| Forgettable: Part 2
by sonyaw at 7/27/2009 7:38:13 PM
As Remi walked through the small town she had grown up in, she had no idea where she was headed. She only knew she had to get out of town as quickly as possible. Everyone knew everyone in town and she was bound to run into someone her knew her family if she lingered too long. Hitchhiking was also out of the question as she would risk being spotted on the side of the road. She had read a book once about a runaway kid who had hid in the back of an eighteen wheeler in order to get passage out of town. Unfortunately the nearest truck stop was miles away and Remi was pretty sure they kept the trailers on those trucks locked anyways. She was still wracking her brain for a solution when fate intervened.
A motorcycle pulled into the gas station across the street from Remi. She recognized the driver as Nick Perry. He had just turned eighteen a couple of months ago but due to being held back in junior high he was still in eleventh grade. He was probably the hottest guy in school but due to his bad attitude and economic inferiority he was shunned by the “in” crowd. As far as Remi knew, Nick had fewer friends than she did. And judging from the duffel bag he carried, he was planning a trip of his own. Summoning courage she never knew she had, Remi crossed the street, sat on Nick’s bike, and waited for him to come out of the store.
“Remi Andrews, what do you think you’re doing?”
The fact that Nick actually knew her name was all the encouragement Remi needed despite the impatience that was evidenced by his tone.
“Same as you, I suppose. Making tracks. Care to give a chick a ride?” Remi asked in her most provocative voice.
“No, I don’t care to give a chick a ride. Off the bike, little girl.”
“Oh, come on. All I need is a ride out of town and then you can drop me. I’ll even chip in for gas.” She hated to resort to begging but she was desperate after all.
“Twenty bucks for a hundred miles. After that, you’re on your own.”
Several hours later, Remi was still astride the motorcycle with her arms around Nick’s waist. She was certain they had gone more than a hundred miles but she wasn’t about to complain. She had no idea what she was going to do when he did finally leave her. She was hoping he would either decide to keep her around or just forget she was back here. On the other hand, she was getting cramps in all the wrong places and would love a chance to stretch her legs.
Her unspoken plea was answered when Nick pulled in at a truck stop. So this is it, she thought, I am to be left at the mercy of a bunch of truck drivers. A sobering thought but she would have to make the best of it. There was no going back now. Nick had kept his word and better. He could have drove her exactly one hundred miles and left her on the side of the road. At least she had a chance of catching a ride with a friendly truck driver. Surely, they couldn’t all be as scary as they were portrayed in movies, right?
“You going to sit there all night or go in and take a bathroom break? We won’t be stopping again for a while.”
“We? You’re not leaving me here?” Remi asked wonderingly.
“With this crowd? You wouldn’t last the night. Even I’m not that cruel,” Nick laughed as he began filling the gas tank on the bike. “Go on in and use the bathroom. I’ll just be a few minutes.”
As Remi entered the truck stop, she took a quick look around for a friendly face on the off chance Nick chose not to wait for her. All she saw was a sea of flannel shirts and facial hair. As she made her way to the ladies’ room (if it could be called that in such a place) she felt someone grab her behind. She turned to see a very large, hairy man sitting at the booth next. Though it was late December, he was wearing a flannel shirt with cutoff sleeves and a beat-up baseball cap that read “Real Men Drive Big Trucks.” He smelled of beer, cigarettes, and body odor. Remi fought hard not to vomit all over his cheap steel-toe boots.
“Hey there, little lady. How’d ya like to go for a ride in a big truck? I could use the company of a sweet little thing like you on a long haul like this one.”
Remi wasn’t sure what turned her off more – the words or the breath. Either way she really hoped Nick didn’t change his mind and decide to leave her here.
“Forget it. She’s taken,” Nick said, coming up behind Remi and putting his arm possessively around her waist.
“Oh, is that so. Well, honey, if you get to itching for a real man instead of this punk kid, you come find me. I’ll be in Big Red out there till dawn.” He pointed towards the parking lot and Remi couldn’t help looking out at the huge red rig with the words “Big Red” emblazoned on the door. The truck was almost more terrifying than the man himself.
She managed to get out a weak “I’ll keep that in mind” before running to the bathroom and giving in to the nausea.
As Remi exited the restroom, she spotted Nick a few feet away talking on a pay phone with his back to her. She could barely make out most of the words.
“…yeah, I’m only about a couple hours from Mom’s but I am going to make a little detour…I know, she’s expecting me but I shouldn’t be more than a day late…Listen, I need you to do me a little favor. You know Remi Andrews right? I need you to call her folks for me. Tell them that’s she with me and I am taking her to Mom’s…I know she’s just a kid, Dad. That’s why I couldn’t just leave her there to run off on her own. Tell her parents to meet us at Mom’s. I’m going to drive around for a while so they can beat us there. I wouldn’t her to get any bright ideas about taking off…Thanks, Dad. And, yes, I’ll be careful…I love you, too. Bye.”
Remi darted back into the restroom before Nick could turn around and see her standing there. She couldn’t believe it. She had thought Nick was skipping town, not going to his Mom’s for Christmas. And she had thought he was such a rebel. What was she to do now? There was no way that she could stay here with all those scary truck drivers. But if she went with Nick, she would ultimately wind up right back where she started. Her only hope was to go with him now and try to escape from the next stop. But even that was risky because her parents would be on the way and they would know she was somewhere in the vicinity. But it was her only hope.
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