Death Valley (Desert Children Series #2)

Road Trip

The only thing Rocket told me about the drive was that it was exactly 7 hours. It made me worried. We had packed enough gas, but I was going to be 7 hours away from the place I called home. According to Poison, there were arrangements made with Killjoys who lived out there in Zone 20 and Ghoul knew his way around. They were apparently also more civilized and lived more in towns. We were taking the truck due to the fact that it would be much easier to drive around the roads. On the back Rocket had put a sign that said Just Married. It made me giggle. Everyone we drove past would know.

We waved as we drove away down the dusty road. Rocket and the others disappeared in the rear view mirrors. Ghoul put his hand on my thigh and grinned at me.

 

"Have you guessed where we are going yet, Mrs. Iero?" He asked.

 

I smiled and shook my head. "Maybe somewhere up north?"

 

He laughed. "Good try."

 

I slipped my fingers in between his and thought about where we could be going. He tightened his grip. I remembered earlier how he talked about being tired. I knew I would probably pass out on our journey there. We would be there by five in the morning. Ghoul was crazy to drive that far. But I knew it would be one of our best journeys.

Like I thought I would, I passed out. When I woke up, the sky was turning colors. The sun was about to come up over red rocks in the distance.

 

"It might take longer than expected. Sorry, baby. I had to take a nap." Ghoul chuckled.

 

When I realized where we were I gasped.

 

"Are you joking?! You are so crazy!"

 

I could see the hole in the ground from miles away. The sun coming up turned the rocks shades of purple and red. I stared at the beautiful sight. It was picture perfect. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Ghoul pointing at a group of buildings. It looked like a small ghost town. I was intrigued by how they survived out in the desert...but then again…

The town came closer and closer into view. The buildings were brick but it looked like they had air conditioning and a place where they mined oil. It was cool how they survived off of their natural resources and made their own things. Getting closer I saw it wasn't just a few buildings, but almost a good sized town. I was jealous. I knew of no towns in our desert.

Driving through the streets, I saw young kids playing with a soccer ball. They were wearing normal clothing and looked healthy. Their parents waved to Ghoul and I as we passed. They seemed nice enough.

We stopped in front of a nice building marked as a hotel. It was a few stories high.

 

"Home away from home." Ghoul said as he took the keys out of the ignition.

 

I followed him out into the heat as he took our bags out of the car.

 

“I ran away here for awhile a few months before I met you. I was confused about life and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. So I came here and found peace. We are checking into the room I stayed in when I told them where I had run away from.” He explained.

 

We carried our bags into the building. It smelled of freshly baked cookies and cake. My stomach growled.

 

“Hungry?” Ghoul asked and chuckled.

 

“Was my stomach really that loud?” I asked him.

 

“No, I was just thinking about how it smells amazing in here.” He smiled.

 

A tall lady with long, blonde hair greeted us.

 

“Nice to see you again, Ghoul. Good to meet you, Phoenix.”

 

She shook my hand. She had long, manicured fingernails that clicked together as she handed some papers to Ghoul. I stretched my legs that still felt like jelly from the car ride as we walked up a few flights of stairs. It felt good to walk again after the time I spent sleeping.

Our room was spacious and beautiful. There was a large window showing off the view of the Grand Canyon. The bed was big enough for three people and looked comfy. There was a door on the other side of the room that I assumed was the bathroom. There were cookies sitting on the dresser top including a note congratulating Ghoul and I. I took a bite, noticing how they were warm and chocolatey. I savored the taste of the warm cookie and poured myself some bubbly, pink champagne.

I sat on the bed and kicked off my shoes. Ghoul took off his jeans and collapsed on the bed beside me.

 

“I need some z’s.” He whispered with his eyes closed.

 

I stroked his hair until he fell asleep and cuddled up next to him to get some sleep too.

 

Ghoul who never slept got some sleep. That meant something good.

 

I woke up to the sound of Ghoul shutting our hotel door with his foot. He was bringing two trays of hot food towards the bed. The smell made my mouth water. It was pieces of chicken, white meat and a whole ton of mash potatoes. I sat up against the comfy pillows and devoured the meal.

 

“It’s all homemade. Even the chickens come from here.” Ghoul said after chewing a mouth full of food.

 

“No way. This is awesome.” I put my empty tray in front of me.

 

After that, we unpacked our clothes, putting them away in the dresser. Ghoul collected our trays and brought them downstairs. While unpacking, I noticed new sets of lingerie sitting under my regular clothes. I rolled my eyes at the thought of Rocket packing them with a smile on her face. She had also packed my pills, thankfully. That was what I was most worried about. But along with them in our toiltrees Ghoul had a box of condoms with a note from Poison.

 

Don’t be silly, protect your Willie.

 

Love,

Poison xoxoxoxxxxxoooo

 

P.s. Have a good time.

I laughed so hard that there were tears in my eyes. I could imagine him writing the letter and laughing to himself as he did so. I showed Ghoul and we laughed together until we were out of breath. If this is what being married was like, I was totally into it.