The Body In The Bayou

ch 13 • car troubles

"Thanks, Giselle. I'll see you tomorrow!" I say, covering our plans to meet up Wednesday morning before class for another coffee.

"Sure! Bye, Aspen!" She calls back with a wave and walks the crosswalk across the intersection, heading back towards campus. Meanwhile, I take the sidewalk and head back towards my car.

Ditching wasn't the best way to start this new semester, but I knew the moment I came here, I'd be ditching several of my classes.

I weave back and forth, avoiding the flock of students headed towards the campus while I head to the parking lot and unlock the bus with my key. The door whines as it opens and I toss my drawstring backpack across to the passenger's seat and climb inside, nearly burning my ass off from the hot cracked seat.

"Fucking hot as fuck." I growl, then hear my cell phone begin to ring in my backpack.

I grab it and see my parents' home phone across the screen. "Ugghhhh!" This is not a good time.

But, I promised them I'd be sure to keep in touch, "Hi." I say faking a smile.

"Hey, Pen," Dad says, the smile in his voice also forced. "Everything okay? We didn't hear from you yesterday. How was your first day of classes? How's the apartment?"

"Apartment's good." I lie and then continue my lie, "Classes were also good."

"Oh, good." He says but the tone drops and I can tell he's hardly keeping it together. "We miss you, Pen. Would you please come home?"

Hearing Dad's voice crack immediately causes my eyes to mist, so I force them closed and pinch the bridge of my nose. "I miss you too. I can't come home, Dad. I have to be here."

"Please, Pen. Your mother and I need you here. We feel as if we are losing you-" I remove the phone from my ear and push the corner of it into my forehead not wanting to hear what he's saying.

I can't handle them. I can't go back and be in the constant state of mourning up on that mountain with them. I need action, I need answers.

I gulp down my grief and place the phone back to my ear, "Dad, I love you and I miss you. But this is my choice. I want to be where she was."

No, my parents don't exactly know the full reason as to why I'm here. If they did, they would have never allowed me to go.

Dad sighs a shaky breath, "Okay, honey. Please call us tonight. After classes, okay?"

"Okay."

Speaking to my parents always brings me down into the deep depths of depression. So I sit in the smoldering car until I've managed to gather myself to insert the keys into the ignition then twist them.

The bus struggles to fire up, then begins to tick, and then nothing. "You're kidding." I mumble, then try again immediately.

I need to go to the precinct, today.