Taiven Parmiga

Chapter 10: Pit Stop

My head slides to the right and bangs against the window, instantly waking me up. I hear Evan's laugh. I must've fallen asleep.

"Ha ha." I smile over at him. I rub my eyes and look around. "Where are we now?"

"Still have an hour and a half to go." He sighs turning the radio down. I see a gas station sign and realize I haven't used the bathroom since I woke up with morning. Now it was almost noon.

"Hey. Do you think we could make a quick pit stop?" I ask, hoping it won't bother him to stop.

"Thank God! I've wanted to stop for almost half an hour now." He sighs in relief.

"Why didn't you just stop somewhere? Were there not any gas stations?"

"No, there were plenty. I just didn't want to wake you." he states slowly, as if he questioned mentioning that explanation for some reason. Maybe because of what I was going to say next.

"Why didn't you just wake me? I would've been fine with it." I pressed on.

"You just looked so...peaceful. And happy. I didn't want to ruin it." He sheepishly admits.

"Evan. I wouldn't have been mad. I swear. I mean, you're taking me to Cincinnati! The leaste I can do is let you stop when you want to." I laugh slightly, lightening the mood.

Soon we pull over to a Shell gas station. He fills up the tank and we both go towards the small store to use the restroom. It was pretty shabby. The restroom entrances were outside. Girls on the right side of the building, and boys on the left. Almost as if we were in the fifth grade again and the restroom breaks had to be separated between genders. It's light out, but the side of the building I have to venture to is shaded by a huge line of trees that border a big forest to the right of the gas station.
What state are we even in???

I wonder to myself as I peer through the trees. I walk past the overflowing dumpster buzzing with buzzing flies to the door that reads
W---an.

Most of the letters are smudged off and the cartoon lady with a skirt has a huge X carved over her head.
Eerie...

I think as I enter.

When I exit, a big dark cloud displaying a future of slight rain had blocked the suns bright rays.

As I walk past the dumpster, my arm is grabbed and I'm pushed against the concrete wall of the building. I start to scream instantly.

"Ev..." is all I can get out before he cuts me off by shoving his gloved hand over my mouth.

"I want your money, not your life." He simply states. "But if you try to be smart, I won't think twice." I feel a cold, metal barrel press against the left side of my temple. "Trust me." I can hear the smirk through is black ski mask. I can tell he's pleased with himself, for whatever reason.

He releases my left arm to allow me to get to my purse. I pull out my gray wallet and forcefully shove my knee as hard as I can between his legs. He cries out in pain and I grab the gun out of his hand and throw it into the dumpster. I race around the corner and run straight into Evan. Panic enters his eyes as he looks quickly from me to the dark man on the ground, gaining strength quickly. He's forgotten the gun and wants revenge now. And he's clearly willing to get it with his bare hands this time.

"Evan! Just run!!!" I scream at the top of my lungs as my throat starts to burn and my eyes begin to blur with tears.

We get to the car and he races out of the parking lot and back onto the highway. I install feel better. But I can tell Evan isn't. He's pushing 90 and I only see anger splurged with fear on his face.

Half an hour later, has back at 70, as normal.

"I'm so sorry, Tai. This always seems to happen. It's always ruined by something. Why is it always like this?" I see his frustration and anxiety.

"It isn't your fault. I'm not mad at you." I reassure him.

"What if he shot you? What if I hadn't gotten there?" He asks quietly but still frantically. 

"But you did. And it was okay. And it's over now. It'll be fine. We just need to forget about it. He wasn't gonna do anything. He's just an amateur thief who underestimated me." I blur all the thoughts out at once. Then there's instant silence. After almost an entire minute that feels like a century, Evan starts to laugh. It starts as a small chuckle under his breath, but soon gets louder and stronger. Until he's all-out cracking up.

"What?" I ask, laughing along, but definitely not as loudly. I wait for his response. He takes a minute to calm down before stating,

"He was pretty stupid for underestimating you." He smiles over at me, the fear and panic gone at last.

"You're right. He was." I proudly state. We both laugh a little. "See? It's fine. You're fine, I'm fine, we're fine. It'll be okay. Wer gonna call this a victory and go watch the Reds smoke the Indians and have an awesome day together." I announce with an assuring and confident tone.

"You're right. It was a very deserving victory. And what better way to celebrate than baseball?"

We both smile. Then he quietly says,

"I'm glad I met you." simply and truthfully.

"Why is that?" I try to avoid seriousness, because I always seem to get way to serious, way too fast.

"Well, just think about it. If I wasn't on this trip with you right now, where would I be? Who would I be seeing baseball with?" He light-heartedly points out.

"Very true. And who would I be flawlessly beating up burglars with? It just wouldn't be the same without you." I laugh a little but get slightly more serious with the last part of my response. He looks over. I look over. We share a long glance.

I never thought I could be so comfortable with someone I liked so much. It had only been a few weeks and it didn't want to go a day without talking to him.

Besides, who else would believe I beat up a stranger at a gas station in Ohio?