Fast Cars and Freedom

Chapter 12- Don't Be Cruel

Fast Cars and Freedom

Chapter Twelve: Don't Be Cruel

It was a sunny Friday afternoon in Tulsa and just about the hottest day we'd had all year. The DX station had one fan and it was located on the cashier counter- my desk.

Steve and Soda were perched on top of the counter while I was restocking some shelves. The boys had gotten the fan to rotate so it would hit both of them with blasts of cool air every few seconds.

Soda sighed as the cool air hit his face, "Babe, you really gotta try this."

I glanced over at his smiling face. "Sorry, some of us actually have work to do." I said teasingly. He placed a hand over his chest in mock hurt and I giggled.

Steve looked between the two of us and wrinkled his nose, "Ew. Let's keep the lovey stuff to ourselves please."

"Why, Stevie? Afraid that you're the only the person that'll ever love you?" Soda said, earning himself a punch on the shoulder.

I laughed, "Speaking of 'ew', Steve would you please put your shirt back on?"

Steve wiggled his eyebrows at me, "Why? Do you find this... distracting?" He roared in laughter at his own remark.

Soda pushed him off the counter jokingly and walked over to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. He gave me a quick kiss, but I pulled him closer for more while Steve groaned.

We pulled apart when the bell above the door rang, signaling a customer. It was a really pretty girl about our age who walked up to the counter. Steve had gone out back already to work on some cars, so I went to go help her but Soda beat me to it.

"Don't worry, I got it." He said with a smile. I shrugged and went outside to fill up the tank on her car, which was a stunning white T-bird with beige interior.

I admired the vehicle until the gas tank was full, but the girl still had not come back out yet. I stood around for a minute or so before deciding to go back inside to tell the girl her car was done and to escape from the horrible heat outside.

I strolled through the door only to stop in my tracks at the sight that greeted me. Sodapop was leaning against the counter right up close to the pretty girl from earlier. She was pressed against him and appeared to be whispering something in his ear, her lips dangerously close to his mouth, while she had one hand settled on his chest and another resting on his muscled arm.

At first I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It can't really be what I'm thinking, can it? It's probably a misunderstanding or something. It must be.

Only when her lips nearly brushed against his did I let a little noise of shock and hurt escape my throat. Then, anger coursed through me. What the hell?! At least Soda had the decency to take a step back when he finally noticed me standing frozen near the doorway. He opened and closed his mouth several times, resembling a fish out of water.

"Hey, Em, uh-" He stopped speaking mid-sentence.

His feet stepped towards me, but I stepped back. My mind was reeling.

"It's really not what it looks-"

"Um, I think I'm gonna take the rest of the day off." I stood there for a second longer before turning on my feet and briskly making my way out of the shop.

"Hey, wait, Em!" Soda called out as I left, but I was already quickly making my way down the sidewalk, intent on putting distance between me and the boy I cared so much for.

I ran as fast as I could for several blocks until I had to pause, panting for breath. I looked around and noticed that somehow I had ended up all the way at the lot. I found a tattered old couch and sunk down to the ground behind it.

At this point, my only comprehensible thought was 'Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!' I slowed my breathing, trying desperately to calm down. I had to be rational.

That's when the tears came. They dropped and dropped from my eyes and didn't stop. I was so stupid. I really thought Soda and I could be perfect. I really thought that I could have the boy and everything would work out. I should've known.

I thought about Soda and the girl at the station. An image of her lips barely brushing his flashed across my mind and I grimaced. This sucks! I then thought about what Soda had said. What could he mean by saying that it wasn't what it looked like? I know what I saw. They weren't even really kissing or anything, but she was all over him and he surely wasn't trying to stop it.

Oh, I don't know what to think. Do I trust him? It was pretty obvious that he was not behaving the way a boyfriend ought to. I can't for the life of me think of any situation that would explain the way he acted.

But, Soda was my best friend. I hadn't ever known any other best friend but him. Who would I hang out with? What would I do with my life?

It was all too much to think of. So, I just stuck to crying. Somehow, at the moment it seemed that crying sounded like the most satisfying option. This would be the first of many times over the weekend that I would burst into tears.

So that's what I did. I cried. I cried for the first time in a long while.