IGNITE | catch fire
𒐁 Ignite these bones of mine.
Strange things were known to happen in the sleepy town of Ambrose. Lost deep within the forest's belly, off the grid of Louisiana, cut away from the rest of the world, population unknown, the town w...
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ELOISE
I had grown a nasty habit of giving into life with little say. The world had taught me the skill, digging its fingers deep into my back until I refuse to speak up. Between existing and learning how to survive the nightmare that had become my reality, my tongue was caught between the nails of the devil, daring me to utter a word. The disappearance of Loren, the strain of my parents, the struggle of school, the absence of Nick Jones; I had learned to bite my flesh and continue on with what the world threw at me. I was tired of being silent.
The backseat of Wade's car was tight, and the excitement I once felt when agreeing to the trip was now paying for it, slowly fading away more quickly than it arrived. The Dodge Charger was small and following its size, the backseat did not leave much room for its occupants. Stuck in the middle seat, I was forced in between Nick and Dalton with little say; it was how it always was. I wished for a way out, an escape from the two door car, a flee to the road where I could find a bit of peace, but there wasn't a thing I could do, but sit still.
There was one piece of the ride that had held me together, and it was the rock songs that played within the car. A side of Wade and I's friendship was that we nearly had the same taste in music, something that had helped us bond over the years. Perhaps he had made the CD himself, or maybe it was a stroke of luck that the radio station was playing tunes I knew well. Whatever the case was, I was grateful for a sound I could drown out to. A song by Disturbed bounced against the sides of the car, but the vibration was nothing more than a soft rumble under the high speed Wade pushed the vehicle to go.
Knees curled up enough to touch my chest, I settled myself into the nook between the two boys. There would be an ache in the back of my legs to speak for my position, I would feel it in the early morning, I knew it. I leaned back a bit more, trying to release the tension built up in my neck, but each press of my back against the cushion of the seat sent the top of my head rubbing against the roof of the care. There were five seats, but reality played a part in the number of bodies the car could truly fit.
Perhaps it wasn't the tight fit that bothered me the most, it wasn't the hot air within the care, or the cramp caught in the back of my thigh; it was the boy to the left of me. No way out, the smallest between the three, I had been forced into the middle between Nick and Dalton, an unwilling way sat in the grip of my hands, but I had released the tension and went along with the act of sitting between them. Even with the idea of stomaching the drive heavy on my mind, there was no way out, not even if I tried.
A year sat between Nick and I, but even that gap wasn't enough to give us space to ourselves in the car. I was forced into sitting next to him, forced to feel his side pressed against mine, forced to catch the slump that captured his features with every turn of my head. He was there, he made his presence known, but I only pretended the man was someone else caught in skin I didn't know. The game of playing pretend only got me so far, though.
