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Taylor’s pov
We decided it would be easier to take it slow going down the rest of the mountain until we had service to call someone about the tire.
So that’s what we did.  All five of us managed to stay quiet the entire way, listening for the hissing noise of the tire.  

Sam pulled out onto the main road, almost immediately pulling off to the side so Colby could check the tires.  He took the camera with him, and Corey rolled down the window to hear what Colby was saying. 

“Oh fuck,” He didn’t even need to feel for the tire pressure, that’s how flat the tire was.

“Is it bad?” Sam called out, opening his door while listening for Colby to answer.

“Yeah, it’s pretty bad,” Within moments of Colby’s response, Sam was out of the car to help him out.
I leaned forward, trying to hear the two boys’ conversation better. “Uh, Colby, this one’s bad too. We got a second flat,”

“Oh shit,” Jake muttered, getting out of the backseat and going over to the driver-side tire where the others were crowding around it.

I looked over at Corey, unsure whether to join the others or not.  “This isn’t good,” I said, not knowing how else to describe the situation.

“We’ll figure it out,” He patted my shoulder reassuringly, giving me a smile that would have calmed me down if I was upset.  That’s what I appreciated about Corey, and he seemed to know that though we’ve never shared more than a couple polite words or an occasional conversation when no one was around.

All the boys came back to the car after a couple seconds, everyone climbing in except for Colby, “I’m gonna call a towing company or something,” He opened the door, grabbed his phone, shutting the door behind himself and walked over by the road once more, bringing the phone to his ear.

“We heard footsteps, the door opening, car doors open, and now our tires popped?” Jake questioned, counting everything on his fingers.  Sam held the camera to get the four of us in the frame as we talked.

“Yeah,” Sam agreed, looking down at the center console in a sad manner.
“The day we’re planning to leave?” Jake continued.

“It’s like something doesn’t want us to leave,” I said quietly, glancing out the window to where Colby was pacing, on the phone with hopefully someone to help us.

“We’ll be back.  Or at least I will. One day,” Corey promised, looking back at the mountains we were just getting over.

“That’s what everyone was saying! That we weren’t going to want to leave!” Jake exclaimed, throwing his hands up as best he could in the car.

“So basically what Taylor said.  Is something trying to keep us here?” Sam asked, seeming to follow my eyes to Colby.

“Who knows,” Jake shrugged, looking out his window.

The car fell into an odd silence, neither awkward nor comfortable.  We were all lost in our own thoughts, thinking about who knows what.  

My mind once again drifted off to my family.  I really missed them, and the last time I went out to visit was Easter.  Usually I was better about flying home for a week or so, sometimes even just a weekend, but between losing my best friend and working it’s been rough on me.
Even though he died over a year ago and I now work half time.  I wondered whether my income off of having a dead Tiktok and an Instagram that has plenty of followers thanks to Alex would be enough to pay rent. 

Honestly, it probably would be.  It would be cool to start a Youtube channel so my family can see what I’m up to in LA.

I would have to talk to Alex about it when we got back.  And talk to her about visiting my family.