Rebellion: My story of the Wild Ones.

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

I woke up to the sun rising on the horizon, with empty pastures on either side of the highway. Ashley was sipping on a Monster energy drink, and when I sat up, he set it in the cup holder.

“Good morning sunshine!” He said, enthusiasm in his voice.

“Morning, Ashley.” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. I looked at the clock on the dash; it was eight in the morning. I had only slept for about four hours.

He motioned to the back seat. “There’s some cokes and Monsters back there, and some peanut butter crackers too, if you’re hungry. It’s all the gas station sold, otherwise I would have gotten a hell of a lot more.”

I turned around and grabbed a coke out of the paper bag in the back seat, and a package of crackers. “We stopped?” I asked, turning back around and opening my coke. The crack from the carbonation cut the silence after my voice.

“Yeah. Andy’s Audi was almost out of gas, and since we’re in the middle of nowhere, we figured we should stop. Krista and I both topped off, so we’re all full and ready to go.”

I nodded, shoving a whole cracker in my mouth. The artificial peanut butter and the crunchy cracker soothed my ridiculously hungry stomach. “Where are we?” I asked, finishing the cracker.

“Somewhere in rural central Texas. We went through Austin at about five, so that should kind of tell you where we are.” He answered. He glanced down at my right hand. I realized I left my promise ring on. I hadn’t meant to leave it on. I had slipped it on while I was packing, just so I could wear it one last time. I was surprised Krista hadn’t noticed it.

God, I felt so bad about not telling her so much about me and Vic. She didn’t know about the ring, or anything really. We had kissed, unlike what Krista thought. I hated lying to her, but there was still so much more I hadn’t told her.

“So, Vic?” Ashley asked, almost hesitantly.

I sighed. I looked down at the little silver ring, the bright green emerald reminding me of Vic’s eyes. “Yeah. Vic.”

“You kept talking about him last night. You said his name for almost an hour straight, you kept telling him not to worry about you, that you were okay. You also said, and I quote, ‘He’s so amazing. I know you were afraid for me, but Vic, no one could replace you.’ You apologized over and over, too.”

I must have been talking in my sleep again. I couldn’t remember much about my dreams, but I remembered it was Vic and I, alone. He was holding me, telling me about how worried he had been. I had also seen Ashley, waiting in the shadows. “He… he means the world to me Ash.”

Ashley nodded. “Krista doesn’t know about the ring, or anything, does she?”

I slowly shook my head, shameful. “No.” I whispered.

“You should tell her, or you’ll hate yourself forever.”

“I know… ever since her mom cheated, she’s disapproved of love altogether. I know, deep inside, she’s so alone. I knew my relationship with Vic would hurt her, so I just hid everything. I don’t want to hurt her.”

“She is your best friend, she’ll understand.”

I was silent.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“It’s okay.”

Ashley looked hurt. “I really shouldn’t have said anything.”

“It’s okay. Just please don’t tell Krista, okay? I’ll tell her soon.”

Ashley nodded, taking another sip of his Monster. To comfort the awkward silence, I turned on the radio. One of my favorite songs came up, making me tear up.

Ashley knew what song it was. “Do you want me to change it?”

“No, it makes me think of my daddy.” I knew I was probably gonna cry, but hell, it would be worth it. It was the first time I had called my father daddy since his death when I was ten. I Drive Your Truck by Lee Brice continued to play.

“And Mama asked me this morning/ If I’d been by your grave/ But that flag and stone ain’t where I feel you anyway/I drive your truck/I roll every window down/ and I burn up/ every back road in this town/ I find a field and tear it up/ till’ all this pain’s a cloud of dust…”  I sang with the radio, and Ashley joined in. My eyes immediately ran over with tears.

I continued to cry my silent tears even as the song ended. Ashley pulled out a pack of travel tissues and handed them to me. Thankful that I wasn’t wearing makeup, I wiped my eyes. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, getting comfortable. Ashley’s overly large shirt encased me.

“You miss him, don’t you?”

I could feel the tears coming on again. “Yeah. When I was little, my mom worked a lot when Dad wasn’t home, so I stayed with my various aunts and uncles a lot. But when Dad was home, he spoiled me. I was his only kid, and he made sure I knew he loved me.

Then, one day after school, when I was ten, Mom was home for once. I was doing my homework at the kitchen table, struggling with my multiplication, like always. The doorbell rang and Mom went to get it. She opened the door, and I heard her gasp. There was some muffled words, and a very clear, ‘I’m so sorry.’ I just continued to work, thinking nothing about it. The door clicked shut, and Mom came into the kitchen with a triangle-shaped box, a smaller square box, and a couple pieces of paper.

‘What’s wrong Momma?’ I remember asking, seeing the tears pour down her face. She sat down at the table, setting the triangle box in front of me. Inside was an American flag, the new, pristine blue stiches and one white embroidered star looked up at me. On a gold plaque on the mahogany frame were the words This flag of our nation is in the memory of Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Jasper S. Ryan.

 ‘In memory of?’ I remember asking.

My Mom took my hand. ‘Alice, Daddy’s not going to come home this time.’ ‘Like they extended his trip, like last time?’ I asked, my ten year old innocence coming through.

‘No, Alice. He’s never coming home. Daddy’s dead, sweetie. He wants you to know he loves you, and when you go to heaven you’ll see him again.’ My mother pulled me into a hug, and I felt the sobs rack her small frame. My small ten year old body went numb. Dead? No, Daddy can’t die, he can’t. He’s too big and too strong to die. I thought. Ever since then, that flag has sat on our mantle.”

Ashley looked stunned. “Wow. I’m… I’m sorry Alice.”

The tears spilled over one more time. I wiped them off and continued. “I miss him so much. I remember the last thing he told me before he got on the plane to leave the last time. ‘Alice, no matter what, do not let them control you.’ At the time, I was confused as to what he meant. But after his death, I realized he meant not to be the same. He meant to not follow the stupid rules, and ever since then, I haven’t. The school doesn’t allow multicolored hair, that’s why I dye black streaks in it.”

Ashley nodded. “He meant to be a rebel… and that’s why you came with us?”

I smiled and nodded.“Yep. I’m doing this for my Dad. He might have fought for a corrupted government unknowingly, but I’m going to continue to fight for his purpose. To protect our freedom.”