Forlot: The Car on the Side of the Road - Book Forty-Two

Chapter Nine

I threw back my head. "Ugh." Hoping that this was not Rick and his idiotic friends, I slowly turned my head. A car with its windows down had parked right in front of my house. I let the doorknob go and spun back around on my heels. Maybe the SUV was not his parents'. Just maybe...other townsfolk were occupying it. It would be a miracle. People do drive identical vehicles.

My hope faded when I recognized the teenagers poking their heads and waving their arms out all the windows. Their yells told me that they were not waving hello, for they were busy partying and being high on...you know. Not apple juice or other drinks that never make you do stupid things. I regretted agreeing to come along.

Why did I agree? Why did I take Rick back yet again? I deserve it. I deserve to suffer for not using the mystical word. No. I should have stood up for myself.

Rick was in the driver's seat. He leaned towards Orion, who was in the passenger seat and chugging down that illegal substance in Forlot. How did they get their dirty hands on it? I did not want to be near it, let alone taste it.

Rick placed a hand next to his mouth. "Hey, Ella! Your chariot awaits!" He motioned with his head to the SUV and smiled. A smile that disgusted me. "Come on!"

"I should have been quicker," I hissed under my breath as I grabbed a chunk of my hair and flung it away from my face. I wanted to stick out my tongue at them, but I did not want to get on their bad sides. Not while they - except Rick - had fuzzy minds. I put on my bag so Rick or any of his friends could not steal it from me. "Um..." I lie only in perilous situations. Rick and his crew were dangerous - right? "...sorry, Rick. I cannot go. I cannot join you guys on the trip."

His smile dropped. He opened his mouth to speak.

Orion put his glass bottle in a cupholder and faced me. His eyelids were drooping. He hiccuped. "Oh, why not, Ella? Are we not good enough for you anymore?"

I wanted to say yes and make a smart remark so badly, but I really did not want to waste more time with these geezers. I wanted nothing more to do with them. It was the perfect time to cut them out of my life. To stand up for myself.

Do it. You can do it. Do not dig deeper into your grave.

"My dad came out two minutes ago to let me know that I cannot go."

"Why not?" Rick asked. He flung open his car door and hopped out. He stormed around the car.

Get in the house.

"W-what are you doing, Rick?"

"I would like to talk with you - and possibly your father - in private."

"Crub," I hissed. I spun back to the front door. Because my hands were sweating - because I feared for my life - I had a problem grasping the knob. I got a good hold of it on the third try and slammed my body into the door. I bolted inside and was shutting the door. I gasped and almost let said door go. Rick's arm was caught between the door and the doorway. His fingers wiggled.

"Ow!" he cried out.

In a shaky voice, I asked, "Are you okay?"

Why did I ask that? Rick does not love me. He does not care about me. Why should I care about him? Him and his friends?

"Yeah. I will be more okay once you and I chat."

I could not open the door. The moment that I did, Rick would slip inside and pin me to the wall. No. He would not pin me to the wall. But he would demand answers - that I could not give because I was fibbing just to avoid a disastrous trip waiting to happen. I agreed to go. And I agreed to give him another chance. One last chance. I could have ended it between us right then and there so I would not have gotten tangled up in this mess.

Time to end this, Ella. Tell him that you must stay. You want to stay. If he truly loves you, he will let you go. He will accept the breakup and stop fighting for somebody whom he has no interest in. He will put you in the back of his mind as he and his loser pals ride into the sunset - if the sun were not blocked by the purple sky.

For a quiet girl, I have a talkative mind. If only I would be as brave as my thoughts.

I huffed and frowned. "Rick. Pull your arm out." I tried not looking at him. "Please."

"You will shut the door if I do."

"I will turn your arm into mush if you do not move it."

His voice turned cold. "You will not do so, Ella. You do not have the guts."

That did it. That made me lose it. I pushed out his arm. "Leave!" I shut the door. "You and your friends need to leave...or I am calling the police! I will notify them that you are trespassing!"

"Ella..."

My face was hot. I grabbed my phone. "Go away! Leave me alone! I do not want you here!"

Suddenly, we heard a noise that echoed throughout my neighborhood. A noise that we will never forget. I hear it in my head sometimes.

"What was that?!" I demanded. I had a horrible feeling what it was.

The shouts and waves stopped.

Rick faced the car. "Guys?"

I breathed hard as I opened the door a crack.

Rick raced back to the car. "Guys? Guys!"

"Rick!"

A scream came from the car.

Both back doors opened. Rick's friends scrambled out.

"Rick!" Petra cried. "Orion was shot! He is dead!"