Leaving Arcadia Bay | A Rachel Amber Story

Chapter 9: Hospitality

Brody drove through the small town with Rachel still asleep beside him in the other seat. He pulled into a parking lot in front of a pharmacy. He backed into a parking space and turned off his car.

He reached over and nudged Rachel's shoulder. "Sam. We're here." He said.

Rachel lightly groaned as she woke up. She wished that her nap could have lasted a little longer. "I'll head inside and look for bandages. If you want, you can come with me." He said. "I think I'll stay here. Still feeling a little tired." Rachel told him. He nodded. "Okay. I'll be as quick as I can." Brody replied.

It probably wouldn't be ideal to walk around a populated store when Rachel was on the run. So she did her best to slouch into the seat and hope that no one would see her in the car.

Inside the pharmacy store, Brody looked around for bandages for Rachel's ankle. Some peroxide will probably be needed as well to clean the wound of any infectious germs. Bandages wouldn't help get any infections out if it's already infected.

Brody walked up and down the aisles until he found the peroxide. Now all he needed were the bandages. Thankfully, he found those as well and went up to the clerk. "Hey there." Brody greeted. "Hello. This all for today?" She asked. "Yep." Brody confirmed. As she scanned the products, she said "Can you believe what's happening with this Amber girl? It's crazy."

"Yeah, I've heard about the whole situation. It's horrible." He said. "It's quite sad too. I can't imagine what her family is going through right now." She said. "Yeeep... bad business." Brody said.

She finished scanning the bandages and peroxide and put them in a bag. "Have a good day." She said with a smile. Brody took the bag and waved at her as he left. He walked over to his car down the parking lot. And while not asleep, Rachel was leaned into the seat resting her eyes. Before stepping in, Brody looked at Rachel through the car window.

At some point, he would have to tell her that he knew that she wasn't Sam and that he knew who she was.

But that was a conversation for later. Right now, they had to fix up Rachel's ankle before it got any worse. He opened the door and got in. "Alright, I got your supplies, Sam." He said.

Rachel opened her eyes and smiled. Her ankle was killing her. She was happy that they could now attend to it. "Come around to the back and I'll work on your ankle." Brody said. "Do you even know how to do this?" Rachel questioned. Brody opened the door and started stepping out before looking back at her. "How hard can it be?" He said as he got out and closed the door.

"That's reassuring." Rachel muttered as she got out of the seat and climbed into the back. She scooted over to the trunk and Brody opened it. "Okay, let's see what we're working with." He said as he kneeled down. Rachel pulled her pant leg up, revealing the cut. "Yep, definitely looking a little irritated." He said. "We'll clean it out first. Then I'll wrap the bandage around your ankle." He said.

He poured the peroxide into a rag and was about to press it against Rachel's ankle before she said, "Ew, get that thing away from me!" "What??" Brody questioned. "I saw where you got that! It was just... sitting in here." Rachel said. "Oh come on, my car isn't that dirty." He replied. Rachel huffed. "Just... get it over with." She said.

Brody chuckled. "Okay, okay. Now hold on, this might-"

"Holy fucking fuck!!" Rachel said with a wince.

"Sting..." Brody added.

He gently applied the rag onto the cut, cleaning out the wound. Rachel hissed through her teeth as the cut stung from the product.

"Please hurry!" Rachel said. "I'm doing the best I can here, Sam." Brody said, amused.

After the wound was cleaned, Brody began wrapping the bandage around Rachel's ankle. "How you feeling?" He asked. "It still kinda hurts." Rachel told him. "It's just a scratch, it'll get better." He said. "Why do I get the feeling you haven't done this before?" Rachel said with an amused smirk. "Hey, I think I did an alright job here." He retorted. Rachel chuckled.

"There. All done." Brody said as he stood up.

Rachel looked at him. "Thank you, Brody. Seriously." She said. "Ah, don't worry about it kid." He said. "My parents were cynical wealthy people. And I don't want to become like them. Instead, I want to try to make the world a better place. And when I saw you, even though you were going through my shit-" Rachel chuckled lightly, seeing as Brody was making light of the situation. "I figured, what the hell? Why not help this poor girl in need?"

Rachel stepped out of the station wagon and looked at him. "I wish I had something I could repay you with." She said. "Like I said. Don't worry about it." He told her. Rachel nodded at him with a smile.

Brody let out a sigh, crossing his arms. "Listen, kid... Now that this is all over with, I should tell you that I... know who you are." He said. Rachel's smile disappeared. She started to suspect that maybe Brody was about to turn her in. She grabbed her wrist in her hand nervously. "I... You do?" She said. "Of course. It's all over the news. I'm an online journalist. I spend a lot of time on my laptop."

"You're Rachel Amber. The girl on the run."

Rachel didn't know what to say. She just lied to the one kind soul who went out of his way to help her when she needed it. She felt bad. "I'm... sorry Brody." She said, refusing to meet his eyes.

It was silent for a few moments before Brody spoke.

"If it makes you feel better about it, Rachel, I get why you didn't tell me who you are." Rachel looked at him. "You were scared. You were hurt, you needed the help. Why tell someone who's offering you help your identity when you're the worlds most famous person right now?"

Rachel cracked a smile. "Yeah, 'cause that makes me feel better." She said. "I'm just ribbing ya." Brody replied with a chuckle. "Point is, I get it." He said. "One question though." "Shoot." Rachel said. "Why the name Sam?" Brody asked.

Rachel gazed at the ground, a small smile forming on her face. "She's... an old friend." Rachel said.

Brody nodded understandingly.

"I may have no clue what your plan is, or where you're going. But, you seem like a good kid." Brody said. "Perhaps, maybe a little bit crazy." He said. Rachel let out an amused chuckle. "But good. I... definitely hope you find whatever it is you're looking for." He said. Rachel nodded. "Thank you, Brody." She said. He smiled, nodding at her.

A few moments of silence passed before Brody said, "Well. Guess this is where we go our separate ways." He said. Rachel nodded. "Yeah. I guess so." She said.

As Brody walked over to the door, Rachel called out, "Brody. Thanks again. So much." She said. Brody smiled at her over his shoulder, giving her a wink. "You're welcome, Rachel. And good luck." He said.

Rachel watched as he backed out of the parking space and drove off.

"Farewell, Brody." Rachel said.