Don't Stand By Me (COMPLETE)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

KIARA

August 6th: 10:10

Our journey so far had been entirely silent. But for the first time in this entire clusterfuck of a trip, it wasn't from animosity. Brent had slept the entirety of the day before, sprawled across the backseat, only grunting at me to swap, where I slept uncomfortably, curled up into a ball and resisting the urge to vomit at the stench. Despite all the windows being open, the wind whipping through seemed to only spread the corpse smell through the car. The heat certainly wasn't helping, wafting the smell through my nostrils unpleasantly, even when I stuck my head out the window like a dog.

"Whaz going on?" Brent bolted upright in the back seat as I thumped over a pothole, glancing around wildly.

"Pothole." I shrugged, "We're only about two hours from town, we'll have to hide out until nightfall...too risky to go during the day, it'll be flooded with tourists."

"Cool." He yawned, stretching and scratching his chin, "We should get pancakes."

"I would love some pancakes right now." I groaned, feeling an ache in my stomach, "I feel like I haven't eaten in days."

"I can't wait for this to be over." He sighed, "Worst week of my life."

"Where are you gonna go?"

Brent fell silent and I figured he had woken up fully enough to realise it was in fact me he was talking to, but after glancing in the rearview mirror and seeing the thoughtful look on his face, I gave him a few moments to collect his thoughts.

"I'd love to travel. This is the first time I've ever really left New York and while it's been hell...the sights have been something else."

"Is that why you insisted on driving so much?"

"That and it gave me some distance."

"Do you think we could have ever been friends?" I asked suddenly, the pit in my stomach no longer feeling like hunger, "Did we ever stand a chance?"

"I think so." He said quietly, head bowed, "But at the same time there was too much between us to ever really be friends-Not that way!" He snapped when he noticed the disgusted look on my face, "I just mean that...the animosity between us since day one ruined any friendship before it could even begin."

"I get that but...despite everything, I think you understand me better than anyone else here does."

"Saddest thing is I feel the same."

That statement gave me pause. The fact that I knew next to nothing about Brent and I was still the person who knew the most about him caused a small ache to form in my chest. This stupid, insufferable arrogant man, who was surprisingly deep and perceptive had literally no one in the world anymore that knew him. He was trapped with people he considered literal strangers on a chase to stop him from ruining his entire life. That thought alone made tears prick behind my eyes.

"I want to say that I misjudged you." He continued, "But I don't think that I have. I thought you were impulsive, rude, arrogant and somewhat cruel."

I bristled, gripping the wheel tightly but keeping silent.

"And I was right, you are those things. But they're not necessarily negative traits. Your impulsivity has saved us on multiple occasions, your rudeness is usually in defence of someone else, your arrogance is probably the reason you've been able to concoct these hairbrained schemes and your cruelty has kept us alive."

"Interesting take on making me not sound like a psychopath."

"I'm not saying you're not a psychopath. I'm just saying that maybe I respect you a lot more than I've let on."