Stay in your Lane (On Hold)

Chapter Four ~ County Road

Chapter Four

I fishtailed out of Daddy's driveway and onto County Road. Not a minute later, Travis whipped out behind me.

"Shit." My heart thundered. Smile stretched. There was something about Travis. Anytime I got around him, things went wrong. But every second leading up to disaster was exhilarating. Perhaps that was his charm, and the reason why I could never hate him very long.

I laid the hammer down on the gas pedal, but old Rusty's engine wasn't built for speed. Travis was really chasing me. What was he, five?

I glanced in the rearview and squealed. He was on my ass. His eyes met mine in the reflection. His smile stretched. He hit his horn. Awooga!

He had to be fucking kidding me. I laughed, a manic sound. He was going to catch me.

"Shit." I scanned the distance, expecting a new path to magically appear. But County Road stretched on for miles, an empty highway with nothing but ditches and pastures on either side. How could I lose him on a straight line?

He tried to pass me, and I veered left and right to stop him. If he made it ahead, he'd cut me off. His big, fancy truck would blow my doors off. My only chance at not having to face him was to keep him behind me.

Awooga!

I jolted at the sound. Had he added that shit himself? Who actually had a horn like that? Oh, right, Travis had a horn like that. Of course he did. An annoying ass horn for an annoying ass man.

Travis faked left, then whipped to the right and gunned the truck forward.

"No, no, no!"

His tailpipes roared as he barreled past me. His truck was massive, dwarfing my used junker. I hadn't stood a chance. He got in front of me and picked up speed. He had a bumper sticker that read "Bowlers do it with one ball!"

If he didn't stay out of my way, I was going to make that a reality for him.

As if hearing my threat, Travis whipped the truck to a stop, blocking the road ahead.

I hit my brakes, gripped the wheel, and stared ahead like Thelma at the Grand Canyon. It was a great movie, but not something I'd like to play out in real life. That was Travis, though: a cliff's edge, and I'd always been one step away from falling.

His door swung open, and he stepped out of the cab. The mud had started to dry, making him look like he'd just clawed his way out of a grave and was happy as hell to be alive. "That wasn't very nice, Ashley!" he boomed.

"Sorry! Tires slipped!" I popped the gear into reverse and bit back a grin. My stomach was doing cartwheels. Each breath tickled my lungs. I had it bad, and I didn't want it.

His smile appeared even whiter amidst the mud on his face. "Oh this?" He pointed to said mud. "I wasn't talking about that. It's been years, Ash. How you gonna just take off without so much as a hug." He spread his arms wide. His filthy arms.

I was already on Mama's shit list; if he smeared dirt all over this dress, I'd be dead to her.

I pressed the gas and backed away. If I got enough distance, I could turn around. Go back to Daddy's. Bar the door. I'd have to kick Daddy out too so he couldn't let him in. They could talk bowling while I ate up all those groceries I regretted buying.

"Ashley!"

The truck came to a bone-jarring halt. My body slammed back against the seat, then lurched forward. I released the wheel, blinked several times, my brain fighting to process what in the hell had just happened. My front end was slightly elevated, and it didn't take long to realize I'd backed my poor truck right into the ditch.