Nicotine (Eremin)

Chapter 23

March

Armin's POV

It was still hard walking all day to get to an unknown destination for the night, but I felt like I had a new motivation. And I did.

There was someone I loved waiting for me across the continent.

My feet felt like they were one more step from falling off, and my stomach sounded like a fleet of angry whales, and I felt like I was about to puke my heart out, but I kept going.

Yesterday, I found a five dollar bill on the ground, and I was going to use it for a bus ride today; only one problem. I hadn't eaten in two days, and I still wanted to call Eren again. I had to use money wisely, and it was one of the hardest things I'd have to do.

Eren always did tell me to put my physical health first. I looked around for any close by restaurants, and the only one that I could see was a McDonald's.

Sure it's not great food, but if I had to choose between a crappy burger and dying of starvation, I'd pick the burger.

The fast food chain was crowded with people frustrated from driving; considering it was located off of a highway; but for me, driving would be a blessing.

I got a burger, a side of fries, and filled my bottle of water at the soda machine. It was hard to find open seating amongst the truckers, and middle class white families, so I sat next to a group of men. They seemed nice enough, so I started eating without saying a word.

The food was frankly disgusting, but to a guy who hadn't eaten for a few days, it was a gourmet meal. I shoved half of the burger into my mouth, and downed almost all of my water.

"You look like you've been through some tough shit, dude." said a voice to my right.

"Sorry?" I said, turning to see three bearded men looking me up and down.

"I've never seen a kid your size eat a burger in that short amount of time." said another one. The other two nodded in agreement.

"Oh, I didn't mean to- I'm just really hungry." I said, finishing off the last of the water.

"That's an understatement. When's the last time you ate?" said the third.

"A few days ago?" I said, avoiding their eyes.

"A few days ago!? You're still a kid. Where are your parents?" the second one exclaimed.

"They're... not with us anymore. My grandpa used to take care of me, but he's back in New York." The men's eyes widened.

"Jeez man, New York's a fair distance away. How'd you get here?" the third one asked.

"Well, I wonder that too, sometimes. Usually a combination of trains, buses, and walking." That really caught their attention.

"How in the name of hell did you manage that?" the first one finally spoke.

"A grandpa who didn't care, and a hell of a lot of determination." I said between bites of fries.

"Well, consider us your honorary grandpas. I'm Dave, and this is Henry and Ross." The third one said pointing to the other men in turn. They each reached out to shake my hand.

"Hi, I'm uh, Tony." I said, deciding to go back to using a fake name.

"Nice to meet you, Tony. Can we get you anything? Another burger? Some more water?" the one introduced as Ross said. I wanted to say that I couldn't ask these men to buy me food, but who was I kidding? I needed the energy.

"Another burger would be amazing. Thank you so much." Ross smiled, and left the other two to go get another burger for me.

"So, Tony, where you headed? 'Cause, if you're headed west, we could give you a ride for a while, you know." Dave said.

"Yeah, I'm going to California. Where are you guys headed, because I wouldn't want you to go out of your way for me." I said. Henry shook his head.

"We're headed to Utah. If you're going that way, you might as well stick with us." Henry said.

"A-are you sure? I wouldn't be able to chip in for gas money or anything. I'd probably just be a burden to you guys." I said, trying to politely deny their offer.

"It's no problem, kid. Honorary grandpas would do this kind of thing for their honorary grandkid." Dave said, as Ross returned with a second burger for me.

"You've only just met me. I really shouldn't, I'll be fine on my own-"

"Kid, you've been through your own battles, and frankly, I think we should make up for what you've been through. We're privileged guys, and the three of us are all about helping those who aren't as lucky as us. As soon as you're finished there, whatda ya' say we hit the road, Tony?" Henry said, hitting me gently on the shoulder.

"As long as it's okay with all of you, nothing would make me happier right now."