Getting Closer

Prologue - Charlie

Living in a small town has its perks but also it has its cons. It's great having more freedom instead of the claustrophobic streets of large cities but then again there's not much going on. There's not a lot going on around here so people have to get creative spending their time. But for me the routine is pretty average. I mean I do have a social life, but my life is mostly run by my father's shop on the edge of the dainty downtown.

After dropping off my friend at his house, I go downtown to see if I can pick up some lunch for myself and my dad. When I get onto the main street, I slam on the brakes as someone runs in front of my car. Her hands slam on the roof of the car and she stares at me as I stare back in shock. We're in this position for several moments until she runs off the road. My eyes follow this mysterious girl as I notice her clothes torn. I decide to think of this as strange and continue my day until a guy around the same age tries to chase her down. He continues running after her.

Instead of getting lunch, I turn on the next street to see if I can help the two in any way. Once I turn I can see that the guy has caught up to her and has her by the wrist. He seems to be screaming at her while she struggles to get away from his grip. I immediately park, get out of my truck and run up to them. "Uhh..." I clumsily start. "Is something wrong here?"

The two quickly turn their attention to me and the girl seems relieved. "Nothing's wrong," the guy quickly says. "I got this handled." The girl looks to me for some kind of help and for a moment, I'm flustered.

"No offense, but I think that something is wrong," I stumble. I turn my attention to the girl. "Are you okay?"

"Hey," he yells. "I said I got this."

"Don't leave me with him! Please!"

My hands start to shake. I'm so confused and stunned at these events that I don't do anything for a bit until the guy starts pulling the girl away from me. "Do I have to call the cops?" I yell to the girl. He keeps dragging her away so I yell, "Hey! Let her go!"

"Get the fuck outta here," he says by turning his attention to me. "It's not your problem."

"Come on, just let her go."

"I said get the fuck away from me."

"Michael!" the girl screams. "Just stop it!" She suddenly hits him in the face and as the guy reaches up to touch the bruise already on the side of his head, she takes the opportunity to race up to me. "Please take me out of here." I have just enough time to shockingly nod and start walking to my truck before the guy yells at us.

"Get back here!" the guy screams at the top of his lungs to the girl who is already opening up the passenger side door.

I turn back to the guy and put my hands up in the air. "I don't want any trouble." The guy spits at me and comes towards me. "I see things are heated, so I'm just gonna drive her home so then things will cool off, alright?" I quickly add before he attacks me. My heart races as he stops and doesn't say anything for a while. "If you think I'm gonna harm her in any way, take my license plate number and report me but I just want everyone here to step back for a moment." The guy doesn't say anything so I take that as a yes.

When I get back into the truck, I almost forgot that the girl was in here as well. I take off and after five minutes, I stutter when I ask, "Where do you live?" She looks at me and won't stop so I pretend like I don't see her doing it.

I pass an old church and after that there's a playground. The girl quickly says, "I live off of 10th Street." I'm confused for two reasons, one: because I don't know which direction she's talking about and two: because she doesn't give me anything else. I finally turn to her once we're at a stop sign and she's staring at the dash of my truck. After a moment of me not driving, she turns to me. "What?"

"North? South?" I give her a minute before she finally says north. I nod and take off in silence as I drive north. So many questions run through my head but I keep my mouth shut. I keep reminding myself that it's none of my business.

In the corner of my eye I see the girl look down at her torn dress and huff. "That fucker," she says, mostly to herself. "You know I don't even like the dress but Michael got it for me, so I had to wear it." Her tone throws me off for a second; why would anyone force someone to wear something they hated? "Well, that just saved me ten minutes."

"Saved?" I inject. She turns to me as if she forgot I was here but eventually nods.

"I was going to burn the dress later this week." I chuckle as I continue driving this random girl. "You can turn down here," she says after a couple minutes of driving. I turn into a suburb area where the lawns are all tailored and lush and the houses hold three but are made for twenty. "I see the judgment in your eyes and I'm a little offended," she laughs then she points out a house at the end of the block. The house is magnificent and pure and way too much money.

We sit there for a bit not moving or saying anything and then she turns to me. "Thank you for helping me out. I know it's stereotypical that the guy saves the girl but I do appreciate it." She gets out but waits by the truck.

I roll down the window and say, "Uhh... yeah, no problem."

She leans in and smiles. "Seriously, thank you." An idea pops into her head as she holds up a finger and picks something out of her bra. She then gives me 2 dollars. "That's for your troubles." This girl comes more into the truck just to pat me on the shoulder. "Have a good day," she says then exits. As I watch her go to the house, I wonder if she's the most interesting person I have ever met, because I'm certain that there's no one like her.