Lethal Weapons

Chapter 5

“Ssso… what time are we supposed to get into Asheville?” Jen asks. Ginger and Sean laugh. I look at Claudia and smile, thinking the same thing.

“Jen, we've been on the road a minute.” Sean says.

“Yea, I know, but I want to know how many mooore minutes it's going to take.” She says exasperated.

“You should know how long it takes to get to Asheville. Don’t you go into Ashville sometimes?” Claudia asks.

“I don’t get out much.” Jen sighs and looks down at her phone. Sean turns around in his seat with a shocked expression. He gasps, grabbing her attention.

“No. You don’t say?” Sean jokes. Jen rolls her eyes and then throws her travel pillow at him. Sean smiles widely as he dodges the fluffy yellow thing.

“Inside voices, guys. I'm trying to concentrate.” Ginger says bent over the steering wheel.

“Wow, what's with the sudden seriousness, Ginger?” Claudia asks looking up from the VOGUE magazine Jen brought for her.

“I am okay driving around Marshall, but going onto the interstate and further makes me a little nervous. So if you please, no horseplay in the van. I would appreciate the twenty five minute drive into Asheville to be peaceful.”

Jen gasps and clutches the arms of her seat. “So it's about a thirty minute drive!” We all laugh at Jen. “Well I'm sorry my family likes staying in Marshall. I just don’t go into Asheville that much.”

“It's fine, Jen, really.” Sean says as he turns back around properly in his chair.

Around twenty minutes later, we stop at a Waffle House for base. We figured that before we go into the hills for camping that the Waffle House would be the perfect place to sleep. We could use the bathrooms for the sink and toilets, of course, and then use our money to bribe them for food.

Claudia, Jen and I were overruled by the guys saying they wanted to eat first, so we sat down for lunch at our fine dining ‘hotel’. After we ate, Claudia said that we should walk around town. Window shop maybe, but that didn’t win the guys over. We ended up just driving around to find a good park for camping.

That night, after feeling better about knowing where we were going to be camping, we went inside Waffle House to brush our teeth and other little things. I was one of the first to be done, so I sat in one of the booths waiting for the others. I turn my head to look out the window. In the background I hear the TV.

Fox News, how boring! But as I listen to it, it starts to grab my attention. Something about the Russians and Chinese not responding yet to a new, what, ‘understanding’ of our ‘friendship’? I can't tell exactly what's going on since I didn’t catch it from the beginning, but it kind of doesn’t sound good.

“Hey.” I hear behind me. I jump, not expecting him.

“You scared me!” I say. Link scoots into the booth to sit next to me as he says he was very, very sorry. The bathroom door opens again and Sean walks out but stops abruptly when he sees us together. “Hey, Sean.” I say to him. He awkwardly looks from me to Link.

“Hi.” Sean looks away from us and walks to the cars outside.

“What's wrong, I wonder?” Link asks. I shake my head as I watch Sean out the window.

“I have no idea. I think I need to go talk to him. Do you mind?”

“I don’t mind at all. I hope everything is ok.”

“I'll just be a moment, but everyone will probably be coming out anyways, so I'll say goodnight out there.”

Link gets up to let me out and I pass Jennifer as I walk to the door to go outside. When I reach the van and truck parked side by side, I see Sean setting up his sleeping bad in the back of the truck. He knows I'm here, but he acts like he doesn’t see me.

“What's up, Sean?” I ask. Sean glances up to see me.

“Nothing. Why?”

“You are acting funny lately. I just wanted to be sure everything was cool.”

“Yea, why shouldn’t it?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I'm asking.” I say irritated. I lay a hand on my hip, annoyed that he has a wall up. “You can tell me anything.”

Sean sighs and slumps down. “No judging?” He asks.

“Cross my heart, no judging.”

“Well, I sort of have a bad feeling about this trip. For some reason I feel like we all need to be home.”

“Mh, I wonder why? Do you think God is telling you something?” I ask.

Sean is my prayer buddy at Youth Group on Wednesday night church. I'm used to strange things like this, and since we're friends at school and we get to hang out a lot, we understand each other well.

“I don’t know. Ever since Link asked you out on Friday I’ve had a strange feeling.”

My eyebrows go up. “Oh.” I drag out the ‘h’. “You don’t think it has anything to do with me and Link together, do you?”

“No, never! I'm totally fine with you two together, I don’t know. I guess I'm just missing having you to myself.”

My mouth drops. What did he say?

“Wait, that’s not the way I meant for it to come out. What I meant was that-”

“When was I yours?” I ask puzzled.

Sean groans and says, “Riley that’s not what I meant at all. I meant I'm going to miss talking to you.”

I stare at him with a blank face, or at least the blankest face I can have. I try not to burst out laughing. “You mean, this right here isn't just me and you talking?”

“No, no, it is. I meant- never mind.”

“No, what did you mean?”

“All I meant, Riley, was that I was going to have to share your talk time with Link who will be talking to you a lot.”

I let out a tiny chortle. “Our talk time, Sean, will never end because of Link. If you need to talk, I am here for you. Remember that. You're like the brother I never had. You are my prayer partner, Sean.”

“Yea…”

“And Sean,” I say leaning forward. He looks me right in the eyes. “I won't stop praying for you.”