Easing The Pain

The Drive

I'm woken out of my sleep by being shaken lightly. I slowly blink my eyes open, rubbing them a bit until I can see clearly. Mildred comes into view, her body blocking my vision of anything else. Once she sees I'm awake she backs up about 3 feet from the bed. "Let's go" she orders and I internally roll my eyes.

I stand up and grab Coco, only now realizing she definitely saw her. I have no time to think about that though; so I shove her in my bag and slip on my shoes. I follow Mildred with quiet steps as we get closer and closer to the main entrance. When we arrive, I see Edmund waiting there.

He opens the door and we walk out; I notice Mildred doesn't acknowledge him at all. In fact, she tries to stay as far away from him as possible. Despite the reality that she has to pass him to get out the door. Once we're out, I take a deep breath of fresh air. The night/early morning oxygen feeling the purest to me.

"Morning" I whisper to Edmund, "morning" he nods. He takes a few long strides until he's standing next to Mildred. They proceed to have a hushed conversation and I distance myself so they can have more privacy. "Bye" he says shortly after, walking towards a car and getting in the passenger seat. I can't see who's driving it, nor do I particularly give a damn.

Mildred motions for me to quickly follow her and I do so without a word. We approach a mint green car and she opens the trunk for me to put my suitcase in. I grab Coco, since she's already seen her, and slip in the backseat. No words are exchanged between us; the only sound being the hum of the engine as she drives off.

I lay my jacket over my body and hold Coco close to my belly. I close my eyes, dozing off to the light melodies on the radio.

A few hours later...

"Alex. Wake up" I hear and my eyes flutter open to see Mildred ducked into the car. "Mm" I hum questioningly, "I'm getting gas. Do you have to use the restroom?" she asks and I shake my head turning on my side to face the seat. "Do you want anything out the store?" she asks to which I groan softly; she takes the cue and leaves me alone.

I turn to lay on my back as I finally come to terms with the fact that I'm out of that place. Will they come looking for me? Am I even that important? The real question is why Mildred even wanted to help me. I know she said she just wants me to be happy, but why? What's my happiness got to do with her?

The door shuts letting me know she's back in the car and I sit up. Putting on my seatbelt as she starts up the car. I stare out the window waiting for her to pull off but she never does. I turn to look at the back of her head and catch a glimpse of how she's gripping the steering wheel. I debate on whether to ask if she's ok but that feels stupid.

Of course she's not ok. She's stressed and probably scared, not to mention I'm not speaking to her at all. That seems to really affect her for some reason. "Can you please sit in the front seat?" she asks quietly and I undo my seatbelt and climb over. I click in my seatbelt again and sit there holding Coco tightly in my hands.

I turn to look at her and she looks at me and then down to my little monkey. "That's cute. What's it's name?" she asks with a small smile on her face. "Her name is Coco" I mumble, "she's adorable" she whispers. Smiling a bit bigger before facing forward and pulling out the parking lot.

I stare out the window as the landscape flys bye. Trees and endless fields, water stretched out past the horizon, steep mountainsides, and stretches of desert. We don't talk at all for the majority of the ride, she doesn't speak up and neither do I. Just as I'm dozing off, I feel her pulling over the car.

I open my eyes and see we're on the side of the road. "Is something wrong?" I ask tiredly as I turn to face her. She takes off her seatbelt and turns towards me. "Yes" she sighs, "is it the tire or-" "no" she interjects. I just stare at her confused and she takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry. Ok? I don't like it when you don't talk to me" she blurts out.

I just continue to stare at her blankly. My thoughts racing as I feel like she's not done. "I just—I've never done this before. I don't know why I care so much... but I do. I know it's hypocritical of me to ask you to talk to me when I've done the same thing you're doing now—reason aside. But if it—if it makes you feel like this... I'll never do it again" she rambles.

I look into her eyes to see her tearing up and I open my mouth but nothing comes out. I can see she's getting insecure and I know how the feels. To finally show your emotions and people not respond or make you feel weak. I take off my seatbelt and wrap my arms around her, not being able to voice it.

I can hear her breath shudder and I squeeze her a bit tighter. "Thank you" I whisper in her ear, "I know that was difficult" I add. She doesn't say anything in reply but she squeezes me showing her appreciation. I pull away and look at her face, tears rolling down her pink cheeks. I wipe them away and smile softly as she sniffles. You're so beautiful.

I lean back in my seat to put some distance between us and she composes herself. The rest of the ride is filled with random little conversations, mostly just learning things about each other. Mildred doesn't think she's interesting, but her life is actually quite fascinating to me. Soon though, I get sleepy and she places her jacket over me since hers is longer. I then slowly drift off to thoughts of my new home.