Warner Park

✨ Chapter Four | The Park

— Andrew —

Vince picked me up right on time for our run. Honestly, I almost didn't expect him to show.

I still couldn't wrap my head around why he offered to do this. I didn't even know how far away he lived or what the drive to my place was like for him. He hadn't mentioned it. I hoped it wasn't ridiculously far.

The whole thing felt surreal. Vince seemed like someone with a packed schedule and no shortage of people vying for his time. Why act like I was someone important? Sure, we got along, and we had a lot in common, but it didn't add up.

And then I heard it... the low growl of a car engine echoing through the early morning quiet. It came before the sight of him, rounding the corner in a shiny black 911 Porsche that practically glowed under the dim streetlights.

My stomach flipped. Was this guy serious?

The car pulled up to the curb, a sleek vision of wealth and power that had no business on my pothole-filled street. Vince rolled down the passenger window, and the doors unlocked with a soft click.

I let out a breath of disbelief, a laugh bubbling out as I reached for the door handle. When my fingers wrapped around it, it hit me that I was touching the most expensive thing I'd ever touched in my life.

Climbing into a car like this felt like a glitch in the Matrix. I didn't belong here. It was the kind of car I'd only seen in movies or parked outside fancy restaurants where I could never afford a meal.

For context, I drove a 2005 Land Rover with rust accents that I resurrected after five years in my parents' backyard. The thing was basically held together by duct tape and prayers.

And here I was, sitting in a Porsche, my presence threatening to unravel the space-time continuum.

"Morning," Vince said casually, his deep voice cutting through my existential crisis.

"Morning," I managed, hoping I didn't sound as stunned as I felt.

He drove us in a calm, sleepy silence, the streetlights casting fleeting shadows through the trees as we passed. It was peaceful. Almost nostalgic.

I wasn't used to changing up my routines. The last time I'd been in a car with someone this early, it was my dad driving me to school.

That thought brought a pang of sadness I wasn't expecting. My dad didn't talk to me anymore. Said it was because of my "choices." My mom still insisted he'd come around someday, but I didn't believe her. She always seemed to take his side, and it felt like she'd made her choice too.

The memory tugged at my heart. As a kid, I'd barely been able to see over the window in his old green pickup truck, watching the trees blur past under the streetlights. Those moments had felt safe. Simple.

This car was nothing like that truck, but looking up at the sky through the Porsche's passenger window brought back the same feeling of being small in a vast world.

"Hey, Andy, you okay?" Vince's voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I jolted a little, blinking. "Yeah, I'm okay."

He glanced at me, his warm smile softening the sharp edges of his features. "Let me guess... you scared?"

I frowned. "What? Scared?"

"Yeah, scared I'm about to fucking smoke you on this run--"

I rolled my eyes so hard it was a miracle they stayed in my head. "You're ridiculous."

He laughed, and I couldn't help but laugh with him. His teasing was childish, but... it was also disarming.

"Thanks for doing this," I said, quieter this time.