White Rose

Chapter 5 Goodbye Rockford

The city of Rockford buzzed past them in a flury. Houses flew past them in a blur. Soon the town ended and the sparse landscape surrounded them. Up ahead a glowing light illuminated a small space. The car dealer.

Shiny cars reflected the pale lights on the windows. Lifeless. Empty. Sofia got nervous. They pulled up to the retailer and Lane got off the moped. He extended his arm towards Sofia as he helped her get off the mo ped.

“Make sure you cover your bandage.” Lane whispered. “We don't want people to ask questions.”

Sofia pulled her sleeves past her elbows as they entered the dealership. A tall skinny man guarded the front door and attacked them with a lusty smile. He was bald. His eyes were sunken into his head and wrinkles made him look even older than what he really was.

“Hello. My name is Mr. Werthington. Are you looking to buy, sell, or look at?”

“Buy please, not a new car just a used car.” Lane replied.

“Very well. Come with me.” Mr. Werthington smiled at Sofia as he ushered them back outside. “We have gotten quite a few used cars in the past month already. All of them are in tip top shape. May I ask why you need a car?”

“We are going on a road trip. Going to the mountains. Susan has always wanted to go the mountains so I decided to take her but my mo ped won't be enough to get us there.” Lane smiled at Sofia. She had to play along.

“We might go skiing too!” Sofia chirped in. She smiled back at Lane as they walked towards the used car section.

“Ah, young love. So adorable!” Mr. Werthington squealed. His hands were raised towards his head as he blushed. “Oops. Sorry. I get over excited a lot. Right this way.”

Mr. Werthington led them to a long row with small looking cars.

“Since you are going to the mountains you will need a jeep at least.”

Sofia fell in behind Lane. She whispered into his ear. “Young love?” She started to giggle. She looked at Lane's face. He looked sad.

“Yeah, young love.” He murmured back. His face had fallen. Concern made Sofia blot out what Mr. Werthington had said.

“Hey! Here we have it. The 1991 Jeep Wagoneer! She's a beaut.” Mr. Werthington ran up to the old jeep and started to polish her with his suit jacket. “Not very many miles but she's perfect for traveling especially far places. Only $4,000.”

Lane frowned. He looked at Sofia with a frown. He shook his head.

“We don't have that much money Mr. Werthington. I was thinking 3?”

“$3,000? Are you out of your mind boy! This car is worth more than 4,000 at least. What a disgrace offering me 3.” Mr. Werthington put his arms over the car to protect it from Lane. “4000 I'm not lowering the cost.”

“Fine then.” Lane grabbed Sofia's hand and started walking away. “Looks like we will have to have our vacation another time.” He put his mouth up to Sofia's ear and whispered, “Start crying.”

“Oh Booo whooo...” Sofia cried. Tears dripped down her face faster than before. “I've always wanted to go up to the mountains. My dream is ruined.”

Lane walked back over to Mr. Werthington and poked him in the chest. “I was going to ask her to marry her up at the mountains and we didn't have a car. Now she'll hate me forever. Gosh...” Lane dropped his head as he walked away. Mr. Werthington had tears coming out of his slited eyes as he sniffed.

“Oh young love! Fine, 3,000! Here are the keys. Take it before I change my mind.” Mr. Werthington threw the keys to Lane and ran inside. “Boy! Come in here and pay!”

Lane smiled gleefully at Sofia before he ran into the distributor. Sofia grabbed the keys and ran to the old Jeep Wagoneer. She turned the key and started driving it up to the front. She squealed with excitement. The radio started blaring rock music from the small speakers. Sofia rolled down the windows and blared the music out. A big smile creased her lips as she sang along to the old beat.

Lane walked out of the dealership seeing Sofia all in a frenzy. He saw her smile and that made him happy. Sofia pounded on the steering wheel as she sang in the wrong pitch.

“Sofia!” Lane shouted over the music. She flipped her head around as she stopped. Her cheeks Sofia to a pinkish hue from embarrassment. She opened the car door and ran to the other side. Lane laughed. He ran to the other side of the car and hopped into the driver's side. “Off we go to Portland!” Lane shouted as he shifted into gear.

“Wait! What about Vespa?” Sofia questioned.

Lane turned the radio down and looked behind him to see the old mo ped.

“I traded her for a small part of the car fee. I'll miss her but she was getting gold anyway. Its time to move on.” His blue eyes looked at Sofia with a small gleam of hope and a lingering wave of sadness.

“You know you didn't have too you know. You could've stayed behind. No one would've known about your powers. I didn't even know. You have sacraficed too much of yourself just for me. I can't say how thankful I am. No words can comprehend it.” Sofia lowered her eyes as she gripped her arm in a slight sense of pain. 

Lane lowered his eyes in disbelief. "There is still hope left Sofia. There always will. Even if all you see is darkness there is always a flicker of light. Always. We'll make it through this." He tightened his hands on the steering wheel and continued to accelerate. 

Rose gazed out the window and saw the glowing lights of Rockford disappearing. Her home, her life, and her dreams were gone now as they zoomed away. Goodbye Rockford. Rose thought to herself. She wrapped her arms into the corner of the seat and closed her eyes.