Seven Letter Words #Wattys2016

Part 37

Liam

The road between New Mexico and Arizona was flanked by miles and miles of desert. I watched the sun slip behind the mountains and paint the sky purple and pink. A few times I found my mind wandering back to a desert much further away and I'd have to reach for Juliet to keep my mind on the here and now. It seemed no matter how many miles I put between myself and the sandbox, I'd never really be home.

"Are we going to stay in Arizona for the night?" she asked from beside me. Her little feet were perched on the dashboard as she stared out the window at the small town that was emerging in front of us.

"We could. I want to get another tire now that we are back in a town with more than one shop. I'm a little jumpy after losing the last one and I'll feel much better when we have a legit spare. If you want to push it, we could head on through and into California." I rubbed my head with my hand. I could go a little further today, but I was dreading letting this trip get any closer to the end.

"Let's stop. We could get a good dinner and maybe find something to do in town. I'm going crazy being cooped up in this truck."

"Getting bored with the company?" I teased. The truth was I couldn't wait to get out of there. I wanted to go exploring and spend sometime with her without the hum of the road beneath us.

"No, but I want to stretch my legs and look at something other than dirt." She was exaggerating. It wasn't that bad of a drive, but we had been plugging along for hours now and something about being locked up together was making us antsy.

"Let's stop near Phoenix. In the morning we can get on the road and have you to your dad's by dinner time." She nodded her head. Her phone had been chiming for at least the last two hours. I'd watch her read the message and then tap out a response before setting it back in the cup holder between us.

"OK. Do you want me to look for a hotel or are we just going to stop when we see one?"

"Let's just roll the dice." I moved to adjust the radio station as the static finally made listening to the current one impossible. Her phone buzzed again and that time I couldn't ignore it. "Everything OK?"

She reached for the phone and slid her finger across the screen. "It's Garrett. He's been trying to convince me to go to prom with him."
"Did you tell him to take the chick he was banging in his truck?" If she was even considering going with him a little bit I was going to pull this truck over and refuse to drive again until she came to her senses.

"Something like that," she answered with a smirk. "I don't even think we're going to make it home in time."

"When is it?"

"Friday."

"I should have you home by then." I thought I saw disappointment cross her features, but she quickly pulled her lips up and shrugged her shoulders.

"It's silly how important prom was before all this. It was one of those big events you just take for granted—like you're entitled to it because you're a senior." She shook her head a little, "We aren't entitled to anything. Compared to everything else going on in the world, it just seems stupid to get dressed up and go to a dance. There are so many other things happening at that exact moment that are far more important."

My heart hurt for her. Losing Pine's was going to mar her senior year. She should be thinking about her dress and what party she'd go to after. She shouldn't be worried about things happening in the world when there was something happening in her hometown. "There are always things going on all over the world. Some are good, and some are fucking horrid. When the good comes along you should jump at it. God knows you are going to have plenty of moments when the horrid sneak up on you."