Remaining Daylight (#Wattys2016)

Track IV.

Hayden lifted his head off the steering wheel. His mouth hung open for a second. Then, he shook his head.

"Somehow, I doubt that's a great idea," he finally said.

I leaned down, resting my arms on the frame of the open window. From here, we saw eye-to-eye.

"You need someone to go with you. How are you supposed to lay low if you're seen popping up in all sorts of places from here to God-Knows-Where? You've got to have an unknown face cover for you," I pointed out.

"I don't think people care that much," he tried to tell me.

"Plus," I cut in, not giving him an opportunity to turn me down. "Two brains are better than one. If you want to prove your innocence, having another perspective to look from will help you find clues you didn't think of."

"Declan..."

"You can't go alone. You're already hurting, and you might do something stupid. You need a friend to watch your back." When Hayden didn't say anything, I threw in, "Come on, I make an awesome road trip playlist."

The smile barely showed on his face as he tried to hide his laughter. He finished it with a sigh. "If I say yes, will you just get in the car and stop bugging me?"

"I mean, yeah," I said. "That was exactly what I wanted."

Hayden gestured for me to hop in with his hand. I pulled on the lock, opened the door, and fell into the passenger seat. I'd ridden here a few times when I talked Ryan into a ride to school. The interior still smelled dusty with the faint mix of motor oil and soda that he'd spilled into the upholstery.

"Two questions: what about your car, and what about your parents?" Hayden asked.

"Ryan will take care of it for me, and you let me worry about that second one," I said.

"All right, then I guess it's time for take off." He turned the key, the car cranking pitifully until the engine caught. The old thing sounded terrible. No wonder Ryan used it as his crap car. He didn't bother to keep it in decent shape with the other cars he kept around.

The pathetic machine rolled out of the garage and onto the pavement. Ryan was still ogling over his new toy, my car parked behind it. Maybe it was better if I drove it home myself. At least save myself from that tirade from my dad. Of course I would get away with it, but not before pissing him off. Royally.

"Let me drive my car to my house. I need to pick up some of my stuff anyways," I said. As I was getting out of the car, I said back over my shoulder, "And don't you dare leave without me."

While I threw some clothes into a backpack, it struck me that Hayden Grace was waiting for me in a car outside of my house. My stomach flipped a little. My heart began to race. This was all actually happening. Once I finished fitting my essentials into this bag, I would be running outside to go on an impromptu road trip with my favorite vocalist. Christ.

When I was positive that I had the things I needed, I ran out of the house. My dad was going to be so pissed off when he saw my sticky note on the microwave.

Going on a road trip. Be back soon.

On the one hand, he didn't care much what I did. But, on the other, he would be angry that I just up and left for God knew how long, and only thought to notify him of the fact through use of a piece of paper adhered to our microwave. Not even a day's notice. A bit of guilt hit me, but not enough to make me make that phone call. I wasn't ready to hear his irritated tone.

"Did you bring that playlist?" Hayden asked when I got back into the car. I held up my phone and wiggled it in the air a little bit. He chuckled, threw it into drive, and pulled away from the curb.