Their Situation, Our Problem

Chapter 10: Amara

By the time they arrived at their destination, which she wasn't sure about, the ibuprofen had started to work its magic. And by the looks of it, Sofia was feeling its effects as well. She looked out the window at the layout. They had to be on the outskirts of the city. They pulled up to what had to be the sketchiest looking gas station ever. Deserted and with the restrooms located on the outside.

They had been driving for about an hour before they arrived at this dirty gas station. She had stopped trying to ask questions. Nobody was answering, or even acknowledging her. She got tired of asking and to be honest, she was too tired to overanalyze everything. She knew who the Arsenic's were and they hadn't hurt her yet, so she decided to just go with it.

Everyone got off the truck and headed for the restrooms. Why they couldn't just talk in the SUV, she didn't know, but she wasn't asking anymore. It was a standard looking restroom with two sinks, three stalls, and a trash can. Nothing extraordinary except for the granite baby changing station opposite the sinks.

They all circled in and picked a spot. Colton immediately went to sit on the sinks while Rachel leaned against them. Elijah stood by the openings of the stalls while Sofia leaned against the baby changing table. Amara wobbled over to the changing table and hoisted herself onto it. Nik just stayed by the door. The silence stretched on for a while before anybody spoke.

"So what are we going to do," Rachel asked no one in particular?

"Same thing we were going to do before," Nik said as he turned to look at Elijah, but it still managed to sound like a question.

"What are we going to do with them," Rachel asked as if Amara and Sofia weren't even in the room.

"Ok, really? Again? We're standing right here," Amara said only to be ignored again.

"I say we dump 'em," Colton suggested with a shrug. Amara's protest not even registering in his head.

"Why not just leave them here, saves us some time," Rachel continued.

"They've been seen with us. They even tracked them down to their house. They probably think we're in cahoots with them," Elijah refuted.

"One, who says cahoots? And two, not our problem. They can't say anything useful," Rachel replied.

"Excuse me," Amara called out indignantly.

"Not to James, but to the police, they might," Nik murmured as he gave his siblings a serious look.

"They're not safe alone," Elijah commented.

"We can't bring them with us," Rachel said indignantly.

"Look, we'll give them five dollars, drop them off at a nearby bus stop, and let them be on their merry way," Colton said.

"Hold up a second, you got my cousin and I involved in this mess remember. This has all been because of you," Amara stressed, "After everything that's happened today you cannot treat us as if we were trash ready t-

"Wait, you two are cousins," Colton interrupted?

"Really," Amara glared at him, "that's what you got out of that."

"Well yeah, you're white and she's Mexican. How does that even work," Colton asked?

"It's called an interracial relationship dumbass. You know what forget it. I can't deal with you right now," she held her hand up at Colton and turned to look at Nik, "You can't just leave us in the middle of nowhere."

"Quit whining," Nik all but growled.  His eyes were bloodshot red and he looked like the exact example of a crazy villain, "We have bigger problems than you."

"You know what? You do have bigger problems than us. But take a minute to realize that thanks to us, you don't have several other problems. For example, thanks to us, you're not stressing out about paying your sister's ransom. Thanks to Sofia, you're brother's face isn't currently deformed. Not to mention that if it weren't for me, that bullet wound could have been a lot more fatal than annoying. So excuse me for whining, but we don't appreciate being talked down to. We don't appreciate you making our decisions for us. All we've done is help, yet we are being targeted because of it. Our home is trashed! My cousin's life was threatened for Christ's sake!" Amara's voice escalated with each sentence. Everything she had been holding in suddenly burst out like the water from the Hoover Dam would if it broke. She was panting by the end of her tirade, but she was not finished, "The least you could do is stop being an obnoxious, self-righteous, bigoted, ass".

She huffed and took in several deep breaths. Not a word was said and  Nik only stared at her with an unreadable expression. She sighed and looked down.

"She has a point," Elijah's voice rang out in the silence. Sofia gave him a calculating look before he continued, "Rachel would have been taken if it weren't for Blondie and Brunette. We would not have made it in time."

His gaze turned to Nik's.

"I guess you're right," Nik stated. Amara turned to look at him, expecting more, but it seemed that was all they were going to get. Some apology.

"If we're not dumping them, then what are we doing with them," Cole asked?

"You know what, you're not doing anything with us. I'm tired of being shepherded around without a single say of what is happening. We will figure something out on our own. We don't need your help," Amara spat at Cole and then turned to Sofia, "Let's go."