L I M I N A L

We’d been driving along the vacant, poorly lit interstate highway for nearly two hours straight, and I was beginning to get antsy. I could only sit and stare out a window for so long, watching nearly identical signs and mile markers fly by, before my overly active imagination started to play tricks on me, making me think I saw strange shadows standing along the sides of the long stretches of road, watching us as we drove past them. I needed to use the bathroom, and I needed a stretch break. My unmedicated ADHD was starting to agitate me, as well as Victoria, who would press her palm to my knee and give me an annoyed look anytime it started to bounce repetitively of its own accord. For a moment, I wished that my superstitious mother would give in and let me get a prescription that would at least help me sit still.

I tried not to let my restlessness get the best of me. My friends and I had decided early on that we were going to try to make it through at least the first three hours without stopping, but it was difficult for anyone to sit still for more than an hour, let alone the girl who who won a yearbook superlative for inadvertently causing distractions and getting lost in daydreams on the daily.

    I leapt at the chance when I saw a green sign illuminated slightly by a dim and flickering light. EXIT 17: Rest Stop, 2 miles.

“Jake, please take that exit!” I called over the loud music to our overly caffeinated friend and chauffeur, who, after downing an entire energy drink in less than a minute, had agreed to drive all night. I made eye contact with him in the rear-view mirror of his truck, giving him my biggest amber puppy-dog eyes, to which he responded by rolling his own deep brown ones, and moved the car into the exit lane.

“Seriously, Jake? You’re giving in that easily?” Rome complained, wrinkling her pierced nose at him before turning around in the passenger seat to give me a sour look.

“You can’t make it another hour, Ria?” Simon opened his eyes and pulled an earbud out to participate in the conversation.

“How do you even know it’s me who asked?” I defended myself. “You had your eyes closed and your music at full blast this entire time.” He shrugged at me, a knowing smirk on his face, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and replaced his earbud.

“It’s because you’re the only one who can’t sit still or control your bladder for more than thirty seconds, Ariadne. You’re like a hyperactive toddler.” Rome answered my question for Simon.

“Give her a break, Rome. You know Ria can’t help it. She started crawling out of her skin the minute we got on the road. You should give her props for making it this far.” Victoria chastised, giving her a pointed look. I gave her a grateful glance, although I knew she was supporting me for her own sanity, not just mine.

“And don’t call me Ariadne!” I complained, sticking my tongue out at her, living up to her accusation of being a child. Rome pursed her lips before she turned back in her seat and grumbled about our lack of ability to follow a plan.

“Rome, we have to stop. If she ruined my leather seats, I’d have to kill her,” Jake joked, winking and giving me a wicked grin in the mirror, his white teeth glaringly bright against his sienna skin. I glared at him, then reached over the console and gave one of his shoulder length braids a playful tug. He let go of the wheel with one hand and swatted my hand away. “No distracting the driver!” He protested, protectively pulling a handful of braids out of my reach. I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Well, if you’re gonna let her take a stretch break, now’s your chance.” Victoria gestured to the exit we were supposed to take in order to reach the rest stop. Much to Rome’s dismay, Jake flipped his right turn signal on and slowed down as the road curved and narrowed into a single lane. Almost immediately, I felt the air in the vehicle grow noticeably cooler. None of my friends seemed to detect anything strange, so I told myself I imagined it. As I looked out the window into the darkness, paranoia crept up my spine, raising the hairs on my arms. I knew it was just my mind psyching me out, but I began to regret asking for a bathroom break. I pushed aside my unreasonable fears and stared straight ahead, trying to see what was in front of us. There were no streetlights to illuminate the road, so we had to rely only on the truck’s headlights to see where we were going and what was around us. Each side of the thoroughfare was lined with thick patches of trees, barely visible, until Jake turned his brights on.