Driven

Chapter 2

At the end of the day, there was no good way for Marnie to explain the events of her first day with Danny to her aunt Judith. She asked her how her day went, probably just being polite and avoiding awkward silence at dinner, but Marnie couldn't really find the words to answer her. She was slipping scraps of her food to the three dogs waiting at her feet.

"So, do you like the guy you're paired with?" Judith asked. Marnie had tried to prepare her answer in her head, but there was no good way to say what she really thought.

"He's... A little complicated. He has a difficult personality, but hopefully I'll figure him out when I get to know him more." She answered well.

"I hope that you'll learn something from him, and I hope that he gets his driving fire back and learns something from you, too. I hope it all works out."

"I hope so too."

Marnie had been weighing in her head what situation would be better: staying at home with her parents all summer or being in the Deep South with Danny. They were both stubborn and difficult in slightly different ways and it was a slim margin but Marnie decided she would rather be in Georgia. She got the vibe that she wouldn't actually be seeing Danny around much; he seemed like he would be a flake when things don't go his way. She hated people like that, but she would only have to deal with it on a rare occasion.

It hit her when she was doing the dishes that she didn't have any friends in Atlanta. For the whole summer, it was just going to be her, Danny, Rick and Judith, and that thought made her breath catch in her throat. She didn't know where to make friends or how, and she was hoping she wouldn't be her only friend. If she wanted to have anyone outside her family as a friend, it would be Danny. The soapy dish slipped out of her fingers and clattered at the bottom of the sink as she gasped, everything becoming real to her now. This was her life and there wasn't any way she could run from it now, like she had always done in the past.

Feeling shaken, she had a hard time getting settled in for the night and falling asleep. She tossed and turned in her bed, fully aware of all the lights and sounds coming through her open window. Of course when she wanted to be asleep to escape her feelings, she felt as if all of her senses had been sharpened. Her mind was running at a million miles an hour and she just needed for everything to be quiet, for once.

Still not getting sleep, she slipped on her shoes and headed towards the window. She stepped out onto the slanted roof of the garage and tiptoed down, hopping onto the dirt and gravel. She kicked up a small cloud of dust with her impact on the ground which quickly settled and she was on her way for a midnight walk. She decided to walk towards the lake halfway between the raceway and her house, the night only slightly scaring her. A few tears slipped down her face as she came to terms with at least one of her emotions: she knew somewhere she had fucked up and it wasn't ever supposed to be this way.

When she reached the lake, she took off her sneakers and sat on the dock, dangling her toes in the water for a few minutes as she sat and tried to clear her mind. The water on the lake was dark, cool and serene, her toes making tiny splashes whose ripples soon faded away into the night. She knew she didn't want to make a judgement about Danny too soon and that the summer was only beginning, but she was too emotionally tired to deal with difficult people right now. She had suffered enough and deserved a soft break from the pain.

Eventually, she slipped her shoes back on and headed back towards the house. She had pulled herself up onto the roof of the garage and slid back into her room through the window. She flicked off the lights and climbed into bed, fully deserving of rest.