Her

Part Fourteen:

"I can't believe you are making me do this." Maddox mutters under his breath. We locked up the car and are now on our merry way, skipping happily to the glorious, heavenly front doors. Too much? Sorry. I start walking away from the car when I feel Maddy stop and lean against the car. The white t-shirt and beige pants that he is wearing from the 'hospital' are dirty, and the shirt is just a tad  bit to small, conforming to his muscular torso. He crosses his strong, also muscular arms over his chest and I feel him looking at me. I shift my stare to the ground and feel my cheeks burn. 

"You are going in there with me. End of story."

"No."

"Maddy!" I make eye contact and take steps toward him, now face to face. 

"Yes?" He leans closer to me, looking down since he is inches taller. 

"You are coming inside with me. It is okay. It's a freakin' Walmart. "

"Your point?" He cocks an eyebrow and squints a little. I try not to burst out laughing, even though his poker-face is perfect.

"I cannot believe we are having a stare down in the middle of a Walmart parking lot." I talk as though I am speaking to myself, throwing my hand in the air to emphasize my point. He knows that I know that he is driving me crazy. "You have forced me to do this." I unwrap his arms from his chest and take his left hand, lacing my fingers with his. I pull him forward and start walking. We make it to the entrance and he hesitates. I squeeze his hand and walk through anyways.

Oh how glorious and majestic it really is. Fresh air-conditioning greets us, along with rows and rows of food and produce. To our right are clothes, so many clothes. Women's, men's, children's, babies', shoes, and more. I never thought I'd be so happy to go into a Walmart. 

"I am getting clothes. I'll meet you later..." My voice trails, and I walk with a pep-in-my-step to the teen section. I pick out two graphic tee's, a plain one, and a flannel, two pairs of leggings, one pair of jeans, underclothes, and a pair of Vans-looking shoes. I shove them all in a cart and find Maddy in the guy's stuff. He puts his stuff in the cart and we are off to the heavenly food section.

                                                                            ;            ;            ;  

Twenty minutes later I am in the gross, yet actual  bathroom changing into the black leggings, white tee, and unbuttoned flannel. Do regular girls wear the lacy bras or plain ones? Somebody teach me this crap. I forget it all and haven't been regular since who-knows-when. I wash my face in the sink with this wondrous Cetaphil stuff, and attempt at washing my hair. For once I am sort of grateful that it is so short because it makes it so much easier to wash. Woah... I actually look human. Someone call the cops! There is a regular looking girl in the bathroom! Shocking, right? I slip on socks and the 'Vans', shove my old clothes in the plastic bag without the new stuff in it, and walk out to meet Maddy.

"Hey." I call to him. He is wearing a pleasantly snug, navy blue V-neck and dark-washed jeans. Maddy glances up and does a double take.

"H-hi." He stutters, looking me up and down. I ignore the fact that his cheeks redden just a little. 

"Let's get to the car, yeah?" He nods and follows me back the whole way. Once we put the bags in and are buckled, I say, "Oh my goodness! You made it!" and he laughs. I keep my eyes on the road but notice the frequent looks he gives me, and I am sure he notices the ones I give him.

"Can I help you?" I say at his next glance.

"No... uh I just thought I saw something..." He stammers, looking out the window.

"Ah... okay." I smirk and continue to drive. And drive. And drive some more. Surprised? No? 

So.

Much.

Traffic.

"Do you think, since we are loaded now, that we could stay at a hotel tonight? Or a motel? Or anything?" Maddox asks slowly, interrupting my mental rant about overpopulation and traffic.

"Yeah.. I mean... I don't see why not? It isn't like we can't pay for it." I answer, thanking the heavens that we have finally started moving again. I practically drool at the thought of sleeping in a soft, warm bed, even though who-knows-how-many people have slept in it. Sleeping on metal tables for... awhile... has really taken the spirit out of me, and Maddox too. The sky eventually starts to shut down, growing dark, and we finally  cross the state line on this bridge into Cincinnati. I glance at this huge cylinder-looking hotel, but shake my head because it looks too expensive. I feel like I have seen it before...

Maddox points out a small, faded billboard for some motel, and I take the exit and follow the backroad. We cross into a little alley-road and emerge into a wide parking lot. To the right is a fair-sized but small motel, glowing with a pink neon sign. 'Nancy's'

"Weeelll... It is better than nothing. Or the ground." I grunt; the car and I are running on empty and tired of driving. I glance at Maddox, the pink sign reflecting in his eyes. He looks unsure but exhausted as well.

"Let's get this over with." He mutters, and we step onto the freshly-rained-on pavement.