One For The Road

Chapter Eleven

It was around seven AM that I finally had to throw the towel in. I'd been driving since before midnight. We were about halfway to our destination now since we had killed time with pit stops and last night's dinner. As good as I felt about our progress, one cup of coffee hadn't been enough to keep my awake in the same spot for seven hours in the darkness of night. Heidi and Just had each stirred several times during the ride, sleepily asking where we were before dropping their heads and returning to sleep once they received their answers. Just hadn't driven yet, so I found a good place to pull over and pushed my guilt aside. He told me to wake him if I needed to. I reminded myself of this as I shook him slightly.

"Just," I muttered, and he groaned groggily. It took a moment for him to open his eyes, turning his head as his eyes slowly focused on me.

"What time is it?" he mumbled.

"7:15 AM. I was wondering if you could take over driving for a little while. I'm exhausted."

"Sure thing," he replied sleepily. "Gimme a minute." He stretched his arms up above his head and yawned. Dropping his hands, he opened the car door and stepped out of the passenger side, and I exited the car as well, my body feeling heavy. We passed each other and climbed back into the car on our corresponding sides.

"Thanks," I mumbled as we closed our doors. Just smiled tiredly.

"No problem. Thanks for taking the night shift."

I hummed some sort of response before resting my head against the window, my mind drifting off as we started driving. It didn't take long for me to doze off, my thoughts scattered and foggy.

•••

When I woke up again, the sun was shining brightly. Heidi and Just were both awake. I glanced at the clock. It was 10:45 AM. This trip would screw up my sleep schudeule so badly.

"Where are we?" I mumbled, blinking groggily. Heidi shrugged.

"Somewhere in Wyoming? We're pretty close to Troy," she replied. "About five or six more hours? But we may need to stop for food and gas again. And a bathroom break. A much needed bathroom break."

"Sounds good." I yawned slowly.

"We were hoping we could also just maybe find a nice place to walk around later," Just added. "Stretch our legs. We don't have to go too far from wherever we are when it happens. This place is pretty rural, and I don't know how long it'll take to see some cities, but it would be nice to walk along the fields."

"Not trespassing," I deadpanned.

"Is it really trespassing if we aren't actually on the property?" Heidi asked, shifting in her seat. She quirked an eyebrow.

I hesitated. "I was joking."

"Oh." She smiled. "Well, still. You think it could be good to walk around?"

I sighed. "I really wanna get to where we're going, but yeah, it would be good to stretch our legs. We haven't actually walked in a while, have we?"

Just clucked his tongue. "Our poor legs."

Suddenly, Heidi was staring straight ahead. "Pull over and stop the car."

"What?" Just asked, slightly shocked at her sudden outburst. I looked at her in confusion.

"Pull over and stop the goddang car."

Just obliged, slightly confused. As soon as the car was stationary, Heidi opened the door and jumped out of the car, not bothering to close the door. I looked at Just for answers, but he just shrugged.

She was running back in the direction we'd come. She stopped over to pick something up before running back to the car. Just's eyes widened as she got closer and he stepped out of the car, too. What was happening? What did she have?

I followed their example and claimed outof the vehicle, my curiosity getting the better of me as I crossed to meet them. It was then that I realized Heidi was holding a trembling black ball of fear. A little dog.

A dog.

"We gotta keep it," Heidi whispered.

"Heidi," I said, staring at the dog. It was a Chihuahua, all skin and bones, its little eyes wide with fear. "We can't keep a dog right now. Do you know how much work that'll be while we're on the road?"

"He has a point," Just agreed begrudgingly. "It would be great to have it, but I don't know if taking a tiny dog on a trip like this is a good idea."

"Would you rather leave him here?" Heidi's voice was high-pitched. A frown pulled at her face as she defensively hugged the little black dog close to her chest. "Look at how skinny he is."

I sighed, looking over at Just. A silent conversation passed between us. It would be cruel to leave him here; Heidi was right about that. And it seemed as though she was already attached. Plus, the dog shouldn't have been too much of a hassle. We could drive through fast food restaraunts to get meals for him. It wasn't healthy, but it was better than leaving him here to starve.

We each nodded, and I sighed as I looked over at Heidi. "Fine. We'll keep him and bring him to the vet after our trip. Then we'll figure out who can adopt him."

Nothing was worth more than seeing Heidi's eyes light up there ay they did.

"Awesome!" she exclaimed, hugging the dog tight against her chest. "We gotta name him. What should we name him?"

"How about we decide that in the car?" Just chuckled.  Heidi practically skipped to the car, and I watched her with a small smile on my face.

"That was a good choice," I decided. Just nodded in agreement.

We joined Heidi back in the car, and I took Just's place at the wheel, insisting that I had gotten enough rest.

"What should we name him?" Heidi repeated. I glanced into the rear view mirror. She was petting the dog, who was shaking with fear. Hopefully he'd get situated soon enough.

"Well, you were the one who wanted to get him," I reasoned. "You can choose if you want."

There was no hesitation in her response. "Blitzen."

"What made you think of that?" Just asked, looking back at her.

"I don't know. I just like it. It's a cool name."

I chuckled. Just's jaw dropped as he turned to look at me.

"Did-" he sputtered. "Did you just laugh?"

I quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"We've never heard you laugh before," he gasped.

I hadn't thought of that before. I guess I hadn't really had a reason to laugh until now.

"You're that surprised?" I teased. "I'm not a robot."

"I've known you for a week and I've never heard you laugh. Well, not until now," Just emphasized. I smiled, rolling my eyes.

"Now you have. You can go about your lives peacefully now."

Just turned away from me, grinning widely, and Heidi was smiling in the backseat. I settled into my seat and gazed out at the road.

This wasn't such a bad road trip after all.

•••

this update is long overdue haha sorry but now there's a doggo so you gotta forgive me