terrible things - ashton irwin

twenty four

Ashton took a step back from the cop, using the gun to point toward the door of  the police car. 

"Bonnie," he said to me, "you're going to need to drive the cruiser." He turned to the cop. "I haven't taught her how to drive a stick yet," he explained.

By now i was nearly numb with shock, but i climbed into the driver's seat of the black-and-white. Gas pedal, turn signal, ignition. Everything looked to be in pretty much the same place. Meanwhile Ashton was gently shoving the cop into the back. Thank goodness for the glass between us, because, even cuffed, that guy petrified me. If looks could kill, Ashton and I would have been goners.

"You gonna be all right?" Ashton asked me, poking his head in the front window.

I put both hand on the wheel, one at ten and one at two. I tried to seem like i wasn't having a small heart attack. 

"Well, there aren't any parking meters to hit."

He gave me a crooked smile. Maybe it was totally inappropriate, but i needed it.

"Awesome, you're good to go, then. Now follow me," he said. He got back into the Porshe, drove a little way, then took a dirt road off to the left. We followed it for a couple of miles, passing nothing but dirt and scrubby sage.

I refused to look into the rearview mirror because i could practically feel the death glare the police officer was giving me. I was os on edge from the last fifteen minutes that I knew if I met his eyes I was going to freak out completely, and crash, and end up killing us both. I was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that my fingers were turning white.

When Ashton stopped, i braked too hard and scrambled out of the car, barely remembering to put it into park.

'Whoa," Ashton said, catching me by the elbow as I stumbled toward him. "Everything okay? He's all locked up in the back?"

"No, I let him out," I snapped, yanking my arm away. Breathe,  Lavender. "Sorry. Nerves."

"Let's get out of here."

"But-" I glanced back at the police car. The cop was sitting motionless in the back, but i thought i could hear him cursing.

"Someone will find him, don't worry," Ashton said, pointing into the distance at what looked like a farm. Everything was flat all around us. The desert was so empty. There wasn't even a cactus.

Ashton look my arm again and led me toward the Porshe. When we were strapped in, he gunned the engine and we shot out of there in a great cloud of dust that billowed up so high it hid our crime completely.

"We've got to ditch the Porshe," Ashton said as he pulled onto the main road. For some reason he was heading back into town.

Suddenly I began to shake. my legs jumped and twitched and even my teeth were chattering. Had we just done what I thought we did?

"Ashton-"

"What?" He looked at me, concerned.

"I can't steal a car right now. My nerves can't take it."

"No problem," Ashton answered. "We can go back to Lavenders Plan A."

"I don't even remember what that is," I moaned.

"The bus, of course, petri dish for superbacteria. Because I don't know about you darlin', but I'm just itching for some kind of dreadful infection." Then Ashton grinned maniacally.

"Tell me, honestly. Have you lost. Your. Mind?"

As usual, Ashton ignored my question and instead pulled into a bus station on the edge of the city. "There it is! Our ticket to bacterial meningitis."

We got out backpacks and left the Porshe in a fire lane. I just wanted to be gone. I didn't have time to write a thank-you note to the owner, but it was probably just as well. Now that we were criminals, we should try to leave fewer clues behind.

Inside the station, it was dark and cool and grimy. All my adrenaline-fueled courage had faded, and I wanted to curl up in a ball in the corner.

"Where do we go? We were supposed to see the Great Sand Dunes next," I whispered.

Ashton scanned the departure board. "Interesting," he said. "Because these famous dunes of sand happen to be near Alamosa, Colorado, correct?"

I frowned in confusion. "How did you know that?"

"My dear, that bus leaves in moments. See?" Ashton pointed. "The luck of the traveler is with us." He was already walking toward the ticket booth, one hand reaching for his wallet.

Could it really be that simple? "I though it was luck of the Irish," I called weakly.

He turned around and shrugged. "Who cares? We've got our ride. But for your information, my grandma was an Irish rose.

I looked at him in surprise, because Ashton never, ever talked about his family.

 "Okay, but what about the cop?" I asked, hurrying up to him. "We can't just leave him. We have to call someone."

"I thought you weren't GG anymore," Ashton said.

I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. 

"Just because i want to make sure someone doesn't die of heatstroke?" 

I found an old pay phone and fished in my pockets for change. I told the woman who answered that I'd been out riding my horse when I'd come upon a coop car in the middle of nowhere. I made myself sound young and stupid, but I gave all the necessary details.

She wanted to know my name. "Carly Ann," I said.

"You did a good thing, Carly Ann," she said.

Lady, if only you knew.

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 word count - 946