The Sword and the Scythe

Chapter 30: Simple As This

Four Years Ago

Holly drove all night and into the morning until pink sprigs of light began to pierce the thick blanket of darkness. She got a motel room outside Nashville and fell onto the questionable bedspread, begging her still-racing mind to let her sleep. The few hours she did manage to get were plagued by nightmares of Sebastian. She awoke with a start in a cold sweat, still feeling chased as she had been in her sleep.

She got up after taking a few minutes to calm down and rubbed her hands over her face. With at least a little sleep under her belt, she tried to think of what she was supposed to do now. She had put some distance between herself and her hometown, but there was this nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that she needed to keep moving. But the question was—where should she go?

She left the motel and got back in the car and drove, still not knowing where she was fleeing to. As each mile melted away on the gray concrete of the highway behind her, she felt with every fiber of her being that she was going in the right direction. Getting closer to her unknown destination assuaged the tugging feeling in her stomach in small increments. She was able to breathe a little easier, as if the events of the last few days had never happened.

It took several days of all-day driving and everything but her last ten dollars before the tugging sensation stopped as she passed a sign that welcomed her to Laguna Beach. The problem was that she no longer had any clue what to do now that she had arrived. Pulling into a Starbucks parking lot next to a bar, she checked that the hat and sunglasses she'd bought covered most of her face and walked in.

She splurged for a tea, even though it cost almost half of what she had left. The weather was warm but not too hot because of the sea breeze, so she went and sat on the bench outside the bar, figuring no one would bother her since the bar wasn't even open. Her skin tingled in a way that made her nervous—she felt like she was covered in static electricity as she waited for something bad to happen.

That's when reality set in and she burst into tears. She had five dollars to try and start her life over. Finding a job when she had no skills would be difficult. Even if she did, she'd have to live in her car until she had enough money to find even the tiniest apartment. Why had she done this? Driving all the way across the country was the act of a crazy person who'd taken over her body for the briefest of moments. She should have stayed in a fly-over state and gotten a cheap place and a job with that money, not gone off on some fool's errand that would only set her up for failure.

The door behind her opened and then swung shut with a loud snap that made her jump. A man's smooth voice asked, "Mind if I smoke?"

She shook her head, even though she was sure she'd seen sign proclaiming this a smoke-free city. But then, who was she to lecture this guy about breaking the law? There was the sound of a lighter clicking to life, soon followed by the smell of cigarette smoke drifting past her on the wind. She pulled her hood up around her face to try and hide her sobs from the stranger.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked, moving to sit on the bench next to her, keeping his distance.

"I'm—fine," she said, still not looking at him, hiccupping in the middle from being so distraught, invalidating her whole point.

"What's wrong? Maybe I can help."

"Not unless you can tell me why I drove all the way across the country to come here. It's so stupid; I don't know how I'll find a job or how I'll pay for a place to stay with the nothing I have." Burying her face in her hands, she couldn't fight a fresh wave of sobs.