Narrow Paths

Chapter Ten

I woke up to my father pounding on my door. I groaned and threw my pillow toward the wall. I sat up and looked at my alarm clock - it was seven thirty in the morning.

"What?!" I yelled.

"We're goin' to get your truck fixed!"

"Oh, okay!"

I jumped out of bed and pulled some clothes out of my closet. I opened my door to find my father looking at me disapprovingly.

"You better shower first," he told me.

"That's the plan!"

I ran past him and tumbled into the shower. I was out and shaved within ten minutes. We didn't grab anything for breakfast before we headed to the town mechanic in Mom's minivan.

"I got your truck towed to the shop yesterday," he said.

"Thanks."

"It had to be done, I don't see why you're thanking me."

"Because you paid for it when you could have easily made me pay." 

He smiled at me. "That's a good way to think about it."

The mechanic was an old family friend. He said that it was only a minor issue with the engine. We all breathed a sigh of relief at that news, because I needed my truck. If we'd had to pay for a whole new engine, I'd probably just been better off getting a new truck.

He had the problem fixed within an hour. Dad paid him and headed off to work. I took the truck out for a test drive around the block to make sure there weren't any problems. After getting the final okay from the mechanic, I was free to go wherever I wanted to.

I headed down the dirt road toward home, but then thought against going home. I'd do nothing but play Backlash 2 if I went home now, and that was a waste of a perfectly good day. I went straight past my house towards Darcy's without a second thought.

Her father was home but she answered the door. She let me in with a smile and I followed her to the living room. A game of baseball was playing.

"What brings you here?" She asked.

I could tell that she had high hopes for my theory on the paths she kept talking about, but I didn't want to spoil her good mood by telling her that I honestly hadn't thought about them in a while. I smiled and shrugged.

"I didn't want to waste a day playing video games."

"So, you come to me begging for entertainment?"

"Pretty much."

She laughed and we sat down on the couch. The game was a tie in the sixth inning, but I could tell Darcy wasn't interested. She picked up the remote and began to flip through the channels aimlessly.

"Tell me about yourself," she said as she finally gave up and settled for watching a show about fashion.

"Well, my name's Carter."

"And your occupation is Captain Obvious. I'm aware."

I grinned. "I'm eighteen."

"I don't want to know the kind of facts you'd put on a dating site. I want to know stuff about you that's sincere, deep, genuine."

"Whoa, Darcy. You just broke up with your girlfriend. No need to be out and about so soon."

She snapped her fingers in disappointment. "Damn."

"I'm pretty sure you're joking."

"Flaunting your occupation again."

I laughed and shook my head. This kind of banter wouldn't be acceptable to any other girl. Darcy was a character that I could get along with.