We Couldn't Get Along Without Ya

17

The next morning, I woke up, changed into my now clean and dry clothes, packed up what little I had with me, and asked for directions to the closest train station. It was a few miles away so I started walking, arriving there an hour later.

Once I was there, I saw there were two trains running that day: one to Tulsa and one to Kansas City. I had no clue which one to buy a ticket for. Did I go back home or did I stay gone?

"What'll it be, hon?" A lady asked when it was my turn in the ticket line. I hesitated before answering.

"Kansas City."

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It took a day, but I got to Kansas City and I still had $55 left from hustling pool. I went to a park and sat down on a bench beside a pond.

I'd been gone for 4 days now. Man, the guys were probably so upset. Or, maybe, just maybe, they were relieved. Maybe they were happy now that they didn't have to worry about me now.

Should I just kill myself and get it over with?

Suddenly, someone was standing in front of me. I looked up and saw a familiar face: Curly Shepard.

"Katie Curtis? What are you doing out in Kansas City?" He asked.

"Uh, ya know, just taking a trip. What about you?" I asked him, hoping that he wouldn't tell the gang where I was.

"Tim sent me out here to help our Uncle Ron for a few weeks; he's redoing his house and Tim's getting sick of me. How did you talk Darry into letting you go on a trip alone? Especially this far from Tulsa."

"Oh, uh, I'm not alone. I came with Soda and Steve."

"Where're they at?"

"I don't know, I think they're off exploring somewhere."

"Huh. Well, if you see them, let 'em know I could use some buddies to play pool with tonight. You can come too, if you want. I'll be down at the bar on Fifth." And just like that, he walked away.

I think he bought it, surprising, but then again, Curly Shepard wasn't the brightest guy out there.

I spent the rest of the day wandering parks and exploring. When it got dark out, I went to a sketchy motel. But hey, sketchy motels are cheap motels and what did I have to lose?

When I got to my room and set my stuff down, it occurred to me that I needed to buy a backpack because I'd been carrying my extra clothes, money, and pocketknife in my arms all day.

That could wait, though. In that moment, all I wanted was to cut, take a shower, wash my clothes, and go to sleep. So I grabbed my pocketknife and went to the bathroom.

I made about 10 more cuts before getting a shower, taking my clothes in with me to wash them. When I was done, I put on my other clothes, the ones from the Grand Canyon, and hung my just washed ones on the curtain rod.

As I crawled into bed, I suddenly heard a knock on the door. I tried to ignore it at first, hoping it was just the wrong room, but then I heard it again.

I got up and looked out the peep hole, my heart nearly jumping out of my chest. There, outside my motel room door, were Darry, Soda, and Pony.