~~
I glance over to the admirable girl sitting in my passenger seat. She fell asleep listening to music, leaning against the cold window. She looked kind of like a drenched cat. She has waist-long black hair strapped back in a French braid. Earlier I saw her eyes are bright emerald green, peeking out from thick, long, eyelashes. She’s wearing a hoodie caked in mud with tight sweatpants also coated in mud. She has a petit frame, maybe only 5 foot. The name Kimy doesn’t seem to fit her well, it just doesn’t seem to right, it seems very fake. Dane’s asleep in the backseat; I haven’t seen him in about 2 years; he’s a good brother.
I tenderly shake Kimy; I want to talk only to her. “Kimy.” I whisper.
She turns to look at me, she wasn’t asleep after all. “Dexter.” She replies.
“Kimy’s not your surname.” I declare aloofly.
She curves back swiftly to look at Dane, seeming worried. “Shoosh! Don’t let him hear you!”
“Why can’t he listen?”
“He thinks I’m a totally different person. I’d like to keep it that way please and thank you.”
“Well, tell me about the real you and I’ll keep quiet to Dane.”
~~
“Alright fine. My actual name is Skye. I’m 16 years old; I’ve been running since I was 12 years old. I don’t have a good history. I’m from Australia but moved to Fresno, California, when I was 11 years old. I’ve traveled all around the world.”
Dexter looks at me, seeming astonished. “What exactly do you mean when you say ‘don’t have a good history’?”
“I mean like; I dropped out of school, I do drugs, I drink, I was raped, I’m abused, I’ve been running so I can get out and away of all of this. The reason Dane’s with me is because he was caught with me stealing and I’ve been pretending ever since to be better so he’ll stick with me. My uncle took us both to his place from the police station that night. He abuses both of us; me sexually.”
“Oh shit. I’m so sorry.”
“Doesn’t matter. What’s done is done.”
He takes a second to reply; “By the way, I’m driving us to Arizona. I have friends there that can take care of us for awhile.” He awkwardly turns back to the wheel having nothing left to say.
~~
I sit up in my bed looking around for the 2 that are supposed to be with me. I’m frantic as I pull on clothes to go search the house. They’re nowhere in here. I discovered the basement window open; they must have escaped from there. I jump in my truck and start driving, down allies, small streets, and big streets, by schools, by parks, anywhere they could be. They must have stuck together, they had to, they’d be stupid not to. I pass a new looking sports car with 3 teenagers in it and recognize all of them. I found them.
~~
Dane gets back into the car from the dark, musty, old, rest stop we’re at. “Dexter, where’s Kimy?”
“Don’t you mean Skye?” I respond arrogantly.
“What do you mean?” He sounds confused.
“Dude, get real. You know Kimy’s not her real name, you know her past; you know she’s trouble. You shouldn’t be hanging around her.”
“What do you mean…?”
