We spent the rest of the drive avoiding the topic of Drisking. We talked about people we knew, movies we'd seen; hell, we even made a few jokes that didn't fall totally flat. It reminded me of those days when we would sit in my car in the Drisking High parking lot, listening to music and getting stoned. It made me miss Kyle...and weed. I'd given it up for the harder stuff years ago. Or to put it more eloquently: if pot was a gateway drug, I'd left it at the gate.
The closer we got to Drisking, the quieter the car became and by the time we hit the Missouri border, we were in complete silence. It had started to snow and Kimber was completely focused on the drive. I stared out the window until the dread of familiar things passing by made me look away. We were almost there.
Kimber pulled into the Prince Ridge within the hour and got out to check us in. I stayed in the car, eyeing the other vehicles in the parking lot. Nothing I recognized, but seeing as how it had been almost a decade since I'd been home, I wasn't sure that mattered. The first exit for Drisking - and there were only the two - was only four miles down the highway. If Kimber considered this safe then there was no reason to worry, right? She'd always been the smart one.
I jumped as Kimber jerked the car door open and got in. She noticed. "You know I'm traveling with you, right?"
I rolled my eyes. "Pardon me for being a little on edge."
"209," she said, pointing up to the second floor. "I'll drive around; you look for it."
The room was at the front of the property facing the highway. I brought our bags upstairs and then stood shivering outside in the cold while I smoked a cigarette. When I was finished I flicked the cigarette over the railing and watched it fall into the bed of a maroon Dodge Ram. Oops. I followed Kimber inside and was relieved to see that there were 2 beds and 3 locks on the door. So far not a complete disaster.
Since it was around six Kimber wanted to go grab some dinner.
"Fairtoli's? Christian's?" She suggested. "They're both only a few miles away."
"Ah, no."
"Prescott Artisan Sandwiches then?" She winked at me.
"No," I said again, ignoring her joke. "I mean we shouldn't leave. We should order delivery or something."
Kimber's casual smile fell off of her face. "You're worried for no reason."
"And you're homesick."
Kimber's eyes slid to the floor and she sat down on the end of the bed. "Probably."
"I just...I think we need to lay low as much as possible right now."
"No, you're right," Kimber said, and tucked her feet up underneath her. She turned to watch the snow fall through the window.
I rubbed my temples as an ache began to ebb in like the tide around my eyeballs. I needed a fix. Soon.
"It doesn't snow in Riverside, where I live. I miss the snow." Kimber said.
"Move to Chicago," I said in-between deep, measured breaths. "It snows five months out of the year."
Kimber was silent and I prayed she was studying a menu. The sooner she got on the phone for delivery the sooner I could excuse myself to the bathroom and take the edge off.
"I miss Kyle."
I looked up to see Kimber still watching the snow, her head leaning against the wall. "Me too," I said after a minute. Her eyes snapped to mine as if she'd forgotten I was there.
"You look hungry. I'll order pizza from Dominoes. I remember what you like on it." She said, before glancing at a menu next to her on the nightstand. She picked up the phone and began dialing the number.
I got up to use the bathroom and took my entire duffel bag with me. If Kimber noticed, she didn't say anything.
*
I forced a slice of pizza down for Kimber's sake, though I wasn't hungry in the least. "So tomorrow," I said, taking the bed nearest the door. "What time are we meeting this person?"
"Um, well it's just going to be me this time."
"Yeah, Kimber, there's no way am I letting you meet with some random Drisking fuckwit by yourself."
"I have to go alone or they won't talk to me."
"Who the fuck is this guy, Kimber?"
"I can't tell you that yet."
"Is it a woman or a man?" I asked. She shook her head at me. "And just what is he giving you tomorrow? The files on Borrasca?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"I...don't actually know."
"Kimber, this is crazy."
"I have- "
"I can't let you go into town alone."
"Sam."
"Stop being in such a fucking hurry to die!" I snapped at her. Kimber's face paled and she moved further away from me on her bed.
"We'll talk about it in the morning." She whispered, and then turned off the lamp.
"Fine." I laid in the dark for a while and when I was sure she was asleep; I went back into the bathroom for another hit. By the time I woke up the next morning, Kimber was gone.
