Potholes

Chapter 42 As told by Rowan

Eva was awkwardly squirming in the seat beside me for several minutes before Parker suggested we pull into a gas station. Eva swiftly jumped out of the van and ran inside.

Parker, Hayden, and I sat in silence until Eva emerged from the bathrooms.

"So how much do we have left?" Parker asked, gesturing to the brown bag on the floor.

"Seventy five dollars, sixteen cents," Hayden replied, disappointed.

"Look, I don't think you get to be upset about this, it's your fault." I snap, embarassed of the words as soon as they leave my mouth.

Eva and Parker exchange concerned looks before slouching back into their seats.

Parker turned the ignition and the minivan rumbled to life, gently backing out of the parking lot.

The silence between us was almost tangible, with only the overplayed songs on the radio as relief.

The scenery along the highway had little variation, with browning bushes and dusty gravel. I could see the sun gradually dipping below the horizon, and I could feel my eyes getting heavier. Finally Eva broke the silence, "I'm tired," she whined.

There was a murmur of agreement before I spoke up.

"Well, we can't get a hotel," I said, "So we'll have to sleep in the van."

The van did not hold the best sleeping accommodations. It was a minivan, for soccer moms, not ideal for camping. I was grimacing at the thought of us all squishing into it, when we came up to a building on the other side of the highway.

"Why don't we just sleep there?" Parker suggested.

I was dubious, but the thought of sleeping under a proper roof was rather appealing, especially compared to the van.

"What if someone's home?" I asked.

"Hmm, it seems like a farm, we could just sleep in the barn?" Parker said, even though she frased her response more like a question.

We nodded in approval and slowly drove up the driveway. I was almost dusk, so the air was getting cooler and less humid, a welcome change.

We all spilled out of van and carefully made our way to the barn. The lights in the house were turned off, so I assumed no one was home. Cracking open the door, we crept inside. I flicked on the lightswitch and the barn lit up. We slid our bags off our shoulders and laid them down on the floor. Soon we had all collapsed onto the hay bails and were about to fall asleep.

"Hey, you guys still awake?" Eva asked.

"Ya," I replied.

"What are we gonna do for food? We don't have any money left," she said.

"Well, I bet the people up at that house have food. They wouldn't mind if we took some, would they?" Hayden chuckled.

As repulsed by his idea as I was, we didn't really have a better plan. I didn't want to think about money right now, so I let my eyes close and fell asleep.