Sativa.

13. Parking Lots

From a young age, Blaine remained the most resilient of her siblings.

Clark, being the eldest, had a superiority complex. Although he served his sisters dinner each evening (often meager helpings of watered-down oatmeal) he overcompensated. His self-righteous attitude brewed an edgy household.

Tina, meanwhile, coped with the parents absenteeism through a rebel phase. There were frequent nights Blaine and Clark waited for her to stumble home drunk and stoned at two a.m. Those evenings she and her brother would camp out in the living room playing Chutes and Ladders -- their only board game with all the pieces.

Blaine has always thrived under pressure. During months of unemployment she's gained a unique understanding of Travis. Stress is as a natural truth serum. Just as she had with her siblings, Blaine learned more about him through their fights. The dark nights where an empty bank account left hearts vacant until the dawn.

Travis the person is caring, passionate, and funny. Travis the circumstance is a separate entity brimming with intensity, secrets, and danger. There's a part of Blaine just as twisted. The part that's wildly attracted to the beast dormant in him.

Their fighting stopped after she scored a gig at the 7 Eleven. They hadn't shouted at each other for weeks. Until this morning.

Now nightfall, Blaine waits in front of the gas station for Travis to pick her up. It's the darkest night of the winter. Pin-pricks of stars dot the sky silver but the moon is blocked by cloud-cover. Orange embers from the tip of her cigarette accent the bleak darkness. She's shivering so violently she can hardly keep the filter between her lips.

The 7 Eleven parking lot is empty until a car with a sputtering engine turns into the lot. She's sitting passenger before Travis can properly park.

Blaine glances at the clock on the radio. 11:11. Even with the tension of the argument building between them like a storm he wasn't late. The routine remains familiar. Travis stays parked to talk about her day without the distraction of driving.

"How was your day?" Blaine asks, cranking up the heater. The blasting fan drowns out a hum of Tupac rapping through the speakers.

"Not bad. Work is slow as fuck but I helped Gloria replace her windows."

"Oh? How's she been?" Since Blaine started working she hasn't made trips across the river to visit the old woman.

"Good as can be expected. It isn't easy for her by herself during winter."

At first she only mmm hmms, taking a last drag from the cigarette. "Good thing she's got you to help out."

"What about your day?"

Blaine slouches in her seat and tucks her chin into her hoody. "Long. I made pizza all day. The heat lamps broke so it got soggy. I might be poisoning people for all I know."

"That sucks," he says. "I went to see Brittney today too."

She brightens at his niece's name. Already the little girl has a special place in her heart. "I hope she's doing good."

"She is. Serenity too. The landlord got her started taking care of his horses so she hasn't spent too much time cooped up in her house."

They talk until another song plays through then head home. Blaine relaxes, warmed by the heater and the realization their fight hasn't turned into a grudge. A silence settles between them. Welcoming as she stares idly out the window.

When she glances at Travis again she allows her gaze to linger. The radio lights illuminate the cab igniting his face an almost enthralling red hue. His eyes are set forward to the road unnoticing of her staring.