Silent Rain

Chapter Three

About 10 minutes went by before Neo screeched in Tess' ear, causing her to swerve while the others screamed. "Neo! What the hell?" Neo laughed so hard he slid out of his seat and onto the floor. "And so it begins," Drew mumbled, kicking Neo in his gut. "Where am I headed Drew?" Tess said, not having a GPS or map to follow. Only Alex and Drew had been to Oregon before so they were in charge of directions. "Oh ya, ok so you wanna head for Weed, which might be like an hour or less." "Why are we going to Bend again?" Neo had never lived in a place that was always rainy and gloomy and cold like Oregon. "Because it will be easy for us to collect clean water with all the rain, it's easier to warm up in the cold than cool down in the heat, no taxes, it's beautiful, people living in Bend are very sweet since its a small town, the coastal forests will hide us well since they are always flourishing and green. It's ideal for people like us." Alex had been visiting Oregon twice a year since she was seven years old. She had a passion for Bend and the people in it. "People like us..." Tess repeated. "Yeah, you know, runaways." "Don't forget stoners, killers, loners, and-" Neo was cut off by Riley snorting with laughter. "What's so funny Riley? Are we not all those things?" "Speak for yourself, ya dingo." "I am not a stoner," Alex corrected. "Yes you are. You just don't know it yet. Here." Neo handed her a joint he had in his pocket. Tess spoke up for her, "She doesn't know what to do Neo, she's never smoked anything before remember? Show her how first."
She handed her best friend her lighter without taking her eyes off the road. Taking the lighter in one hand and a joint in the other, she stared at them. Drew couldn't stop himself, he hated drugs and didn't approve of abusing them for fun. "Don't force her to, she doesn't have to if she doesn't want to, what kind of friends are you guys?" "Nah she'll figure it out, it's like a cigarette but hold in your breath as long as you can or else you're wasting." Neo directed her with a helpful expression on his face. After a few seconds of silence Riley took the pressure off Alex, letting her watch as she showed her how to light it and when to breathe in. She held it in for a couple seconds then let the smoke escape between her teeth as she smiled. "Alright now you finish off the rest yourself," Neo was happy to share something he was good at with his close friends. He enjoyed being the expert on something they could all do together. Tess felt like she knew more than him when it came to the subject but didn't try to upstage him. "Stop telling her she has to Neo, smoking is a stupid waste of time and money, it becomes a gross habit." Drew had never done any drugs before but knew what they did to people in the long term as his father was in jail because of them.
"Once you try it you can decide whether or not you like the feeling and choose if it becomes apart of your life. But then again never experimenting with anything somewhat dangerous will lead to an unsatisfied life in the end. No stories to share, no crazy memories and nothing to look forward to." Tess always had a way of making things seem reasonable to Alex. She always made sense and could easily change her mind.
So with that in mind Alex held the rolled paper to her lips, flicked on the lighter, and sucked in a deep breathe. As she sucked in the smoke, allowing it to fill her virgin lungs, a sense of accomplishment overcame her. Then suddenly without warning her throat burned and her immediate reaction was to cough. She kept in mind what Neo said about wasting and fought the urge. She tried focusing on the passing trees and shrubs outside Riley's window but then noticed everyone's attention was on her. She opened her mouth to smile like Riley had done but immediately when she opened her lips she had a coughing fit. Eyes watering, she looked at Neo and gave him a thumbs up, still coughing. Tess was trying not to laugh but instead starting snorting. Drew had sympathy in his eyes as Neo and Riley cracked up. "Like that?" Alex asked Neo once she caught her breath again. "Well yes, eventually you will get better at not coughing and your lungs will get used to it and you can hold it in longer. But not bad for your first hit. Now keep going until you almost burn your fingers." "You won't get me to smoke that easy," Drew promised. "Challenge accepted my friend," Neo just glared at him but then broke into smile as Drew wished him luck. Riley watched as Alex burned it down to a roach. Tess flicked it out the window for her and kept her eyes on the road. "So what do you think?" she asked. Alex thought for a moment then answered calmly, "I don't think I feel anything..." "Not even a little calmer?" "No, well I mean I am chill, but it's on my first time anyway i didn't expect anything." "Well, don't worry we will have all the time in the world to ourselves once we are home." Neo said reassuringly.
"Home?" Drew questioned his usage of the word. When thinking of a "home" it creates the image of warmth, family, safety. The connotation of "home" is happy, but thinking about living in the forest seems the opposite. "Yeah, Oregon is our new home, we will make it our home eventually." "Wait, I thought we agreed on traveling to other states too, not just staying in one place," Tess loved to move around and Alex had never been anywhere else. They had plans to travel the world together after they turn 18, their first stop being Australia. "We will keep moving but we need to lay low for the first few months because the police will be looking for us," Neo spoke as if he had experience with being hunted by the police.
"Alright we are in Weed, where to now guys?" Tess pulled over into a Wal-Mart parking lot. "I say we go to sleep for a few hours, I'm beat," Neo said yawning, his eyes already closed. "No we need to drive as far as possible in the few short hours we have left before our parents notice we are missing," Alex was more worried about her parents finding her than the police. "Head for Elkton then north from there and we should be in Oregon in a couple hours." Drew had been studying maps for months before so they wouldn't be tracked using their phones. "Hey Riley are you gonna say anything now that we are family?"
Throughout the three years they've known her she's never spoken a word. They'd like to think she chooses to not speak rather than her be unable and mute, but really nobody knows. All she does is turn toward Neo and flip him off. For what she lacks in words she makes up for with gestures.
"Riley? Please tell us something we don't know about you? About your family? Anything?" Alex pleaded with her but it was useless and she knew it. Riley stayed silent, watching the moon out her window. "We will make her talk eventually," Neo was growing grouchy as he got tired. "Ooh kinky," Drew nudged Neo jokingly but Riley whipped around and socked Drew in the arm. "Damn, you sure can hit hard for a tranny," this was probably the worst thing to call her. The Group had been saying she was a tranny ever since they met her. Just one way to really get underneath her skin. But riley didn't hit him again. She pulled out a notebook from her bag and wrote something down then put it away. This, she knew, scared him more than anything. Now he was going to be paranoid until she got revenge. Riley never failed to get revenge.
"Hey guys, what do you think our parents are thinking right now?" Alex couldn't stop worrying about her mother coming after her and bringing her back under her rules. "It's like, what? 2:00 AM right now Alex, they are all asleep," Tess was losing patience since she hadn't had a full nights sleep in days. "Yeah but I mean what they thought about us right before they went to bed? Mine probably think I'm busy fucking some guy and already planned a punishment for me." Alex said, completely serious."My father was asleep when I got home but he will notice his car is missing before he realizes I'm not there." Tess didn't even look sad, just kept her eyes focused on the road ahead. "My mom and dad might think I'm being a good boy and saying no to drugs." "Yeah? Well not all our parents trust us that much, Drew. My mom will know what I did, my dad might not understand though. I told Nate to tell them that I am backpacking alone for a while and for them not to worry." Neo was close with his mom and his parents were both accepting of his choices, no matter the consequences to come to him in the future. His mom always knew when something was wrong. Her "sixth sense" as he called it.
"Riley? Anything?" But as usual. Riley stayed as silent as the rain sliding down the windshield.