Crash

Chapter 3

WE ALL SAT quietly at the little round table in the corner. Phoenix to my left, Fiona to my right. They were talking about this guy, that was supposedly coming to get us. "Chandler is on his way." Phoenix says out of the blue.

Oh my bad! his name is Chandler. "He won't get here til late tonight." Fiona says, standing up. "Who's hungry?" I raise my hand like a school kid. Fiona laughs and goes to cook. This wasn't just a gas station, this was her home. 

We've spent a day and a night here so far. I hope we're not intruding, but we have no where else to go. The snow has started coming down again, but softly. I'm less sore now, cause Fiona rubbed her "secret healing" lotion on my ribs. I was skeptical but she said that it works like a charm, and I believe her now. They're less black and blue, and the nasty bump on my head is gone, now it's just a slight bruise. 

"So who's Chandler?" I ask, looking over at Phoenix. He was staring down at his boot covered feet. "Nix?" He finally puts his attention on me. "Sorry, yeah?" he mumbles. "Who's Chandler?" I ask again. "He's my best friend." he smiles, I nod my head. "Warning he can be an idiot sometimes." he leans forward in his seat.

"Okay kids, here you go." she puts two plates down. Steam was coming off of them. Scrambled eggs, bacon,  and hash browns filled the plates up. I thanked her, before grabbing the fork and stuffing it into my mouth. I was so hungry. 

"Can I ask you a question?" Phoenix asks. I nodded my head yes, not looking at him. This food is so good! 

"When you said you were a runaway." he notices me tense up and he pauses. "What are you running away from?" I swallow and put the fork down. I give him the coldest of looks. 

"I'm not answering that." I look into his eyes, I'm pretty sure mine look dead of emotion.

Like a leopard that's spent her entire life in a cage. She's scared to let anybody in, so she stays in the darkest corner possible; waiting for somebody to save her, from her own darkness. 

"Neva." Phoenix says. I finish my food quickly before leaving to go to another room. I hear him sigh before I shut the door to the bathroom. I put my knotted brown hair into a bun on the top of my head, and slide down against the wall behind me. Until I'm sitting with my knees up to my chest.

My heartbeats against my chest, as I feel a panic attack coming on. "Deep breathes Neva." I rest my hand on my chest, closing my eyes. "No need to cry." my voice cracks. Talking to myself helps me a little. In and out, in and out. I repeat in my mind. 

Call your dad, let him know you're okay. the voice in my head says.

I sigh, taking a shaky breath before standing. I pop my head out the door, catching two pairs of eyes. I ignore his brown eyes, and focus on Fiona. Her green eyes look worriedly at me. They look just like mine, expect she has a bit of blue in hers.

"Fiona." I whisper. I feel that I can trust Fiona a lot, so I do. She rushes over to me and taking hold of one of my hands. "You're shaking honey." she says quietly. "Uh, can I borrow your phone?" I ask. She nods her head and hands it to me. I give her a tight lipped smile, before shutting the door again. 

I dial his number, then it rings. I put it up to my ear, feeling the nervousness in the pit of my stomach. I haven't heard his voice in so long. I only messaged him on facebook, telling him about mom and the whole situation. He sent me enough money for gas and food. It was a long drive from the beaches of Florida to the snow of Vermont. I look at myself in the mirror. He finally picks up on the third ring. 

"Hello?" my dads worried voice comes through the phone. Afraid to speak, I stay quiet. "Hello?" he says again. I let the breath I was holding out of my lungs. "Listen buddy, I can hear you breathing." he pauses, talking to somebody in the background.