The Guily Ones

Roadtrip

While cruising down the road in Sookie's little, broke down yellow car (which left me afraid for my life with every little speedbump we hit), I reevaluated my poor life choices. Again.

It was hard to pin down where exactly I had taken the wrong turn, which had me end up right here, right now, looking for a serial killer in Louisiana. Maybe it had happened around my eleventh birthday, when I had smoked my first joint - and my foster family kicked me out. If that hadn't happened, I would have stayed in Ohio, never would have met Tom and eventually wouldn't run around chasing not one but two serial killers. Yeeah, I was one lucky girl.

I wouldn't have stayed with them anyways. They had been looking for reasons to kick me out again from the start. Bob had lost his job and they need some quick cash. What better way to earn some extra money and show all your churchgoing neighbors what kind of good christians you are by taking in a child? But Bob finally found another job and Sandra had unexpectedly inherited quite the sum so they started to look for reasons to send me back. Reasons like me smoking a joint or being home late from curfew. Having bad grade. Maybe even just dropping plate. One evening I had overheard j them taing about planting one of Sandra's jewelleries on me and calling the cops on me as their last resort, because if they would send back a thief, they could save their face in their community. Nobody would expect them to keep up with a thief, right?

Going back into the system sounded better than going to juvie for thirteen year old me. So I got myself busted - and stole some jewelry on my way out in a "Robin Hood" Iike manner. It was them who had given me the idea of stealing in the first place, so I felt kind of entitled to do so afterwards. Maybe the rush of not getting caught was, what set me up with my career path afterwards. Maybe it was being set in the Jones Family next? Meeting Tom, meeting James, running from Mr. Jones after everything that was set in motion...

Memories, deep buried in my brain with alcohol and denial, tried to climb their way up. I suppressed them.

This was probably the worst possible moment to dwell in bad, painful memories. I had to concentrate. Revenge Sookie or something like that. I turned my head and looked at the odd girl driving. She was humming Rihannas 'Umbrella' smiling. Her mood was a strong contrast to the wreck that had stood in front of my door just a shy hour ago. Having a lead seemed to lighten her mood immensely.

That was something I could understand quite well myself. Nonetheless I was amazed by her ability to focus on the good an evidently ignore all the bad. She had endured more than enough pain the last couple of weeks. Her grandma not only died, she was murdered, her brother arrested, she herself the victim of a murder attempt, humming in the car beside me. Toms death alone had me crumble into pieces and I was just about to com back under it. With plans for revenge and hatred in my heart to get me out of bed...

"Done daydreaming?", she turned her head, grinning even wider showing her gap between her teeth.

"Yeah, looks like it..."

She nodded. I wasn't sure if she knew that because she was tracing down my thoughts with her scary gift or just because she was perceptive. Maybe she was just polite and wanted to get back to a conversation. Nonetheless I always felt a bit uneasy around her. I had my secrets she wasn't suppose to know so it was up to. Especially when it came to Eric. Would she tell him, if she found out?

Her mouth twitched while thoughts of Eric crossed my mind, but all she said was "I thought about what to do next!"

"I'm all ears."

Taking the left turn, her wheels made a weird squeaking noise while I tried to keep my composure. Who taught that girl how to drive? My stomach didn't like it.