The Rainy Day Coffee Shop - Sanders Sides AU

Part 19 - The Ride

Virgil closed the door behind him as he got into Roman's car. It was Saturday morning, and they had spent the whole week packing and preparing. Virgil had quit his job, but his boss still made him work until the end of the week. It had been bittersweet on Friday, hanging up his apron as he said goodbye to the Rainy Day Coffee Shop. He had so many memories, even from just the 10 months he'd been working there; the smell of coffee, the taste of cookies - but more importantly, the hours of talking with Roman every morning. And now they were moving in together. It had all started with the Coffee Shop, when he thought about it. Without it, he would have never met Roman, and possibly never met Patton and Logan. But all that was in the past. Time to look to the future.

They had bought a two-person apartment five hours away, and Roman had loaned enough money from his parents to keep them going for a few months while they both found jobs. They'd said a teary goodbye to Patton, and a comparably formal goodbye to Logan. Virgil had tried not to cry as he said goodbye to his friends, but Roman's smile had comforted him. They had planned to leave Friday evening, but the paperwork for the new apartment hadn't come in until the Saturday morning. Virgil was tense, as he knew that his parents might arrive any moment; at least the fact that he wasn't actually at his own apartment might buy them some time if they did arrive.

"Try and calm down, Virgil." Roman said softly.

Virgil realized that his leg had been bouncing anxiously, and he had been chewing his nails and gazing out the window.

"Y-yeah." He took a deep breath, "You're right."

Roman gave him a loving smile.

"Any particular choice of music?" Roman asked.

"Not really. Just play the radio." Roman nodded and put something on. At first it was just people talking, but it then switched to hardcore rock.

Roman started up the car and made his way downtown, towards the highway. Despite his anxiety, Virgil felt a little spark of hope ignite in his heart.

***

They had already got off the highway and onto a pretty much deserted country road. They'd been driving for about an hour, and had barely spoken. Virgil was gazing out the window, tired from restless nights, but too anxious to fall asleep. At least he wasn't the one driving.

He saw an approaching car, and he had to blink a few time to make sure he wasn't dreaming. No... it can't be?

It was a beaten up, mud-stained, brown truck with a cracked left window. Clouds of smog tumbled out of the exhaust pipe. It was a car Virgil recognised very well. It was his car.

Calm down, he told himself, calm down, just because it's the same car, doesn't mean it's them...

He told himself to look away, but he couldn't take his eyes off it. It came closer and closer. Finally, when it sped by them, Virgil stared past Roman and into the passenger side. Time seemed to slow down. He locked eyes with the woman there.

His mother.

They sped by in the opposite direction to them, but Virgil could tell by the look on her face as they sped away that she recognised him.

He looked back to the front, "Go faster."

"What?" Roman replied, oblivious to Virgil's slight panic attack.

"FASTER, GO FASTER." Virgil yelled, reaching for the volume dial on the speaker and turning it way up, so that the music filled the car and blocked out any other sound.

Obediently, Roman shifted gears and slammed his foot on the pedal, and they sped forwards.

Despite the loud music, Virgil heard a deafening screech behind him and, looking in the rear-view mirror, saw the brown van make a U turn to follow them.

"Holy shit!" Roman exclaimed as he saw the car following them at top speed, "They're gonna crash into us!"

"Go faster then!" Virgil's heart was pumping faster than it had ever before in his life. He sat bolt upright, keeping his eyes on the approaching car.

Then, to his dismay, the right door opened whilst the car was moving, and his mother leaned out. He didn't even have to see her face to know that she was furious. She held something forwards that he couldn't see, and paused for a second.

Bang.

Smash.

"She has a gun!" Roman yelled in dismay, speeding up even more.

The back window had been smashed, though the force of the impact had stopped the bullet, and the majority of the glass was in the boot and back seats.

The music blasted in his ears, though it sounded as if it was coming from underwater. Virgil's heart pounded, tears ran down his face. Just seeing his mother's face and hearing those familiar gunshots has brought back so many awful memories. He barely heard the second gunshot, barely felt Roman grab his arm is terror.

"Virgil!" Roman's concerned voice melted into his father's yells. He was back as a kid, his dad screaming at him to die, telling him he was worth nothing.

"Virgil, stay with me!" Roman shook him, and Virgil looked up, fear in his eyes, "Have you got your seatbelt on?"

Virgil glanced down at the belt across him, before looking up and nodding in slight confusion.

Roman looked back at the front window grimly, both hands clutching the steering wheel, "Good. Hold on."

All of a sudden, the car lurched sideways, and Virgil heard their bags clatter around in the boot. Virgil watched in panic as the curb got closer and closer. With a huge shake, the car leaped over the curb, and landed in the shrubbery. It barely slowed down as it raced across the field, crushing whatever kind of grain the owner of the land was growing. Roman muttered a small apology to the farmer, before another gunshot rang around them. This time it missed, and Virgil saw the truck screech to a halt at the curb behind them. He heard his father curse loudly, throwing various homophobic slurs after them as they sped away.

Roman whooped in victory, and Virgil's tears turned to relief. They were okay!

"That," Roman panted, "must have been the craziest thing I've ever done in my entire life."

"You were amazing!" Virgil laughed, wiping his face with his sleeve.

And with that, they found another road up ahead, and sped off, faster than ever, into the future.