Robbers

eight

// eight //

          Ella fiddled with the radio as Ryan drove through a busy intersection, his right hand lazily spinning the steering wheel to the left. The afternoon sunlight glinted off the silver roof of the car in front of them, and Ella hastily flipped down the sun-shade as she went through stations that produced only garbled static. “Your signal on this thing is shit. I can’t get anything.”

            He snorted, replying with a smooth grin, “Don’t make fun of my radio, Ella. At least I don’t drive around in my mom’s Honda.”

            It was the Monday after the Friday night where Ella had first broken the law, and Ryan had offered to give her a ride home from school. The interior of his truck smelled strongly of a mix between old cologne and dirty sneakers, but Ella didn’t mind. She hadn’t spoken to Talia much at lunch – or Nina, for that matter – so she would have needed to take the bus home if Ryan hadn’t offered.

            “You know what? I’m stopping for coffee,” Ryan said suddenly, switching on the blinker and moving into the left turn lane beside a Dunkin Donuts. “I’m exhausted.”

            “Don’t fall asleep at the wheel,” Ella teased, finally finding a station that came in clearly. The sounds of a bass guitar leaked through the truck’s speakers, and Ella quickly reached to turn up the volume as she realized what song it was. “No way, I didn’t know they played the Arctic Monkeys on the radio.”

            “Who the hell is that?” Ryan asked blankly, and he rolled his eyes when Ella gaped at him. The green arrow appeared above the intersection, and he turned into the store’s driveway. “Don’t give me that look. I listen to classic bands, not shitty pop b—”

            “They are not a popband,” she retorted hotly.

            Ryan shook his head and laughed, pulling into the drive-through and coming to a stop behind the last car in line. “Whatever you say. Do you want anything?”

            “No,” Ella sighed. “I left my wallet at home.”

            “So what?” he shrugged, pulling up to the speaker as the other car drove to the next window. “I’ll buy you a coffee.”

            “You don’t have to – ”

            “Calm down, Ella, it’s literally a dollar.”

            Guiltily, Ella twisted the straps of her backpack in her hands as Ryan ordered two dark roast coffees. She hated allowing other people to pay for her, but this was a particularly chilly late September day and Ella couldn’t deny that she really did want something warm to drink. Besides, Ryan didn’t seem annoyed in the least as he drove up to the window to pay.

            In fact, he was unusually polite to the middle-aged worker, grinning as he handed over a couple of dollars. When they were waiting for the coffee at the final window, Ryan turned up the radio slightly and raised his eyebrows at the song that was still playing. “Damn, Ella, I’m surprised. This is badass.”

            “I told you they weren’t a pop band,” Ella grinned. Ryan reached out the take the two coffees then, and she accepted one of the cups from him as he set his own in the holder between them. Ella held the warm Styrofoam with both hands as he rolled up the car window, cutting off the cool air that had been seeping through. “Thanks for the coffee.”

            “Yeah, no problem,” he said, stopping at the edge of the road to turn left for home. A grin was tugging at the right corner of his lips as he looked over at Ella, adding, “It’s the least I can do.”