𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕 (𝚊𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚗 𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚕)

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝

 it was a dark and silent drive. neither arvin nor calypso spoke, both trying to process the weight that had been thrust upon their shoulders. calypso understood why arvin wanted to go back to knockemstiff. sometimes she thought she'd go back to freeburn if she had the chance, but she wasn't sure why. closure? revenge? neither?

they'd left behind the winding country roads awhile ago, and now they were cruising down a highway. the night air felt silky and cool, but the darkness felt like it was bearing down on calypso, both literally and figuratively. still, she didn't regret coming along. she rested her hand on the console, and arvin reached over to hold it, but just as they intertwined their fingers the car began to stall. arvin swore and pulled over.

"what's wrong with it?" asked calypso.

"engine died," said arvin. "it's not gonna start up again."

"shit," muttered calypso.

"it's all right," said arvin. "we'll just sleep in the car tonight. better than havin' some motel take down our names. we're not far from knockemstiff, so we can just hitchhike the rest of the way in the morning."

"that'll be fine," said calypso.

arvin made a pillow of his jacket and stretched himself out across the seat, leaning against his door, and calypso laid out on top of him to rest her head on his chest. the occasional car whirring by sounded almost rhythmic, and they were lulled to sleep, forgetting their troubles for a few hours to lay in each other's arms.

calypso woke up slowly, hearing the familiar sound of arvin's beating heart. she smelled a cigarette being lit, and opened her eyes to see arvin smoking above her.

"mornin', love," he said.

"mornin'," she answered sleepily. "where are we?"

"couple hours from meade," said arvin. "there's an intersection just above us. someone's gotta pick us up there."

"alright," said calypso. "let's go."

they walked up a few feet until they reached a stop sign. they dropped their bags, and calypso lit a cigarette for herself. it was about five minutes before a dark-colored station wagon honked at them and pulled over to get in. a heavy-set man with graying hair wearing a navy button-up shirt rolled down the window, revealing a pretty blonde woman with a leopard-print coat and teal nails in the driver's seat.

"where you headed?" asked the man.

"meade, ohio. you heard of it?" asked arvin.

"the paper mill town, right?" he looked at the woman. there was a thick atmosphere, like they'd just been fighting, but calypso ignored it. "we're passing right through it."

they climbed into the backseat and put their bags on their laps.

"my name's carl, and this here's sandy," said the man.

"hey," said sandy, smiling through the rearview mirror.

"i'm calypso," said calypso, at the same time arvin said "i'm arvin."

"arvin and calypso, huh?" said sandy. "real pretty names."

"pretty name for a pretty girl, huh, sandy?" said carl, nudging sandy.

sandy gave him a bitter smile. calypso made quick eye contact with arvin, and a subtle nod told her that he sensed the awkwardness too. calypso fiddled with the hem of her dress and arvin stared at his hands, not wanting to be the first to break the tension between the couple.

"what you going to meade for?" carl asked after awhile.

"just visiting," said arvin stiffly.

"got family there?" asked sandy.