She's Too Naive

Chapter 34

A few days later and it was already time to move on. Being cooped up in a hotel room for nearly a week was unbearable, and I was thankful to see the outside world pass by in a blur. There had been no sign of the Def, and I was beginning to think we lost them. But Rosen and Cole weren't so sure.

Sighing, I stretched out my cramping legs in the backseat. We had been driving for a good three hours now without stopping once. We had just passed the Ohio border and were now entering into West Virginia. The plan was to stay in Virginia for another few days, and then travel back down to South Carolina. Back to Shorely.

I could make it another week.

I had restricted myself from watching or reading any more news stories about myself. It only made this whole situation harder.

"We're going to stop at the next exit," Cole said from the driver's seat. Rosen was sitting in the passenger side, slumped over and asleep. We had left early this morning, and the sun was only just beginning to touch the treetops. Although I was exhausted, I wasn't able to fall asleep in the car. I felt too exposed to Rosen and Cole, even though I had obviously slept in front of them before.

"Are we going to wake him up?" I asked, nodding at Rosen. I couldn't see his face from my position, but I could tell he had his hand curled up under his chin to support himself against the window. His whole body appeared less coiled and threatening as he slept.

"He'll probably wake up when we stop or slow down, he's a pretty sensitive sleeper," Cole replied.

True to Cole's words, Rosen jolted awake as soon as the car came to a halt. I held back a small smile as I exited the back seat and stood on wobbly feet. As I stretched, my back cracked and the muscles in my calves slowly unwound.

Cole was pumping up gas into the tank, and Rosen began chattering to him about directions. I, on the other hand, had no time to waste as I scurried off inside the gas station to use the bathroom. Drinking that coffee had been a bad choice.

I began picking out some snacks for the rest of the journey, noticing Rosen getting cash from the ATM. Although he had explained the bank account he had with money from the Def, I was still unsure on how much money was really in there. It seemed that all these traveling costs would be expensive. Not to mention I had no clue what the weapons obtained from Chez had costed.

Placing the varied items on the counter, I waited for Rosen to grab some things before he came up to pay. I felt embarrassed to not have any money. I wasn't ever used to having people pay for things for me, and it felt wrong. I didn't enjoy being dependent on other people to help me.

The man behind the cashier eyed Rosen's one hundred dollar bill, holding it up to the light before marking it off with a sharpie. Impatiently, I pulled at the ends of my newly dyed hair. I still wasn't accustomed to the look of having darker hair, and each time I looked in the mirror I was surprised to see the person in the reflection was me.

Rosen reached up and plucked a strand of hair from my black t-shirt, flicking it off his finger as it floated to the stained linoleum flooring. I caught his eye and smiled.

He grinned in return, nudging my shoulder with his own, but had to break his gaze as he received the change. We both grabbed the plastic bags and Rosen shouldered open the door as we walked back towards the car.

Cole was waiting for us, leaned against the hood with his hands jammed in his pockets. He rapped his knuckles on the roof when we piled the bags into the backseat, and took his spot again as driver. Rosen offered to drive, but they decided he would just take over when they stopped again next.

Snacking on my gummy worms, I had my seatbelt off and my legs kicked up across the backseat. To say I was bored would be an understatement. I had never gone on any road trips, and the longest I had been in a car was two hours. We were just beginning our fourth hour of non-stop driving.