Give the Devil his Due

Chapter 12

We met up with several other cars at a gas station just outside of town, off the main highway which overlooked the small town of Division. Nicole and I stayed in the car while Lucas hopped out to greet the other drivers. I saw Rico, Manuel, Javier, Carlos, Esteban, and Daniel meet Lucas in the space between our cars. I also saw Andrea, Julieta, Sofía, Alejandra, and Isadora sitting in separate cars, waiting for their partners to return so we could get on the road.

There were seven cars in total, each one carrying only two passengers.

Well, not exactly.

"Nicole, why don't you ride with Rico. He's going to be lonely." I suggested, mostly because I wanted everything to be even but also because I wanted some alone time to talk with Lucas. There were a few things we needed to discuss in private.

"You think?" Nicole wondered, biting at her nails, staring at Rico who was laughing with the rest of the guys.

I shrugged, "Definitely."

She smiled to herself and nodded, "Okay."

Nicole climbed over the seat and hopped out of the driver's door. She shot me a wink before walking towards Rico's car and settling in the passenger's seat without even speaking to Rico. The men watched her but said nothing, then turned back to Rico questioningly as if he could possibly know what was going on.

Rico only smiled then jogged excitedly back to his car.

The rest of the men finished up a few traveling details before returning to their cars to begin the drive. I straightened a little as Lucas slipped back into his seat, rolling the window all the way down, "Ready, mi diosa?"

"As I'll ever be." I responded, slipping my flip flops off and sticking my bare feet out the window. Lucas eyed my painted toes before chuckling to himself and starting the car. He pulled out of the gas station, making a left and merging onto the highway.

"So, am I right in assuming you had nothing to do with Nicole's change of transportation?" Lucas asked once we were all comfortably on the road. There was a long line of cars behind us, each of them belonging to our group. I saw the girls sticking their hands or feet out the window as I was, and I could barely make out the figures of the men driving relaxed behind the wheel.

It felt good to be in such a big group, almost like we could take on the world.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I muttered, pushing my sunglasses up higher on my nose, "She just got up and left. I'm just as confused as all of you are."

Lucas slumped further back into his seat, "How many times do I have to tell you how awful of a liar you are?"

"As many times as I have to tell you that you drive way too fast." I squealed as we swerved around an old minivan, the poor old lady within was yelling in anger. I peered out the window and mouthed my apology as we passed her increasingly. Then I slapped Lucas on the arm, "You're going to get someone killed."

He shrugged and lightly tapped my arm in return, "I've already done that."

Those words sobered my playful mood and I pulled away from him. Despite this fun day Lucas had planned for us, we needed to discuss his actions of yesterday considering I was still uninformed about what kind of sickness Lucas had. He almost died last night but here he was, pretending like he was as healthy as a horse.

"I'm sorry. I didn't meant to say that." Lucas apologized, realizing his mistake as soon as I distanced myself both physically and emotionally.

"Can we just talk about it to get it out of the way?" I wondered, taking a deep breath of the fresh air flushing rapidly in through my open window. I needed it's cool strength to keep me sane during this conversation, "We're gonna have to talk about it at some point, don't you just want to get it done and over with?"