No Strings Attached

Day 365

            "How does this song represent anything," Elena complains, wrinkling her nose at the high-pitched electric music ringing through the speakers of her car. Her younger brother just laughs, turning it up. "Oh come on, Jeremy. There aren't even words."

            "It's dance music," Jeremy shouts, attempting to voice his response over the blaring music. Elena gives him a look and he smiles. "You know, you used to love rave music."

            "Yeah, when I was in collage," Elena reminds him, pulling down her bright green sunglasses to block out the sun. "I'm supposed to be an adult now, remember?"

            "Where does your boss think you are right now, again? Sick in bed?" Jeremy cracks a grin when Elena playfully shoves his arm.

            "Hey! At least I'm not missing classes," Elena teases. Jeremy makes a face, causing Elena to laugh and shake her head at him. Suddenly Elena's joyful mood deteriorates and she stares at the open road for a moment before saying, "Thanks for coming with me, Jer. It means a lot to me."

            "Yeah, of course," Jeremy says, rolling his head over to look at her. "Yosemite was fun. Who knew trees could be that big?" Smirking, Elena nods stiffly. Seeing this, Jeremy quickly changes the subject. "Alaric is gonna be so mad we went to that drive-through tree without him."

            "Oh, god, don't remind me," Elena groans, already laughing again. "He didn't let me hear the end of it before we left. So maybe we should just keep that to ourselves."

            "Deal," Jeremy promises, finally looking forward. He watches the road signs for a moment, trying to figure out exactly where they are. They'd been driving through open fields for hours now, and he's itching for anything that's not grass or dirt. "When's the next town?"

            "Why? Do you need to pee?" Elena's question is rewarded with a quick glare.

            "I need to stretch my legs. I'm taller than you, remember?" Jeremy's explanation causes Elena to make a face.

            "How does your height have anything to do with this?"

            "I have longer legs! So while your legs can enjoy this luxurious room," Jeremy mocks, and Elena narrows her eyes at him. "Mine get cramped."

            "Fine, we'll stop in the next city. See, it's only a couple of miles away," Elena says, nodding towards the oncoming road sign. She wasn't wrong, Lawrence, Kansas is fast approaching.

            "Thank god," Jeremy mutters before they settle into the music for the next couple of miles.

            Elena doesn't think much of it as they drive through the outskirts of town. She no longer fears this place, the past three months cleansing her of the pain this town had brought her. The time alone had been good for her. She moved back home, spent time with the people she'd missed, even cut her hair. In every sense of the word she was free. Free to finally be happy.

            So no, the familiar sites of Lawrence don't bother her. There's nothing here for her anymore.

            "This must be Caroline again," Elena groans, glancing at her phone as she pulls into a gas station. "She already called me five times today."

            "Well she is getting married in three weeks," Jeremy reminds her, getting out of the car to stand with his sister by the pump. "And you know her fiancé isn't much help with this sort of thing."