"Hey, watch out for that--"
In the driver's seat, Ashton suddenly takes his foot off the gas pedal and onto the brake at the last possible minute, causing us to both lurch forward as his car comes to a stop just barely in front of the red light only mere feet away from us.
I exhale out of relief, squeezing my eyes shut at the near-miss. The last thing I'd want to do tonight is have Ashton get a speeding ticket from one of those automated stoplight cameras because of me.
Although I have no idea where Ashton lives, I have a vague feeling that it's nowhere around this part of town; the part with the low-rent apartments and crappy cell phone service. He probably lives in a normal town, one where he doesn't have to worry about cockroaches crawling from his bathroom sink every once in awhile.
On one hand, I feel absolutely terrible about him going out of his way to drop me off, but on the other, he would probably insist on walking with me anyways.
Right now, however, I kind of wish that he did walk me home instead, because--no offense--Ashton is a horrendous driver.
Not quite Augustus-Waters-from-The-Fault-in-Our-Stars horrendous, but horrendous all the same.
Ashton sighs and looks over at me, instantly raising his eyebrows. "Believe it or not, I know what I'm doing, Nickels. Quit distracting me."
I nod for his sake, facing straight forward just because he isn't, then point. "Green light!"
Ashton's foot jams the pedal again, I cringe as I prepare myself for another potential crash. As I peer over at him, wondering how he even got his license in the first place, he merely chuckles at my nervousness. "Hey, I'm not usually this bad of a driver, I swear. But, I do have to admit: this truck is a wreck."
I survey the pieces of metal haphazardly strewn all over the interior of Ashton's car and wince as my head hits the back of the solid, partly ripped head cushion. "This is a truck?"
I'm not trying to be mean, but with all of it's missing pieces it's extremely hard to tell. Most of the paint has chipped and the storage space attached is covered in a tarp.
"Well, it was a truck, at one point!" Ashton argues, throwing up his arms in defeat. As the vehicle slightly swerves off the road and towards a lamppost, he quickly regains control and turns his attention back to the road.
"Sure, okay." I reply quieter this time, staring out the beat-up window at the dark sky and the dim light emitted from the street lamps as I close my eyes.
Another close call.
"Shut up." He groans, checking his mirrors for probably the first time. "I'm trying to flee a crime scene here, so the least you could do is be supportive."
"Okay, okay. Fine." I can't help but chuckle instead of wincing as Ashton's vehicle lurches forward again. "Your, um, truck... Is actually a truck?"
Ashton nods, eyes still fixated on the road. "Apology accepted. So, what kind of non-shitty car do you drive?"
I pause, sighing at my lack of memory for anything having to do with cars. "Um, well, it's some sort of minivan. I can't remember what kind."
"A minivan." Ashton repeats, peering over at me as we approach another red light. "Interesting."
I groan, feeling my stomach lurch forward due to the sudden stop, and also because of his weird words. He continues to peer at me, smirking mischievously. "Okay, why is the fact I drive a minivan this interesting? You're really starting to creep me out here."
