wild star| ongoing

three

CHAPTER 3:
November 9th, 2015
• • •

The drive to Rochester had taken a little over five hours. If traffic had been in the way, it could've been six.

Brandy wasn't going to complain, however. She had left the apartment at midnight and now, dawn was close to breaking. A faint shade of orange seeped into the black sky, eating away at the stars as it crept its way up, dragging the first hint of the sunlight with it.

If she had allowed herself more time, she could have pulled over to the side of the road and basked in the beauty of the sunrise, a small pleasure that she hadn't indulged in for three years. There were countless other simple pleasures she had neglected since then. She couldn't even recall the sensation of dancing around the house to the radio, enjoying breakfast on the balcony, or running along the shore and feeling the sand between her toes. She took the simplicities of life for granted and the repercussions circled back to punish her.

All she could do was remain hopeful that those days would return, days when she wouldn't need her sugar to keep her sane.

The weather had drastically changed in Rochester as opposed to the Bronx. The silence in the car was only interrupted by the sound of the engine and the occasional gust of wind that rattled the windows. Despite the chill, she rolled down the window a crack, allowing the fresh air to fill her lungs and clear her mind. She reminded herself that this journey was necessary, that she had to confront her past and make amends.

As her phone rang, Brandy's attention was drawn away from the cold and onto the device in her pocket. Without even looking at the screen, she knew who was calling. The persistent caller had been trying to reach her for hours now. She had lost count of the number of calls and messages they had left, the notifications piling up on her screen like a tower of unread messages. In total, they had made over twenty calls and sent fifty text messages, each one more urgent than the last.

Removing her eyes from the empty road for a split second, she reached for the cell phone in the cup holder and held it up.

where are you?
answer your fucking phone

Brandy wasn't ready to answer Keith. River was at the forefront of her mind and getting to Veronica's abode was the goal. Her boyfriend could wait.

I'm serious Brandy
call me
if this is about what I said earlier, I'm sorry
let's talk about it

She put the phone back inside the cup holder and pushed her foot harder on the accelerator, and her house appeared at the next right turn. It looked the same as she remembered it from her last visit in May, with its two-story structure and white siding. However, as she got closer, she noticed that the grass on the front lawn was now brown and wilted, likely due to the approach of winter, and there was a sleek black pickup truck parked in front of the garage.

Brandy pulled her grey sedan in behind the pickup. Her eager fingers twisted the keys and killed the engine. After applying the brake, she undid her seatbelt. Her legs carried her out of the car in haste, tripping over her untied laces as she made her way to the front door.

"River," she called, the volume of her voice drowning out the sound of the groaning wood of the porch beneath her feet. "River, it's me! Veronica, open up!"

Her fist pounded on the door. "Please open."

The faint sound of shuffling feet piqued her attention. Her heartbeats quickened, her senses heightened, as she eagerly anticipated the moment she had been yearning for. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the lock clicked, and the door swung open, revealing a figure silhouetted by the early morning light.