She nodded.
I shook my head. “Fuck no. My mom was never around. She was always at this retreat or in some recovery center for her cocaine addiction. And dad, well, I didn’t see him unless he was beating my ass for the trouble I caused.”
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. We’re all dealt a certain hand in life. That was mine.” There was a pause for a moment before I spoke up again. “So, what about you?”
“Me?”
I just looked at her, refusing to reply because we both knew what I meant.
She took a deep breath and swallowed. “I’m an only child, as far as I know. My mom ran off some years after I was born, leaving my dad to raise me. He was a good man. He worked hard, but no matter how hard he worked, he never made enough to provide a comfortable life. We were always struggling. That’s what led him to crime. He would steal, sell drugs, guns, whatever, in order to make a buck. That’s how I met my cheating ex. My dad and his dad were basically partners in crime. Alex and I grew up together, and we started dating in high school. For the most part, he felt like the only person I could trust. He knew how hard it was growing up the way we did.”
I took in the sad look on her face. It pissed me off to see it there. The girl was too vibrant to let some fucking shit-for-brains drag her down this way.
The waitress brought over our food, and I grabbed my fork to dig in. “You were with that guy for that long, and he still treated you like shit?”
She just shrugged and turned her attention to her pancakes.
“If you ask me, he deserves more than a wrecked car.”
She looked up at me with a sad smile. “Well, he may have gotten it. Rumor has it that my so-called best friend has the clap.”
We both started laughing, and it felt like the moment of seriousness had been lightened.
Once we finished breakfast, we started our hike down the two-lane highway that led out of town. To my surprise, she was rather quiet on our walk. There wasn’t much traffic coming into town, and there was even less leaving it. We walked for a solid hour before she finally demanded a break by sitting in the gravel on the side of the road.
“What are you doing?” I asked, turning back to look down at her.
“I need a break. We’ve been walking for an hour, and believe it or not, these boots aren’t the best for long walks. I think my blisters have blisters.”
I shook my head. “Fine, take five, but then you’re going to have to get up. We need to make it to the next town so we can find a car.”
She groaned and threw her head back. “Can’t we just rent a car?”
“You got the money to do that, because I sure as fuck don’t—not since you wrecked my payday.”
She just rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine. Let’s go.” She held out her hand for me to help her up.
I acted annoyed, but I took a couple of steps and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet. The wind blew, and it sent the smell of her my way. I had no idea how she smelled so good, considering we’d both used the same motel-provided products, but I inhaled her sweetness deeply, and I savored the few seconds her hand was in mine. I couldn’t let her know that, though. She’d been nothing but bad luck and a major pain in my ass since we met.
Once she was on her feet, her eyes met mine. I got lost in her brilliant blue irises. With the way the sun was hitting them, they lit up like stained glass. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I could see her soul. It felt like mine was being extracted, as if something were being exchanged.
I cleared my throat and released her hand before turning away and continuing on my walk, neither of us mentioning the weirdness of the moment.
Luckily, we didn’t have to walk much further before we found ourselves stumbling into the next town.
“Thank God,” she cheered when a dollar store came into view. She picked up the pace, going from a slow walk to a quick jog.
I chuckled and shook my head, but took off jogging behind her.
I walked into the store just a few seconds after she did, but she already had a basket over her arm as she darted down aisles. She grabbed a pack of two toothbrushes and turned to me.
“You get one, I get one. No more sharing. Got it?” She arched her brow.
I showed her my palms. “Fine,” I agreed.
She tossed them into the basket and then reached for a tube of toothpaste. In the next aisle, she grabbed a pack of disposable razors and a deodorant stick. I grabbed a roll for myself and tossed it into her basket. She frowned at me, but didn’t sayanything as she moved on. We both got a package of underwear and socks. I stood by while she looked through every bra, complaining that none of them fit her size.
