“You saidthat mywhen you were talking about Rob. What were you going to call him?”
Shoving the door open to the bathroom, I breathed a sigh of relief that it was a single bathroom with a lock. “Sorry, only one at a time.” I slammed the door and locked it, then stormed to the other end of the very short bathroom.
“Idiot!” I chastised myself.
I couldn’t believe I almost gave it away. Rob didn’t know we were married, and I wasn’t about to say anything now. Not until I found a better time. This wasn’t exactly something you just blurted out without any thought.
And frankly, I wasn’t even sure it was true. What would be the point in saying anything when I wasn’t even sure we didn’t just make it up? Maybe it was one of those things where we got drunk and were just pretending to be married to screw with people.
I could totally see that happening. A way to mess with the town and stick it to them about how gossip was bad. Though I wasn’t really one for putting myself in the spotlight, so it most likely didn’t happen that way, but I could lie to myself for now and believe that’s what happened to make myself feel better.
“Are you gonna pee anytime soon?” Claire called out. “Some of us have been holding it since the hospital!”
“Crap,” I muttered, quickly going to the bathroom.
It wasn’t the cleanest gas station I’d ever been in, but it was better than a porta-potty. I did my best not to sit as I peed, and was extra careful when using the sink. Everything about this place screamed infectious diseases.
I slid my sleeve over my hand and unlocked the door so I didn’t get my freshly washed hands all germy. Claire was waiting impatiently and didn’t even bother waiting for the door to close all the way before she was pulling down her pants.
I tugged the door closed and stood sentry outside in case anyone else had to go to the bathroom. She was quick, much faster than me, and when she came out with a grin on her face, I was a little confused.
“I’ve never seen someone so happy to use the bathroom.”
“When you have kids, all modesty is gone.”
“But these aren’t your kids. These are strangers.”
“Yes, but I had to pee, and you were there. I wasn’t worried. Snacks?”
She changed topics so quickly, I had no choice but to go with it.
“Popcorn?”
“Ooh, and some Laffy Taffy. A road trip just isn’t the same without it.”
“And beef jerky for the guys,” I said, grabbing some as we passed.
“Ooh, and Nerds. I love them,” she said, snatching a few packs.
“Should we get water?”
“And a few sodas. They’ll need the caffeine.”
“I could go for some coffee.”
I beelined over to the machines, grimacing when I saw the selection. It wasn’t so much the lack of choices that made me wary, but the fact that the coffee pots looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in over a year.
By the time we made it up to the counter, our arms were loaded and my stomach was growling to dig into the multitude of choices.
The cashier slowly rang up our purchases, sighing every now and then as if we were ruining his day. And then came the time for him to bag everything. I was tempted to just grab the stuff and carry it out sans bag. At least then we’d actually get out of here sometime today.
“Listen, not to be a jerk, but we’re kinda in a hurry.”
The cashier looked up at me, his face bored and blank. “I’m going as fast as I can.”
He grabbed another bag, struggling to open it when the ends stuck together. I was barely holding it all in. I was on the run with people I hardly knew, had a dimwit for a cashier, and all I really wanted was a good night’s sleep.
When it was finally bagged, I snagged the items and spun around, only to run straight into a bulky man who was standing way too close for comfort.