felicity
The streets are buzzingwith life, full to the brim with Fourth of July revelers dressed in red white and blue, making their way down toward the river for the festivities. It’s gorgeous outside — a perfect summer day. Music fills the air from all sides as I walk through the lively Sobro district beneath the burning mid-afternoon sunshine. Every now and then, a bottle rocket shoots off into the sky with a piercing whistle, a precursor to the official display that’ll illuminate the city in a matter of hours.
Not that I’ll be here to see it.
There’s so much going on around me, my senses fail to pick up on the car creeping slowly along the curb until I’m well past the crowds, moving away from downtown. At first, I think I’m just being paranoid. But when I increase my pace and hear the engine rev in response, I know it’s real. Someone’s following me, a spider slinking toward the fly in its web.
He’s here.
In my mind, I can already picture the fury on my father’s face when he grabs me in that iron grip. Panic begins to course through my veins. There’s no one to call out to for help on this vacant side street, nowhere to turn except empty businesses, all closed in honor of the holiday. I’m totally isolated.
Bracing myself to start sprinting, I cast a quick glance back over my shoulder. My body goes slack as relief washes over me. Instead of the rusty green pickup truck I was expecting… I see a familiar late model sedan with a platinum blonde sitting in the front seat. She waves jauntily through the windshield when I spot her.
“Carly!” I scowl as she pulls to a stop beside me. “What the hell! You scared me half to death.”
“Sorry.” She doesn’t look sorry, judging by the grin on her face.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, you know.” She shrugs. “Just out for a drive.”
My brows lift skeptically.
“Okay, so I figured you might need a ride. When I got to The Nightingale, Isaac told me you’d already left for the bus terminal. I’ve been driving around looking for you for, like, twenty minutes.” She shakes her head. “Come on, throw your stuff in the trunk before you melt.”
“But—”
“Don’t fight with me.”
It’s about ninety degrees outside. I’ve already sweat through my sundress, and I’m not even halfway through my walk. With a resigned grumble, I toss my guitar in the back, then fold myself into her passenger seat. The cool air from her AC vents feels like heaven. I close my eyes and breathe deep as she starts driving.
“Thanks,” I murmur after a few minutes, when I no longer feel like I might suffer heat stroke.
“You might not want to thank me just yet.” Her voice has a mischievous edge.
“Carly…” My eyes open and I see we’re nowhere near the bus terminal. Instead, we’ve circled back toward the river. “Where are we?”
“Don’t be mad!” she exclaims, pulling into a space in front of an unfamiliar brick apartment building and shutting off the engine. “Just hear me out.”
I blow out a breath. “You have about thirty seconds to explain. Then I’m walking.”
“You’re staying with me for a few days.” She uses her best no-nonsense voice — the one she employs to manage flighty musicians who want to change their set times at the last minute. I must say, it’s pretty effective.
“Carly—”
She cuts me off. “No. This isn’t a discussion. I’ve decided.”
“It’s not your decision to make. It’s mine!”
“Two words.” She holds up two fingers. “Spirit. Guide.”
I sigh deeply. “I appreciate you looking out for me, but we already talked about this last night—”
“Yep. And then I went home, slept on it, and realized howbatshit crazyyou are if you think I’m going to support you taking off to god only knows where with nothing but a few weeks of tip money and the crappiest fake ID known to man.”
“But—”
“No buts. I already checked with my roommate and she doesn’t mind you crashing on our couch for a few days, while we figure out a plan. Most of the time, she sleeps at her boyfriend’s place anyway.”