Surrender (Werewolf)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 

Kieran placed the last of the bags in the back of his truck. My parents stood by the door, my father bracing her as she watched us with tear filled eyes. It was a mix of both happy and sad tears. Although she was happy I was getting a fresh start, she was sad to see me go. It was the same for me.

I had spent the last half hour, while Kieran was loading up, telling them goodbye. I hugged and kissed them at least a dozen times. I wasn’t sure they were going to let me go.

“Are you ready?” he asked closing the tailgate and proceeding to my side of the vehicle. His hand rested on the door handle while he awaited my reply. He watched the brief exchange of emotions between me, my Mom, and Dad.

I smiled at them and they returned it just as happily despite their tears. They were truly happy ones. I lifted my hand and gave them a last wave goodbye with the slight movement of my hand while trying to convince myself this was the right thing to do. I knew that it was, but now, here in the moment, I found myself talking myself out of going, all for the sake of my parents. 

Leaving them was hard.

Kieran placed his hand on my shoulder, which brought me from my reverie. I turned my head to face him and offered a faint smile. He returned it with an encouraging smile all of him own. I nodded to him.

He pulled open the door and waited. Watching my parents as I got in, he closed the door after I was settled in the seat.

The window was down and the sun was beating down, hot on top of us. The heat had already settled in the cab of the truck and suddenly the tank top and shorts I was wearing was not cool enough for this entirely hot day.

Kieran rounded the vehicle to his side and was next to me in only a few short seconds. The engine roared to life, startling me with the loud sound. I flushed light pink when he grinned at my slight jump.

He put the truck in reverse and slowly backed from my drive way, being cautious of his surroundings. Glancing out the side view mirror, I watched my home become smaller into the distance until it eventually disappeared all together, my mom and dad waving the entire time.

With my whole room packed into the back of the truck and my past behind me, I let out a sigh of relief. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

This would truly be a fresh start for me.

Kieran and I took turns fiddling with the old antique radio inside the truck. I was surprised it picked up any radio stations at all given its age. Out of the three radio stations it could pick up, two of them were older country stations, airing Johnny Cash, Hank William Junior, Willie Nelson and others like them. I remember, while spending time on my grandparent’s farm as a kid, listening to these kinds of stations while my grandpa worked on his vehicles. It wasn’t my taste, but it did bring back some fond memories.

I was happy to settle on the nineties and early 2000’s station, the only other one we could get somewhat clearly.

We had been on the road nearly two hours when we decided to stop for some food. My stomach couldn’t have been happier. Eating had not exactly been on my list of things to do today and I was now paying for it.

When Kieran and I got out of the truck, I stuck out like a sore thumb. I wasn’t used to bigger cities. I could count on one hand how many times I had been in one. The large buildings intimidated me. However, they didn’t seem to bother my travel companion nearly as much. It was odd how much he seemed to fit in here.