Ride

4: Fiends

The bus lurched forward, no warning from anyone preparing the passengers for the departure from the station. There wasn’t any warning to anyone who needed to go to the bathroom one last time either. I opened my eyes and looked around the bus. The lights have been turned off and I was surrounded in darkness, I blinked several times to allow my eyes to adjust to the sudden change of lighting. I took in a deep breath and smiled sadly at myself as I looked down at my hands and the gold ornate necklace I had been clutching in my hand the entire time. It was funny how in a matter of time I had managed to lose my friends, my boyfriend and my family members. It may not be in the literal sense; I didn’t exactly lose them to the point where I couldn’t get them back. They weren’t dead or anything, but they just hated me so much, they ignored me as if I didn’t exist.

I tried to get them back, I tried to conform to what they wanted me to be, and for a moment I did become the perfect girl because I never said ‘no’. I would do as they commanded but after a while I realized that wasn’t who I was, that person wasn’t what I am; I wasn’t their personal slave. Brad had agreed with me when I decided I would break apart from the norm. He was there for me every step of the way but his withdrawal from my life was a whole different story. I was never the popular girl, yes I had a reputation at my high school and I dated a quarterback. I hung out with multiple friends from different ethnic groups and cliques but my only stable friends were Brad and Brandi. Funny how their names were so similar now that I thought about it. Jackson came and went. Sometimes he was there for me, mostly he was. I couldn’t lie and say he was the worst boyfriend out. He was one of the best. He was caring and sweet, he would always protect me and even though I wasn’t as popular as he was in our school’s social standing he didn’t care.

He would kiss me in front of his friends, he would hold my hand, he would hug me and take me anywhere that would make the both of us happy. I missed the moments where we sat in his room drawing out our future plans, where we would just watch movies from the 90s and cuddle like there was no tomorrow. He was my Disney boy. We would build forts and watch the Little Mermaid over and over again. What he did over the summer was forgivable and I did forgive him for it, because I had loved him that much. But I couldn’t forgive him for what he did next. I just couldn’t…         

I blinked away any betraying tears as I shifted my head to the side. I could make out a number of heads. There weren’t many people; I didn’t think there would be. I mean it’s a Tuesday and I am heading to my first stop, which is Norfolk, Virginia. Not many people would be heading there at this time of the year, at this time of the day. There wasn’t much there anyways, unless one wanted to visit a family member. I had bought a bus ticket to the least suspecting place so that if someone decided to look for me then they would simply get lost in Virginia wondering where I had gone next.

I turned my head as I heard a crying baby, a young mother was sitting at the back, a baby in her arms crying softly as she cooed to it. The mother was gorgeous, her hair fell onto her face as she cared for her child. She had a duffel bag on the seat next to her and finally the baby started to suck on her finger laughing at it did so, no longer crying. The scene made me laugh for some reason and I made a little prayer hoping that the little baby would grow up to be a strong person who won't let anyone get in its way. It's funny how sometimes, some people spend nine months trying to get out but spend the remaining time of their lives trying to get in. If you get what I mean?

I turned my head to the other side and there were a few other passengers milling about in their seats, there were a few older men scattered, many of them falling asleep with their hands leaning on their hands and their arms bent on the armrest. I took out the packet of red vines and silently ripped open the packet.

"Hey! That's not fair! Give it to me! Brad!" We were at the local supermarket and it was 11.45 at night. Brad has always hated Red Vines but I have always loved them, the problem was that I would never be able to finish a packet on my own. So being the good friend he was Brad would often have some with me.