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( 37 一 GUNPOINT. )
The drive to Pueblo was filled with terse, uncomfortable silence. Clara had realised at some point along the way that after this meeting they would split from the boys. She had realised that those few hours would be the last she spent with them for a long time, possibly forever. Her heart ached at the thought of never seeing them again. So much so that she pushed the thought away entirely.
At one point during the drive, they had to rotate seats, Vida moving to the driver's seat, Chubs to the passenger seat and Clara switching with Jude to sit in the small space available in the boot. She felt guilty seeing him curled up in the same position the whole trip and decided to take his place. It was like they were playing musical chairs.
Eventually, people drifted off to sleep, Clara included. They were a few short hours out when she passed out and by the time she woke there were only ten minutes of the trip remaining. It was a fitful ten minutes, every position being too uncomfortable to stay in for long. Clara could tell everyone in the car was getting antsy as well. She just wanted to arrive and see who the hell they had been talking to on the Chatter.
When Clara was imagining a face-off with Jarvin or some of his cronies she did not imagine it happening in a deserted Dairy Queen in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Chubs questioned uncertainly. "I don't see anyone in there. I don't know... maybe we should circle around it again?" Chubs was right, it didn't look like anyone was around for miles, all the cars covered in dust and grime. If they were in a film Clara was sure a tumbleweed would roll past.
"Grannie, chill⎼⎼you're giving me an ulcer," Vida said while parking the car. "She's probably waiting in one of those cars."
"Yeah but which one?" Liam asked. Clara felt like that question was pretty redundant considering all the cars were filthy and looked like they had been sitting there for years except for a single gleaming white one that didn't have a speck of dust on it. Take a guess, Liam.
"She said to meet her inside, let's start there," Ruby said, unbuckling her seatbelt.
"Wait, can't we just... wait a few more minutes?" Chubs asked, a note of underlying panic in his tone. Clara got the impression that he was less concerned about the Dairy Queen and more about them splitting up.
"We can't keep her waiting," Jude said. "She's probably worried sick." Clara shared a look of understanding with the other girls. "Hey, Jude, why don't you stay here and pack a bag of supplies. Vi, Ruby and I will get the full picture from Cate. See what the plan is and if you guys can travel with us," Clara said in an even tone.
"Okay, I'll meet you in there in a sec," Jude said.
Clara waited for Vida to come around and open the boot from the outside, checking to make sure her gun was tucked into the back of her jeans in the meantime. "Take your time, think about what we're going to need," Ruby told him.
