Ruminate (Bo Sinclair)

Ruminate: 1

A/N: I'm trying to get myself back into writing so I apologise if this is no good. I unintentionally deleted the last two or three paragraphs so it's a bit shorter than I intended as well so maybe not the best start!!

There was a sense of melancholy in the air the further we drove through the rural area of Mississippi. A thick camouflage of trees remained practically endless on a long since familiar route. It had been a long time since we were remotely close to Ambrose but the closer the map led us, the more my stomach twisted and churned. What was only yesterday a form of nostalgia seemed plagued with apprehension and doubt and with every crunch of rock and gravel from the hole-ridden road it only became more uncomfortable. Pressing a pale finger to the button of the window, I stuck my head into the summer breeze attempting to find comfort in it. It had been a long few hours on the road and so it seemed to be the most logical conclusion to feeling so on edge. There was no other justification and it was something I had no choice to make peace with.

The city was far behind, no longer even a speck and we were back at our literal and figurative routes. The stench of fast food restaurants had been replaced with pine, oak and sycamore scents and wet grass.

As I inhaled deeply through my nose, I allowed my pale hair to flutter into a whirlwind around my heart shaped face, my blue eyes seeing nothing other than the thick straight strands. From my side, I heard a small chuckle and withdrew myself back in, I turned to face the brunette male at my side and held onto my locks while peeking out between what remained.
"Yes?" I inquired knowing what he was finding so amusing but awaited his thin lips to part to tell me what I already suspected.
"I was just thinking, you know those dog videos? The ones where they're more hair than dog?" August mused as I shook my head and smacked a hand playfully against his jeans.
"Are you calling me a bitch?" I asked toying with him, his forest green eyes glinted as he hummed shrugging.
"Well, I never said you were female so that's just your interpretation."
"Oh fuck you!" Without hesitation I raised my middle finger as he gave a mocking wince. I rolled my eyes in return feeling his hand squeeze against my knee before returning to the steering wheel. "I'm going to remember this. Ten years down the line when you least suspected, I'm bringing this up. This exact conversation." I promised, folding my arms indignantly. "And on that day you will know why you aren't going to get any because you are an asshole." He cocked his head thoughtfully before shrugging and accepting that more likely than not, it would happen. As far as memory could stretch, I remembered the little things over the bigger events, details would stick with me and more often than not it could be a curse. Perhaps it was what caused the apparent apprehension that remained nestled in my chest and sitting on it like a deadweight.
"Says the one who woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. You know we can just make it a flying visit. Quick look around, then onwards to the closest McDonalds. It's probably a ghost town by now, I mean heck they even removed it from the map, I'm following my mum's." Tapping to where the item sat, it was fair to say that it looked as old as it was. Its pages had tinted into a tea like colour, some of the ink faded and practically sunbleached from where it had seen better days but what had once been home could easily be passed by if someone wasn't aware of its existence. It wasn't even a stopping point anymore from what I could gather, it was simply crumbling in the middle of nowhere, a shell of its former self. It was peculiar to be somewhere that was now so remote it didn't feature on paper but then who would stay when everything and everyone left? Possibly squatters but that even seemed a stretch it was a long way to go unless you were accustomed to the wilderness and had profound hunting or foraging skills.

Ambrose was the small and mostly tight knit town where we had both grown up and left around the same time over a decade ago. Once the Sugarmill closed both my father and his were left looking for new jobs and like many others we migrated more into the city. We were not the first to go, if anything my family dug their heels in until they could protest it no further and accepted that we had to up sticks. It was no brightside but it made farewells elementary for the most part. It was depressing or at least bittersweet to know that a place once budding with life was desolate and forsaken.