Remaining Daylight (#Wattys2016)

Track XVIII.

It was the longest two weeks of my life waiting for the beginning of the trial. I didn't sleep at all the night before. By the time dawn rolled around, I gave up on sleeping and made my way to my kitchen for a cup of coffee. Dad had already left for the morning, leaving another passive-aggressive note on the microwave to remind me that running off was not okay. But, God forbid he confront the situation directly. I think he lost the courage to after mom's habit of turning everything around on him. It was easier to just keep his mouth shut than to be invalidated.

I sat down on the couch and sipped at my coffee. It wasn't very sweet, but it was plenty creamy. Just the way I liked it. I had three hours before I needed to be to the courthouse. How was I going to kill all of this time?

After a few minutes of pacing, I decided to throw on some clothes and cruise over to Ryan's. Even though he probably wasn't up, I wanted to look at the Datsun. I hadn't seen it since we left, which at this point, was almost two months ago. Ryan had plenty of time to fix it up, even if it wouldn't be finished.

I was opening the door to his garage when I heard the back door of his house opening. Turning around, I found Ryan in his pajamas, standing on his back porch. He rubbed his eyes, and then took a few steps closer.

"Declan, what the hell are you doing here so early?" he asked, voice low and rough from still being half asleep.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked around at his yard. "I was trying to kill some time, and I thought I'd come over and see how the Datsun is coming along."

Ryan's face lit up. "It's coming along fucking great. Come on, I'll show you."

Quickly, Ryan ran inside to grab the keys to his garage, and then let me inside. The Datsun was the first one there. It was missing its doors, but the paint was much shinier and smoother. He looked at me while he grabbed the keys off the wall, a cheesy grin on his face. "Check this out."

He sat in the driver's seat and shoved the key in the ignition. The engine purred smoothly. The grin came back, and looked to me.

"But does it run for any length of time?" I questioned.

"Hop in and we take it for a spin," he said.

"There are no doors on it."

"Just around the block. It's not the end of the world."

Figuring he was right, I slid into the passenger seat. With the door missing, I pulled on the seatbelt. No way in hell was I riding around in this car to fall out the gaping hole on the side.

It sounded much better now that it had been in Ryan's care. We cruised down the street to a park near his house. In the early morning, the park was vacant, and everything was bathed in golden sunlight. Ryan took me over to the swings.

"So, how did your trip with Hayden go? It was fun hearing the news unfold after you left and finding out I'd technically aided in the escape of a criminal," Ryan said.

We dangled above the ground, not really swinging. Just using the swings as a seat.

"It was great, until the end. Now I have knots in my stomach about the trial today, because if things don't go well, Hayden's life is ruined. I can't stand to see him like this."

"Livia is a total bitch."

"I could have told you that."

"No, I mean, I sort of knew her before all this shit went down. She and I went to a lot of the same parties. She was always hanging over college dudes and sometimes even older guys. Always a total tease. She'd flirt with a ton of guys, get one or two in bed, and then play mind games with them. Like, she threatened one guy that she'd send her nudes and blame him if he didn't fuck her."