Run

Chapter ThirtyOne: HomeBound.

 We packed the car, waved goodbye to our friends and wished them a good life then began our drive towards Washington about an hour ago. The car was filled with a calm silence, the soft song of the radio filling the gap. I sat staring out the window watching the sun rise and the trees pass. I decided to wear the leather jacket for today, It was too cold to wear just a shirt but too warm to wear a hoodie. I don't think Tim's noticed but it's always hard to tell with him.

"You wanna stop in the next bigger town and look around? Maybe get some breakfast?" Tim asked, breaking the silence.

"Sure. We should find a sushi place," I suggest, sitting up.

" Sushi? For breakfast?"

"Yes."

"Okay then."

The car lulled back into silence, a new song filling the gap. I began to fiddle with the old ring, rubbing my fingers over the old stones. We turned onto the next off-ramp and headed towards the nearest town.

We stopped for about an hour to get food and extra supplies before heading off once more. The radio is set to 90's music and itś currently playing Runaway Train by Soul Asylum.

"This is my sisters kind of music," I note.

"Your sister?" Tim asks.

"Uh, yeah," I pause, then continue, "Catherine really like 90's grunge and alternative music."

"Oh, so you have a sister?" He asks.

"Yeah, I had two."

"Had?"

"Catherine and Sarah," I reply, ignoring the question.

Tim huffed quietly and clicked the radio, changing the channel. The new station began to play The Ghosts of Beverly Drive by Death Cab For Cutie. A song I can relate to.

I begin to sing under breath, "If only you'd have known me before the accident. For with that grand collision came a grave consequence. Receptors overloaded, they burst and disconnect. 'Til there was little feeling please work with what is left."

I slunk down into my seat and leaned on the door.

"Oh, I need not be flattered that you've never been here before. So there's no need to mention that you've no firsts anymore. But if you let me be your skyline I'll let you be the wave. That reduces me to rubble that looked safe from far away," I continued.

Tim began to sing, continuing the song, "I don't know why, I don't know why. I return to the scenes of these crimes. Where the hedgerows slowly wind. Through the ghosts of Beverly Drive. I don't know why, I don't know why. I don't know what I expect to find. Where all the news is second hand. And everything just goes on as planned."

I sang, "You wanna teach but not be taught. And I wanna sell but not be bought. So let us not be lonesome. So let us not be lonesome. Lost in between our needs and wants. Our needs and wants."

He paused, seeming to wait for something, then continued, "I don't know why, I don't know why. I return to the scenes of these crimes. Where the hedgerows slowly wind. Through the ghosts of Beverly Drive."

Before the song can finish, the radio goes silent. The radio begins to play a siren type sound before someone begins to talk.

A male voice begins to talk in a firm but worried voice, "This is a very important weather warning. A large storm is moving in from the coast. It is advised that anyone west of the Cascades is advised to find a secure location and wait for this storm to pass. We are expecting freezing weather and large hail storms. The police advise that people stay off of the freeways and larger roads. I repeat..."

Tim turns the radio off as the anchorman began to repeat the advisory, and asks, "Well... should we listen to the advisory or say screw it and keep going?"

Chuckling, I reply, "We should probably listen to it. We can find a motel in the next town and crash there for the next day or so until this storm blows over."

"Yeah, that's probably the smart idea."

We entered the town of Eugene, Oregon at 11:22 am and headed for the nearest motel that had an open room. The motel looked like a normal Motel 6, just with a more yellow theme. We pulled into its parking lot and parked near the entrance.

"Do you think they'll still have the room?" I ask.

"They should, the parking lot is kinda empty," He says while opening the front door.

Stepping through, I mumble, "Good point. I'm gonna go to the restroom."

"Kay, I'll go talk to the receptionist."

When I got out of the bathroom, Tim was still talking to the receptionist, who is quickly typing on her keyboard.

"Well, have one room available, but it only has one bed," She tells Tim.

He replies quickly, "That's fine."

I slid beside him while asking, "You sure?"

"Yeah, we probably won't find anywhere else to stay so, we might as well take this one."

"Okay," I mumble, before asking, "What will we do for the rest of the day?"

"I don't know. Is there anything we can do during a storm?"

"We could find a library, or a cafe or something small to sit in for a while. I mean the storm hasn't arrived yet."

"The storm is supposed to land at about 7 tonight," The receptionist replies, then hands Tim a room key.

"Well, I guess that settles it, we'll get coffee," Tim says, then mumbles thanks to the lady and we start out the door.