The Real Evie Chase (Part 1, ON GALATEA)

4

About an hour after the phone call and radio incident, Will finally said we were almost at Aunt Mil's. I could already feel my new bed beckoning me, and I hadn't even seen it yet. Addison and Will continued to happily talk about anything, and at one point, played a game of "I spy". They asked if I wanted to play, but I declined. The closer we got to my old town, the more familiar the roads got, and the more all over the place my thoughts became.

The car came to a halt at a stoplight, and I took in what was around me. Nothing ever seemed to change in our little town of Anadale. We passed our single grocery store, and a little up the road I could see one of our two gas stations, which meant in about another two minutes you would find our other gas station, Lou Ann's Diner, and Roosevelt High.

The nostalgia I felt was overwhelming.

"Wow, when did that happen?"

I turned my head towards Will, who was staring at the dashboard. "I must've missed the gas light coming on because of the radio. Is it alright if I stop up there really quick?"

As much as I wanted to say no and just get home, I said, "We need gas to get home, right?"

When the light turned green, Will pulled into the gas station. He put the car in park at one of the pumps and got out. "Do you guys want anything?"

Both Addison and I shook our heads. He nodded and left us alone.

My sigh of relief as I rested my head back against the seat was a lot louder than I intended, and it quickly morphed into a groan.

Addison giggled. "Someone can't wait to get to Aunt Mil's."

I grunted again in response. At this point, I would just walk to Aunt Mil's from here. I felt restless and antsy. Sitting there, feeling trapped in the car, I could gradually feel it get worse and worse.

"I need some air." I swung open the door and jumped out of the car. When I got outside, I tried to take in a deep breath, but it wasn't easy. Don't think about it. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine. You're almost home. You're not going to panic.

You are not going to panic.

The mental pep talk wasn't working as well as I thought it would. I needed to avert my attention to something else.

I could hear Addison yelling to ask where I was going as I nearly ran into the bed of a truck parked at the pump in front of us. Immediately after I entered the convenient store, I turned right and ended up in front of the candy. There wasn't anything in particular that I was looking for, but the process of scanning each one and giving my brain something else to do was offering some relief.

"Excuse me, sorry." Somebody came out of nowhere and stood next to me.

Barely acknowledging them, I stepped to the side. "Yeah, sorry."

I watched as their hand went to grab a bag of peanut M&M's. They had the right idea. Grabbing something chocolatey didn't sound too bad right now.

Just as I was bending down to grab a bag of regular M&M's, I caught Will coming towards me in my peripheral.

"Brittany, what are you doing in he—oh, Fields?"

My brows were knit together when I fully turned to look at Will. His focus was on the person behind me.

Fields?

I spun around slowly, and it felt like someone dropped a rock in my stomach.

For the first time in three years, I was face-to-face with Adam.