Rough Road Ahead (In Progress)

Chapter 7

            When I awoke I looked at the clock hanging on the blue wall, it was only three in the morning and the sun was still hiding behind the clouds. At first I didn't realize why I had awoken, but then I noticed that Brad was gone, his steady breathing ceased. Max was still fast asleep at my side, softly snoring away. Where had he gone? I questioned, and I found myself wondering why I cared at all. He had been nothing but a dick to me for the entire trip, and yet I wanted to know where he was.

            Moving the sheets back slowly, I crawled from the bed, making sure that Max wasn't awakened. The trailer had stopped moving and my father was sleeping at the steering wheel.

            The trailer door was open a crack allowing the cool night air to move into the cabin. Maybe he was outside? I guessed, opening the door slowly and stepping out. I could smell farm in the soughing breeze.

            The sky was a light pink mixed with purple and blue hues. It was lovely, something that you would have never seen unless you were in the country away from the harsh street lights and beeping car horns. There were no shops, no stores, no nothing. There was only a field of cows and goats next to a small, quant farmhouse. I could see them even in the limited light that the rising sun offered. The large rugged mountains were barely visible, the darkness of the night still covering that portion of the sky. The clouds were very low to the ground causing there to be a thick layer of fog covering the grass, making it hard to see what was infront of me. However, the sky was as clear as day, the colors looking oddly out of place when in contrast with the hazy ground.

            Looking around, I didn't see Brad. Maybe he was inside; I hadn't checked the entire cabin and I was about to turn around when I heard something shuffle above me. Squinting, "Brad?" I called in a whisper, not wanting to wake anyone from their well deserved slumber. There was no answer for a moment, so I just stood there, listening for the sound to return. Maybe I was hearing things, I thought. Maybe I was so tired I was letting my vivid imagination get the better of me. But then the sound came again, this time louder and more pronounced, sounding like it echoed off of something before it made its way to my ears. "Brad? Is that you?" I asked into the open, humid, night air, waiting for a reply. Suddenly that feeling of being watched came back. That feeling of being analyzed and I pulled my arms in and crossed them over my chest. My heart was beginning to thump quicker and quicker. I wasn't hearing things. Something was above me on the trailer. If it wasn't Brad, who was it? In the distance I saw a huge flash of light that nealy blinded me. For a moment I thought it was a lightning bolt, but it was much too quick for that and no thunder came after it was gone. It was as if I had watched an explosion, but an explosion that had no sound to it.

            "What?" Brad's voice called back from above me, my heart coming to a stop. I jumped.

            "What are you doing up there?" I asked, feeling relief rattle my body. 

            "Nothing." He answered quickly, moving my eyes around the exterior I saw a small ladder on the back and walked towards it, stepping up onto the first rickety step and climbing my way to the top, almost falling off multiple times.

            "Did you see that?" I asked. The sky was even more beautiful from the roof than it was from the ground. Moving my leg up I pulled myself onto the cold metal and saw that Brad was laying down with his arms behind his head, viewing the sky.

            "See what?" He asked, squinting at me. I decided to let it go, wounding if it was in fact my imagination. "Are you sleeping up here?" I asked, changing the subject and sitting down beside him. He had a large blanket over his body and a satin pillow behind his head.

            "Maybe." He answered, not making eye contact.

            "Why?" I asked, lying down beside him with my eyes pointed towards the sky. It was so lovely, I didn't want to leave.

            "To get away from everyone." He said, finally looking at me with a scowl.

            I was slightly hurt, but what had I expected? Maybe I just wanted a brotherly relationship with him, maybe I just wanted to see why he hated me. To fix it. But maybe what I was looking for was unattainable.

            "Oh." I paused, biting my lip and feeling a small amount of blood trickle into my open mouth, "do you want me to leave?" I asked, watching his face for an answer that I was almost positive he wouldn't take the time to verbalize.

            Taking a deep breath and perching his lips before answering, "No," he said, his voice gruff and unfeeling, not at all matching the words that came from his lips.

            Smiling to myself I thought maybe I could fix this, maybe there was some way that I could get through to him. Maybe there was hope. Maybe I could be a sister to him.

            Suddenly I was reminded of the memory I had of him as a child, the innocent Brad, the giggling smiling Brad. One without tattoos. One that wasn't corrupted by the world. At least not yet. But I was also reminded of the missing piece of my memory, the part that my mind longed to remember although there was no rhyme or reason for wanting to know it.

            "Brad?" I asked suddenly, and he turned to me.

            "What?" He snapped, his voice held the same robotic tone.

            "What was your first word?" I sat up on my elbows, the cold metal of the trailer against my skin.

            "Why?"

            "I don't know." I shrugged, then laid back down. Guessing from his tone that I wasn't going to get my answer, "forget I asked."

            He stayed silent a moment, the only sound the crickets in the peaceful night before sighing loudly, "my first word was Iris." He said, his voice low.

            Wanting to say something I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. How had his first word been my name? I couldn't remember a time, even as children that we had played together. In fact, I couldn't remember anything about Brad except for that memory of us on the floor of the living room, and even that memory seemed to be deteriorating. And yet somehow, I wanted to keep the image of that child with the wide smile in my head. It reminded me that Brad was human, that somewhere, deep down, that child was still alive. Still in there somewhere. We sat there in silence for the rest of the night.

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