Under Pressure

Part 2

When Jeremy was a kid, he used to love car rides. Loved them. He'd go on errands with his parents just for the opportunity, enjoying how fast the world sped by, how everything always seemed to change every day, always something new to see. He could relax in his own little world, the backseat, and just observe. If he had a bad day he could simply glue his eyes to the car windows and watch everything disappear behind him. It was soothing. It helped him feel better.

Jeremy has having a pretty terrible day, and even being in the back of a car didn't help. He was squished in the middle, between Michael and Christine, and he was staring down at his shoes. Everything had been going fine, and then life had dumped a bucket of ice cold water over his head, leaving him numb and confused. Michael kept trying to talk to him, in whispers, but Jeremy couldn't bring himself to respond, so Michael rested a hand on his knee instead. Christine was looking increasingly uncomfortable, hands squeezed between her knees, leg bouncing.

None of them had bothered to ask where they were going yet. The only real noise came from the radio, pop music from the local station drifting into the back and drowning out any thoughts Jeremy tried to form. At some point he finally looked up, after the car jostled them after running over a pothole, and he saw his mom, sitting in the passenger seat, eating pizza as if everything was perfectly normal and nothing was wrong or weird or just plain fucked up. Jeremy felt a little twinge of something, a tense little ache between his shoulder blades and throb in his temple, causing him to bite down on his lip and look back at his feet.

"So, um... Where are we going, exactly?" Christine finally asked the golden question. Alex glanced at them from the rearview mirror.

"Alabama," Linda answered. She was looking out her window.

"Oh. Can I, well, am I allowed to ask why?" The nervousness in Christine's voice was only increasing.

"This was supposed to just be a trip for Jeremy, but we figured he'd feel better if we brought Michael along, and, well, you were there..." Alex drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, smiling into the mirror.

"That doesn't actually answer my question."

"It's a surprise." Alex glanced at the three of them again, packed together like sardines. "And it's a long drive, so if you need to make a pitstop, just let me know."

"Alabama..." Michael was muttering to himself. He finally sighed, a tired, resigned sound and leaned back into his seat with a hand on his face. "Guess I need to cancel dinner with my moms tomorrow."

"Oh, Michael, your parents. How are they? Doing well?" Linda asked.

"Yeah, they're, you know, happy and... Great. Everything's great, Mrs. Heere." Michael squinted down at his phone.

"Good. Good, I'm glad."

Silence once again settled over the interior car. Alex was humming, now, along with the music, and Michael had moved his hand from Jeremy's knee to his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. The rest of the drive felt like an agonizingly long blur. The quiet was only broken intermittently by Alex asking if anyone needed anything, or Christine and Michael whispering to each other, trying to figure out what was happening. All Jeremy wanted was to go back to this morning, when he was still in his old room at his dad's place, getting ready to take an important next step in his life, finally having a clear idea of where he was going and why.

It was all gone in an instant, but he didn't feel anything. Nothing, except tired. He felt like the sky, darkening, all light snuffed out as the sun sank into the ground, leaving a dark abyss where not even stars could shine through. Just cold and empty.

Jeremy didn't know when he'd fallen asleep. He opened his eyes suddenly and it was morning, and he was smooshed between Christine and Michael, both still asleep, both leaning against him like he was some kind of human pillow. Alex was asleep, too, now in the passenger seat. Only Linda was awake. She was driving, a cup of fast food coffee in her hand, no radio, nothing. He tried not to move, both to prevent waking up his friends but to also avoid detection. He didn't want her to know he was awake. He didn't want her to try to talk to him while everyone else was asleep. He didn't even want to look at her.