This Town Called Nowhere

Chapter 10: Ricochet

10

Damn it.

Well, ain't the Lord blessed me with 'some' day.

Putting away the phone, I inhale sharply and Artemis glances at my side. She looks at me with quiet contemplation, then shifts her eyes back to the road.

"Drive me back to school, please." I say, my tone stoic.

The leisure has gone with the random rancher. The fresh scent of fun and frolic have faded away with the glistening blue waters of the Blue Lake. I never should have let her drag me to the road. Was I too curious with what she's done with the frogs that I let her puppy me like that? Or was I too easy that I let her took me away from my fortress?

Either way, in any way possible, the blame is all on me.

I never should have. Never should have. Never again.

My eyebrows cross when, instead of driving back, Artemis continues going north, away from the lake, from the center, from the school, from my life.

"What are you doing?!" I snap over the roaring engine. She remains calm and quiet, her hand firm on the wheel, her elbow free on the open window.

"Artemis! Are you even listening? I HAVE to go back."

She scoffs. "Typically, I am, duh." Raising her voice, she argues with me. "It's not my fault you have to go back to that stinking school, so, don't tell me to drive you back. I didn't force you to come." She mumbles the last sentence.

"You left me no choice."

Shrugging, she ignores me and continues driving. I grumble on my seat, annoyed and irritated with her behavior. Sometimes, she's breezy and easygoing, other times, she's as tight and rigid as Mom.

I can use a little rigidity from her, but not this kind.

My phone buzzes on my lap and I click the screen to see 6 straight messages from Derek and 1 from Cassey, all either asking where I am or telling me to come into class.

Damn it.

Breathing heavily, I close my eyes shut and clutch my hand on my head.

What mess have I gotten into?

Damn it!

My fist snaps into the frame of the vehicle.

"Woah, easy there, Armstrong, I don't want Paulo to end up like JB this quick," Artemis spouts out too calmly.

I stare at her in disbelief. How can she—ugh! Damn it, Artemis. You're such a pain in the ass. She glances at me. "What?"

Leaning my head on the restraint, I grumble, "Just drive me back to school."

She scoffs at me again, this time, with a bit of humor. Then, her mood turns sour as she gazes back to the empty highway. "You're in my car. Wherever I drive, you tag your booty along, sonny." She mimicks the cowboy's voice. But this time, it's not funny. "I ain't goin' back, y'all ain't too. Y'all stuck with me 'til I tell y'all free to go—"

"Goddamn it, Artemis!" I bang the frame again.

She glares at me for minutes, her eyes averted from the road. Her eyes darken the longer she stares, the parallel lines between them becomes vivid. She's staring at me, and it looks like she'd forgotten that she's driving because she never took her eyes off. I glance at the road and sigh in relief. There aren't any vehicles in sight, and like most countryside roads here in Wycliffe, it's appearing and disappearing in the background, straight in and straight out.